#but... like. he wants to be like his dad- like how he made lotus pier feel so loving and warm and how there had been no

[truly-morgan]

[JC being a tired dad for the juniors and disciples]

Jiang Cheng + Juniors | Mo Dao Zu Shi 27-12-2021

[#jiangcheng and his found family feat. juniors quartet]

jiang cheng sighed tiredly at the sound of an explosion, knowing from around where it was coming from. he was drowning in paperwork, and he didn't exactly have the time to investigate his disciples' latest troubles.

he was out of his office even before one of them reached it, following them back towards the training grounds where some of them were running around to extinguish the small fire that had started, others helping those who were still stunned by the explosion they had created.

a couple of them were rambling about what had happened. They had learned about this new talisman (they didn't say who made it but jc wasn't dumb, he know who made these). They wanted to test it and simply messed up the training field and it got out of hand.

These were all of the younger disciples, fidgeting and unsure if they would be punished by their sect leaders for what they did.

yet, despite how tired and exasperated jc looked, he didn't start screaming, only instructing on correctly putting out the fire.

soon he was helping those who had been affected more by the explosion, making sure no one was seriously injured, sending someone to bring the healers just in case.

they couldn't escape a scolding though, everyone looking to the ground as jc was telling them how reckless it was to test experimental talisman without more experience cultivators around and with no safety measures. That it was really dangerous to do something like this and what would they have done if one of their shidi had been seriously injured by their little experience?

this is around the time the SIC and the healer got to the training field, finding their sect leader scolding those youngsters the same way a dad would scold his children. From experience, they could see the man wasn't really mad, only worried that something bad could have had happened but also, mostly relieved that nothing bad happened.

"next time you want to play around like this come to me, I can make sure you do not blow up half of lotus pie like this".

everyone was a bit worried about doing this, especially youngsters who knew only of tales of their leaders rebuilding lotus pier after it was destroyed. They couldn't live with themselves if they forced their leader to do this again.

"And for punishment clean the training field" said jc, more for the image of giving a punishment than anything else. They would already have needed to do it anyway.

everyone confirmed it before he was able to go back to his duty, not without making sure with the healer that everyone was indeed alright.

====

jc thought he could go on a night hunt for once without any problems occurring, but when he heard one of his disciples saying four young men wanted to speak to him he could only sigh and allow them in.

"Sect leader jiang/jiujiu 🥺"

"What did you four did again," jc asked a bit exasperated..

he tried listening as ljy and jl were battling against each other to tell what had happened, lsz and oyz trying to calm them down. truly it was only because they were encountering something bigger than first thought and they had mishandled it a little bit due to inexperience.

despite his scowling and sighs while he was listening, anyone could see the fond look in the sect leader's eye, the quartet bringing back old memories of a duo of boys going on night hunts together and messing up sometimes.

"we heard slj was nearby too and decided it would be better to ask for help from someone more experienced and with better cultivation" lsz politely concluded as the two others were bickering on the side.

of course, jc accepted to help, not without scolding them all a little bit about not being careful enough when it comes to something unknown that turns out stronger than first thought.

at least, like that he could also show them how to properly do it for the next time this happens.

====

the market near lotus pier was always bustling and had truly regained from the war with the help of the yunmeng jiang sect.

everyone knew of the slj who often bought locally to help out and took strolls around to make sure everything was alright.

this meant everyone was also familiar with the four young men following him around.

some of the Marchand though didn't know much about the cultivation world and simply believed the man had probably taken under his wing that little young man.

they were all taken aback when some of them referred to jc their dad, leading to them trying to tell it was not the case.

yet jc wouldn't help when he would just act like one, scolding them when needed and giving permission around when they weren't allowed unless they were asking slj about it (some even used "your dad").

I dunno, I just like the idea of rural folks seeing how jc treats them and going "Ah, how nice for slj, he has adopted a group of energic young men, it will be good for him"

Original

#tweet archive #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #jiang cheng #jin ling #lan sizhui #lan jingyi #ouyang zizhen #junior quartet

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

Fanon Jiang Cheng: Tears up every year at the mention of Wei Wuxian’s death anniversary and most definitely burned money for him during Zhongyuan (torture what? No, he had tea with those demonic cultivators that blood was uhhh bean paste). Thinks about A-Yuan the kid he was disgusted by and thinks he should have adopted him after he killed argued with his stand in dad. Definitely did not give his own nephew from his supposed beloved sister a self-esteem complex since he understands him the most and is the best Jiujiu to ever Jiujiu. Lan Wangji is just petty,Jiang Cheng only wanted him dead for life like once and blamed him for the entire massacre of his sect once. Third wheel to Wangxian even though he still says weirdly homophobic things but that’s cute to the husbands even though both were made hugely uncomfortable by this once before.

Wedding Planner~ even though he himself is blacklisted by the marriage world and thinks a hug between guys is disgusting (how does that work for the ceremony since Wei Wuxian wasn’t a Jiang and had no living family to serve and Jiang Cheng is not even his brother who is married). LOTUS PIER HAPPY FAMILY!

*･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･’(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)‘･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･*

(What no that Qi deviation was fake, nor did he almost whip Lan Wangji and a deviated Wei Wuxian) They love Lotus Pier now!

Canon Jiang Cheng: A salty bitch with good hair and is homicidal for 13 years because of his complex against a dead guy he didn’t get to kill in person and hates his besties crush for just as long because he is a salty bitch. Is not good with kids and the one time he cries it’s in near murderous rage and not pretty. Ugly crier 10/10 I appreciate this as an ugly crier and drama queen.

He stops bugging Wei Wuxian because it’s the one nice thing he can even do in his life anymore. Is not best Jiujiu, probably no paper money burns (╯﹏╰) But there sure probably was some cultivator torture going on during Zhongyuan for a little extra effect. Still disowned Wei Wuxian and is not in fact a good wedding planner but probably makes for a good dom in S&M if you’re into that. Jiang Cheng in fact has no reason to hate Lan Wangji and really is just that petty and jealous of a hot guy. Doesn’t even know A-Yuan exists as an entity other than being an annoying Lan of Lan Wangji’s. Is a homophobe.

No Lotus Pier family because he told Wangxian not to sully his home and they do stay away because they don’t ever want to be there again.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #lol yunmeng shuangjie #lol yunmeng bros #I'm forcing this to be seen again #why should I feel bad for him #I would really like to know with this laid out

[yuexins]

me every time i get prompts that trigger jc’s 23834738294 page grief/emo backstory & his feelings during those 13 yrs + after guanyin temple

#the hand that steers others / ooc . #tbd . #i haha enjoy writing jc so much haha #GOD HES FULL WITH LSDSNJHJ GRIEF......................... AND HE SHOVES IT OFF BC OF HIS TOXIC ASS MOM #bc she was so insecure she shoved it onto her son like constantly and now look what happened #a lof of fics portray jc to be like this sect leader who doesnt care if his disciples are afriad of him or if the townspeople fear him bc #they should fear him and hes proud of that #which like yeah. yeah okay. but thats the OUTWARD appearance he holds up #like my friends............... what is Stopping you from going deeper............ #he flaunts his fearsome rep bc it keeps people away. it keeps them out. and jc wants to keep them alllll the way out for fear of them #getting close and getting hurt bc of him. he knows he hurts ppl and he knows its gotten worse over the course of those 13 years and #he's seen the rs wbtwn his parents and hes simply afraid of somoene loving him for his outward appearance and then getting to actually know #him and hating that. he has a fear of abandonment whcih he sees as weak and vulnerable (thx mom) #but... like. he wants to be like his dad- like how he made lotus pier feel so loving and warm and how there had been no #clear class differences- poor/young/old/rich were all welcome to yunmeng ;; jc is so desperate to bring that back to life and i #just know. i just Know. that he's so fucking depressed abt how he /is/ that he cant even achieve that #sure hes sect leader but it doesnt even feel like it and hasnt for 13 years and he thinks hes not even up for this task. #he probably thinks that wwx would be better suited to be sect leader and it just drives those deep-seated insecurities further #god... yu ziyuan u rly messed up ur kid lmfao #yu ziyuan AND jiang fengmian- he was the youngest in their family and having to grow up with That... god. #i might be really biased bc i wholly understand where hes coming from and it hurts seeing him being treated that way but tbh #he's kind of always left out in his family :< even w jyl he's always left out lol its sad bc jc has the biggest heart & would do literally #anything 4 his fam but they just......... #anYWAY ILL STOP RAMBLING i just care him very much its sickening #long tags / #rambling in tags / #???????? #idk if thats even a tag ppl blacklist but jic #ok wait i should add that hes not always left out w jyl butshe shows a weird preference for wwx a lot and it can be seen as favoritism #jc doesnt say anything abt it bc thats his a-jie but coming from someone who uhhh knows & goes thru the same thing i can confirm

[grewlikefancyflowers]

JC’s deeply rooted resentment of WWX, JFM’s parenting, and the inevitability of the falling out of the ‘Yunmeng bros’.

In discussion of the breakdown of JC and WWX’s relationship, their falling out is often regarded as a mutual failing on both sides to properly communicate and maintain their relationship. I’m making the case here that their falling out was a foregone conclusion from the start, and in no part due to the actions of Wei Wuxian.

This is because YZY has instilled in JC the idea that JFM dislikes him, something he believes before WWX arrives in Lotus Pier, JC already feels inferior, thus as soon as potential competition for JFM’s attention comes along in the form of WWX, JC resents him, believes JFM prefers him, and looks for reasons to justify this. 

Summarising their very first interactions - from chapter 71 - WWX arrives at LP, sees JC with his puppies and is so terrified that he refuses to come down from JFM’s arms the entire day. The second day, JFM gives JC’s puppies away.

Now, I would like to think that no one seriously believes that this is an act of favouritism, but I have seen this case being made so I just want to make clear that WWX is obviously traumatised by his previous interactions with dogs. After trying for a whole day to comfort WWX, with no success, JFM does not exactly have any other choice than to give the puppies away, WWX cannot be expected to live in constant terror in the place that is supposed to be his home.

Consequently, ‘This angered Jiang Cheng so much that he threw a big tantrum. No matter how much Jiang FengMian comforted him gently, telling him that they should ‘be good friends’, he refused to talk to Wei WuXian.’

JC’s reaction is fairly understandable for an 8 year old. JFM comforts JC, and does not treat him callously or dismiss him, however it takes several days until JC will even talk to WWX.

When JC does start to warm up to him, JFM thinks it’d be a good idea for them to have a sleepover, JC is on the ‘verge of agreeing’ to this, which JFM is overjoyed by - so much so that he picks WWX up.

This is not an example of favouritism, JFM doesn't repeatedly give affection to WWX and not JC, he holds him twice - the first instance being purely because WWX was too terrified to leave his arms, the second being this one. These are the only two times where JFM is described as being affectionate towards WWX, JC is still in the lead on this count. But JC interprets this as JFM preferring WWX.

This results in the JC shutting WWX out at night.

At that time, Wei WuXian didn’t know what Jiang Cheng was mad about at all. After a pause, he replied, “I didn’t steal anything. It’s Uncle Jiang who told me to sleep with you.”

Hearing that he was still bringing up his father, almost as if he was purposely showing off, Jiang Cheng’s eyes reddened as he yelled, “Go away! If I see you again, I’ll call a bunch of dogs to bite you!”

This is the important part - JC sees WWX in the worst possible light, and rarely thinks of WWX as a person outside of how he directly impacts JC - he concludes that WWX is purposefully antagonising him, this is a trend that continues well into adulthood.

Then, when WWX flees LP after JC threatens him with dogs, JYL tells JC to find people to help search for him. However,

‘If any other disciple or servant learned about this and told Jiang FengMian, after Jiang FengMian knew how he threw Wei WuXian’s sheets out and made him hurt his leg, Jiang FengMian would definitely dislike him even more. This was also why he only dared chase after them alone and didn’t get anyone else.’

JC has obviously behaved wrongly here, and JFM would be right to scold him for it, but JC interprets this as JFM disliking him. We haven’t seen anything to suggest that JFM actually dislikes JC, he always treats him quite gently, actually. But JC is already at the conclusion that JFM dislikes him, and twists events to suit this - if his dad scolds him for misbehaving, it’s because he dislikes him. This pattern repeats after the Xuanwu Cave arc too.

This is because Madam Yu has ingrained into him the idea that JFM dislikes him, because he’s her son. This has nothing to do with WWX - because both her and JC already believe that JFM dislikes JC prior to WWX’s arrival -  she only sees him as additional fuel to use.

The only other person who mentions JFM supposedly treating WWX better than JC is JZX. I’m sure it's a coincidence that he’s the son of YZY’s best friend.

‘“Doesn’t he treat you better than treating his own child or something?”’

Note the ‘or something’, - JZX doesn’t seem to know this with certainty - he’s repeating what others have said, despite having visited Lotus Pier several times (as stated in ch.69), JZX hasn’t seen evidence for himself that JFM prefers WWX.

‘“Maybe I should’ve let you hit him, while I stand aside and watch. This way, Uncle Jiang might not need to come. Oh well, I really couldn’t hold back!”’

We know that WWX doesn’t see JFM as favouring him - so what does he mean by this? Well, LQR has had it out for WWX from the moment they met, and has already sent a letter to JFM complaining of his behaviour - at this point WWX doesn’t know that this results in them breaking the JZX/JYL engagement either, so he’s probably purely thinking that LQR summoned JFM to CR to discuss WWX’s repeated offenses. JC hasn’t done anything to invoke LQR’s ire (or rather, he’s gotten away with everything he has done), so WWX thinks that if JC fought JZX, it would not have been treated so seriously, compared to WWX, who has repeatedly misbehaved.

Contrary to fanon interpretation, WWX is not oblivious to other people’s feelings, he’s very empathetic, and additionally understands JC very well. He doesn’t see how JC is feeling here, because JC’s feelings are just so illogical...

‘Although it was only Wei WuXian’s casual words, he held mixed feelings, because he knew that this wasn’t a lie.

Jiang FengMian had never hurried to another sect in one day for anything related to him, no matter if the issue was good or bad, large or small.

Never.’

Once again, JC’s at the conclusion that JFM dislikes him, he twists events to support this. He’s looking at this scenario very strangely - JFM didn’t rush to CR because he likes WWX, he was called there by LQR, to discuss JYL’s engagement with JZX. Secondly, we’re never given any examples of scenarios where JC does anything to warrant JFM rushing over. As far as we know, they never even stay with other sects. Knowing JC’s personality, his dislike of doing anything to rock the boat, it’s extremely unlikely that he’s ever done anything to warrant JFM rushing over like this. Moreover, it’s a bizarre thing to be jealous of, WWX is in trouble, he’s not on the receiving end of positive attention from JFM. 

JC’s flawed reasoning is once again illustrated after the Xuanwu Cave arc...

‘Jiang Cheng’s expression was complicated after he had finished listening.’

This is Jiang Cheng’s reaction after WWX credits LWJ with killing the tortoise of slaughter - this is before JFM congratulates him. Before JFM says anything, JC is purely resentful about WWX having done something heroic, more so, resentful that WWX is willingly to let LWJ take most of the credit - he’s annoyed about this, most likely feeling that WWX is rubbing in his face that he doesn’t need the recognition that JC so desperately craves.

‘Jiang FengMian nodded and said, “You did well.”

Killing a giant 400-year-old beast at only 17 was way beyond what one would call ‘doing well.’’

JFM knows about JC’s… issues, he knows how he’ll react to WWX’s receiving recognition, he likely purposefully downplays his praise to avoid upsetting him. (Who’s really being favouritised? Lol)

But, even to this, JC reacts badly, he lashes out at WWX, once more interpreting him in the worst possible way.

‘Jiang Cheng hissed, “Too fucking bad, then. You shouldn’t have been so damn stubborn and you shouldn’t have cared so damn much about such a trivial thing. If you’d never moved in the first place –”’

JC’s response is to basically tell him the entire incident was his fault. Which is objectively not true - WWX only gets involved in the conflict after it has already started, and then he acts deliberately to try to end it, rather than impulsively fighting. He also starts to say that WWX should have left their allies - LWJ and JZX - to die. This is where JFM cuts him off, and tells him it’s not appropriate to say such things - he’s not scolding him harshly, JC is not being unfairly treated here, he’s done wrong, and JFM is trying to teach him why, you know, parenting. But JC, and YZY, take this to mean JFM dislikes JC.

JFM tries to teach JC about the Jiang sect’s motto once more - this is of course, not just about the motto, but about the values that JFM wants to instill in him, as a parent.

This is where Madam Yu arrives.

“Yes, he doesn’t understand, but what does it matter, as long as Wei Ying understands?!”

Of course, what she says is nonsensical, it does matter to JFM that JC understands the motto, that’s why he’s trying to teach him. If he did not care, he would have given in already.

This is further supported...

‘Jiang Cheng’s appearance and temperament all resembled his mother’s. Jiang FengMian guided him from childhood, but no matter how much he tried, he still couldn’t change his son’s nature. As such, it always seemed like he disliked his son.’

JFM has never been dismissive of JC just because he’s YZY’s son, he’s always tried to teach him, but JC always had his mother’s nature - YZY’s nature being harsh, standoffish, foul tempered, with no care for others - Note that is says it ‘seems’ like he dislikes his son, solely because he’s trying to teach him to be a better person. He has good reason for doing so - as a kid, JC never had friends, he doesn’t seem to as an adult either, he only has Jin Ling, whom he pushes away with his foul temper. JFM was just trying to raise JC to being an even-tempered person, capable of functioning in society, which is kind of what parents are supposed to do. But once more, this is taken as dislike.

Note that during JC’s outburst, every single thing JC claims about what JFM thinks of him, he’s parroting what YZY has said, none of these points have any actual evidence.

The next point to consider is how JC blames WWX for the fall of LP, despite it objectively not being his fault - JC knows this too.

‘In his heart, Jiang Cheng knew clearly that back in the cave of the Xuanwu of Slaughter at Dusk-Creek Mountain, even if Wei WuXian hadn’t saved Lan WangJi, the Wen Sect would have found some reason to come over sooner or later’

Even if WWX’s actions did prompt the Wens to act sooner than they otherwise might have - coming sooner or later would have made no difference at all because YZY outright stated she had no intention of preparing for an attack, even after WWX suggests they should, and JFM was still going to the Wens asking for their swords back - they were still uselessly trying to suck up to the Wens, thinking it would save them.

Despite knowing deep down that WWX was not to blame - he still uses it to fuel his resentment of WWX, because the resentment was there from the beginning, the only uncertainty is the means he uses to justify it.

During the ancestral hall confrontation - he uses this excuse again.

‘Jiang Cheng responded contemptuously, “You really are forgetful. What’s called a shameful person? Let me remind you. Just because you decided to be a hero and save this Second Young Master Lan, the entire Lotus Pier including my father and mother was buried. If this wasn’t enough, after the first time, you still want a second time, even wanting to save Wen-dogs and implicating my sister and her husband, how noble of you. Even nobler, you are so magnanimous to bring these two to Lotus Pier. Allowing the Wen-dog to stand at the front of my gates and letting Second Young Master Lan offer joss sticks, purely trying to antagonize me.’

Obviously, WWX did none of these things to antagonise JC, in fact he was going through a complex emotional journey of realising that he has feelings for LWJ, and that LWJ probably has feelings for him too, he doesn’t go to the ancestral shrine to mess around - he’s ‘introducing’ LWJ to JFM, YZY, and JYL, because he’s thinking about marrying him.

The problem is, JC never really sees WWX as a person, WWX has always been more of a concept - someone to compare himself to, the reason his father doesn’t like him, the reason his mother uses to berate him. It doesn’t occur to JC that WWX is a person outside of what he is to JC, and he is therefore incapable of empathising with what WWX might be feeling right now, instead the only possible conclusion is that he’s antagonising JC.

He follows the same line of thinking when WWX defects with the Wens. JC knows what he and WWX owe them, in fact JC owes them, far, far more than what WWX does - it was his parents whose bodies Wen Ning retrieved, and it was him who WN had to rescue from LP. But JC thinks, he can get away with not paying this debt, so why should he? JC is selfish, he doesn’t understand why WWX would want to help others when he doesn’t have to, so JC concludes, this is WWX showing off, ‘playing the hero’. 

Because from the moment they met, JC has never tried to know WWX for who he is, whatever WWX does, JC interprets in a negative light - when WWX tries to get LWJ’s attention, (despite it being painstakingly obvious that WWX has a crush on him) JC concludes that WWX is messing around foolishly, without reason (parroting the untrue things YZY says about WWX always seeking trouble). When WWX wants to help people, he’s playing the hero, one upping JC. JC only ever thinks of WWX in relation to himself - when WWX disappears for three months, JC’s immediate complaint is that WWX kept him waiting, that he’s put JC out by making him search for him. You could argue that JC was just worried about WWX, and not able to express it - and on some level that’s true. But there’s a very intentional contrast between how LWJ and JC react to WWX’s return - LWJ is worried about WWX, about how his cultivation method is affecting him, moreover, WWX is very clearly not himself. JC, however, does not care for that - he only sees WWX, and modao, as a tool for killing Wens.

It takes almost nothing for JGS to manipulate JC into turning against WWX in ch.73 - he readily believes every negative thing JGS says about WWX, despite being called out directly for lying by LWJ. JGS talks as if he is a servant who has forgotten his place, unlike JYL, JC does not defend him. He refuses to speak up for him - he claims that no one will - yet LWJ and MianMian did. JC didn’t turn on WWX because it was impossible for him to speak up - he was living proof that WQ and WN did not support the Wen sect in the war, he drops him the moment he can because he’s resented him from the beginning.

Another interesting tidbit about JC just fundamentally not understanding who WWX is as a person, is that he only blames LWJ for the Xuanwu Cave incident - not JZX, despite him behaving no differently to how LWJ does. This is probably because he realises WWX’s fixation on LWJ, and supposes that this is the reason that WWX got involved in the conflict. But of course, WWX would have done something whether it was solely JZX, or just a random person.

Taking all this into account, it seems almost inevitable that WWX and JC would fall out eventually, because JC was, from the start, looking for reasons to dislike WWX, he turns against him at the first opportunity he got. For the ‘Yunmeng bros’ to have a healthy relationship, JC would simply have to fix his entire personality.

JC is unable to see WWX as a person, right up until the very end of the novel - when he recalls how he impulsively put himself at risk in order to save WWX. Finally, for the first time, JC is able to understand why WWX stood up for others in Xuanwu Cave, why he helped the Wens, because JC did the same thing, put himself on the line for WWX, probably the only time JC has ever acted so selflessly. And this is why he lets him go, he lets go of the things he blamed WWX for. For the first time, he is able to empathise with WWX, he understands that WWX was never ‘playing the hero’, seeking praise or recognition, he understands that WWX helps people purely because he feels in the moment that it’s the right thing to do. This is what enables him to finally let go of WWX.

I’m always a bit baffled when people claim mxtx never gave JC a happy ending, because this is his happy ending - him being able to realise that WWX never wronged him - when he finally lets go of this, he can live freely. 

#mdzs #jc wank #mdzs meta #jiang cheng

[robininthelabyrinth]

🍊🍋Wen Chao and/or wen xu is a good guy and actually wants to end wen ruo jan's reign of terror (cloud recesses, lotus pier, xuanwu cave or all are elaborate ruses)

ao3

Untamed

“A-Chao,” Wen Xu said. “I think our father is insane.”

Wen Chao’s eye twitched visibly, his shoulders rising up to his ears. “You can’t say that! That’s treason!”

“I’ve already made sure there’s no one anywhere around us right now, not even people I trust.”

Down went the shoulders.

“Of course he’s insane,” Wen Chao said. “Some of his orders recently…”

He shook his head.

“Not much of an empire to rule if they’re all ghost puppets, is there?” he concluded. “I think the Yin Metal is poisoning his brain.”

“I agree,” Wen Xu said. “Now what do we do about it? He’s just ordered me to raze the Cloud Recesses.”

“…when you say raze –”

“To the ground.”

“What happened to just dominating the rest of the cultivation world?” Wen Chao complained. “I liked that plan. I was going to have a really great life. A palace. Servants. Good food. Even better wine. Enough clothing to keep Jiaojiao from complaining.”

“I…don’t know if that’s possible,” Wen Xu said. “Haven’t you given her three closets’ worth already?”

“I have no idea, and I’m too attached to my balls to ask.”

“Anyway,” Wen Xu said. “What do we do about it?”

“You’re asking me?” Wen Chao said.

“Well I’m certainly not going up against him by myself! He’ll kill me!”

“You think he would hesitate to kill both of us?”

“Ugh. Is there anyone we can ask for help? Anyone we haven’t pissed off?”

They both paused, thinking.

“…no,” Wen Chao said. “But in our defense, we never thought we’d need any of them, did we?”

“I don’t think anyone is going to buy that as an excuse,” Wen Xu said, scowling. “Fuck. Isn’t there anyone?”

“Well,” Wen Chao said. He did not continue.

“No,” Wen Xu said. “No. He literally wants to cut off our heads.”

“So does everyone else in the cultivation world,” Wen Chao said. “At least we know Sect Leader Nie hates Dad more than he hates us, which isn’t something that can be said about the rest of them.”

“Fuck,” Wen Xu said. “What’s our alternative plan?”

“…become ghost puppets?”

“Fuck.”

-

“You do remember that I want to kill you both?” Nie Mingjue said, scowling at them.

“We were betting on you wanting to kill our father more,” Wen Chao said.

“I’m not sure,” Nie Mingjue said. “You’re very obnoxious.”

Wen Chao scowled.

“He has a point, A-Chao,” Wen Xu said.

“Shut up.”

“Respect your elders!”

“If you two are going to start fighting, I’m leaving,” Nie Mingjue said.

They both squinted at him. “Does that mean you might not leave if we stop?” Wen Xu asked.

Nie Mingjue’s scowl got even worse, but eventually he begrudgingly said “…well, I really hate your father.”

They both exhaled in relief.

“What’s your plan?” Nie Mingjue asked.

“This was about as far as it went,” Wen Xu admitted, and Nie Mingjue gaped at him. “What? If we had planning skills, we’d be ruling the world.”

“Jiaojiao wants jewelry now,” Wen Chao agreed. “Lots of it. Keeping a mistress is expensive.”

“I’ll…take your word for that,” Nie Mingjue said, looking mildly uncomfortable.

“You’re always plotting against our father, right?” Wen Xu asked.

“No,” Nie Mingjue said. “If I could plot, your father would already be dead.”

“Good point,” Wen Chao said, but he wasn’t the sort of person to let little details like that discourage him. “But surely you know someone who can?”

“Just keep in mind that I’m on a deadline here,” Wen Xu said. “I have to leave to go raze the Cloud Recesses by the end of the week.”

“You want me to come up with a plan to defeat your father before the end of the week?!”

“Uh, yeah,” Wen Xu said. “That’s what I said, wasn’t it?”

“It was,” Wen Chao agreed.

“I’m going to go get Meng Yao,” Nie Mingjue decided. “And Huaisang, too, why not, somehow he always gets his way no matter what I do. Maybe he can come up with something for this.”

-

“I think we’re going to need expert assistance,” Nie Huaisang declared. “I’m thinking this is Wei Wuxian levels of plotting.”

“He can plot?” Wen Chao said dubiously. “Are you sure? He took nearly a week to fight a mildly ominous bird.”

“…is that so?” Nie Huaisang said, and sighed. “Okay, fine. Meng Yao, guess it’s up to you and me.”

Meng Yao was blinking his eyes very rapidly.

“What?” Wen Chao said. “You have an awful father too, don’t look so shocked about us wanting to get rid of ours.”

“That’s just how his brain works when he’s thinking,” Nie Huaisang assured him. “He’s kicking it like it’s a sleeping donkey that doesn’t want to get to work; give him a minute and he’ll be coming up with all sorts of ideas.”

“Good ideas?”

“All sorts of ideas.”

“…any good ideas? Mediocre ideas, even?”

“Listen, we have until the end of the week,” Nie Mingjue said irritably. “You’ll take whatever ideas we give you and you’ll like it, you hear me?”

“Is it too late to get Wen Zhuliu in on this?” Wen Xu asked Wen Chao.

“He has that weird thing for Dad,” Wen Chao reminded him.

“Fuck,” Wen Xu said. “I’d wiped that from my memory through the application of a great deal of alcohol, but yes, you’re right. Okay. Hit me with your worst plan.”

-

“That’s worse than I thought it was going to be.”

“Shut up and just do it.”

-

“I will now, in the name of the Wen sect, attack –” Wen Xu grimaced. “– this cave.”

“It’s a very important cave, actually,” one of the Lan disciples muttered.

“Be quiet,” Lan Wangji said.

They were all pretending not to notice the main force of Lan sect disciples, led by Lan Xichen, carting their precious books and treasures out of the Cloud Recesses right behind him.  

“I am attacking this very important cave,” Wen Xu clarified. “Of extreme importance to the Lan sect. So important, in fact, that it is clearly the correct target for an invasion.”

They stood around a while longer.

Someone cleared their throat. “Should we fight?”

“I can have my men beat you up if you really want,” Wen Xu said.

“…no thanks.”

“Then be quiet.”

There was a bit more standing around. Eventually Lan Qiren coughed.

“Would you like a chair or something?” Wen Xu asked, then frowned. “Never mind, I probably can’t justify that.”

“Probably not,” Lan Qiren agreed. He looked pained. Probably by the whole situation, but who knew, maybe he just had a bad back and the standing around was getting to him. “You will be taking Wangji hostage after this?”

“Along with most of the heirs of the Great Sects,” Wen Xu said. “As agreed, we’ll keep them out of the way.”

“Sometimes the most dangerous place is the safest place.”

“…yeah, that. Either way, they’ll be kept out of trouble.”

-

“This is not out of trouble!” Wei Wuxian shouted as they ran away from the Xuanwu.

“This stretch of river has never caused anyone any problems!” Wen Chao shouted back. “Ever! You’re the one who found the fucking cave!”

“Shut up and keep running!” Jiang Cheng howled.

-

“I really like your hair,” Wang Lingjiao told Madame Yu. “Also, that dress.”

Wen Chao sighed.

“Expensive tastes?” Wei Wuxian asked, pouring him some wine.

“You have no idea,” Wen Chao said glumly. “My allowance can’t cover it, so I ended up putting her as a line item in the military budget.”

“You did?” Jiang Cheng said. “Did your father, uh, object?”

“He’d have to notice.”

“I wonder how many other things he wouldn’t notice,” Wei Wuxian muttered to himself.

“You’re a young master of Yunmeng Jiang,” Jiang Cheng said, rolling his eyes. “What could you possibly want to fund that we won’t pay for?”

“I don’t know,” Wei Wuxian said. “Mad science experiments?”

-

“Can you pay him to stop?” Wen Xu asked. “I don’t even like flute music.”

“Shut up,” Wen Chao said. “You’ve been decapitated, remember?”

“Oh yeah, ‘decapitated’. And now I’m being force-fed lots of Qinghe barbeque,” Wen Xu said. “My life is really hard.”

“Why you…!”

Wen Xu sniggered. “How’s it going with Wen Zhuliu?”

“Fine, I think?” Wen Chao said. “He hasn’t actually noticed that the ‘demons’ we’re being hunted by aren’t really demons, but that’s because he’s been mostly drinking away his weird crush on our dad. I think Wen Ning is spiking his drink with something.”

They both turned to look at Wen Ning, who shrugged.

“Couldn’t have happened to a nicer person,” Wen Xu decided. “Are they attacking the Nightless City soon?”

“I think so.”

“What happens then?”

“Dunno.”

“Going to be kind of awkward when we ‘come back from the dead’ to take over.”

“I’m going to blame it on Wei Wuxian and his new weirdo cultivation,” Wen Chao decided. “We’re all sentient corpses he’s resurrected and using to puppet the Wen sect. Wen Ning, you in on this?”

“…sure,” Wen Ning said. “But only if I get first rights on ‘Ghost General’ as a nickname.”

“Oh, that’s a good one.”

-

“Thanks for the patricide,” Wen Xu said.

“Think nothing of it,” Nie Mingjue said. “Also, say nothing of it. Ever. In fact, let’s never talk again.”

“Can’t do that,” Wen Chao said. “Madame Yu told Jiaojiao that she got that fancy headpiece from Qinghe, so she wants to go there on a shopping trip.”

“Our economy could use the boost, da-ge,” Nie Huaisang said, and Nie Mingjue sighed. “It’s going to be a really big boost. Especially if she convinces Madame Jin from Lanling to come with her.”

“I still can’t believe they made friends,” Wei Wuxian marveled. “It must come from having more money than brains.”

“Brains aren’t exactly what I look for in a partner,” Wen Chao said. “Luckily for you, neither does your boyfriend.”

“Hey, I have brains!”

“You’re certainly intelligent,” Meng Yao – now named Jin Guangyao – told him.

“See?”

“That was an insult,” Nie Mingjue said.

“…hey!”

“When are you coming back to Qinghe?” Nie Huaisang asked Jin Guangyao, who blinked. “I mean, unless you want to spend all your time slaving away for a guy who thought Wen Ruohan was neat.”

“He’s right,” Wen Xu said. “Father or not, don’t do it. It’s not worth it. You’ll end up having to rebel and ask your worst enemies for help and it’s awkward.”

“I appreciate the offer,” Jin Guangyao said. “But I really can’t accept.”

“Why not?” Nie Huaisang asked.

Wen Chao pointed at him. “Seconded.”

Jin Guangyao grimaced at them both. Possibly it was meant to be a smile.

“You don’t have to go to the Unclean Realm, A-Yao,” Lan Xichen said.

“Thank you, er-ge.”

“You can come to the Cloud Recesses instead.”

“Er-ge…”

“Did anyone ever tell the Jin sect that we were working with the Wen heirs?” Nie Mingjue wondered out loud, and everyone frowned. “Because if they don’t know, and Jin Guangshan thinks he’s being subtle with the whole trying to hire Xue Yang thing, things are going to get really awkward.”

“…well, shit,” Jiang Cheng said. “I call not being the one to tell him.”

“Seconded!”

“Cloud Recesses, you said?” Jin Guangyao asked Lan Xichen, who looked pleased.

“I’m leaving,” Wen Xu decided. “I want nothing to do with this disaster. You all have fun now, I’m fucking off back to the Nightless City to live the rest of my life as a very rich man with no life goals.”

“I want to do that,” Nie Huaisang said.

“No,” Nie Mingjue said.

“But –”

“No.”

“Hey,” Wei Wuxian said. “Unrelatedly, anyone have any ideas on what should I do with the whole resentful energy seal thing now?”

“I don’t know,” Wen Chao said. “Play a giant game of keep away with it and then fake your own death?”

#mdzs #wen xu #wen chao #nie mingjue #nie huaisang #jin guangyao #wei wuxian #lan qiren #my fic #my fics #mutiny at the wen sect #Anonymous

[darkandstormyart]

Xicheng fic recs

(figured i might make a list of my own)

(to be expanded as i dig out more treasure/remember stuff)

in no particular order:

Deep as the Yearning Night by FreckledStarKnight

“At first, it was pure chance. The second time was accidental. And the third time? Well, they say the third time’s the charm, after all. Lan Xichen discovers that Jiang Wanyin sings beautifully and is immediately enamored by it. His pursuit of Jiang Wanyin’s secret talent leads to a discovery and a series of events that he did not anticipate at all. Not that he’s complaining, of course. He got what he came for and more. Or, how two sect leaders get together through the song called love. CQL-verse.“

post-seclusion lxc

trying to get jc to sing

bonus lxc & jin ling feels i hadn’t considered before

cute

Always use protection by hesselives

“In which Lan Wangji attempts to hire a new bodyguard for his older brother, a well-known traveling exorcist. Jiang Wanyin doesn’t even make his carefully considered list of Top Ten Candidates, and yet here he is.

Lots of wandering in the countryside, distant yelling, and mildly inconvenient spirits.”

bodyguard au

honestly just really intersting worldbuilding

Rewrite the stars by Arashii

“Five great kingdoms have been fighting for years and when the kingdom of Yunmeng is destroyed, the Crown Prince Jiang Cheng vanishes.In Gusu, Lan Xichen makes an offer impossible for Jiang Cheng to refuse. His life or revenge? There’s only one option and Jiang Cheng swears loyalty to the man he hated the most his whole life, the Crown Prince of Gusu, Lan Xichen himself.Written for XiChengFest2020 - Day 4“

ROYALTY AU ROYALTY AU

enemies to lovers!

flashbacks! i love flashbacks so much ohmygod

No paths are bound by Arashii

“In seclusion, Lan Huan has the support of a ghost no one has seen since the massacre of Yunmeng Jiang. His feelings start changing with the often visits and conversations they share. Before Lan Huan can confess though, he ascends, leaving everything and everyone behind him.

Two hundred years later, back to the Human Realm and without powers, the Martial God Zewu-Jun has a mission to uphold. His Heavenly Calamity started. The clues are little and the support comes in the most unexpected form, the current Ghost King: Sandu Shengshou. Now they need to stick together to contain a menace that is slowly growing.“

TGCF AU TGCF AU

ghost king jiang cheng come on

doesn’t follow tgcf plot, just the setup so no spoilers

jiang cheng gets the dogs and the xichen he deserves

once upon a dream by cafedeolla

“Xicheng soulmate AU

An au where your dreams are small snippets of your soulmate’s day. They’d show small things like buying coffee, reading a book, or hanging out with people from their perspective.

The problem was that people always have expectations and Jiang Cheng knows he always falls short of them. Time and time again.“

soulmate au, but being soulmates is more a problem than a solution

misunderstandingssss all over the place

now with a squel (in progress?)

Lan Furen series by jagaimocchi

“Jiang Cheng leaves Lotus Pier before the Wen Internment Camp and before the destruction of his home. When he meets Lan Xichen on the run from the Wens after the burning of Cloud Recesses, his plan to live a peaceful life away from cultivation sects is quickly derailed. Now, free to make his own choices, he cannot find it in himself to leave the other man's side.

With love, patience and time, Jiang Cheng finds his own happiness and peace with his past.“

have you ever wanted a fic where jiang cheng peaces out from home in search for a better life, bc he’s Had Enough??? jags got you covered

adorable xicheng

good uncle-dad-figure Lan Qiren

ongoing <3

Just around the riverbend by JungleJelly

“One day.

Jiang Cheng just wanted one day of peace and quiet, away from home, away from his responsibilities, away from his idiot brother and his nutcases of a mother and father. Just a few hours alone — him and a boat and nothing else.

Clearly, that was too much to ask for.”

now with a new story in the series which is adorable too!!!

mermaid!lxc need i say more?

Bad ideas (where they lead) by JungleJelly

“Jiang Cheng is a busy man. Fortunately, he is also a huge pushover when it comes to his sister, so when she recommends that he start doing yoga, he agrees pretty easily.Featuring Lan Xichen in yoga pants, Jiang Cheng’s inability to handle a crush, and, perhaps most importantly, a big fluffy dog.“

done for 2020 MXTX MiniBang

yoga instructor Lan Xichen

Jiang Cheng is: struggling with a crush on the yoga guy from youtube & very angry about that

If there’s a price for rotten judgement by TheWanderingHeart

“All Jiang Cheng wants to do is, well... his job, really. Other than that? Keep the city safe, keep his nephew alive, keep his sanity intact (if possible).

So when his brother calls with unexpected news, he knows all of that is about to fly out of the window.

***

[Every instinct is telling him don’t ask, you don’t want to know. By this point, Nie HuaiSang has scooted closer to listen. Jiang Cheng takes a steadying breath and pulls out his antacids. “What did you do?”]”

superhero au, come on

jc just trying to do his job in peace

(he can’t)

i love it so much oh my god *sobs*

The Form of Boneless Ice by TheWanderingHeart

“Mythical beasts have long ago been driven to extinction by the gentry — hunted for sport, but more importantly for their magical cores. Since then, there remains only one creature that has never been caught. The Jiang’s retreated a long time ago. Abandoning land altogether, they sought safety where the humans could not reach.It all comes to a head though, purely by chance. (Or is it by fate that a spontaneous decision allows for them to meet? If fate were a rock!) Jiang Cheng suddenly finds his whole life balanced on the head of a pin — on the flimsy promise of a human boy. In his opinion, things cannot possibly get worse!(But then they do when the Wens decide it’s finally time to search for the elusive merpeople, and suddenly nowhere is safe.)“

there she goes again, with another beautiful xicheng story full of awwww and mythology

actually one of the first xicheng fics i read

i chose it because there were mermaids

painfully accurate takes on Jiang family dynamics

kids! lots of kids!

Let me Slytherin to Your Heart by TheWanderingHeart

“Jiang Cheng never thought he'd return to Hogwarts, but in hindsight, he probably should have known that someday he would.With his nephew about to start school, he reluctantly takes his good friend's bad parenting? career? advice and ends up tumbling head-first back into the madness that he hoped he'd left behind... and rediscovering some feelings he thought he'd left behind too.“

Harry Potter au!

just really fecking cute

lots of snakes

[I am not going to link all of Jo’s fics, though I probably could, just my 3 favourites. UOSB is there by default]

Talent Hunt Crew Finds Angry Guy Shouting On College Campus, Recruits Him For Vocal Projection Abilities by oh_fudgecakes

“Jiang Cheng, resident Angry Guy and heir to a conglomerate empire, has never been the apple of his father’s eye. Quashed under the shadow of his brilliant brother, the music prodigy Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng sees his chance to turn things around when he is recruited by the All-Stars Lan Talent Hunt. One problem: he can’t sing to save his goddamn life.As he struggles to develop his nascent singing abilities, Jiang Cheng finds himself sucked into the whirlwind drama of reality TV, helped along by his adoring siblings, his irritable vocal coach Wen Qing, and strangely enough, the unfairly attractive host of the All-Stars Lan Talent Hunt, Lan Xichen. Somewhere in the glare of the stage lights and an unexpected first love, Jiang Cheng stumbles upon the thing he was searching for all along: the courage to dream — and to attempt the impossible.“

done for 2019 MXTX Big Bang

uuuuuuuuuuh i might have cried maybe

heartwarming? painful at times? lots of family love?

slowburn xicheng being lovely

The Provenence of Hope series by velithya

“A chance meeting on a night hunt sets a course of events into motion that will change everything. Featuring Xicheng getting together, recovery for Lan Xichen, healing for Jiang Cheng, and always, always, hope.“

got everything. feels. hope. love. ~~healing~~

A Small Measure of Peace by Sandstone112

“With his brother in seclusion, Lan Xichen finds himself in temporary custody of his nephew with little to no expertise in the child-raising department. Uncertain and alone, Zewu-Jun is willing to do everything to be the person Yuan needs—even if it means inviting Sandu Shengshou to a playdate.“

a loooot of adorable family times with jc and lxc taking care of their nephews

good grandpa lqr!

canon but fixed and less painful

🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋if you wish to avoid scurvy:🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋

Some day I’m gonna make you mine series by locketofyourhair

xicheng getting together through the years

friends with benefits but the real benefits are the friends we made along the way

Take me over (take me tonight) by velithya

jiang cheng has a tattoo and lan xichen doesn’t stand a chance

i'd be the sweet feeling of release (mankind now dreams of) by piyo13

two bros, chilling in a cave, no feet apart because they don’t want to lose their cultivation powers what are you gonna do

haven’t read yet and shame on me, but AM GONNA:

Upon Our Silver Bridge by TheWanderingHeart obviously

““When the path ignites a soul, there's no remaining in place. The foot touches ground, but not for long.” ― Hakim Sanai

**

Lan Xichen's sorrows have caught the attention of something. Unlike the adventures and foes they have faced before, there is no obvious enemy here to defeat. If this is the same thing they thought had taken Nie Mingjue's life, then he believes it is fated for him to die as well. Nothing can stop the black fire when it wants to burn.Jiang Cheng is sure his part in this is over. Wei Wuxian is back, his grand adventure concluded, and he'd never been at the centre of it anyway. So what does it matter what happens to him in the end? Slowly, he will come to realise that there will always be a battle to fight, a story to tell, a choice to make, and there is no such thing as an end to anything.“

it was difficult to do things in 2020 and few i regret not doing more than not reading uosb yet :’(

i will tho

Emergency Help Wanted by piyo13

“EMERGENCY HELP WANTED I lied when I got my job. I told them I had a kid so I could leave early from work to pick him up from daycare, take him to doctor's appointments, and occasionally miss a day when he's sick. Long story short, I'm in too deep. I didn't think it through. Looking to rent a kid for bring your child to work day. Must be a boy ages four to six, longish dark hair, likes soccer. Must also be artistic as the macaroni noodle paintings I made seem a little advanced for his age. Also, I will pay extra for someone willing to play the role of husband when dropping him off. He's a prosecuting attorney who often brings his work home. Message me for further details. Serious inquiries only.“

Running Our Hands Through Embers by MarvelousMar

“If asked, Jiang Cheng would compare falling in love with Lan Xichen to a moth inevitably drawn to a flame.It burned.***In which Jiang Cheng discovers that even death can't help him escape from his trauma, so he embarks on a quest to save the people he loves, fix what he can, make the love of his life fall for him, and maybe, somewhere along the way, do a little bit of healing.”

The Beginner’s Guide to Moving On by InvincibleMel

gone from ao3, but i think there’s a link with a pdf going around

#xicheng #fic rec #Jiang Cheng #lan xichen #mdzs #the untamed #the grandmaster of demonic cultivation #mo dao zu shi

[tangledinmdzs]

I love you and your writing lot lot lot lot and lot,

Could you make juniors proposing reader infront of elders/parents?

aww thank you so so so so much!

i lob you too, i always see you around! thank you for reading!

and this is so cute, i’m picturing this in canon au!

it would be my pleasure to write for you~

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 　　 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

Lan Sizhui

it is a very homely, cozy dinner

in the quiet ambiance of the Jingshi, Wei Wuxian’s laughter, Lan Wangji’s quiet smile and Sizhui’s gentle hand holding yours under the table

all fit together

you feel grateful that you were so easily accepted into his family

and honestly, you had only dreamed that being friends with Sizhui would be enough for you

but it wasn’t 

luckily both you and SIzhui came to know that it would never be enough to be just friends

and you feel so happy, so blessed, that his parents had helped you two to come together despite all the odds 

orphaned and growing up sect-less, you were not the ideal candidate for Sizhui, son of Hanguang-Jun & Yiling Patriarch

but if there was anything that his family showed you, it was that love mattered first before pride, before everything 

“Wei-qianbei, Hanguang-Jun,” Sizhui’s voice snaps you out of your daydream, makes you realize that dinner has finished,

Sizhui’s eyes turn to meet yours and you smile at him as his dad coos

“y/n,” he says your name like a funny question

and you hum at him, tilting your head

“i love you, a lot, y/n” 

you blink, a blush rising to your face as your eyes flicker over to his parents and then back at him, 

you nod to him as well, squeezing his hand with yours, 

“with my parents as witness, i’d like to give you something,” Sizhui tells you

and you blink rapidly, eyes welling up with tears at the thought, the idea

Sizhui lets go of you hand, moves it up to begin untying his forehead ribbon 

you watch as he uncurls your hand,

slowly brings the forehead ribbon down from his head and placing it into your palm

“Sizhui,” you breathe out, because you can hardly believe it 

but his parents watchful eyes on the sideline, have never seen a better couple

Lan Jingyi

when you were summoned to the Hanshi you truly wondered if Jingyi had gotten in trouble again

 you walk into the the hall, catching sigh of Jingyi kneeled, head bowed in front of Zewu-Jun and Lan Qiren, 

and you believe you must be right 

you make deep bow when you approach, taking the same kneeled position as you companion on the floor

because really, no matter what it was that Jingyi did, you always knew that he had a sense of justice and righteousness within him

you don’t doubt him, even with his faults

you stand by him

but you are going to give him a smack later on for always wrapping himself up in some kind of trouble-

“Zewu-Jun, Lan Qiren, please let me marry y/n,”

you snap you head up to the side immediately at his words,

but Jingyi doesn’t even look at you,

his eyes are staring at the two present adults, a different kind of defiance in them

you were the sole heir of a small but growing sect, a highly admired cultivator

he was a senior disciple, his only family the teachers and mentors that raised him

your statuses were different, so different

but from the way that Jingyi’s eyes stared, unflinching from Lan Qiren’s cold stare and Zewu-Jun’s surprised eye

you know that

Jingyi won’t be taking no for an answer 

“is that not, y/n-guniang’s decision?” Zewu-Jun speaks 

you’re a bit surprised when all the eyes are directed upon you, 

you meet JIngyi’s eyes, face just as surprised with that answer

“my parents...”

“what do you want, y/n-guniang?” Zewu-Jun asks you, and you realize you have to be honest about what you love, who you love

because you can’t imagine a life without Jingyi,

“i can’t live without, y/n” Jingyi tells you, kneeled before you 

and you smile at him, teary eyed

you hope that the adults in the room understand,

how much you are meant for one another

Jin Ling

this was the most formal family dinner that you had ever been to

granted it was the first time Jin Ling’s family and yours were meeting 

but still 

the air was so tense you could literally feel it on your back 

all the eyes that were staring at you,

judging you,

couldn’t everyone just chill a little bit

you hear Jin Ling cough into a closed fist across from you, watch him quietly get up from his seat and go into the middle of the banquet hall at Lotus Pier

his Uncle was kind enough to host 

but that just made you all the more worried when Jin Ling stepped up to the highest chair,

whispered into his Uncle’s ear

you stare a little wide eyed when his Uncle’s eyes flicker over to you 

and then watch as the whole hall quiets down at his Uncle’s hand

“I have an announcement to make,” Jin Ling speaks up into the quiet of the room,

everyone stares at him, watches his eyes as he scans the room and then meeting yours

“i will be marrying y/n in the coming spring,” 

there’s an uproar of noise from the room, hoots, hollers, shouts of surprises, gasps

in between all the talking and everything going on 

you only see two things

firstly, a strong hand resting on Jin Ling’s shoulder, one that you realize is from his Uncle

secondly, lastly 

you see Jin Ling’s eyes, shining but brave at the same time

he stares straight at you,

marry me, Jin Ling mouthes to you across the din

a tear falls out of your eyes, 

you nod

Ouyang Zizhen

you’re happy that Zizhen has come to know your family quite well

because your relationship with him had never been hidden,

never been stopped

always supported 

and you fall in love with Zizhen as much as he adores your family 

he had felt much the same way 

which is why when he is eating with your family on a normal meal

sitting around the table with your siblings screaming and your parents piling food on his plate

a few words here and there get around,

namely,

“jie-jie, when is Zizhen-ge going to live with us?” you little brother asks and Zizhen beside you nearly chokes on his rice

“well, Zizhen has to marry jie-jie first before that happens,” your teenage brother smart mouths before you can begin explaining anything 

he’s only 12, you have no idea how he already knows that

“Zizhen-ge, you should get married to jie-jie soon so you can stay here with us and not have to ride your horse back home all the time!” your baby brother persuades Zizhen 

and your boyfriend can only laugh, patting the young child on the head as the family breaks into happy but awkward laughs

on one hand you are happy that he doesn’t bring it up again, not in this setting at least

but at the same time, why didn’t he bring it up again, didn’t he want to marry you?

the ebbing thought that perhaps, Zizhen didn’t want to marry you (wasn’t in it for the long run) bothers you the rest of dinner

and it ends up being really late into the night, when you finally get some time alone with one another

that being, when you’re about to see him off

“i’ll come visit you, soon,” Zizhen promises, and you nod, distractedly fixing his robes for the night wind on his ride home,

Zizhen watches you for a moment before he overlaps his hands with yours, stealing all of your attention,

“you little brothers may have heard my conversation with your father a few days ago,” Zizhen says 

and you look up at him, 

“Zizhen?” “i’ve always wanted to marry you, y/n. it’s been on my mind the moment i met you,” Zizhen confesses to you then

you smile up at him, feeling warmed from his words and the hand that wraps tightly around yours,

“will you be mine forever?”

“of course-”

“JIE! SAY YES!” 

and you both whip around to see your brothers (and a few embarrassed, but happy servants) hiding by the awning of the main entrance

“I DID!” you shout back, happily turning back to Zizhen

his smile looks beautiful in the moonlight

#mdzs #mdzs request #mdzs request list #mdzs request me to write #mdzs requests #mdzs scenarios #mdzs reaction request #mdzs imagine request #mdzs canon au #mdzs junior headcanons #mdzs junior quartet #mdzs lan sizhui x reader #mdzs lan jingyi x reader #mdzs jin ling x reader #mdzs ouyang zizhen x reader #ouyang x reader #jingyi x reader #mdzs reader insert #tangledwriting

[plan-d-to-i]

In my one year of this fandom (I have quitted now bc the fandom ruins MDZS). I am a lurker on the Chinese fandom and Twitter basically both are hells on its own, but the recent post you reblogged from one jc stans sounds so ridiculous.

them : why didn't u tag anti jc or sumth? Shouldn't we be praising our lord and savior jc in canon

This reminds me of the one where they made domestic violence fanfic and purposely trigger fans.

I also don't know how all the Chinese diaspora got away excusing shit YZY has done and throwing it under the bus bc of JFM while he is the really typical Chinese dad. He acts like modern days Chinese dad. Dude is not the best daddy ever, but making YZY the ideal parent when she is abusing kids left and right piss me off, especially since I am also Chinese and knows some tiger parents who don't act like YZY.

Also I really wonder why a lot of fans are getting really personal these days? Or maybe I'm just too tired with the Western MDZS fandom taking everything at personal value and if someone is just ranting something, it must have been about a specific individual involved. When well, not everyone has to vibe with everyone and I am concerned over adults on the internet acting like everyone should adore them, and when somebody curates and block them, they take personal offense and vague their ass right of the bat. And the abuse apologist of this fandom, don't get me started on that too (that's for another day)

Couldn't agree more w everything 💯🥲.

and THIS: "not everyone has to vibe with everyone and I am concerned over adults on the internet acting like everyone should adore them". People are not actually under any obligation to respect & validate opinions when those opinions demonstrate nothing worth validating.

Side note about Jiang Fengmian because I see wild amounts of hate for him. Reading the novel we get a lot of YZY ranting and frankly angling to instigate arguments with JFM (which he either attempts to deescalate or tries to walk away from). ppl can debate whether or not this is an effective way to deal w her behavior, but what can't be argued is that she's the abusive one in that relationship. She's the one coming in w unjustified negative energy, throwing a tantrum at everyone around her because she feels like it. Because she believes other people owe it to her to suffer her temper. We know JFM was pressured by her side into marrying her and that she made no attempts to integrate into life at Lotus Pier/her new role. Neither in name -remaining Madam Yu instead of Jiang, physically -by living apart w her own people, or in mentality & ideals. Meanwhile she accuses JFM of things there's no evidence of- in fact the opposite -JFM let his servant leave to happily marry Cangse Sanren. Furthermore she accuses JFM of ignoring his son in order to favor WWX, as though it's not WWX she gets to repeatedly whip and punish constantly over minor or imagined infractions. What's more- we're told JFM repeatedly makes efforts to connect with jc. Hell we're even shown how he tried to guide him into having a better understanding of the values and ideals he's meant to uphold as the future leader of the YunmengJiang Clan -when she storms in and interrupts this to accuse him of... not caring. Her words and the actual facts are contrasted right there for the reader.

“There was resentment within her heart. She simply wanted to let out the rage, even if it made no sense. All the rest were quiet as they endured her temper.” (Chapter 51)

#mdzd #yu ziyuan #madam yu #jiang fengmian

[mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess]

Wei Ying never celebrated his birthday much. When he was little, shijie made him an extra bowl of soup and gave him a little trinket as a present. She always said it was from Jiang Cheng too - even if it wasn't really true.

Madam Yu didn't do anything different on his birthday, and Wei Ying knew not to expect anything - sometimes, though, she let him off training 10 minutes earlier or made less mean comments than usual. Wei Ying was more than happy with that.

Uncle Jiang took him into town and let him pick some new toys or clothes from the markets, and the vendors gave him extra candy upon learning it was his birthday.

And that was it.

When Wei Ying grew up, not much changed - except he celebrated with his fellow disciples getting food and drinks, and it always somehow ended with drunkenly jumping into the lake. Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli joined in on the party, too - while Madam Yu and Jiang FengMian watched (more or less disdainfully, in her case) from a little a ways.

When the war began and the Wen seemed to want to swallow the cultivation world whole, Wei Ying stopped celebrating his birthday. Nobody seemed to notice and Wei Ying only half cared - Yanli never forgot, though, and kept to the tradition of making him soup and giving him a little gift.

When he killed the Xuanwu with Lan Wangji, it was actually Wei Ying's birthday. But he only remembered when he awoke in Lotus Pier and his sister kissed his forehead and promised she would tell the other disciples that they could organize a little party when he felt better.

Wei Ying didn't want to celebrate his birthday in the Burial Mounds, there was no time, too many enemies to worry about, not many people left to celebrate with. Wen Qing did, however, leave an expensive pot of wine next to him the morning of his birthday as he was sleeping on the modest cot on the floor, a note attached to it: "Happy Birthday! Don't drink it all at once, I will know if you do!"

Then Wei Ying died and there was no more birthday.

Lan Wangji did take A-Yuan into town every year, though. It was the only way he could think of honoring Wei Ying. And at night, he played Wangxian on the guqin, his teardrops disrupting the song as it neared its end.

Now, Wei Ying celebrates his birthdays again. The juniors not-so-secretly plan him a party (as much as they can, given the rules of the Lan sect), and Lan Wangji helps them pick out a gift.

He himself buys something (the juniors find it really cute and romantic how much thought Lan Wangji puts into the gift) - and no matter what it is, he always accompanies it with Wei Ying's favorite wine.

On the day of, Wangji wakes his husband with kisses and wishes him everything good he can think of, barely restrains himself from proving it with his body - but that will come later.

Even disgruntled Lan Qiren wishes Wei Ying well and offers him a book he knows Wei Ying will like - Wei Ying is always too stunned to wonder how Lan Qiren knows, but with time he gets used to it and even invites himself to tea with the man to discuss about the book after he finishes it.

Zewu-jun does the same, wishes Wei Ying health and happiness and to keep loving his brother with the same devotion - and maybe he discreetly places a few stronger silencing talismans in whatever gift he offers Wei Ying because sometimes he hears what he shouldn't during his long walks after dark.

The party with the juniors and Wangji is loud and animated and very un-Lan, but it is so fun that nobody can bring themselves to comment on it negatively. There's music and banter and old stories traded around - and if Sizhui happens to cling onto his dad a bit too much because he can't believe Wei Ying is alive... well, he can just blame it on the alcohol next morning.

And when the party inevitably dies down, Wei Ying and his husband retreat to the jingshi, finding a few letters on the table, congratulating and wishing Wei Ying all the best - one carries the sigil of Qinghe Nie, one of Yunmeng Jiang and one of Lanling Jin. Wei Ying gets a little misty-eyed reading them - and Wangji is right there, to kiss all his overwhelming emotions away.

Then they end up in bed, lost in love and passion and desire until well past midnight and even though Wei Ying's birthday has already passed, Wangji can't help holding him tighter and kissing his head after he's asleep, wishing for endless birthdays to celebrate with his husband until the end of time itself - and even beyond, if possible.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #wwx #wei ying #wei wuxian #anyways happy birthday to literally the best character in existence #not to be lwj but i absolutely love wwx #writing attempts

[lhaewiel]

@incarnadinedreams requested:

how about Jiang Cheng getting some sort of cute fluffy pet post-canon (with some sort of ridiculous name, of course)? Maybe he takes it to conferences with him and everyone is too scared to point out how ridiculous he looks cuddling a little animal while yelling at the other sect leaders?

Hope you enjoy dearie :3 This is me keeping up with my very personal agenda on "let's give cats to JC".

***

So, the general rule was that dogs were not allowed in Lotus Pier. That clearly gave free way to other animals, right? That was the exact reasoning with which Head Disciple Xu had arrived in Sect Leader Jiang's office with a box full of kittens.

Three kittens, to be exact.

One tabby, one black and white and one calico, two boys and one girl.

Jiang Cheng observed as his head disciple, Bai Zhang Xu, carefully placed the box on the desk with the same serene expression as a man about to be gutted alive. The sect leader just raised a brow.

"Please sect leader Jiang, we found them completely abandoned and hungry." Head Disciple Xu had kowtowed and was waiting for Jiang Cheng to make a decision.

Jiang Cheng sighed as he looked at the kittens. "I will give you paperwork to do, Zhang Xu, but I want to hear your exact flow of thoughts before deciding how much."

His tone was calm, but he had the Blank Stare of Death he usually gave to Sect Leader Yao and Sect Leader Ouyang and that was clear indicator that Head Disciple Xu had to have a damn good reason. The latter took in a couple of breaths and explained.

"We thought that it would be good if these kittens had a home, instead of roaming on the streets and risk being hurt by other strays. They lost their mother."

Jiang Cheng sighed and took a better look at the kittens in the box. They were little scrawny creatures that were yelling with all their might, little ones that really just wanted to live. Well, dogs were forbidden, there was no rule against cats. If left alone they could be eaten by the snakes and fall into the lakes. He finally made up his mind.

He threw a frog pin to Zhang Xu. "I will take care of them. You did good in bringing them to me. Still," he pointed at two piles of leftover paperwork, "these will need to be done by the end of today."

Head Disciple smiled and nodded. "Yes, Sect Leader!"

***

A couple of months later the kittens were doing a lot better. They had fully adjusted to life in Lotus Pier and they had taken a real liking to Jiang Cheng, who was for the most part of the time their favourite place to cuddle, play and nap.

Jiang Cheng, after the initial reluctance, had fully embraced his newfound life as cat dad and had named the three kittens. Nuó was the calico girl, as graceful and elegant as her name; Míng was the name of the tabby, a lively bright one; and finally Yǒng was the black and white cat, named after he had tried swatting away a spider coming towards him.

They would go wherever Jiang Cheng would go and even followed him in meetings and conferences.

Soon enough the fact that Jiang Cheng was constantly bringing his kittens everywhere was on everyone's mouth and once everyone knew their names and then looked at fierce scary Sect Leader Jiang, with his frown and gravitas and cheekbones, dressed as if he was about to destroy everyone in the room, no one dared commenting.

In the meantime Jiang Cheng was having a lot of fun in spoiling the kittens and - for once - he felt a bit better and less alone.

#the untamed #the untamed fanfiction #jiang cheng #kittens #give JC cats agenda #jc my beloved

[lansyuan]

do you love fics where wei wuxian and lan wangji parent the crap out of lan sizhui? do you want to read accidental baby acquisition fics until your eyes bleed? would you die as your heart slowly turns to mush from the softness of this family? bitch the fuck, me too. here are some of my personal favourite fics of wangxian ft their turnip son a-yuan. its a range of canon divergence, post canon, thirteen years of inquiry, raising a-yuan at the burial mounds au etc - there’ll be something for literally everyone. enjoy!

the kite string and the anchor rope by fleurdeliser (38k+)

When A-Yuan gets sick and Wen Qing doesn't have the supplies she needs to properly treat him, Wei Wuxian can only think of one place to go for help. 

a crying shame by thunderwear (16k+)

Lan Wangji gets emotionally blackmailed by a toddler. It somehow fixes everything.

to recollect and long for by wonderlands (22k+) *2/3 works posted at time of posting this rec list.

a 3-part series about best boy lan sizhui and his wonderful dads who love him and each other very much.

forgetting envies, remembering your loving hold by cosmicfuss (3k+)

The first time Zewu-jun plays for him he is five and the man is trying to comfort him, playing soft songs good for soothing children. It works to a degree but he wants his gege, he wants his gege to play his lullaby. Zewu-jun apologizes and tells him that his gege is hurting right now, and needs to be alone to get better.

When he plays the xiao, A-Yuan says, "you're holding it wrong!" When he turns fourteen, he learns to play guqin, and is many years ahead of his classmates in that regard. A large factor in that is how much he has practiced Inquiry. He has grown up hearing snippets from the jingshi, of Wangji attempting to reach a spirit that never answers.

When he's sixteen, he hears a familiar tune played in the forest, he and his fellow juniors battling a stone god. It's been years since he's heard it, and he wonders why this man, Mo Xuanyu, knows it so well.

Or, Lan Sizhui grows up and learns, and remembers.

five times wei wuxian tried to embarrass lan sizhui by blackelement7 (6k+)

(and one time he realized just how badly he'd played himself)

or: In which Wei Wuxian starts a fight but Lan Sizhui (with some meddling from Lan Jingyi) ends it.

inquiry by incendir (10k+)

Sizhui cannot fall asleep for a long, long time that night. He hears the ever-familiar melody again. He thinks perhaps he has memorized it by now.

storge by respira (9k+)

Lan Sizhui is a lake.

as the warren grows in number by kore_fics (3k+)

Before Sizhui could take another step he was surrounded by black and red, loud laughter in his ears and warm fingers running through his hair, messing it up. Palms squished both his cheeks together and Lan Sizhui let out a laugh.

Lan Sizhui was home.

tell some storm* by qurbat (31k+) *the moments with Sizhui are in chapter 2, however I highly recommend reading the whole fic, it’s adorable.

"We were raised as a generation of war, A-Yuan," Xian-gege said to him. "If your generation choses to be one of love - well, I don't think any of us would be opposed to that."

In the aftermath of the events at the Guanyin temple, the cultivation world scrambles to understand their current reality. A man roams the countryside with a string of white in his hair. Another sits on the highest seat of power with a ribbon of red around his forehead. The younger generation turns out to be full of romantics. Nie Huaisang is to blame for everything, always. Jiang Cheng realizes that happiness has been more that 16 years overdue.

Wei Wuxian declares that it's time that bitch pays up.

After a generation of war - much to the consternation of the elders, much to the delight of the young, much to the pleased shock of the subjects of the tale - the world welcomes a love story with open arms.

guess we're not eating leaves today by missingnarwhal (2k+)

Baby A-Yuan has cooked up a feast, but only one lucky gege will actually get to taste it!

Set in an alternate timeline where everything is okay after Wei Ying + Wens started living in the Burial Mounds.

response by aki_no_hikari (12k+)

What if Wei Wuxian hadn't been silent to Lan Wangji's Inquiry?

love, in all its small pieces by ynvel (4k+)

Ah Yuan is brought to the Cloud Recesses and exchanges the sun and its ashes for the clouds. Lan Wangji brings a boy home, calls him his son, and renews the promises he made.

Or: Lan Sizhui is adopted by Lan Wangji and learns about his new life. Lan Wangji in turn learns about hope and living again.

child surprise by ariaste (4k+)

He huffs a sigh. “Fine. Just - let’s just make it the law of surprise, shall we? That’s nice and simple, eh? Leave it up to destiny what will bring us back in balance. Let it drop something of yours into my lap, something small, and we’ll call the debt paid.”

Three debts, three repayments.

there's a lunatic in mo village by bastetcg (11k+)

There's a lunatic in Mo Village! And to Lan Sizhui's surprise, Hanguang-Jun has decided to bring the madman back to the Cloud Recesses! How embarrassing!

A mostly canon-compliant look into Lan Sizhui's thoughts and childhood.

on being a big boy by emberloey (1k+)

“My little A-Yuan,” Dad had said the next morning, kneeling down to A-Yuan’s height with a smile, “all grown up now. Soon you’ll be hunting without your poor old dads.”

“Never!” A-Yuan shook his head and latched onto Father’s leg. He smiled up at Father, who smiled back and nodded his head. “A-Yuan always needs Dad and Father!”

in all these shades of blue (i think we found you) by fleetling (5k+)

5 times Sizhui thought about his father's white robes, and 1 time Lan Wangji wore blue.

(Or: Lan Sizhui had never seen his father in anything other than white robes.)

this is when the feeling sinks in, i don't want to miss you like this (come back, be here) by mischievousmurmurs (6k+)

Just now… the butterflies’ conversation. Where did you learn that from, Ah-Yuan?

Ah-Yuan pats his chest. In here, shushu. I feel it in here. And in here, too, he adds, pointing to his head.

Sizhui has never quite been able to remember nor forget the memory of seeing people who he knows loved each other, loved him, and whom he loved in return.

or - a wangxian story, as told by their adopted son.

yours, mine, and ours by casecous (2k+)

When they have both mostly recovered, and A-Yuan is back to his smiling, playful self, Lan Wangji presents him with a forehead ribbon. A-Yuan’s little fingers bump into Lan Wangji’s thumbs as he traces the cloud motif along it.

“You are Lan now. This is very important,” Lan Wangji tells him and A-Yuan looks away from the ribbon to meet his eyes. “You must not take it off as you please. Only family may touch it.”

A series of wangxian family moments.

innocence by snowberryrose (8k+)

In which Wei WuXian gets to raise A-Yuan.

Canon divergence from episode 31.

to recollect and long for by mme_anxious (4k+)

Lan Xichen is there when his brother becomes a father. Lan Sizhui is there when his father's heart breaks, again. Wei Wuxian is there when his son gets drunk for the first time.

Or, the GusuLan forehead ribbon, in three parts.

our little one by writedeku (6k+)

A-Yuan is here. A-Yuan, who Wei Ying loved so much. A-Yuan, who was taught to laugh just like him. Wangji hugs him to his chest and curls over him, ignoring the way the wounds on his back pull and tear. “I have to take care of you,” he says. “I will not leave you.”

(Or: Lan Wangji comes back from Yiling with a child he does not know how to care for and a black hole in his chest. Somehow, he makes it work.)

gathered herbs & sweet grasses by hansbekhart (19k+)

Later, when he’s older, it’s this that A-Yuan will remember most: the stretch of silence, the two of them both dirty and shaking with fever, as he looked at Brother Rich, and Brother Rich looked back at him.

the sacred homeland by particulate (8k+)

He has many names, and some are mouthfuls of blood.

[Or; a chronology of Sizhui, in which he does not forget.]

to the act of making noise by words-writ-in-starlight (19k+)

His father in white plays the song late into the night, and when A-Yuan wakes up confused and afraid, the guqin lulls him back to sleep.

Lan Sizhui hears his father play the same song every night for his whole life, and never, ever get an answer.

when he comes home to you by kika988 (2k+)

Home is Cloud Recesses now, and that's a thing Wei Wuxian is still getting used to. He still feels like a guest here, most days, though Lan Wangji has done everything to make him feel at home. He stands out like a sore thumb amongst the serene disciples and flowing white fabric.

Cloud Recesses has been home to Lan Wangji and Sizhui for years. It is their home, where they've built their family.

The thought warms Wei Wuxian even as it sits a little ill with him. He's an intruder here, in their homes, in their lives, the same way he had been in Lotus Pier.

five times people didn’t know sizhui is lan zhan’s son and one time they did by trilliastra (3k+)

“A-Yuan.” He repeats, reaching out for the boy, growing restless when he can’t touch him. “A-Yuan.”

Oh. Lan Xichen closes his eyes as the tears start to fall. Oh, Wangji.

Carefully, Lan Xichen takes the boy and lays him next to his brother on the bed, Wangji holds him protectively against his chest and A-Yuan stops his little cries immediately.

“Wangji,” Lan Xichen tries again, running a hand through his brother’s hair softly, “who is he?”

“He’s my son.”

5 times the lan head disciple broke the rules by liji (6k+)

“I am not aware of any rule forbidding falling in love,” Hanguang-Jun said at last. There was a quiet sadness in his eye, like he was watching a scene from far away. The novelty of it gave Sizhui the courage to ask his next question.

“Have you ever been in love, Father?” he asked.

(or, five times that Sizhui broke the Lan sect's rules growing up)

the seasons change (but i love you the same) by kdkdkd (7k+)

"Hanguang-jun!"

When did you stop calling me Bàba, A-Yuan?

Lan Wangji had always promised himself that he would never become a poor father like his own had been.

Unfortunately, it feels like he has failed to keep that promise.

✨ bonus round ✨ uncle jiang cheng and nephew lan sizhui

tintinnabulum by respira (8k+)

A small bell chimes, the sound soft and pleasant like the water crashing against a pier, like low whistles in an empty cave, like a guqin playing a lullaby.

#the untamed #wangxian #lan wangji #wei wuxian #lan sizhui #lan yuan #wen yuan #wangxian family #wangxian fic rec #myficrecs #creations #listen i just really love this family #1k

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 20, part three(!)

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Stuff) (Previous Post)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

This episode has so much crucially important stuff in it I had to write 3 posts about it! Part one is here, part two is here. 

Don't Start None, Won't Be None

Lan Wangji has never had a real fight with Wei Wuxian before--remember, in their rooftop fight Wei Wuxian never even drew his sword. And since this is going to be a verbal fight, Lan Wangji is going to lose, badly. He's an elegant and articulate speaker, but he's not quick with words, and he speaks directly and sincerely. Weaponized speech is not his area at all, so he's pretty much bringing a knife to a gunfight. A guqin to a flute fight. Whatever. He tries to turn it into a physical confrontation, twice, but Jiang Cheng holds him back.

This throwdown is 100% about religion and orthodoxy; something that is fundamental to both of these young men's lives. Lan Wangji has made it his mission to be as orthodox as possible, doing shit like volunteering to be beaten for drinking when he didn't choose to drink. He's constantly overwhelmed by emotion, and the Lan rules are a source of regulation and safety for him. His emotions around Wei Wuxian are among the most overwhelming he's got, possibly only second to his feelings about his mom.

Right now his feelings are extra overwhelming. 

It's complicated because his relationship with Wei Wuxian literally started off with him punishing Wei Wuxian for heterodoxy. All that time they spent together in the library? Was because Wei Wuxian talked--JUST talked--about using resentful energy for cultivation. Which is precisely the ability he's just shown them, along with a style of killing enemies that's borderline evil and definitely, DEFINITELY unsportsmanlike.

So this is not, Lan Wangji is lovingly worried about Wei Wuxian and Wei Wuxian is pushing him away to avoid an uncomfortable conversation. This is Lan Wangji freaking out because his entire system of belief is being challenged and he's in love with the person who's challenging it.  

Wei Wuxian has shown up to the party wearing an International Mr. Leather tee shirt with a enamel pin stuck to it that says "I get my kicks on route 666" and Lan Wangji just. cannot. deal.  

Never Start a Fight But Always Finish One

Wei Wuxian has a couple of options here. One is to accept, kindly, that he and his friend can't be friends any more because of religion. In this option, in order to preserve his friend's comfortable sense of being right, he would have to tacitly accept that he himself is bad in some way, and allow his friend to keep having his value system, while walking away from him.  

The other choice is to hit so hard that he makes his friend feel really, really bad, and potentially rocks him off of his comfortable foundation. In the short term, the friendship breaks, but if it forces him to actually question his value system, it might lay the groundwork for a new, more accepting friendship.  Anyone who is queer with an anti-queer-religious best friend is probably familiar with this dilemma.

Wei Wuxian chooses the second option, and goes all in from the first moment, calling Lan Wangji "Lan Er Gongzi" and then upgrading to "Hanguang Jun" and even bowing. If it's possible to bow sarcastically, that's what Wei Wuxian is doing. Then he meets his eyes and sticks his chin out, essentially saying "how do you like them apples?"

(more after the cut!)

Lan Wangji's feelings are probably hurt, but he's too busy being mad to show it, and he goes straight to grilling Wei Wuxian, asking him about the killing, the talismans, and giving up the sword, all while Jiang Cheng stands by and wonders what the fuck is happening. 

Lan Wangji is making a fundamental error here, which is he's speaking as if he's an authority instead of as a peer. Wei Wuxian has only ever accepted one authority in his entire life, and that was Jiang Fengmian. Jiang Cheng is the one who, for a change, is approaching as a worried friend, while Lan Wangji approaches as if he has the right to call Wei Wuxian to account.  

Wei Wuxian won't answer his questions and is getting in his face, provoking him in a very quiet and controlled way, and Lan Wangji responds by just being really aggressive. It's interesting to see Wei Wuxian completely mastering his emotions while Lan Wangji is completely....not.  Wei Wuxian pushes harder, saying he's being rude, saying he's being a bad friend.  Which doesn't make any difference to Lan Wanji, who keeps pressing for an answer while Jiang Cheng wonders what the fuck is happening.

Come to Gusu

Wei Wuxian says he already explained, that it's complicated, it will take time to explain, so then Lan Wangji makes the utterly dumbassed demand that Wei Wuxian return to Gusu with him to explain it. What, exactly, is his plan? Bring Wei Wuxian to Gusu and have Lan Xichen (at the very least) and probably also Lan Qiren help him to convince Wei Wuxian that resentful cultivation is bad? How is that likely to work out? Let's have our own flashback, to that classroom interaction that led to the punishment in the library.

Lan Qiren: How will you make sure the resentful energy will only listen to you and not harm others? [Note: he's not wrong, Wei Wuxian] Wei Wuxian: I haven't figured that out yet ["details," as OP's dad used to say] Lan Qiren: If you did, the cultivation world would not allow your existence [i.e. we, the Lan Clan of Gusu, will kill your ass]

Lan Wangji probably doesn't think he's threatening Wei Wuxian with death by inviting him to Gusu, but he kinda is, if Lan Qiren was serious back then.  Lan Wangji is so upset and fearful that he's not really thinking clearly at this point. He loves Wei Wuxian and he's certain that cultivating with resentful energy will destroy him. [Note: he's not wrong, Wei Wuxian]  But Wei Wuxian is beyond fear. He's already been destroyed once.

Wei Wuxian rips on Gusu and then says, in a super-provocative way, that he prefers Yunmeng, which prompts Lan Wangji to say "don't joke around" as angrily as possible. 

This part of the interaction always confuses me because...shouldn't he prefer Yunmeng? He's actually from there and lives there and belongs there and stuff? He's just saying "I think I'll go with my brother" yet WWX and LWJ both act like he said he'd rather go to Demon City.

Lan Wangji takes a big step forward and Jiang Cheng blocks him while Wei Wuxian continues to act unperturbed and puzzled while holding his demon flute out in between them. 

Finally, FINALLY, Wei Wuxian calls him Lan Zhan, and asks him a serious question: What do you really want. Lan Wangji calms down for a second--although he keeps leaning into Jiang Cheng's sword block--and gets to the point, which is that the unorthodox path is dangerous, and harmful to his temperament.  

Kill one turtle together and you think you're the boss of me

So, these dudes are talking about 2 different levels of unacceptable cultivation, in this episode and the next few. Netflix translates these as "wicked tricks" and "crafty tricks," which both sound absolutely ludicrous in English, so I'm going to use my own preferred terms, going forward.  

I think what they are calling "Wicked Tricks," which includes spirit snatching and feeding people to the murder turtle on purpose in order to harvest their resentment could be translated as Heresy--adhering to a forbidden belief or practice; standing in opposition to Orthodoxy.  

Edit: After rewatching Episode 35, in which Nie Huaisang explains why their whole blade thing doesn’t count as “wicked tricks,” I’ve changed my mind about what to call this. NHS says that “wicked tricks” specifically involve the use of humans & human spirits (killing, sacrificing, etc.). Which means Necromancy is probably the better term for this particular type of cultivation, although it is still (also) Heresy. 

"Crafty Tricks," which is using resentful energy to raise and control already-dead people (ghosts and zombies) as well as just generally using resentment for basic stuff like beating Jin Zixuan's ass, could be translated as Heterodoxy--deviating from the accepted belief or practice, but not to the point of complete opposition.

Wei Wuxian laughs while Lan Wangji tries to be convincing, but since Lan Wangji is just repeating what he's been taught, he's not making much headway. Instead of saying "there's no exception throughout history" he could have, instead, gone with his own actual observations, such as "you are acting like a sadistic prick" or "you seem amazingly miserable" or "you aren't hugging your brother, what the fuck is that about?" But no.

Wei Wuxian responds to the charge of heresy by saying nuh-uh, and explains his methods, sort of, while going back to calling him Lan Er Gongzi. Lan Er Gongzi responds by actually literally yelling at him, and saying he's not allowed to decide for himself about what he's doing, as if the words "allowed to" have ever meant a goddamn thing to Wei Wuxian.

Temperament

At this point Wei Wuxian is done. He goes and gets right up in Lan Wangji's face and sticks a metaphorical knife right in his heart, smiling as he does it. "How do others know my temperament?" he asks; "and why should it be their concern?" i.e. you are not in my heart. 

This makes Lan Wangji so mad he calls Wei Wuxian "Wei Wuxian" for possibly the only time in the show, and he also flashes a whole bunch of angry teeth. (Gifset here). In a callback to the JFM-YZY fight back in Lotus Pier before the war, Wei Wuxian just calmly says "Lan Wangji" back at him, and then tells him to go fuck himself.

Jiang Cheng still doesn't understand what the fuck is happening, but this is a sentiment he understands, so he also tells Lan Wangji to go fuck himself, reminding him that Wei Wuxian is Jiang clan property and it's not the Lans' place to discipline him. Adding "and I'm not going to discipline him any way, look how good he is at killing people!"

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji continue to stare into each others' eyes from a distance so close that it really should lead to making out, but they are both much too angry for that. 

Wei Wuxian is as cold as we ever see him, smiling as he silently confirms: I do not belong to you. Lan Wangji glares back, his anger maybe finally giving way, a little bit, to being hurt.

Finish Him!

Wen Chao picks this moment to wake up and crawl over to the trio, begging Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng to save his life, since he presumably knows it's pointless to beg Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian turns around and gives him the EXACT SAME dead-eyed smile he just gave Lan Wangji, and kicks him.

Then he tells Lan Wangji to please leave so he and his brother can finish torturing this dude to death, and caps it with an official Jiang Clan eye roll.  

Lan Wangji, poor bb, just throws in the towel, and turns and leaves, the anger finally starting to leave his face and be replaced with something else...chagrin, maybe? Or maybe just softer anger, for the moment. 

After he's out of sight Wei Wuxian turns and looks after him sadly, all of the cruelty and hardness gone from his expression, while Wen Chao says "forgive me,"  possibly voicing what Wei Wuxian is thinking.

Lan Wangji walks out the front gate, troubled, and hears Wen Chao scream. He stops and replays the most pointed part of the fight in his head - the part where Wei Wuxian asked him, "who do you think you are?" Lan Wangji went into the fight believing he was completely right and was entitled to judge Wei Wuxian, but he's come out of it with his certainty shaken. 

Family Time

The Yunmeng brothers go to the ancestral shrine in Lotus Pier even though the whole "reclaiming Lotus Pier" scene doesn't happen until Episode 24. So apparently they just kind of sneak into the the shrine, and then sneak back out. Or, you know, continuity error.  Anyway Wei Wuxian is nothing if not adept at sneaking around death-related places.

Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng bow and offer incense. It's nice that the Wens didn't fuck up everybody's name plaques when they were in control of the place...or the tassels, candles, etc. 

Wei Wuxian quietly tells Yu Ziyuan and Jiang Fengmian that he did what they asked--taking care of Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli--and they can rest now. Nosy parker Jiang Cheng wants to know what he's saying, but Wei Wuxian just changes the subject. 

They talk about going to Qinghe for the final combat of the Sunshot Campaign. Wei Wuxian says that's why he returned, which...dude, you can't even pretend you came back to be with your loved ones? Ouch. Jiang Cheng doesn't really react to that, but he's happy when Wei Wuxian says he wants to see Jiang Yanli. Wei Wuxian wants to know if she's ok and if she's mad at him, and Jiang Cheng says wait and see, because direct answers are not the Jiang Clan way.

Jiang Yanli is helping tend to the wounded, and we see her telling a particularly fussy wounded dude to suck it up and stop complaining. 

When Wei Wuxian shows up she totally stops paying attention to the wounded dude so that she can smile at Wei Wuxian. 

He looks back at her tearfully, briefly managing to smile but then just trying to hold it together. He has been to hell and back, and doing his very best to hide it, but when he sees the person who loves him most--the person who will NOT spend 20 minutes yelling at him as soon as they see him--he starts to crack open.

#fytheuntamed #the untamed #the untamed gifs #wangxian #restless rewatch the untamed #my gifs #canary3d-original

[bloody-bee-tea]

JC Love Month 2020 Day 12

Ego and Inflexibility

Day 12 of JC Love Month brings some more Lan Qiren feelings, who is most definitely fed up with JFM's shitty parenting and he is so over it that he forgets all of his manners. It's exactly what Jiang Cheng deserves.

Jiang Cheng isn’t sure what they are waiting for—in front of Lan Qiren’s personal quarters no less—but Jin Ling is inside and so Jiang Cheng waits, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji right by his side.

“Do you know what this is about?” Wei Wuxian asks him suddenly, clearly fed up with waiting already. “A-Yuan is inside, too, but he wouldn’t say what’s going on.”

“Same with Jin Ling,” Jiang Cheng says with a sigh and pinches the bridge of his nose.

He would accuse the juniors of shenanigans, but Lan Qiren is involved, so clearly it cannot be that bad. He would have told them to stop otherwise, Jiang Cheng is sure of that.

Lan Wangji doesn’t actually contribute anything to the conversation but Jiang Cheng gets the distinct impression that he’s not liking this, either, but then the door opens and the juniors and Lan Qiren step out.

“What is going on here?” Jiang Cheng asks and keeps his gaze on Jin Ling, because he’s bound to break first under his glare.

“I told them not to do it,” is the first thing Jin Ling says, and he does seem strangely guilty, but then Lan Sizhui speaks up and Jiang Cheng turns his attention to him.

“So, here’s the thing,” Lan Sizhui starts, clearly nervous and when he can’t seem to find his words, it’s Lan Jingyi who speaks up.

“We brought back your dad for you,” he says and when Ouyang Zizhen elbows him in the side he let’s out a pained noise.

“We brought Jiang Fengmian back for you,” Ouyang Zizhen clarifies and Jiang Cheng’s mood plummets faster than it has in years.

“Why the hell would you do that?” he demands to know and Lan Jingyi waves his hands at him.

“We didn’t actually bring him back,” he tries to reassure them. “We just called his spirit here and gave it a more solid form, so you can talk to him for the day. Uncle Qiren made sure we did all of it correctly.”

“Uncle,” Lan Wangji chastises him, way too mildly if anyone were to ask Jiang Cheng, but Lan Qiren only strokes his beard.

“There’s some catharsis to be found in this, I am certain,” he says and Jiang Cheng takes a deep breath.

He doubts catharsis is the thing they will find here, but it seems like no one cares about his opinion.

“Uncle Fengmian is back?” Wei Wuxian says and he sounds doubtful, but Jiang Cheng knows him well enough to hear the hope in his voice.

“For the day,” Lan Sizhui says. “You always talk so fondly of him, and we thought it would be good for you to talk to him again. And Sect Leader Jiang, he’s your father, we thought you’d like to speak to him, too.”

“I told them they were being stupid,” Jin Ling grumbles and Jiang Cheng has to bite back a small smile.

“We already caught him up on all major events, so you can jump straight in,” Lan Jingyi says excitedly and now Jiang Cheng is glad that Lan Qiren was there all along, because at least like this Jiang Fengmian got the right version of events.

“Fine, let’s do this, it’s not like we’re getting out of this,” Jiang Cheng says with a sigh and starts to walk up to the room, when Wei Wuxian stops him.

“Are you sure you’re alright with this?” he lowly asks, and even though they are still mending their relationship, it’s nice to see that they still understand each other like this.

“No,” Jiang Cheng answers honestly but with a shrug. “But there’s nothing to be done about it now, is there? I’m not actually so unfilial as to leave a ghost hanging,” he says and it startles a laugh out of Wei Wuxian just like he hoped.

“Alright, let’s go,” Wei Wuxian suddenly cheerfully says, and leads the way into the room.

Jiang Cheng is surprised to notice how much he forgot about his father in the past twenty years and it’s like a punch to the gut to see him again, unchanged and untouched by time.

Well, being dead will do that to you, Jiang Cheng guesses.

“Uncle Fengmian,” Wei Wuxian yells once inside the room and Jiang Fengmian looks Wei Wuxian up and down with a smile.

“You really do have a new body,” he says, as if Lan Qiren would lie to him about that. “But you’re still unmistakably my A-Ying,” he then adds and Jiang Cheng chooses that moment to step into his sight as well.

“Jiang Cheng,” his father says, looking him up and down much more critical than he had Wei Wuxian. “The spitting image of your mother I see.”

“Thankfully,” Jiang Cheng bites out and sits down, ready to get this over with as soon as possible.

There’s a very small part of him that hopes that he interpreted his father’s actions and words in his childhood wrong, but with how this started, Jiang Cheng knows it’s a foolish hope.

His father is exactly like he remembered him.

“Why are you not wearing purple, A-Ying?” Jiang Fengmian asks Wei Wuxian who throws a love sick look at Lan Wangji.

“Because I’m no longer a disciple of Yunmeng Jiang,” he answers, and while it still stings, they are making their way back to that.

Wei Wuxian forgot Chengqing in his old room last time he visited Lotus Pier and Jiang Cheng dares to hope that it means something.

“And why is that?” Jiang Fengmian asks, sending a sharp look at Jiang Cheng.

“Because I married Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian cheerfully says—too cheerfully, if you ask Jiang Cheng—and he throws himself at his husband who catches him easily.

“I see,” Jiang Fengmian says with a small smile. “What a wonderful match.”

“It is,” Wei Wuxian agrees and then Jiang Fengmian turns to Jiang Cheng.

“Are you married?” he asks and Jiang Cheng shakes his head, expecting the sour look on his father’s face.

“I never quite found the time for it,” Jiang Cheng easily says because he long stopped being bothered by that fact.

“Ah, yes, I heard about what happened,” Jiang Fengmian gives back and turns his attention back to Wei Wuxian.

“You invented a new cultivation style. I am very proud of you,” he says and Jiang Cheng can’t help the snort he lets out at that.

“Do you have something to say to that, Jiang Cheng?” Jiang Fengmian demands to know and Jiang Cheng clicks his tongue.

“His new cultivation style killed over three thousand people before it eventually claimed his own life. I’m not sure that’s something to be proud of,” Jiang Cheng says, with an apologetic look to Wei Wuxian, who nods along.

“Yeah, it cost too much. It’s not actually something good, you know,” Wei Wuxian agrees but Jiang Fengmian shakes his head.

“But you did it because you gave your core to Jiang Cheng and didn’t have another choice, right? I’d say that’s a sign of true strength.”

“Wow,” Jin Ling mutters behind Jiang Cheng and Jiang Cheng is inclined to agree with him.

“And you lost your core in a reckless move, did you not?” Jiang Fengmian asks Jiang Cheng next and by now everyone in the room seems uncomfortable, even Lan Wangji.

Jiang Cheng has to give it to his father, he has quite the talent.

“Clearly,” Jiang Cheng bitterly says, but he does feel vindicated when he realizes that his father is just as bad as he was in his memory.

“What did you do while A-Ying learned to master his new life and got a family on top of that?” Jiang Fengmian asks and by now everyone in the room is holding their breath.

“You mean what did I do while Wei Wuxian was dead?” Jiang Cheng corrects him and then goes on without actually letting Jiang Fengmian speak. “I was building Lotus Pier back up, that was completely destroyed in the attack,” Jiang Cheng says, and he says it with pride, too, because he managed to do what people thought was impossible. “I raised my nephew and brought my Sect to greatness again.”

“By taking in everyone you could find,” Jiang Fengmian spits out. “Being a Jiang disciple used to mean something, once upon a time. And now look at who you are taking in. I hear your right hand used to be a servant.”

“As your right hand used to be, if I remember correctly,” Jiang Cheng sharply says and Jiang Fengmian’s eyes apologetically dart to Wei Wuxian, who is clenching his hands on his thighs.

“Listen, father, I don’t know what you remember, but when you and mother died, so did the majority of our people. Thousands of disciples were killed that day. They didn’t even spare the kids, did you know that? There wasn’t all that much left, after the Wens were done.”

“Still, you should have kept some priorities.”

“My priority was to rebuild my home,” Jiang Cheng shoots back but he knows that it’s futile.

It doesn’t matter what he says to his father, it won’t make a difference, because he is not Wei Wuxian.

“And yet you couldn’t even protect your family,” Jiang Fengmian bites out. “Yanli died, and for what?”

“For protecting Wei Wuxian, so really, shouldn’t you be proud of her?” Jiang Cheng says and Wei Wuxian makes a wounded sound next to him.

“It was my fault,” Wei Wuxian lowly admits. “I lost control and everyone wanted to kill me, and shijie only died because she tried to protect me.”

“Like family should,” Jiang Fengmian says and Jiang Cheng had enough of this.

“I think we’re done here,” Jiang Cheng says and it’s clear that Jiang Fengmian wants to say more to him, but it’s surprisingly enough not his voice that rings out.

“Sit back down,” Lan Qiren orders him and Jiang Cheng is surprised enough to simply do it.

“Wei Wuxian, do you have something to say?” Lan Qiren asks Wei Wuxian, voice softer than Jiang Cheng remembers ever hearing it, and Wei Wuxian nods so vigorously that his hair flies.

“You are a shitty father,” Wei Wuxian says then and Jiang Cheng sits down more firmly, because that he has to hear.

“Wei Ying!” Jiang Fengmian admonishes him but Wei Wuxian clearly doesn’t care.

“No, you are! Jiang Cheng survived a war! You died in the first wave of attacks and he survived all of them and he led a destroyed Sect to boot. He was thrust into the position as Sect Leader so young, but he did it, and he did it more than well. And he didn’t survive just one war, he survived my armies of undead as well.”

“You would have never hurt him,” Jiang Fengmian defends Wei Wuxian, even now, and Jiang Cheng huffs out a bitter breath.

“I would have,” Wei Wuxian argues and makes a grimace at Jiang Cheng, clearly apologizing for that. “I lost control, much earlier than people think, and there was nothing I wouldn’t have done. And I died for my sins.”

“But you did the impossible and came back,” Jiang Fengmian says and Wei Wuxian glares at him.

“I am back because poor Mo Xuanyu was harassed so much that he thought suicide would be better than living on. I was summoned back as a vicious spirit. There is nothing admirable about that,” Wei Wuxian vehemently says but Jiang Fengmian doesn’t seem like he is very much interested in how  Wei Wuxian is not the amazing guy he still seems to believe he is.

“Still,” Jiang Fengmian says and looks back at Jiang Cheng. “You don’t seem any closer to understanding the Sect motto than you were when I was still alive,” he says, and Wei Wuxian’s eyes flash red.

Jiang Cheng doesn’t actually want him to attack his father, even though it would be quite the sight to behold, but before he can do anything to stop Wei Wuxian, Lan Qiren speaks up.

“You egotistical, inflexible piece of shit,” Lan Qiren says, and it takes Jiang Cheng a moment to realize that those words really came out of Lan Qiren’s mouth.

But when everyone is staring at him, their mouths mostly open because no one heard Lan Qiren talk like that before, Jiang Cheng comes to the conclusion that it must have been really him.

“Qiren,” Jiang Fengmian starts, but Lan Qiren seems absolutely ready to tear Jiang Fengmian a new one.

“Do not speak to me like that,” Lan Qiren says. “You are a disgrace to your Sect. You never even attempted the impossible, because you were too mellow to ever take a challenge at all. And you can’t even recognize great men, because your son is sitting there after he achieved the impossible time and time again and you have nothing but contempt for him.”

“You shouldn’t speak on family matters,” Jiang Fengmian tries but clearly Lan Qiren is not done.

“I have more right to speak on family matters, than you do,” Lan Qiren says. “Especially when it comes to your son, who you so clearly think the worst of. You hold your son in so little regard that you really believe him to be so stupid as to lose his core in a reckless move? Seriously, out of the two, you’d think Wei Wuxian would be the one to do that, and yet you can’t even be bothered to question it.”

“What?” Wei Wuxian asks and Jiang Cheng desperately wonders why he never learned the silencing spell the Lans love so much.

It would come in really handy right now.

“Wait, what?” Wei Wuxian says again and looks back and forth between Lan Qiren and Jiang Cheng. “Say that again.”

“I think that’s enough,” Jiang Cheng says, but now Jin Ling chimes in for the first time.

“No, I think Teacher Qiren should speak,” he says, clearly remembering that moment after the whole temple mess. “I think this needs to be said.”

“And I think I’m going to break your legs,” Jiang Cheng hisses, but Jin Ling only smiles at him.

“Jiang Wanyin!” Jiang Fengmian yells. “How dare you speak like that to your sister’s son.”

Jiang Cheng has a few choice words for that, but before he can articulate them, Jin Ling gives him his best glare.

“He’s my jiu-jiu and he can speak to me however he wants,” Jin Ling tells him with more bite than Jiang Cheng expected and it’s almost enough to derail the previous conversation.

But only almost, because Wei Wuxian is worse than a dog with a bone.

“Wait, let’s go back, what was that about Jiang Cheng losing his core?”

“It was nothing,” Jiang Cheng says, mostly because he doesn’t want to do this in front of his father.

If the truth comes out—and it seems more than unlikely that he can keep it a secret for much longer—then he doesn’t want to hear what his father has to say to that.

It will probably be the only time he will praise Jiang Cheng, because he did it to protect Wei Wuxian, and Jiang Cheng couldn’t give less of a fuck about that.

“I think it’s time for you to go back now,” Jiang Cheng says with a meaningful look to Lan Qiren, who thankfully seems to understand enough to undo the summoning circle without a second thought and Jiang Fengmian vanishes before he can say another word.

“If you think that gets you out of telling the truth, you’re mistaken,” Wei Wuxian says to Jiang Cheng, who only shrugs, because he knows when he’s being beat.

“Fine, whatever,” he says and motions for Lan Qiren to speak.

“You’re not so stupid to try and get your parent’s bodies back, no matter how much you’re grieving. So there must have been another reason you got captured,” Lan Qiren says, and Jiang Cheng didn’t know he thought so highly of him.

“Maybe I am just that stupid,” Jiang Cheng tries, but Lan Qiren sends him such a sharp glare that Jiang Cheng flinches.

“Tell the truth, Jiang Cheng. What did you do?” Wei Wuxian whispers, though Jiang Cheng can already see understanding dawn on him.

“You were buying medicine for A-jie,” Jiang Cheng says after a long moment, and he looks down at his hands, because it feels safer than looking at Wei Wuxian. “Wen soldiers were coming up behind you, and they wouldn’t have passed by.”

“And then they got distracted,” Wei Wuxian mumbles, “by you. Why would you do that?” he wants to know and at that Jiang Cheng lifts his gaze.

“I just lost my entire family, my home. Do you really think I could have survived losing someone else?” he wants to know and it stuns Wei Wuxian into silence.

“You distracted them to safe my life,” Wei Wuxian says and Jiang Cheng clicks his tongue.

“They would have killed you on the spot or tortured you. Wen Chao hated you enough for both, so I had to do something.”

“And then you got tortured,” Wei Wuxian cries, and Jiang Cheng is acutely aware of all eyes on him.

“Not in front of the kids,” Jiang Cheng hisses out, but before he’s even done, Wei Wuxian has thrown himself at Jiang Cheng.

“I love you, too,” he sobs out and Jiang Cheng’s eyes are burning enough that it’s safer to just hide his face in Wei Wuxian’s neck.

“Yeah, yeah,” he awkwardly says around the lump in his throat. “I love you, too.”

There’s a long moment of silence, before Lan Qiren clears his throat.

“Now that this unpleasant situation is over, everyone is free to leave.”

Wei Wuxian only reluctantly parts from Jiang Cheng, but when Jiang Cheng smiles slightly at him, he seems to understand that there will be time later.

“Lan Qiren, I didn’t know you held my shidi in such high regard,” Wei Wuxian says, clearly not done with the unpleasant situation and Jiang Cheng wants to strangle him.

“Sect Leader Jiang is one of the bravest, most capable cultivators and Sect Leaders I ever had the honour to teach and I will not stand for any slander against him,” Lan Qiren says, very deliberately not looking at Jiang Cheng, who is glad about that.

Because his eyes are burning like crazy again and he doesn’t actually want Lan Qiren to see him cry.

“He took his Sect and his Sect’s motto to heights that were never before reached and he should be held in the highest regard by everyone,” Lan Qiren mercilessly goes on, and Jiang Cheng only doesn’t burst into tears, because Jin Ling presses into his side.

“He’s right,” Jin Ling says and all the juniors agree.

“Absolutely,” Wei Wuxian predictably says, but when even Lan Wangji makes an affirmative noise, it all becomes too much for Jiang Cheng.

“Alright, stop that, enough,” he snaps out, his voice only barely shaking and everyone laughs at him.

Even Lan Qiren’s face softens.

“It’s only the truth,” Lan Qiren says and Jiang Cheng gives in to the fact that his dignity is a lost cause today.

He does burst into tears, but it’s not at all bad, because Wei Wuxian is the first one to hug him and he’s crying, too.

Jiang Cheng thinks it’s only fair that they both lose face like this in front of the kids and their teacher.

Link to my ko-fi on the sidebar!

#bt writes #jclovemonth2020 #the untamed #mdzs #jiang cheng #wei wuxian #jiang fengmian #junior quartet #lan qiren #hurt/comfort #post canon #support #lqr HAS HAD IT #and he's not too shy to say it #as he should

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

Fanon Jiang Cheng: Tears up every year at the mention of Wei Wuxian's death anniversary and most definitely burned money for him during Zhongyuan (torture what? No, he had tea with those demonic cultivators that blood was uhhh bean paste). Thinks about A-Yuan the kid he was disgusted by and thinks he should have adopted him after he killed argued with his stand in dad. Definitely did not give his own nephew from his supposed beloved sister a self-esteem complex since he understands him the most and is the best Jiujiu to ever Jiujiu. Lan Wangji is just petty,Jiang Cheng only wanted him dead for life like once and blamed him for the entire massacre of his sect once. Third wheel to Wangxian even though he still says weirdly homophobic things but that's cute to the husbands even though both were made hugely uncomfortable by this once before.

Wedding Planner~ even though he himself is blacklisted by the marriage world and thinks a hug between guys is disgusting (how does that work for the ceremony since Wei Wuxian wasn't a Jiang and had no living family to serve and Jiang Cheng is not even his brother who is married). LOTUS PIER HAPPY FAMILY! *･゜ﾟ･*:.｡..｡.:*･'(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)'･*:.｡. .｡.:*･゜ﾟ･* (What no that Qi deviation was fake, nor did he almost whip Lan Wangji and a deviated Wei Wuxian) They love Lotus Pier now!

Canon Jiang Cheng: A salty bitch with good hair and is homicidal for 13 years because of his complex against a dead guy he didn't get to kill in person and hates his besties crush for just as long because he is a salty bitch. Is not good with kids and the one time he cries it's in near murderous rage and not pretty. Ugly crier 10/10 I appreciate this as an ugly crier and drama queen.

He stops bugging Wei Wuxian because it's the one nice thing he can even do in his life anymore. Is not best Jiujiu (probably no paper money burns (╯﹏╰)) but there sure probably was some cultivator torture going on during Zhongyuan for a little extra effect. Still disowned Wei Wuxian and is not in fact a good wedding planner but probably makes for a good dom in S&M if you're into that. Jiang Cheng in fact has no reason to hate Lan Wangji and really is just that petty and jealous of a hot guy. Doesn't even know A-Yuan exists as an entity other than being an annoying Lan of Lan Wangji's. Is a homophobe.

No Lotus Pier family because he told Wangxian not to sully his home and they do stay away because they don't ever want to be there again.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #anti jiang cheng #but not really cause i love him #but not the right way apparentely (｡ ́︿ ̀｡) #salt? salt #a well thought out essay by me

[heavymetalchemist]

hi! I saw your post about JFM (heavymetalchemist tumblr com/post/615404761164939264/i-actually-think-that-jiang-fengmians-whole-oh) and I was wondering if you knew why it is said that JFM was strict with JC because he's grooming him to be sect leader (i know WWX says that too in the novel). It just never seemed that way to me, because I'm like JC would probably be really strict with himself + YZY would also put a ton of training on him for that.

So in The Untamed ep 14, after Wei Wuxian is out of the Xuanwu cave and wakes up in Lotus Pier, after the super uncomfortable fight between JFM and YZY, Jiang Cheng storms/runs away and Wei Wuxian chases after him and says “所以江叔叔对你呢自然是严厉了一些“ which Viki translates as “So Uncle Jiang is slightly more strict on you.”  My Chinese is absolutely terrible but the key part is 严厉 (stern, severe) which is also part of the longer sort of phrase 对……严厉 (be hard on). I think this bumps up against some fine connotation differences here, because in English “strict” can imply a rigorous adherence to rules, and this isn’t really about rules so much as being harsher in discipline.

Jiang Cheng had just made a snarky comment to Wei Wuxian in front of JFM:

WWX: Since you weren’t there, I didn’t have anyone to talk to. You are not aware, but sitting together with that Lan Zhan was extremely suffocating for me.

JC: Serves you right if you suffocated to death. You should not have tried to be the hero at that time. You shouldn’t have meddled in those trivial matters. In the first place, if you-

JFM: Jiang Cheng. Do you know what was wrong with what you just said?

So here’s the thing. WWX just badmouthed Lan Wangji (he’s so boring! being trapped in a cave with him isn’t romantic at all! you disaster. you fool.) and JFM doesn’t say anything, because WWX is just teasing! He’s so fun! But when JC snaps back, JFM sees it as devaluing WWX’s heroics, which - because it turned out okay - he’s happy about. Relating to my original post, JFM is having the vicarious thrill of defeating a legendary beast, standing up for the weak, and having everything turn out okay! WWX is safe and sound! For JC, now that WWX is safe, he wants to express his anger. He was worried! He ran for days to get help to save him, and almost didn’t make it! WWX could have died in that cave, and for what? So he could insult Wen Chao? Be some big hero? JC wanted WWX to keep his head down so they both made it out of there!

But JFM just sees the angry lashing out and he does not like JC being mean to his golden boy. Everything is fine so how dare JC scold WWX?

And this sort of loops back to the weirdness of JC’s and WWX’s positions in the sect.  JC is sect heir, but WWX is head disciple.  WWX is JC’s shixiong, his older martial brother, so there’s an expectation of respect there. Yes, WWX just pouted and said he wanted his shijie, his older martial sister, to wipe his mouth like he was a child, right in front of JFM, and that’s fine because it’s cute and fun and WWX is injured! But JC should show respect.

It’s the favoritism, and WWX tries to explain the favoritism as “he has to enforce these rules of conduct for you, because you’re sect heir” but in a lot of ways it’s that JFM does not read the concern in JC’s words, only the anger, and feels that his criticism of WWX’s actions go against the sect motto. The Jiang sect is supposed to attempt the impossible, and isn’t trying to be a hero exactly that? And even when WWX tries to defend JC’s words, saying he was just lashing out in anger, JFM just turns to JC and scolds him again, that some things should not be said, even in anger.

So to bring this all back around, the strictness isn’t in JFM training JC’s swordwork, or in enforcing his learning in Gusu, or keeping tabs on any of that stuff.  That’s Madam Yu and JC’s own desire to excel.  The strictness is in that JFM doesn’t like JC’s behavior and that’s why JC thinks his dad doesn’t like him, because he’s too much like his mom.

In the book, it says:

The founder of the YunmengJiang Sect, Jiang Chi, was born a rogue cultivator. The ways of the sect were honest and unrestrained. Madam Yu’s manners were the exact opposite. And, both Jiang Cheng’s looks and personality took after his mother. He hadn’t ever been to Jiang FengMian’s liking. Since birth, he taught him in many ways, yet he still couldn’t change, which was why Jiang FengMian had always seemed as though he didn’t favor him too much.

Jiang Cheng worries! What a drag. Why can’t he just relax and chill out like Wei Wuxian? And then he gets angry, and that’s not appropriate, so JFM has to scold him. So it comes across as being strict and severe with JC in this contradictory way to how WWX is indulged, because JFM is a terrible father who thinks his son is just Wrong about things rather than even trying to understand him.  If JC’s love and concern and worry come across as lashing out in anger, JFM only sees the anger and thinks that’s super inappropriate, which really only saddles JC with more anger because now he’s also misunderstood. And even when WWX tries to explain, it’s still not enough! (also side note it should not be WWX’s job to try and get JFM to understand his own son when he is also a goddamn teenager!)

So the explanation of being strict because he’s going to be sect leader is sort of a smokescreen. JFM is trying to groom JC into what he thinks a sect leader of the Jiang sect should be, in his own way, and is strict on him because of that. But it’s the kind of strictness that’s trying to ram a square peg into a round hole, and it’s exacerbated by JFM looking at WWX and seeing the exact kind of free spirit he feels embodies the motto - even if WWX’s careless insults of other sect members would be a disaster if he were sect leader (and uhhhh becomes one later oops, even beyond the Wen Chao Fiasco).

WWX is right when he then says that JC shouldn’t worry about the motto, that sect leaders are different and JC can be the kind of sect leader he is. WWX is a better dad than JFM.

#mdzs meta #jiang fengmian #jiang cheng #wei wuxian #this got super long I'm sorry #but thanks for the ask apparently I had A Lot To Say about this lol #Anonymous

[robininthelabyrinth]

AU where all four sects take turns hosting the next generation of guest disciples, as they all have valuable things to teach - and they all start at Lotus Pier. Aka Lan Wangji being the visiting disciple in a place with entirely different rules and norms than he's used to. (Swimming lessons would be a bonus?)

Cloud Recesses, Gusu, age 15

“You don’t think they’re really going to make us wake up at mao hour?” Wei Wuxian whined. “Or sleep by the end of xu hour?”

“They’re not going to make us do anything,” Jiang Cheng groaned. “It’s just that activities will be ongoing when they’re awake, so if you miss them all by sleeping until si hour, that’s your problem. It’s not like we made them do anything when they were back at the Lotus Pier…”

“What are you talking about?” Nie Huaisang wanted to know. “You all most certainly made poor Lan-xiong stay up past his bedtime when he was visiting the Lotus Pier – and the same for the rest of us, too!”

Wei Wuxian, who had led most of the forcing-to-stay-up-late nonsense, coughed. “Yes, well…speaking of Lan Zhan, do you think he’ll be happy to see me?”

“No,” both Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang chorused.

-

Lotus Pier, Yunmeng, age 9

“You’re all going to have to do everything I say,” Wei Wuxian boasted, sticking his thumb back at himself. “Because I’m a Jiang disciple and you’re not.”

“That’s not how it works!” Jiang Cheng hissed, batting at him. “That’s not how it works at all, just stop talking –”

“Nice to meet you, Wei-xiong,” Nie Huaisang said happily. “Please take good care of me.”

“Nooooo, now you’re encouraging him…!”

“Who’s that?” Wei Wuxian said suddenly, eyes wide, and he pointed at a small boy in white jumping down from the sword of the adult he’d been flying with – gracefully descending from the sky, his white robes all fluttering around him, he looked like a beautiful crane diving down to catch a fish.

“Oh, that’s the Second Young Master Lan – he’s going to be part of our group,” Nie Huaisang said. “You think he’s fancy, wait until you see Young Master Jin, all covered in gold –”

“I’m going to say hello!” Wei Wuxian said, and rushed over.

“Well, that’s going to be a disaster,” Jiang Cheng said with a sigh, then looked at Nie Huaisang with a suspicious expression. “How good at you at swimming?”

“Uh. Outside a bathtub?”

“Good,” Jiang Cheng said, satisfied that unlike Wei Wuxian, these new visitors would not be inexplicitly excellent at all things – moving through water like a fish, taking to archery as if he’d always known it, even advancing his cultivation so quickly that he’d become equal to or even better than Jiang Cheng in the few months he’d been at the Lotus Pier. “I’ll teach you. Well, all of you, I guess. You can’t be at the Lotus Pier and not know how to swim.”

-

Unclean Realm, Qinghe, age 11

“I’ve put you two in this room,” Nie Huaisang said proudly. “It’s nice and big, with a good window, and it’s the furthest away from where I’ve put the Lan disciples.”

Wei Wuxian pouted. “They can’t still be mad about what happened last time?”

“They’re going to be mad forever,” Jiang Cheng said. “You tied up Lan-xiong with his own forehead ribbon! And you told him it was Yunmeng sect rules! We don’t even have sect rules in Yumeng!”

“I was only kidding…”

“Look on the bright side,” Nie Huaisang said hastily. “We don’t have a lot of rules at Qinghe, either – we have principles that everyone’s supposed to keep up with. As long as you can justify yourself as having intended to do the right thing, you’ll get listened to – though what actually results matters just as much, I guess. But there’s no rules against fighting!”

Two small eyes fixed on him at once.

“What do you mean, no rules against fighting?” Jiang Cheng asked, suspicious.

“Well, you’re supposed to challenge people properly, but as long as you tell them in advance that you’re going to start a fight with them and give them a little time to adjust, fighting is generally allowed,” Nie Huaisang said. “So if you want to start trouble with Jin Zixuan this time, you don’t have to pretend like you’re not starting trouble.”

“Really?”

“We’re very straightforward here in Qinghe.”

“I’m going to go punch him until shijie doesn’t like him any more,” Jiang Cheng said, sounding very pleased with the idea. “What do you think, Wei Wuxian? Wei Wuxian!”

“Huh? Oh, sorry, I was just wondering where Lan Zhan was, since he’s not on the training field.”

“Maybe he went hunting in the forest? As long as you stay inside the boundaries, you can do that whenever you like, too. Same with the caves –”

“Caves? You have caves? And we can explore them?”

“It’s not really exploring, you have to stay in the marked boundaries – ”

“It’s exploring when you go past them! I’m going to go see if Lan Zhan wants to explore them with me!”

“Leave him alone! Wasn’t it bad enough that you got him involved in stealing those lotus seeds last time? Now you want to go trespass past the boundaries and probably get lost –”

“We’re not going to get lost!”

-

Koi Tower, Lanling, age 13

“– and you’ve all been given maps to make sure none of you get lost,” Jin Zixuan concluded his introduction. “Unlike last time.”

“We didn’t get lost,” Wei Wuxian mumbled. “It was a camping trip. It just went a little longer than expected, that’s all.”

“There had to be a search party,” Jiang Cheng hissed at him. “Shut up.”

“I’m telling you, that wasn’t a real search party. Or, well, it was more party and less search –”

“Anyway, you’re all here at Lanling to learn from our Jin sect. Our values –”

“Being rich is a value?” Wei Wuxian wondered.

Jiang Cheng elbowed him, but Nie Huaisang giggled.

“– our traditions –”

“Being rich is a tradition?”

“– and history – ”

“Being rich is a – ow! Stop hitting me!”

“Then shut up!” Jin Zixuan snapped. “I didn’t say mean things about your Jiang sect when I was visiting!”

“You said so many mean things,” Nie Huaisang said.

“I – uh – ”

“It’s okay,” Jiang Cheng said, a little grudgingly. “You can still hang out with us instead of Wen Chao or your awful cousin.”

Jin Zixuan looked deeply relieved.

“I still can’t believe your dad invited them, anyway,” Wei Wuxian said. “They’re not even really our age.”

“So what is there to do here?” Nie Huaisang asked, changing the subject. “I heard there’s really good shopping.”

“Oh, definitely,” Jin Zixuan said. “You can buy anything you want, no limits.”

“No limits? Not even…?”

“We’re thirteen; we’re practically adults,” Jin Zixuan said. “We can buy anything.”

“Great,” Jiang Cheng said, rolling his eyes. “Now that you’ve said that, I would bet money that Wei Wuxian is going to buy someone a prostitute.”

“Why say someone?” Nie Huaisang said with a giggle. “He’s going to buy one for Lan-xiong –”

“I am not!”

-

Cloud Recesses, Gusu, age 15

“I’ll have you know that Lan Zhan and I have a very good relationship,” Wei Wuxian said. “Formed from many years of friendship.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s not called friendship,” Jiang Cheng said. “More like…uh…Nie Huaisang, help me out here.”

“My brother says it’s flirting,” Nie Huaisang volunteered.

“Not that!” Jiang Cheng hissed even as Wei Wuxian turned red and started spluttering. “That is not what I meant!”

“Are you sure?” Nie Huaisang asked. “I’m just saying, because in the books –”

“The erotic art collection you started in Lanling is going to be the death of us all one day.”

“Say one more bad thing and I won’t let you borrow anything more.”

Jiang Cheng cleared his throat and shut up, his own cheeks red as well. “I was just saying –” he mumbled, and then Wei Wuxian interrupted, jumping up and down and waving his hands.

“Do you think Lan Zhan thinks I’ve been flirting with him?” he demanded. “Do you? And if he does - what does he think about me?”

#mdzs #wei wuxian #lan wangji #jiang cheng #nie huaisang #jin zixuan #my fic #my fics #oneiriad