#jin ling is confused and worried

[drama--universe]

Five Chickens

Requested by anonymous: Hey Hey! How about our 4 juniors boys from The Untamed, joined by a junior girl from the Nie clan (I think she could be Nie Huaisang's younger sister), when she saves their lives from a demon, but turns ugly during the fight. She is stubborn and so refuses their help, without realizing herself that the weapon that hit her was poisoned and she was in agony after a few days. But they manage to save her, repaying her for her earlier help. THX, have a nice day!❣️❣️❣️

Pairing: Untamed Juniors x fem!reader

Word Count: 2.0k words

"She'll do great, she knows what she's doing." Wuxian was teasing Huaisang, with a stupid grin as he watched you and all other younglings march out into the fields. Huaisang's eyes remained trained on you and he didn't even react to Wuxian's comment, much to the man's dismay. He was right, Huaisang knew that much, and yet he couldn't help but worry about you.

This would be your first official hunt, dressed in the dark grey robes that represented your clan and a large saber in hand. Unlike him, you were much more interested in fighting and swords. If anything, you were a carbon copy of your oldest brother, Mingjue. Only differences that you were a bit less aggressive, but in now way should you be angered. You had been hunting since you were 10 years old, a talent for tracking and killing demons that gained you the title of 'the little demon of Nie'. Yet, Huaisang was worried. He didn't want to lose another on of his family members.

"It went this way!" Jing Ling's voice was booming loud, anyone near could hear it and in turn also creatures. Sizhui and Zizhen were trying to shush the boy, but getting Jingyi quiet was another task.

"I know it went this way, I'm not blind! But can you see anything here, stupid?" Jingyi screamed back before all of them froze when something loud growled behind them. With a turn of their heads, the cause of this became clear.

They supposed it was a man, but it's body was disfigured and broken. Black smoke surrounded it, pulling attention away from the obvious dangling arm and broken leg.

"Uh... demon?" Zizhen stuttered and the others nodded before jumping when the creature let out a loud roar. They ran in an instance, avoiding trees as they were chased.

"I thought there were only bunnies!" Jingyi screamed loudly as he jumped over some fallen trees, daring to look back and only screaming when he noticed how close the demon was to him. Curses flew from his mouth, which made Sizhui frown at the breaking of the rules. With another roar, they all dared to look back before slowing down. Someone had jumped on the demon, sword slashing away at the enemy as they avoided the attacks. The quartet slowed down, staring at their savior as they fought. Then, with a final blow, the demon crashed to the ground, smoke completely gone and a girl straddling the body with the sword impaled into it's chest.

"You guys run like chickens." The comment was unexpected, so much so that Sizhui couldn't help but laugh while others stared in shock. You got up, pulling your saber out of the demon's body and watching as it turned to ashes before you walked closer to the quartet. It was then that they realized that you were Nie (Y/n), if not for the saber it was for the smirk you wore that sent shivers down their spines and reminded them of Nie Mingjue. You walked closer before pausing right in front of them, saber now thrown over your shoulder as you placed your other hand on your hip.

'You're hurt." Sizhui noticed the long scratch on your leg, cutting through your robes and revealing your leg along with the wound. You followed his gaze, looking at your leg with confusion before sighing softly as you tore a lower part of your robes before lifting the robes up to your hip.

"Cover up!" Jin Ling and Jingyi yelled in sync, all of them turning away from seeing you practically naked or at least like they believed. You paused for a few seconds before rolling your eyes, continuing to wrapping your leg to keep the blood loss to a minimum. Then you lowered your robes once again and looking back at the boys.

"Let's find something else to hunt, you chickens." You spoke as you brushed past them, walk turning into a sprint as you got sight of another creature. The four boys couldn't help but follow, although it was with slight hesitance in their steps.

"Oi, chickens!" There rang a collective groan from the group as they noticed you approaching, or more specifically from Jin Ling and Jingyi as they all turned to face your approaching figure.

"Stop calling us that!" Jingyi called out, clearly annoyed as he glared at you. You didn't react to the glare, instead you just smiled at Sizhui as he greeted you. He was probably the only once that didn't mind the nickname too much, he was used to worse kind of nicknames at this point (Wuxian being the cause of this).

You stopped once you were next to the group, sighing loudly before looking at the object in Sizhui's hands. It was a child's toy, yet he held it with such care and you couldn't help but wonder why.

"Did you buy that here?" You asked, pointing at the object and Sizhui looked down before nodding. He opened his hands fully to reveal the toy, which now was clearly shown to be a butterfly. It was pretty and reminded you of the toys that you had as a child, not that you cared much for those when you were young as you preferred to play with the swords of your brother.

"Did you go to the doctor for your wounds?" Zizhen asked and you smiled at the boy, but shook your head nonetheless. You didn't see the point, it was a simple flesh wound and you were used to those.

"Are you sure that's okay?" "Yeah, I cleaned and wrapped it. It'll be fine, nothing I haven't had before." You said with another smile, not flinching in the slightest as you prodded at the wound before shrugging it off.

"What about you? You sprained your ankle, no?" You turned to Jin Ling and he looked surprised that you knew that before nodding at you, yet not speaking up besides a thank you. Right when you were about to say something else, you heard a loud shout from behind you as a man walked by with a cart full of snacks. With wide eyes, you carefully watched the sugar covered fruits and your hand was quick to move to your money pouch. You raced to the man, buying five sugar covered fruit skewers before handing the vendor his money. Then you made your way back to the group.

"Here you go, enjoy!" You smiled as you handed out the skewers to the quartet, who all took it with slight hesitation before all taking a bite. In a second, all their faces lit up as they continued to eat to the treat. You followed, carefully biting into the fruit and listening to the small crack of the sugar. With a small, you chewed on the candy with a happy sigh. It was nice to eat some sugar once in a while, even if it was super unhealthy for you. Only halfway through the apple, you suddenly felt a pain in your abdomen that tore right through your whole body. The apple clattered to the ground, shattering on impact while you held your stomach in pain as your vision blurred before turning dark.

Sizhui was the first to react as he watched you go down, his own treat joining yours on the ground as he gently laid you down. You were unconscious, but clearly still in pain as your brows furrowed. Black lines were rising above your collar, stopping right underneath your jawline and the lines were slightly raised up.

"She needs a doctor." Sizhui said and Jing Ling, surprisingly, was first to lift you up on his back, making sure that your arms were wrapped around his shoulders and that he had a firm grasp on your legs before he turned his head to the group. Zizhen was the first to speak again, leading the way to the closest doctor. Surely the doctor must've been shocked to see them run in, all of you from rather major clans, but he was quick to move as he noticed your state.

Your skin had turned pale, the black marks had grown more noticeable and your eyes were flickering open and closed every few seconds. When you were laid down on the bed, the doctor was quick to check your state as the others watched patiently for whatever was happening. The doctor was quick to start treatment, not saying a single thing as he treated you with various things like liquid medicines or cream. It took only a couple of minutes before he finished, sighing loudly before making his way over to the quartet.

"How long has she been like that?" "We don't know, we only saw her today. Before today it has been two weeks or so." Sizhui answered and the doctor nodded, jotting it down before handing them a bottle with medicine pills.

"She needs this every day, one in the morning and one in the evening." He then said, looking at them with a stern gaze while Jingyi took ahold of the medicine.

"She also needs a lot of rest for the poison to get out of her system, I even recommend helping her by making her spiritual energy circulate faster. How you do that is your and her choice." The doctor continued before turning away and continuing his previous work while Jin Ling walked back to you. You were lifted again, once again laying on his back as he made sure that you wouldn't fall.

Then all of you made your way back to the hotel, where they could hopefully warn some of the adults of your condition.

"I am not a child..." You spoke as your medicine was handed to you along with a cup of water by Jingyi, who almost looked like he didn't really want to be here. Nonetheless, you took the pill and swallowed it with a heavy sigh. Being bedridden was not your style, you hated being stuck in the same room from sunrise to sundown. The quartet visited every day to take care of you and Xichen came along every two to three days to help you to help you with your spiritual energy. Right now, the black veins had gone back down, now only near your wound like any normal infection, and it didn't hurt anymore thanks to the faster healing rate due to your spiritual energy.

"Then you would've gone to the doctor when needed. Besides, you're fourteen." Jingyi said and you pouted at him before laying back down. You pulled your blanket up before looking back towards Jingyi, patting the spot beside you. Jingyi gave you a short glare, turning around with a huff and you sighed.

"Chicken." You whispered, to which Jingyi gave you another glare before laying down anyway. You smiled at your victory, leaning your head against his shoulder before sighing again.

"Thank you for the help. You and the other boys, of course." You whispered again, but Jingyi didn't answer you and it just remained quiet in the room. Until the other three appeared, all pausing as they saw Jingyi lay beside you. You lifted your head, patting the bed softly again and causing the three to join you by sitting down near your legs while Zizhen moved to sit against the wall on your other side.

"How are you?" "Well, I'm bored. So, did you bring something to eat?" You asked, staring at Sizhui with curious eyes. He reacted by simply pulling out a pouch and opening it to reveal some hard candies that you had asked for. You sat back up, happily grabbing one and popping it into your mouth with a happy smile.

"You're the best!" You laid back down and chewed happily, laying your head against Jingyi's shoulder once again. The boys talked and you just listened to them with a smile, laughing at the comments they made. It was under weird circumstances, but you were glad you had met them and became friends.

With those thoughts, you drifted to sleep with a smile on your face.

#the untamed #the untamed x reader #the untamed juniors #the untamed juniors x reader #mdzs #mdzs x reader #mdzs lan sizhui #mdzs lan sizhui x reader #mdzs lan jingyi #mdzs lan jingyi x reader #mdzs jin ling #mdzs jin ling x reader #mdzs ouyang zizhen #mdzs ouyang zizhen x reader #untamed #untamed x reader #untamed lan sizhui #untamed lan sizhui x reader #untamed lan jingyi x reader #untamed lan jingyi #untamed jin ling #untamed jin ling x reader #untamed ouyang zizhen #untamed ouyang zizhen x reader #x reader #reader insert #requested #mdzs juniors x reader #untamed juniors x reader #mdzs juniors

[mimicha-arts]

Wasn't even sure if I want to post it, but anyway. I like to be more objective, analyze everything and so on. But this is the last week - which means I will live in delulu. Just don't take anything seriously. This post is a mixture of thoughts, guesses, a little personal opinion, not a theory. It's about possibilities. To begin with, I must say that my expectations have unfortunately broken free, and I cannot keep them in check. I also hope that, as always, the final episode will be more than 30 minutes ;)

REMINDER SPOILERS for ep11/ep12/s2

Keep calm No one has shot Cheng Xiaoshi in this timeline (yet)

Possibility 1 If it's just one shot. There is a possibility that the shot is a trick, where the frames and words should be in a different order. First there should be a shot scene where Qian Jin is still wearing the bulletproof vest. Most likely, he will simply run out of ammo later.

If so, yes, Cheng Xiaoshi was shot. Yes, the bullet partially hit. In fact? It was a miss. By all logic, the events when Qian Jin does not have a vest are what comes next in chronology. He must be left without firearms, so he switches to hand-to-hand combat. At the moment when Xiaoshi raises his hand to strike, you can see that he has a wound/torn clothing in a very obvious place, but this is not a through shot. Also Lu Guang's words, as an answer to Cheng Xiaoshi's worries: "You're not better than me, anyway" - probably, this “similarity” reflects the duality of their wounds.

And it's gonna be just like this... Or. Possibility 2 There will be two shots. And even if Qian Jin runs out of ammo, Xiao Li still appears in the scene, he most likely has a gun. I'm not sure if they can put such a serious and important moment in a teaser, but.

Keep in mind that where XIao Li is, there is always an absolute mess (do we trust him at all, haha). Considering all the actions of the police, either the animation studio is really salty about police work in the real world, or the constant fuck ups is deliberate actions.

Although I think Li Tianchen's attention will be focused on Li Tianxi or Qian Jin... Speaking of XƎTЯOVerthink, we still have "Li Tianchen and a bouquet of flowers". He has a very strong motivation to “get it all back.” If he shot at Lu Guang, but Cheng Xiaoshi blocked him with himself, it would make sense.

Ok, maybe things will be different. Anything can happen.

Qiao Ling

Everyone already assumed - it came true, since in the opening her eyes lit up in an extremely interesting way, and now in the preview we see the activation of her abilities.

Considering that this is (probably) the second time we see such a scene, we can say with some degree of certainty that Qiao Ling initially did not have her own abilities, but upon the death of Li Tianxi, Qiao Ling received her abilities or activated powers which are more compatible with the inner “core” of Qiao Ling herself.

Again, I think she kinda fits the role of "healer" in the team. This may also be related to the fact that in collaboration with 花亦山心之月 one of her abilities was directly related to healing and restoring HP. If this was done on purpose a year ago, if collaboration lore is particularly canon and hints... Ohhhhhh :)

I'm not sure if Qiao Ling's abilities will be a "one-time opportunity" since it is unclear whether we will remain in this timeline/reality. Considering all the elements in her posters (hearts, the music player, stop button), I think she will have the ability to stop/freeze time in the moment. It is precisely because of the symphony of life, probably she represents a “pause” button.

Lu Guang, Cheng Xiaoshi and Vortex

Something has to happen. Everyone understands perfectly well what the fandom is waiting for. Everyone perfectly understands hints and literally directly said things (visually and with OSTs). But we are all afraid that this situation is a hoax. Ugh, me too. This is terribly funny.

But let's not forget. This is the essence of LinkClick. Confuse everyone, make them doubt and overthink, and then take the most literal and direct path. Because that's what the game is about. I like to think of s2 as a game with an audience. I would laugh that Lu Guang would just be a "normal guy", but (c)... Nah, I think he is an onion with many layers.

YES. I'm still confused by the circumstances of the shot in the ep 12 intro. But we have so little understanding of where the truth is that I will continue to support the most obvious and direct way to the end.

In my opinion: s1 events is the cyclical past but with changing circumstances/Lu Guang's attempts, s2 is the present in which a “vortex” will occur, they will switch roles, and s3 is Chen Xiaoshi’s stage of depression - so Cheng Xiaoshi will be the one who will face the destiny from the other side, either learn how to live without Lu Guang, either find a way how to get him back. If everything goes this way - everything in s3 will ultimately lead to an attempt to change the node of their meeting so that they never intersect, but this is completely mystical speculation based on foreshadowing.

Considering how Cheng Xiaoshi's abilities are developing, 12 hours is not his limit. That’s why I’m betting on time jumping/rewriting from Cheng Xiaoshi's side. This choice had already arisen before him twice. We are getting closer and closer to what this will lead to. I guess one of his main themes as a character is, can he remain “himself” until the very end? I am referring to 天真.

I'll accept any scenario, just in general knowing WHAT Director Lee likes to do in his works... Huh. Also this poster for s2 extremely strange “does not coincide” with themes is s2. Like, we discussed the cameras several times, the difference in reflections and so on, but there is one point that was barely brought up. At least I didn't see it lately, cause I'm kinda new here. They're here in their damn SCHOOL uniforms (校服), we never had a flashback or anything with this designs in s2. Well. Time-jumps into the past, at the moment of the “nod/meeting” on the basketball court, but now all events will go on behalf of Cheng Xiaoshi? Yo. Is it possible that we will see (s3) their “past” not through flashbacks, but through the prism of the present? This seems like a rather interesting idea to me. If we are considering "The Arrow of Time" here, all events are relative, and it's also possible.

Considering that we all know about the “dark-design!CXS” in the intro, it never matched his design in s1, and there is an obvious link between the seasons and the passage of time, where exactly s2 is the present, and the entire s1 is a continuous "flashback". I'm not a big fan of posting materials from the art books, but it's just bits… In concept sketches of scenes, Cheng XIaoshi has a dark design, like in his intro. His eyes are not black, they are kinda ligher, like yellow, so these are not concepts for s1 at all (I’m speculating) - these are probably his concepts for s3, reliving the events when the Vortex turns over.

Anyway. Cheng XIaoshi is going to take a burden. Therefore, it is easy to draw parallels in s2ep3, we all understand the context. The themes of promises. Also, the ring. He is character with the obvious path - he have to realize the truth, find out about everything and live with it, keeping the memories. Especially about one "forget-me-not" person.

This is my personal opinion and empty speculation. So, in overall:

Lu Guang's vision was a flashback, he took over Cheng Xiaoshi's abilities at the time of death and was able to rewrite the events, but it's not the same as Cheng Xiaoshi's time jumping in the past. The color coding can be anything, but since red-lilac (as connection with twins) and white went to Qiao Ling, and all the Easter eggs point to green, Lu Guang still most likely originally had a green-yellow color coding, blue for Cheng Xiaoshi, idk.

All of Lu Guang's knowledge of lore and abilities comes from his personal experiences - for me, he as a character is literally imbued with the theme of regrets and the severity of his own actions. We saw how much his emotional moments, worries and sincerity were centered around Cheng Xiaoshi in s1, and everything became completely straightforward in s2.

Difference in design - in my eyes refers to the fact that Cheng Xiaoshi from the past could not survive his “fate” in any scenario before this attempt. And Cheng Xiaoshi from this timeline is the only one who got the opportunity to “move further into the future.” There's a chance that the story will begin once again, but from a different, now “correctly chronological angle” , if we take it from the point of view in the intros, precisely at the transitional moment from s2 to s3. But at the same time, I think that they cannot completely destroy the current chronology of events.

A lot depends on the date of Cheng Xiaoshi’s birthday, so maybe when he crossed his “age limit” everything goes to an end. I will scream if this shot is not actually a happy return to the photo studio, but Cheng Xiaoshi's birthday celebration in the past.

What about Lu Guang? Well. We literally have lyrics for "The Tides" - if this ED won't spoil everything that happens, I don't understand the lyrics at all. I don't think Lu Guang's existence will be eradicated from the universe, time or reality now. I think the current version of him will end up dead/cut off by the universe from the current version of Cheng Xiaoshi.

Will my understanding of events deceive me? Very likely. I'm not sure of anything except one thing - I'm wrong somewhere. Especially because here I do not take into account the plot role of Hatman (we have no idea what he is trying to achieve and what his influence will be in this particular situation) Again, a friendly reminder - this is all pure speculation. Lu Guang is a mystical liar, and this is not a fair game. We're playing bingo.

But am I completely sure that Lu Guang is absolutely pathetic and miserable, that he is the person who, despite all his words and rules, could not let go the person he loves?

Yes.

Qian Jin

Honestly? I love what they did. Oh, it will be a sexy main villain with complex morals? He has his own vision of justice blah blah blah. No, we have a very dirty story here, some people just fucked up everything in their lives and everything in the lives of the people around them. “And what, everything was just like that, so useless, is that how the script works?” Ok, everything may change in ep12, but.. yeah? And I think that's great. Because that's how life works, too. One of the most terrifying experiences in life is to be around such people in power. I'm not making excuses for Li Tianchen's actions, but I have deep empathy for him - his life really was nothing but a nightmare. I have no questions about his logic or methods of “asking for help” - because he is a victim of abuse.

At the moment, it's the pure irony that Qian Jin always used everyone as tools, that even his "family" were never really on the same side with him, and in the end the real "tool" - is Qian Jin himself. In the hands of a Hatman. If earlier I believed that they could act as one (since I had other thoughts about Quede, and we also did not know Qian Jin’s motivation), now I am inclined to believe that Qian Jin never knew that he was just a pawn in someone else's hands. Also, that purple color is all around his figure ;) "Hatman" was never on the screen in present, but also always was here.

Twins

My bet is that they definitely don't fall out of the plot. Their role is too important, they must be included in the main cast to reveal the story arc of Hatman (here I'm sure he is Liu Xiao). If he promised Li Tianchen a meeting in the future - it will happen. Could he get a redemption arc? Perhaps. Will he be able to get his HE? I guess no. Hatman's words in flashbacks about his philosophy about hunters sound pretty straight forward. This will be a completely different antagonist, with his own philosophy and understanding of the structure of the world and society. But it's not entirely clear to me what path the plot is leading us down and what the final point will be. To what extent is our “main” antagonist really... the main “antagonist”, will Li Tianchen continue to follow the path of "destruction" or will he receive a redemption arch.

Given his background, it's possible, and I can generally see the possibilities for it, even considering that Li Tianchen was involved in a series of massacres. The different details of the murders and the broken chronology - I can get how this could theoretically be softened if it is divided who killed whom. Yes, we know that Li Tianchen generally had no problem stabbing a person with a knife. But I still don't understand the difference in murdering styles (also what's wrong with boots in some cases), considering that Li Tianchen probably prefers more planned and quiet methods (like murder-suicides). It probably doesn't mean anything, Li Tianchen personally confirmed that he killed these people, but I sense something strange here. For now, I cannot imagine, if Li Tianxi does not die completely, how the script will be able to maintain the right degree between drama and logic and at the same time not discount everything that happened in the plot. If events are rewritten, it all depends on what impact it leaves, whether this reality, where everything mattered, will continue to exist. But this is definitely not the end for all of them.

Hatman

I'm still firmly convinced that Hatman is Liu Xiao, not much has changed since my first post about him. Possible antipode of Lu Guang (was Lu An from the mini-series a subtle hint, haha). At the moment I'm leaning towards 3 ideas:

He is also a person with abilities and sees variations of the future that has not yet happened since childhood, which generally clarifies his mysterious phrases about possibilities and chances.

In terms of time, since all events are relative to each other, maybe he is able to move from the “present-future” to himself 7 years ago in order to “lead” Li Tianchen to the desired point in current events and correct the necessary course.

It's all part of a time loop, the events are rewritten, but he still has memories of them, which is why he can "correct" what happens when the "loop" of several years is repeated again.

What else am I sure of? He will have some kind of terrible background story with his mother, remember it. And, if we take into account another donghua from the same studio, perhaps Liu Xiao takes his “roots” and “references” from approximately the same character as Lu Guang himself - just each of them … adopted different features, references and archetypes. Because damn it, Liang Chao's legacy is real and I can't stop thinking about it - this is one of the characters from Tu Bian Ying Xiong: Leaf - his story and family situation have interesting points, especially considering some moments in the link click itself, which refer to Leaf's plot (same city, closing of a pharmaceutical company, some interesting easter eggs, all of it)

Photos from OP

I always wondered what was going on in all the photos in the opening. I didn't expect them all to be left with such intrigue until the very last episode.

We have two photos in the opening that are flying in the water, they are almost impossible to see because of the blur, I think that their meaning will be revealed this friday (same as diary). If the events were/will be rewritten, most likely it has something to do with these photos - the same two photos from the op, as well as in 3D scene.

Except for Chen Nan, there are a few more strange photos from the passage in the tunnel. More cases, covered bodies, a bicycle/bike handlebar or something like that... But I have no clear thoughts on them at all.

What are the main points?

Some could be picked up in episode 12 in my opinion. Or in s3, I hope they not fall into oblivion. I am not taking into account all the questions that left since s1, hello to April-September and Emma.

Qian Jin should probably die, his birthday present.

The real circumstances of Chen Nan's death, there is too much unreliable information.

Explanation of the circumstances of Chen Bin's death, since it's not confirmed.

Xiao Ma also will be choked on screen.

Did Wang Juan survive?

How exactly did the twins' parents die?

Context of Qiao Ling's abilities - will Li Tianxi be saved or not.

Where is Liu Min's phone, what is the danger of information inside

Some chances of hints for 7th case, maybe.

The boat / flipped phone / kettle, everything related to the time loop, why Lu Guang knew the place/left a photo. Why doesn't Lu Guang use his watch anymore?

Password, ring, call - these are not questions that will be answered immediately

Who will get the shot, in what timeline and how? If the vision shows different circumstances, what happened there?

What are the photos about, what is the book/diary from the OP?

We still hope and believe in Lu Guang flashbacks, if related to the previous points, then. Why do they need to use such "time machine" references -

Vortex in context, will time be broken completely?

Will circumstances bring Cheng Xiaoshi and Li Tianchen to some extreme point?

Why is there a photo studio frame with balloons?

Liu Xiao / Hatman as the main cliffhanger

Too much, probably. All thoughts are my delusions. Well. See you on Friday.

#link click #link click s2 #link click spoilers #shiguang dailiren #thanks to ep11 i was not able to sleep for 2 days #delulu #I'm pathetic because I really think that Link Click is in many ways a donghua about love that doomed by fate #Sorry but I watched 仙王的日常生活 and I can’t stop thinking about patterns #everyone is under the dead flag #mimicha.lc

[guqin-and-flute]

And A-Fu Makes 4–Chpt. 6 [3zun Raise Jingyi Au]

[EDIT: DANGIT, I forgot to add credit to this one too!! THANK you madtomedgar for the 'call me xiaoshushu' convo idea!!]

[Ao3 Link] [Series] [More 3zun Raise Jingyi AU]

A-Yuan opened his mouth--probably to say this was a bad idea again --but it was Jin Ling who shushed him this time. Outside the door, beyond the sitting room, they could hear muffled voices coming down the hallway. So, A-Yuan went quiet automatically (totally already in sneaking mode, even if he pretended he wasn’t.)

“--even awake yet?”

“Oh, undoubtedly. They vowed to stay up later but were out within minutes.”

Both A-Ling and A-Fu pointed to each other at the same time, mouths open in a triumphant, silent yell. 2 fathers at once! How lucky! Uncle Zixuan was coming back with Yellow-Father and they were going to get them both so good. A-Yuan, though, just looked even more uncomfortable with this extra grownup in the mix, but A-Fu wasn’t too worried; A-Yuan didn’t snitch, he just sorta squirmed, then did it anyway.

All 3 of them had been plastered around the door to A-Fu’s Jin room in their pajamas for a thousand hours with the hot sunlight coming through the window onto their feet, waiting. Back when they had woken up and found Yellow-Father’s bed already made and him gone, A-Fu knew that this was a perfect opportunity for Sneaking-and-Spooking they couldn’t miss. (He had decided to change the name of the game to Sneaking-and-Spooking, so he could win it easier--if he didn’t manage to sneak on someone, he could at least jump out and spook them! Jin Ling said that was cheating, but he just didn’t like how often he lost.)

A-Ling had kept whining about having to go to the bathroom and A-Yuan had kept saying that he was nervous about this and A-Fu had to be A-Voice-Or-Reason and calm them down to be ready--and now it was time! 

The lock on the front door clicked and the voices got less muffled as it rolled back and the fathers came in. “Boys?” Yellow-Father called, and A-Fu made the fiercest shushing face at his cousins. When no one answered, the fathers started talking quieter, something about rooms being bigger--A-Fu was paying too close attention to the sound of their footsteps. One went to the set of drawers and one started walking around slowly. 

Then, something terrible happened. Or, at least, terrible for the Sneaking-and-Spooking plan.

The smell of Aunt Yanli’s rib and lotus root soup wafted into their noses like a nice breeze. Yellow-Father and Uncle Zixuan had brought back special soup! A-Fu’s tummy grumbled all of a sudden, and A-Ling started sniffing all interested. A-Yuan looked at A-Fu with an ‘I told you so!’ in his eyebrows.

  ‘Told me so what?’ A-Fu scowled back with his own.

‘They have soup!’ A-Yuan’s chin point said. ‘ It could spill! Bad idea!’

‘You don’t know that! ’ said A-Fu’s nose scrunch.

“A-Ling?” said Uncle Zixuan from close by the door--he was the one walking around.

‘I want soup,’ said the pleading look Jin Ling shot at A-Fu. 

‘You follow too many rules,’ said A-Fu’s headshake at A-Yuan.

‘What?’ said A-Yuan’s confused eye squint. (Okay, so maybe A-Fu was making up words for him and his face, so what? He knew what his best cousin-friend would say out loud, if he could.)

“Boys?” Uncle Zixuan’s voice was softer now, like he thought they were maybe all still asleep--even closer to the door.

‘I want soup !’ said Jin Ling’s frown, but, like, louder this time.

A-Fu waved his hands at them frantically to stay where they were. Then, he held up one hand and started counting down with it.

3,

Jin Ling crouched down to be ready. A-Yuan nervously balled up his fists but did the same thing.

2.

A-Fu bent his knees and took in a huge breath to shout--

“I know we’re not going to thank your bofu for bringing us soup by trying to startle him,” came Yellow-Father’s pleasant voice from right outside the door.

A-Fu blew out a huge breath with an, “Uuuuuuugh- uh! ” 

He hadn’t even heard him walk up! Yellow-Father had won Sneaking-and-Spooking again. When he threw open the door, Yellow-Father smiled down at him from next to a surprised looking Uncle Zixuan. “Diedie, how do you know all of the times! ?”

Jin Ling and A-Yuan charged out together. A-Ling jumped up into Uncle Zixuan’s arms, kicking his feet and shrieking when they spun around together and A-Yuan hugged tight onto Yellow-Father’s leg. Yellow-Father looked all twinkly down at him and patted his head, then said to A-Fu, so totally unhelpful, “ Diedie’s are magic that way. Good morning, little ones. Did you sleep well?”

A-Fu’s annoyed didn’t stay for long, though, because then, it was Super Special Soup Time! It wasn’t a normal breakfast food they ate, but apparently, Clan Leader Jiang was coming to visit and meet the new twin babies for the first time in the next few days, and so Aunt Yanli had been cooking a lot. Since A-Fu loved the taste of it and he was leaving soon, she had sent some over with Uncle Zixuan. He was halfway through his second bowl, happily chewing on a big chunk of ginger when he remembered something. 

Uh oh. He had super promised Gray-Father really serious he wouldn’t eat meat anymore. And Gray-Father had specificity mentioned this soup.

Yellow-Father spied his Thinking Look from next to him and asked, “What’s wrong, Fufu? Did you find a bone?”

“We’w…” Pointing his spoon at his steaming soup, he asked, “I’th got meat i’ i’, righ’?”

“Oh, Fufu, please don’t talk with your mouth full. Meat? Yes, it has meat.”

He swallowed. “What animal?”

“A pig!” Jin Ling announced triumphantly, banging the table in his excitement to be right, and Uncle Zixuan quieted him down with shushes, scrubbing his soupy mouth with a napkin.

Oh. Well, he hadn’t ever met a pig or even seen too many, and when he did, they were pretty big and loud and bristly, not like cute, soft bunnies. Plus, it didn't look anything like a pig. 

Yellow-Father’s gave him a confusion look when he stayed quiet. “What's the matter? You like the soup, don’t you?”

“Well…yeah….”

Yellow-Father reached over and rubbed his back all soothing, smiling. “Then what’s wrong? Your Blue- die doesn’t mind if you choose to eat meat outside the Cloud Recesses when we make it for you.”

A-Fu glanced over at his cousins, who were looking at him curiously, chewing. Jin Ling had a little soup drip wobbling on his chin again and A-Yuan was munching on his mung bean pancake. He didn’t have trouble eating no meat--he liked the food at the Cloud Recesses and didn’t take breaks from it when he left like A-Fu did. But meat tasted so good and he was already eating it. “Well, Gray- die said it’s not convictioning….”

At this, Yellow-Father scooted over and scooped A-Fu into his lap. “Your gray die is not in charge of what you eat. Here--” He plucked A-Fu’s spoon from his hand and scooped up a good chunk of stringy strips of fall-apart meat. “Open?”

Maybe it wasn’t such a big deal after all. Now that he was really-for-real thinking about it, he didn’t want to have to just eat the lame Cloud Recesses food for his whole life. Plus, Yellow-Father didn’t seem to think that it was a big deal! So he happily let his yellow father feed him, wiggling around and dancing just like all the spices and yumminess were dancing around in his mouth.

Jin Ling shoved his spoon over at Uncle Zixuan, exclaiming, “Feed me too, diedie! ”

“Weren’t you just telling me yesterday that you were a big kid, now, and didn’t need help doing anything?” 

“Puh- leaaaase ?”

With a shake of his head and a chuckle, Uncle Zixuan scooped up some of A-Ling’s soup into his mouth. So that he wasn’t lonely, A-Fu leaned over and grabbed at A-Yuan’s pancake so it tore into a little strip that he wiggled in his face. “Here, A-Yuan! Like a worm! Cheep cheep!”

“Ew!” A-Yuan laughed, scrunching up his nose, but he opened up his mouth to eat it.

Excited, now, A-Fu grabbed Yellow-Father’s chopsticks and scooped up rice--a bunch spilled all over both of them when he held it up over his head for Yellow-Father to eat. 

“Fufu, you’re getting it in your hair!”

“You gotta eat it!!”

While Yellow-Father was picking the rice grains off A-Fu’s head,  Jin Ling grabbed a chunk of pork from his soup and fed it to Uncle Zixuan, who looked like he wasn’t so sure about maybe dripping stuff on his robes. A-Fu knew that A-Ling just did it to be a copycat, so he got huffy and tried to crawl across the table to feed Uncle Zixuan, too. But then Yellow-Father pulled him back into his lap and said maybe only the grownups would do the feeding, thank you, though. For the rest of the meal, Uncle Zixuan fed A-Ling and Yellow-Father fed A-Fu and A-Yuan. Yellow-Father had a pleased smile as he wiped the corner of A-Yuan’s mouth with a dark blue napkin, saying, “No one should ever keep you from your food, boys. You should eat as much as you like when you like.”

At least it wasn’t all so serious as A-Fu had been afraid of! He had been a little worried he would get in trouble if he brought it up, since Gray-Father had made it sound like he couldn’t change his mind about it.

“I’m just real sorry, pigs,” he made sure to tell the next spoonful before it reached his mouth. “Maybe try not being so yummy.”

After breakfast, the fathers rounded up all the kids and gave them baths and got them dressed. (A-Fu tried to start a splash war with A-Ling that Uncle Zixuan stopped, but not before he got wet.) When they all trooped out to the garden, the Jin nannies were already there with the twins and A-Qiang. Apparently, all the for Sect Leader Jiang cooking made Aunt Yanli really tired, so Uncle Zixuan wanted to make the house all quiet so she could take a nap for the day. And so the big kids got stuck with the babies again . All A-Fu had to say was A-Qiang better not belly flop on his face again, or A-Fu was gonna lose it . His nose was still sore from yesterday!

He scowled at A-Qiang when he ran up to them, so Jin Ling scowled back at him. But A-Fu just wanted to play , not argue, so like, whatever. It wasn’t so bad, once they started running around together. A-Qiang was getting a lot better at walking and running, so they could at least play chase--plus he didn’t know how to be quiet, so when they played hide and seek, he would giggle and A-Fu would always find him first. A-Fu would usually be mad that he wasn’t playing the game right…but he really liked winning, so it didn’t bother him too much. It was even fun to hold him upside down to train him to do headstands until Uncle Zixuan told him to stop! (He didn’t get why he should stop, A-Qiang was laughing the whole time anyway.)

The roofs around them were so bright when the sun bounced off them that they hurt A-Fu’s eyes. Green spots blinked on his eyelids after he looked at the giant puffy white flowers Yellow-Father called peonies. They were the only flowers in the whole garden that he actually knew, and only because they were the Jin Clan flower--Sparks Amid Snow, his Lan teachers made them remember. The other flowers nodded in the breeze all around them, pink and orange and red and purple, buzzing with bees. A-Fu had gotten stung, like 10 times before, when he went trampling through the Jin gardens. He sometimes just forgot that they were there! They were such grumpy bugs and should just mind their own business.

 Uncle Zixuan and Yellow-Father sat next to each other in the shade with their robes all spread out around them while kids played. Each of them held one of the twins, talking about boring adult things--probably about babies, because he could sometimes hear Uncle Zixuan coo at A-Zan in that embarrassing way that grownups got around babies where they acted all stupid, making weird faces and talked in high, silly voices. A-Fu really liked Uncle Zixuan, but that guy was way too okay with babies--he kept looking over at Yellow-Father holding A-Mei with a very pleased expression.

 At least Yellow-Father was just smiling down at A-Mei sleeping, rocking a little and not making embarrassing noises. He would kiss her forehead and pet her hair, sometimes, but that was about it. Whatever. As long as he didn’t get any baby ideas like Blue-Father or make too much of a fuss, A-Fu was happy to leave him to deal with the boring babies. 

It wasn’t until A-Fu ran past him, determined to show A-Ling he could cartwheel the best that he heard his father humming--and he screeched to a stop, almost falling over his feet. What. The. Heck! 

That was his lullaby, the one about a little lotus flower in a pond who made friends with the moon! He stomped back to them, fists all balled up. “You can’t sing that!”

Yellow-Father squinted up at him against the sunlight twinkling through the leaves in surprise. "Shhh, Fufu. What’s the matter?”

He didn’t want to quiet down! Yellow-Father always sang to him to go to sleep, and that song was A-Fu’s favorite! Yellow-Father was his father, not anyone else's! No one else got to have him! The Jin kids got to see him a hundred thousand times more than A-Fu did because they all lived in Koi Tower together and it wasn’t fair! 

He scowled ferociously down at the Jin baby--she just smacked her weird chubby lips in her sleep. “You can’t sing that to them! It’s mine!”

Yellow-Father’s eyebrows stopped squinching and he glanced over at Uncle Zixuan, saying, “Ooh,” all gentle, like A-Fu was so small and so special--specialler even than the baby. “I see. You’re right, it is your song, Fufu. My mistake, I'm sorry.”

Finally he got it. A-Fu sighed a huffy breath and crossed his arms. "Good.…You can sing something else to her, though. If you want. I guess," he allowed grudgingly after thinking about it for a second

Uncle Zixuan made a funny noise like a snort--but when A-Fu eyed him suspiciously, he was just letting A-Zan chew on his finger, not looking at them. 

 Yellow-Father's eyes crinkled up farther into a smile. "That's very thoughtful of you, Fufu,” he said. “What song should be A-Mei’s, then?” 

“I’unno. But not the flower and the moon one,” he warned.

“Of course, of course.”

He sort of snugged her in closer in his arms when he said it, though, and shot a laughing sort of look over at Uncle Zixuan, who shook his head with a grin. That Uncle Zixuan was such a bad influence on Yellow-Father, giving him babies to hold and pay attention to, so A-Fu added, just in case he got any ideas, “And you’re not allowed to have babies.”

This made Uncle Zixuan and Yellow-Father laugh --loud enough that A-Mei squirmed, and they quickly quieted down. A-Fu didn’t know why they were laughing at him, and it made him scowl, but then Yellow-Father opened his free arm to invite A-Fu closer and even though he didn’t want to hang out with the babies and he didn’t get what was so funny, he snuggled in next to him. “Alright, Fufu; on one condition.”

“What?”

Leaning down, he kissed the side of A-Fu’s forehead and said, quietly, “That you’ll always be my baby.”

“I can’t stay a baby, die! I’m growing pains already! I’m so much bigger than a baby!”

“Ah, you’re right. What if you promise to be my xiao -Fufu forever, then?”

Well, he wouldn’t really be able to be anything else , so that seemed like a pretty easy promise to make, so he nodded. “Deal.”

He stayed next to Yellow-Father for a while, pressed right up against his side and chewed on his thumbnail as the grownups watched A-Yuan and A-Ling to cartwheel competitions and talked. (He wasn’t supposed to chew on his nails, Great-Uncle Qiren scolded him about manners, but he just kept finding his fingers in his mouth sometimes and he had no idea how they even got there.)

After a bit of them talking, Yellow-Father pet his head and murmured all soft down to him, “Do you think you’re a little grumpy because you miss Blue- die ?” 

And A-Fu didn’t like that question because it made a bunch of tears rear up and clog his throat like they had been waiting to pounce, so he just shrugged and sniffled a bit. His yellow father squeezed him closer and kept stroking his hair back from his face, which helped them sorta fade away without coming out. “He’ll be alright, Fufu. Everything is under control.”

Uncle Zixuan reached over and squeezed his knee. “Zewu-jun is a very strong cultivator, A-Fu, and he’s in good hands.”

A-Fu didn’t like this conversation, so he just said, “Do you wanna see me cartwheel? I can totally do two in a row!”

While they were saying yes, they did, all the other kids came over panting and dizzy to collapse by the grownups for a bit of a break, so A-Fu got to be the star and show off all the the new tumblings he had learned in class, so that was pretty cool!  He fell over a couple times and kept hitting his head. “Don’t help me, don’t help me, I can do it!” he yelled every time Yellow-Father looked like he was worrying-- Uncle Zixuan kept having to pat him on the shoulder to keep him from getting up and coming over. 

Finally, he managed to do 3 cartwheels in a row and then one of the ones he forgot the name of where you landed with both feet together--and he only stumbled, like, the tiniest bit--and he felt like he was the king of the world when everyone clapped for him. 

That feeling didn’t last super long, though. Because right after that, A-Fu saw his and Jin Ling’s nemesises .

Both Uncle Zixuan and Yellow-Father got ‘Jin-gongzi’-ed and ‘Jin-er-gongzi’-ed away to do some Important Business by some guy who poked his head into the courtyard. A-Qiang cried and cried to see his father leaving; so the big kids acted very grown up about it and didn’t make any fusses at all, to show him how it was done (even though A-Fu did feel a little grumpy about it.) The babies got given back to the 2 nannies that appeared to take them back home for feeding time. But then, the nanny that was left had to hurry A-Qiang off to go to the bathroom or something, telling the 3 big kids to ‘stay put.’ They were just about to practice handstands again when they heard a voice saying, “Oh look who it is. ” 

It was Jin Chan and his gang.

Jin Chan was the worst. Whenever he showed up, it was a bad day, because he had a stupid face and a stupid way of talking and he never, ever had anything nice to say and he picked on everyone.  He was just a little older than A-Fu, but he pretended like he was 10 times smarter and he was always followed around by a group of boys that were just as nasty as him. They weren’t always the same kids whenever A-Fu saw them, but they always followed whatever Jin Chan said, like he was a Sect Leader or something. A-Fu had run into him a few times in Koi Tower and at a few Cultivation Conferences, but he had heard even more about him from A-Ling, who had to live with him. He would trip people and say he didn’t, he would steal things or break them on purpose, he would make fun of things you were eating, or your clothes, or whatever.  One time, they saw him push a kid into the Lotus Pier Lake. Last time they ran into him, Jin Chan said that even though his name was Lan Fu, which meant luck, he was an unlucky jinx that made his birth parents die. 

He was totally Evil, and Lan rules said not to association with Evil--and A-Fu had no problem not associationing with Jin Chan and his gang, if he could help it. 

Today, he was smirking and strutting around all slow. “It’s LingLing and the Lan babies in our courtyard.” His friends all laughed, even though he hadn’t said anything funny at all. There weren’t a ton of them this time, but they were all kinda tall, even taller than A-Yuan who was just, like, a couple inches bigger than A-Fu. 

But A-Yuan was looking nervously around for a grownup, not like he wanted to use his tallness to help beat up stupid bullies. And A-Fu didn’t need an adult’s help telling someone to shut their stupid face. “Shut your stupid face, Jin Chan. We’re not babies,” he announced back, just as loud.

Next to him, Jin Ling puffed up, hands on his hips and said, “Yeah! And this isn’t your courtyard, it’s ours ; we were here first.”

The breeze that had been nice and perfume-y now seemed like an ominous wind on a battlefield in a legend. Jin Chan rolled his eyes, elbowing his friends, like they  had said something funny, which made A-Fu’s mad go all boily in his stomach and he clenched his fists. “Aww, what are you gonna do, LingLing? Tell your parents? What’s your die gonna do? He’s just a son-of-a, and you’re just a son-of-a-son-of-a. You’re not special. You’re stupid. And plus your niang is totally useless.” 

Jin Ling’s face and ears turned all bright red and he stomped over to Jin Chan, getting up in his face on his tiptoes. “You shut up about my a-niang!” he shouted. “Or I’ll--!”

A-Yuan hurried over and pulled Jin Ling back away from him by his arm--but he did exclaim, “You can’t say things like that!” back at the group of laughing older boys. “You’re being mean on purpose! I’m going to tell!”

“Oh, shut up!” One of the other bullies piped up. “Lan’s can’t tell us what to do in Lanling!”

Another one with mean eyebrows said, all smug, “Yeah. Plus, my yiyi said they’re both bastards.”

“Well, your yiyi is a stupid piece of crap!” A-Fu snapped back. ‘Bastard’ was a forbidden word in his family--he didn’t know exactly what it meant, but whatever it was, he knew it was supposed to be bad.

“And so are you!” A-Ling added, kicking a rock toward that guy with a scuff.

“Guys! Let’s just go!” A-Yuan begged, expression all worried, then turned and told Jin Chan and his gang, “It’s against the rules to fight! You’re all gonna get everyone in trouble, stop it!”

“Ooooh, I’m so scared!” Jin Chan pretended to shiver, and then straightened up and  laughed like an evil villain. “You’re such a coward, A-Yuan. Hanguang-jun should be so embarrassed to have a coward-son.”

A-Yuan’s chin got crinkly like he was going to cry and it made every bit of A-Fu start shaking like a mountain with a thousand boulders crashing down the sides. His boily stomach was red hot with fury. A-Fu was more used to scuffling than A-Ling was, but A-Yuan hadn't been in any fights at all ever because he stayed in the Cloud Recesses so much. He didn't know that bullies like this didn't care about rules or grownups or being mean. 

It was up to A-Fu to protect all of them.

“You better leave them alone! I’m gonna pop you so hard that your face’ll turn inside out!” he yelled, raising up his fists in front of him to show he meant business. “Plus, my die’ s could totally beat you up, for your information, so you better watch out!" 

The other boys stuck out their tongues and jeered while Jin Chan shook his head, saying, “You’re so stupid. We’re not scared. And you’re not even a son-of-a. Your die is fake. You’re an orphan. You’re bad luck.”

He heard A-Ling say something, but it was like there was a loud river in his ears and he couldn’t pay attention at all. “I told you, I am not bad luck! They’re not fake!”

“Uh, yeah he is and yeah, you are. You’re an orphan. Your real parents died and Zewu-jun can’t find a wife because of you. ”

A-Fu’s tummy swirled around like slimy angry snakes even more, and he shoved Jin Chan back, shouting, “I don’t! I’m not! He doesn’t need a wife! He’s got Gray- die and Yellow- die !!”

Jin Chan stumbled back, then scowled. He stomped up and shoved A-Fu back, harder, and he crashed back into A-Yuan. Right away, A-Yuan wrapped his arms around A-Fu to hold him back, pinning his arms down, keeping him there. The Jin Chan gang all made scoffy noises and laughed, repeating A-Fu in high pitched voices while Jin Chan said, “What are you even talking about? Yellow-who?”

A-Fu wriggled hard, trying to break free, but A-Yuan was really strong and hanging on tight. “Chifeng-zun and Lianfang-zun!”

“PFF!” Jin Chan blew out a raspberry. “Those are his sworn brothers, you moron, not a wife. And anyway, my die says that Lianfang-zun’s not even a son-of-a anything but a whore .” 

That was it. He may not know what that word meant either, but he knew that Jin Chan was being a son-of-a alright! It was a special word that he learned from the Nie, and he roared it like a tiger as he finally ripped out of A-Yuan’s arms and pounced on the bullies.

It took the Jin nanny and A-Yuan and A-Ling to pull them all apart. The Jin Chan gang were all cowards, because they all scrambled up and ran right away so they didn’t get in trouble with the grownup . A-Fu shouted so after them and the nanny shushed him really hard and scolded them all nonstop. Apparently, A-Yuan had sent Jin Ling to go get a grownup when he figured out that A-Fu was gonna fight no matter what and A-Fu just hadn’t noticed. 

Now, him and A-Yuan were shut inside Yellow-Father’s office, waiting for him to come back. They were alone and it was quiet ‘cause the Jin nanny had taken A-Qiang and A-Ling away. “We’re gonna get in so much trouble,” A-Yuan moaned from where he was balled up tight on his own floor cushion next to A-Fu’s, face buried in his hands. “A-Fu, why’d you do that?! We aren’t s’posed to fight or do ‘vulgar language’!”

A-Fu poked at his bleeding and puffy lip with his tongue. “Th’o? We aren’t in the Cloud Rethetheth. And they were mean to you! You heard what he said, they deserved it! I’m not sorry.” 

And he wasn’t. Even though his head and hands and knees and face and right eye hurt and felt like someone was pounding a drum inside his skin, he would totally do it all over again. He would defend his family all over again, no problem--except he would probably punch Jin Chan sooner, this time. So what if his eye was all swelly and his lip was bleeding? That’s what warriors did--they got hurt protecting things on purpose, just like Gray-Father said. Pride puffed up in his chest and he sat up straight. His fathers would be proud of him for doing the right thing, he was totally sure. This time, he wasn’t even just fighting because someone was annoying him; he was being noble and honorable! There were lots of rules about defending and not talking bad and not insulting people.

…There were also rules about not fighting, but, like, how did wars happen, then? Great-Uncle Qiren couldn’t scold war heroes, right? He was like the hero of the Koi Tower Courtyard Battle!

A-Yuan uncurled to look over to see him wiggling at his tooth with his fingers. “Why can’t you just calm down?! Look how beat up you got!”

A-Fu shrugged. “I’m okay. Are you okay?” He had seen A-Yuan fall over a few times when he was trying to stop them fighting before the Jin nanny came back. 

Instead of answering, his cousin reached out a hand and patted all worried at his face. It hurt a lot, but A-Fu was being super brave about it so he just sat there and let him. “I think you’re gonna get a black eye. It’s all poofy.”

“Really? Cool!”

A-Yuan looked like he really didn’t think that was cool at all, but A-Yuan sometimes didn’t understand stuff like that. He was too stuck on rules and not getting in trouble. Together, they waited and waited for Yellow-Father to appear. A-Yuan stayed all curled up and rocking nervously on his cushion, but A-Fu eventually got bored. Sitting and sucking on his lip was making his tummy feel yucky. When he started wandering around, A-Yuan hissed that he should come sit down, but he was way more interested in exploring. He didn’t get to go in Yellow-Father’s office much! 

It turned out to be pretty boring though, because everything was locked up tight and the only things on his desk were papers, an ink grinding station and brush, those weird blocky paperweights, and a swirly looking incense burner that looked like ones Blue-Father had at the Cloud Recesses. He peered at the sheets of paper, but only recognized a couple of the characters and even then, he couldn’t really remember what they meant. 

When he started grinding ink, he caught A-Yuan watching him with his face screwed up in upsettedness, so he smiled all reassuring. It didn’t seem to help. Oh well. Blue-Father and Yellow-Father always let him paint when he felt like it, so A-Yuan had nothing to worry about, here. He maybe added a little too much water to the ink and it splashed on the desk, but after he hastily scrubbed at it with his sleeves, you could hardly tell there had been an accident at all. A-Yuan eventually came over to see what he was doing and seemed relieved when A-Fu pointed out that he was being careful to draw around all the words on the papers, so it wasn’t a problem. “Okay.” he said, but didn’t say anything else.

Pleased that he wasn’t whining about how they were gonna get in trouble anymore, A-Fu invited him to sit next to him on Yellow-Father’s chair-cushion and draw with him. “Yellow-Father always gets super happy when I give him paintings,” A-Fu added, which seemed to help him make up his mind.

Together, they took turns adding little faces and animals on the tops and sides of the pages. Some of A-Fu’s bunnies looked like turds and some of the ink got runny and made the paper wet, but it helped to cheer them both up after a tough day. Plus, it would cheer up Yellow-Father too, when he saw it when he got back to work! A-Fu was in the middle of carefully painting himself backflipping a million times and slicing off Jin Chan’s head with his super cool sword when Yellow-Father came in. 

“Boys!”

The first thing he did was come over and kneel down and worry over both of them being hurt, making upset faces over A-Fu’s puffy lip and eye. He wasn’t at all excited when A-Fu showed him his first loose tooth, for some reason. “Are you both alright? Your poor face. Does it hurt very badly? A-Yuan, are you hurt? Thank goodness. Fufu, what have we told you about fighting? What happened?”

Immediately, A-Fu and A-Yuan started babbling over each other about what happened, pointing and waving and hopping;

 “I tried to stop them--!”

“--was doing handstands--!”

“--wouldn’t listen!”

“--Jin Chan and his stupid gang came in--!”

“--was so mean, saying son-of-a’s--!”

“--said I was a jinx and I was like ‘shut up’--!”

“--and I told A-Ling to run and get someone--!”

“Boys--”

“--he was like ‘he needs a wife’ and I was like ‘no he doesn’t’--!”

“--so I grabbed him--!”

“--being evil and we don’t asso-associoning with--!”

“--didn’t wanna do it--!”

“Shh, one at a time--”

“--and so I called him a son-of-a-bitch and kicked his nards off--!”

Yellow-Father closed his eyes for a second. “A-Fu--”

“--and that’s a vulgar language--!”

“--and bit him and what’s ‘whore’?”

Yellow-Father had been grimacing back and forth between the two of them, his hands held up to calm them down, but now his eyes snapped over to stare at A-Fu. His eyes were wide.

After a second of silence, he said, voice very quiet and tight, “What did you say?”

A-Fu blinked. “Uh…what’s a ‘whore’? Jin Chan said it. ‘Son-of-a whore’? Is it like son-of-a-bitch?”

Drawing in a sharp breath through his nose, his father stood up, turning away. “Go sit down, boys,” he told them, still just as quiet--he didn’t sound angry, but A-Fu didn’t get it. 

“What? Are you mad? I was just--”

“A-Fu, stop. Please. Go sit down.” 

Grumpily, he let A-Yuan drag him back over to the cushions in front of the desk as Yellow-Father went over to a set of drawers in the corner. But then, without doing anything to them, he turned and went to look out the window, his hands behind his back. A-Fu opened his mouth to keep asking questions, but A-Yuan shushed him with his hands waving in his face.

After a few more moments of silence, Yellow-Father took in a deep breath, and turned back slowly to the desk. “I’m--what’s this?” he interrupted himself though as he looked down, right at the art that he and A-Yuan had left him.

“Paintings!”

Without saying anything, he picked it up. A-Fu was waiting for him to smile and compliment his art like he usually did, but his face didn’t get happier, he just closed his eyes. Then, he took a deep breath as he set it back down. Then, eyes still closed he said. “Fufu, you cannot fight like this in Koi Tower.”

“But I--!”

“This is not how we solve problems. When you are the son of a zongzhu , you must be careful of your actions and your words.”

All of the proud in A-Fu was mushing into shock and angry. Why was he getting in trouble for doing the right thing? “Are you mad? Are you mad at me? Why are you yelling at me? That’s not fair!” Next to him, A-Yuan tugged at his sleeve, trying to shush him again quietly.

“I’m not yelling, Fufu and I’m not angry. There are just particular rules we must abide by as cultivators--”

“He was saying bad things about our family! I was defending you!”

Yellow-Father opened his eyes and smiled; it was a lying smile, because his eyebrows still looked frustrated or worried. A Fake Jin Smile. “It is not your job as a child to--”

“I was right! We protect people!”

“Stop yelling!” A-Yuan hissed in his ear, but he didn’t even care about that right now.

“Fufu, we cannot hit people when you have a conflict. You should leave the area and tell me and I will take care of it.”

“I’m not afraid of Jin Chan!”

“That’s not what I’m worried about--”

“I’m a warrior, like you and Blue- die and Gray- die! ”

His father’s lips pressed together before he forced another not-true-smile and said in a calm, convincing sort of voice, “Fufu, you’re old enough now that you can’t talk about your Gray- die or me like that anymore. It is not something that other people are going to understand. From now on, you need to call me your xiao-shushu , like A-Ling and A-Qiang.”

A-Fu couldn’t believe his ears. His tummy squinched up all sick and angry and shocked and scared, like shock dumped cold water all over him. Because he thought A-Fu messed up, he wasn’t his father anymore? How could he do that?

“You have to understand--”

“You’re going away ?!”

“No, no, of course--”

All the emotions in A-Fu’s tummy were zinging around through all of him, shaking him, and he had to stand up, peeling off A-Yuan’s hand. “You’re--Why’re you being so mean ?! I didn’t do anything bad! You can’t leave me!”

Yellow-Father all of a sudden looked as shocked as A-Fu felt and he came around his desk, kneeling down in front of him again, taking his shoulders. “No, no, no, Fufu, you're misunderstanding. I’m not leaving, I’m not going anywhere, I’m simply saying you cannot call me Yellow- die in public anymore.”

“Just ‘cause I punched Jin Chan!? I did the right thing! I was protecting!” Furious, scared tears were hot in his eyes, stinging the one that got kicked. “That’s our job!” All his fathers had said so!

“No, this is not a punishment--”

“You are!”

Yellow-Father shook his head and dabbed the back of his knuckle at the corner of A-Fu’s eyes. “You can’t say all the things you want to just anyone anymore, Fufu, it’s part of growing up. You have to have discretion , you have to be careful-- ”

He twisted his head away from his gentle hand. “It’s lying! It’s--It’s against the rules, the rules in Cloud Recesses!” he blurted out when he all of a sudden thought of it--grownups always cared more about rules.

Yellow-Father let his hand fall back to his shoulder, shaking his head. “Shh, this is different. It’s simply not safe to talk about this with other people, and you’re at an age, now, that you must start being more careful about how you speak and who you tell what. Not everyone is allowed to know everything about you.”

The tears finally spilled over as A-Fu stared at his worried face, smile nowhere to be seen--not even a lying one. This was just like when Great-Uncle Qiren said he couldn’t have 3 fathers, but ten thousand times worse because it was coming from Yellow-Father himself. He most of the time remembered not to say things around Madam Jin, and he tried to remember all the rules about who acted weird about his fathers, but now, he had to not tell anyone at all ? Ever ? “That’s not fair! I don’t tell everyone! Gray- die and Blue- die don’t make me lie about them!”

“At Koi Tower--”

With a huge wrench, he pulled himself out of Yellow-Father’s grip, just like he had with A-Yuan earlier, and backed away. “Why do Jin’s always gotta try to take away my family?! Why are you letting them, die ?! I don’t gotta lie to the Nie!” 

A-Yuan stayed curled up on his cushion with his hands covering his ears, watching both of them all scared. Yellow-Father stood up and came forward, reaching out to him.  “Fufu, please; take a deep breath and lower your voice. They are different circumstances, Chifeng- zun …has a very different--”

A-Fu didn’t want to take a deep breath or calm down! He wanted to throw all the stuff on Yellow-Father’s desk on the floor. He wanted Yellow-Father to know just how mad this made him because he wasn’t listening! He yelled louder, “That’s not convicting! You gotta do it, even when it’s hard or not fun!”

“Lan Fu--” his voice had a little bit of warning and that just made A-Fu madder, more tears clogging up inside his face, making his injuries throb and ache. 

How come A-Fu always got in trouble?! How come it was just rules rules rules and doing everything wrong? And now, his father didn’t even want to be his father anymore! “You’re the worst die ! You’re so mean! I hate you! I don’t wanna be here anymore! I wanna go home!” he shouted as loud as his lungs could take, his throat burning.

His father went pale, hand still outstretched, frozen. When the door all of a sudden opened, he flinched. It was Uncle Zixuan and Uncle Wangji, both with frowns, one big and one small. A-Yuan ran to Uncle Wangji as soon as he saw him, clinging to his thigh and hiding his face in his robes as the door shut quick behind them. 

“Lan Fu, you cannot speak to your die that way,” Uncle Zixuan said all stern and hushed as he turned away from it, “Lower your voice right now.”

Everyone was being awful! If grownups got to be terrible, he got to be terrible right back! He was already in trouble for something that wasn’t his fault , so he didn’t care anymore! All the angry and hurt and scared burst out of A-Fu in one loud, wordless scream as he stomped his feet and balled up his fists.

“Stop.” Uncle Wangji’s voice wasn't loud, but it cut over A-Fu’s yell and made everyone look over at him. 

A-Fu did, but he still glared around at them all. His breaths were sobbing in and out like he had just run a thousand miles.

"What would your Blue- die say about your behavior?" Uncle Zixuan demanded, going over to Yellow-Father who was still standing silently, smiling a weird little smile at the floor without seeming to see it. 

Probably to be empathy or something, but A-Fu didn't care. "I don't care! I don't wanna be here ever again! I hate it! No one here loves me! And I hate them!”

“Stop,” Uncle Wangji said again--still not loud, but sharper this time. “Do not use words that you do not mean and cannot take back. Apologize to Lianfang-zun.”

“It’s alright. He doesn’t need to. He’s just upset.” Yellow-Father said quietly. 

“ Didi, ” Uncle Zixuan argued in a quiet voice, putting a hand on Yellow-Father’s shoulder, frowning deeper. “He shouldn’t be allowed to be so disrespectful towards you. This sort of behavior--”

A-Fu just couldn’t take it anymore. No one ever listened to him! No one was ever on his side! All they wanted to see was him just messing up, they didn’t care that he had defended all of them against Jin Chan and his gang! 

Before anyone could say anything else, he ducked around Uncle Wangji and A-Yuan by the door and ran out as fast as he could. Behind him, down the hall, he heard a grownup calling his name, but he didn’t even slow down. A couple servants gave him weird looks and one or two court ladies talked behind their delicate circle fans as he pelted past, but he didn’t stop for them either. He was totally out of breath from running and crying by the time ran past all the stupid Jin’s stupid statues and stupid tapestries and stupid Jin everything and flung himself onto his stupid Jin bed, face down. He wasn’t sorry! He would never be sorry! Yellow-Father was being unfair and horrible and trying to pretend A-Fu wasn’t his son anymore! 

He would show them--he would run away and hide where they couldn’t find him and wouldn’t come out for days and days until they were all sorry. He wouldn’t come out until they called for him 500 million times. They would be so worried and never be mean to him again. Maybe he would even run away for real. Maybe…maybe….

A-Fu woke up with a snort. The birds were twittling outside his window that was shining super hot sun right down into his eyeballs. His whole mouth tasted like yucky metal. Scrunching up his aching face, he rolled up onto his knees, wiping away drool and sweat with his sleeve--then yelped when it swiped his puffy eye. He barely could even see out of it, now. He poked at it a little, swinging his legs off the bed. Then gulped.

Through his open door, he could see Uncle Wangji sitting at the table of the sitting room with a cup of tea. Even though he was looking at the wall, A-Fu knew that he knew that A-Fu was awake. And now A-Fu remembered everything that had happened. Uh oh.

Maybe he could just stay in here and fall back asleep. He thought about it a second, looking at his pillow and jostled up blue blankets. Uncle Wangji probably wouldn’t let him, though. Some of his mad puddled back as muddy grumpiness and he scowled. “I’m--”

Without looking over, Uncle Wangji held up a hand. A-Fu fell sullenly silent. When his uncle nodded his head at the seat across from him, he slowly got up and dragged his feet in and flumped down onto the pretty gold-green seat, crossing his arms and glaring at the table. But he tried to get a peek at his face--to see how mad he was. 

His eyes were on A-Fu, now, and he just looked like he always did, but no sneaky small secret smiles hid in his mouth. How did A-Yuan deal with getting in trouble when his father always had a ‘you just got in trouble’ face? Well…A-Yuan didn’t really hardly ever get in trouble. So he guessed that was his answer. 

“You are going to apologize to your die . And then we are leaving.” He sounded serious, but that wasn’t new.

A-Fu hunched farther into his seat. “I don’t want to. I’m mad. I’m mad at him. I’m not sorry.”

“You were unfair and unfilial. You will apologize because it is respectful, whether or not you are still angry.”

“But he wanted me to lie! He wanted me to say he wasn’t my die ! It’s not fair!”

Uncle Wangji was quiet for so long that A-Fu snuck another look up at him. There wasn’t a big change in his expression, but he was looking down at his teacup. “I spoke with him. The matter is complex. There are things that are rejected, even when they are not wrong.”

“That’s dumb.”

“Nevertheless. When you choose to stand by things others eschew, you must be ready to accept the consequences. You are too young to fully understand those consequences.”

“I’m not afraid!”

“It is not about fear. It is about responsibility.” 

“...Huh?”

Uncle Wangji looked straight into his eyes, a tightness appearing in little lines next to his nose.  “Without understanding, there is fear. Fear…can have terrible repercussions. It is a weapon.”

“...Okay…?”

“Your actions do not just affect yourself. Do you remember what this represents?” He reached up, touched the silver cloud pendant in the middle of his forehead.

Automatically, A-Fu’s hand went up to feel his own, a small white triangle on the white cloth instead. “It’s the headband. It’s sacred. Only families touch it.” What did that have to do with anything?

“It is a symbol of restraint and discipline. When you wear this, you represent your Sect, your Clan, and your family. It is important to know your own responsibility. Your consequences don’t just befall you. Do you understand?”

“Uh-huh,” A-Fu said, automatically, even though he only sorta got it.

Kinda. …Maybe. Maybe he would ask Blue-Father about it when he got back, just to make sure. Either way, it sure sounded like ‘consequences’ was Uncle Wangji’s pocket word.

“Come,” Uncle Wangji stood, tucking one hand behind his back like always, Bichen glittering in his other one. “A-Yuan and Lianfang-zun are waiting. When we return, I will speak with xiongzhang to decide your discipline.”

Aw, farts. At least he wasn’t really getting yelled at, though all his mad felt kind of slimy and guilty, now. He did feel bad for yelling mean things at Yellow-Father. But he also felt just so frustrated at the whole thing, y’know?! The grownups really needed to work on listening.

When he and Uncle Wangji got back to the office and he mumbled a ‘sorry’ to Yellow-Father, it was like nothing had even happened. Yellow-Father was his normal sunny, smiley self and didn’t even mention the fighting again, he just asked about what hurt where, and then dabbed on some cream that smelled like something sharp and like flowers onto all his bruises. It was nice enough that A-Fu was tired of holding onto all his mad and climbed up into his lap when he held out his arms. Keeping arguments in his head made his tummy hurt. And he was just happy to be cuddled and not be yelled at anymore. He was so ready to go pet some bunnies with A-Yuan when they got back to the Cloud Recesses.

What a stressful visit!

Just to make sure, before they left, he craned his neck back to look up at his father, and asked, seriously, “You’re still always my die , though, right? Even…even if I gotta lie?”

Yellow-Father blinked, then smiled back down at him. “Of course.”

“Forever?”

“Well, will you always be my xiao-Fufu?”

“Yeah.”

His smile got a little softer at the edges as he smoothed A-Fu’s hair back from his forehead, then tucked a tail of his headband back over his shoulder. “Then it’s a deal.”

#HI. IT'S BEEN...ABOUT A YEAR. 🙃 #This is a long one #But it has been done! There is An Update™ and there are more to come! #These AUs are still on my mind daily and I'm still trundling away! The whims of the electrified jello in my head are just sometimes uhhhhh #hard to wrangle #ANYWAY HOPE YOU ENJOY I'M EXCITED TO GET TO MO XUANYU IN THE NEXT 2 CHAPTERS #3zun raise jingyi au #3zun raise jingyi au content #3zun #ljy #jgy #lxc #my fic #my stuff #There's more Post-Reconciliation coming--more intense JGY angst--more Jin kids hangout--more Jin bros bonding--and more BABY ACQUISITION #IT'S ALL IN THE WORKS #Apologies for any issues it's 3am and I've been working on this for hours so I just need to post it and come back later to catch them

[twistedappletree]

Ok sooooo……. idea for you: Yi city except Jin Ling and Lan Sizhui get separated from everyone else and Jin Ling is being a cute little scaredy cat about the ghosts lol 👻

Ohohohohooooo I’ll do you one better, anon.

JL and LSZ separated from the group, then JL getting separated from LSZ, flipping his absolute shit and being a hilarious flustered mess after finding LSZ again.

Is that what you wanted, huh? IS IT?!

becauseiknowthatswhatiwantlmaooo

“The mist is worse here,” said Lan Sizhui, “Stay with me.”

Jin Ling’s eyes darted around, constantly on the lookout for ghosts as he kept quiet and let Lan Sizhui take the lead. “I haven’t even heard any of the others. Where are we?”

Lan Sizhui studied their barely visible surroundings, catching glimpses of a few shoddy, abandoned stalls. “A market street, I think—and I’m sure we’ll run into them eventually. All any of us can do is go in circles, after all.”

A shadow flew past the corner of Jin Ling’s eye. He jumped and whipped around, his hand trembling on the hilt of his sword. Such a weapon would surely be useless against a ghost but it calmed his nerves to know he at least had something to protect himself.

“Sizhui,” Jin Ling whispered, “There’s something out here…”

No answer.

Jin Ling turned around to find that Lan Sizhui was gone and he was completely alone. A twinge of panic coursed through his veins as he twirled around, unsure if he should move or stay in one place.

“Sizhui?!” he called, frantically searching the mist.

Another shadow glided through the murky atmosphere. He jumped back and gripped one of the arrows in his quiver. With his other hand still on his sword, his mind tried to figure out which weapon would be the best defense.

He narrowed his eyes and frowned, taking a brave step forward as he barked, “Sizhui, cut it out already! This isn’t funny!”

He knew Lan Sizhui was the last person to pull pranks, which made the situation even worse. Jin Ling was growing more worried for his fellow disciple than himself as the unnatural silence of the city chilled him to the bone.

The shadow from before returned, spinning towards him this time in a howling whirlwind. Jin Ling inhaled and finally moved, flying through the mist until he ran into something strong but soft, warm and familiar.

The fresh scent of orange blossom and cedar wood surrounded Jin Ling like a comforting blanket as two confused hands awkwardly encircled his waist.

Lan Sizhui looked down at him and frowned. “Young Master Jin? Are you—“

Jin Ling suddenly pushed against the Lan boy’s chest and sprang backwards, his amber eyes burning with annoyance. “You—! Why did you leave me?!”

Lan Sizhui lifted his brows and blinked, not sure how to respond. “Wha—“

The young Jin disciple spared him no room to even attempt an explanation. “You tell me to stay with you, then leave me behind! Ridiculous!”

He crossed his arms over his chest and looked off to the side, his bangs blowing outward as he sighed. “I called you three times. Something was running around out here and—“ He paused for a moment, cheeks burning as he looked back up at Lan Sizhui with a pout. “I-I was worried, but you look fine,” he mumbled. “Why didn’t you answer me?”

Lan Sizhui’s head was spinning trying to keep up with Jin Ling’s heated outburst. “Young Master Jin, I’m sorry but I honestly didn’t hear you. I thought you were still behind me—“

“Whatever,” Jin Ling interrupted, “Just… don’t wander off, I’m not gonna save you if you do something stupid.”

Lan Sizhui stifled a laugh, no stranger to Jin Ling’s fiery way of showing concern. “The mist really is bad here,” he said. “Maybe this would help?”

Jin Ling’s eyes widened and his imaginary hackles raised when Lan Sizhui offered him his hand, the Lan boy’s long, slender fingers safe and inviting. “Huh?! What are you… I-I’m not a baby! All I said is don’t wander off, it’s not that—“

Once again, the shadow from earlier barreled towards Jin Ling and hit him with a glacial gust of air, this time accompanied by the buoyant, echoing giggle of a child.

Jin Ling yelped and lunged forward, grabbing Lan Sizhui’s hand and hiding behind him, his face buried against the taller boy’s sleeve.

Lan Sizhui watched curiously as the shadow circled around them and disappeared into the mist. He glanced down at the trembling Jin disciple and smiled. “It looks like you’ve made a friend.”

Jin Ling popped his head out from Lan Sizhui’s sleeve and glared into the mist with an irritated expression. “I-I don’t need any friends! Tell it to go away!”

Lan Sizhui gently squeezed his hand and laughed. “It’s okay, it’s harmless. Just a playful spirit.”

Obviously unconvinced, Jin Ling scrunched his nose and went right back to using Lan Sizhui as a shield.

“A-Ling,” Lan Sizhui chimed, his tone gentle and sweet.

Jin Ling looked up to meet his soft, striking amethyst gaze and could swear his heart skipped a beat.

“I promise I won’t leave you.”

Heat spread from Jin Ling’s neck to his ears to his face like a wildfire, every nerve in his body ping-ponging wildly. He narrowed his eyes and sputtered, “Why say it like that…?! You’re so embarrassing!”

Confusion washed over Lan Sizhui’s face as he tilted his head to the side. “Is that not what you were worried about?”

“Shut up,” Jin Ling mumbled. Still holding Lan Sizhui’s hand, he abruptly tugged him along. “Let’s just go already.”

Lan Sizhui lifted his hand to his mouth and chuckled as he was pulled through the mist by the flustered Jin disciple. “Lead the way.”

{ 🖤 }

#Jin Ling being scared of ghosts is literally my lifeblood lmaooo I’m so glad it’s canon 💀 #mdzs #the untamed #jin ling #lan sizhui #zhuiling #lingzhui #mo dao su zhi #yi city #yi city arc #mdzs fanfiction #mdzs fanfic #ficlet #mini fic #apple fics 🍎 #my fics #jin rulan #lan yuan #a yuan #mdzs juniors #precious juniors #answered asks #HE SO ANGY #I just love their dynamic sm especially since LSZ is totally chill with ghosts #so he’s calm as shit while JL is throwing an absolute dramatic fit lmAOAHDAJJDSJ #aspec zhuiling #fluffy fluff fluff feat. angy BABBY

[frankencanon]

jiang cheng sees dead people au

after everything, jiang cheng finds himself experiencing frequent minor qi deviations — not that anyone realizes, since most of the time zidian will discharge the excess volatile qi to stop the qi deviation in its tracks before it can get too severe.¹

unfortunately, so many minor qi deviations have had a negative effect on his mental health — specifically, the worst problem would arguably be the hallucinations of his dead family.

it was something that started small but slowly got worse — at first, just whispers of speech that sounded eerily like his parents... eventually, full-on vivid hallucinations of his entire family — his parents, his sister, even his brother...

astonishingly, there actually is a possibility for a cure — it wouldn't be easy, and it wouldn't be quick, but there exists a solid chance...

alas! jiang cheng refuses to even consider it. he knows he should, but he simply cannot bring himself to — not when this is the closest thing to his family that he has left.

and sure, he has jin ling! but jin ling is naught but a baby at this point — he treasures him, of course, its his only sister's son afterall! but as much as it sickens him to admit, he would forfeit that little baby's life in an instant if it would get him his family back... even just one of them.

but time goes by, and jiang cheng grows to love jin ling as a son — as unwilling to give him up as he would be with jiang yanli herself.

but the thing about raising a baby, is that you don't really filter yourself around them. afterall, why would you? it's not like they're going to remember any of this anyway, not when they're still this small.

but. but. the act of not filtering yourself around a specific person... it can be habit forming. you can forget yourself. when alone with them, you can completely forget that you would normally censor these things around other people. afterall! you've never stopped yourself from doing it around them ever before!

this is all to say this: jin ling grows up with an uncle (father) who talks to people who aren't there.

over the years, there's a lot of confusion over it — times when jin ling thought, maybe, that he was talking to their ghosts... until he gets a little older, and actually learns about ghosts and how they work, and realizes that it can't be that...

he never asks his uncle about it, because ever since he was small any time that he would try to mention it or bring it up, his uncle would get angry and defensive; he would lie and insist that jin ling had heard wrong, that he hadn't been talking to anyone, that he had no idea what he was talking about...

eventually jin ling learned to stop asking... but he never stopped wondering. afterall, how could he? when jiang cheng would address those not-ghosts as a-die, a-niang, a-jie, and — most damning of all — wei wuxian.

he got older. his uncle stopped denying it, but would still avoid any questions about what they were...

(jiang cheng didn't want to admit to his nephew that his dear uncle was crazy and saw dead people... didn't want to worry him...)

but as time passed he slowly eased up enough that jin ling could mention it sometimes, offhand and casual-like... say things like, "is grandmother bothering you again?" or "you should listen to mom more!"

(jin ling may not know their personalities first hand, but he can infer things based off of what his uncle would say and how he'd re/act, the faces he'd make...)

time passed by, and he got older. eventually, jin ling learned what was wrong with his uncle. he learned about hallucinations and what they were, how they worked... he understood that the people his uncle saw and spoke to weren't real, they weren't there...

but he didn't do anything. afterall, uncle had always been like this and he seemed fine. some of the hallucinations bothered him, sure (*cough* madame yu *cough*) but others... jin ling can't even imagine trying to take jiang yanli, his mother, away from jiang cheng...

he knew about what caused the hallucinations, too — afterall, how could he not? jiang cheng raised him and would frequently endeavor to spend as much time with him as possible. it's only inevitable that eventually, one day, he would witness his uncle having a qi deviation.

it would either have to be during a time when he wasn't wearing zidian so the spiritual weapon could not ease his qi — perhaps while sleeping or bathing? — or the qi deviation would have to be severe enough that it overpowered zidian's attempts to mitigate it.

during this time, jin ling would finally find out about his uncle's frequent minor qi deviations. maybe it was while he was trying to sleep or bathe, and so when jin ling sees/shows up/happens upon him, jiang cheng has to ask his nephew — through gritted teeth slick with blood — to bring him zidian, quickly.

jin ling would watch as jiang cheng slid zidian on and it immediately started sparking harsher than he'd ever seen it do before. and he would be concerned, of course, that the sparks would hurt his uncle — and so to stop him from ripping it back off, jiang cheng would then have to go through the mortifying ordeal of admitting to your nephew that you secretly suffer from frequent minor qi deviations.

and of course, after that, jin ling would never be able to forget. and so any time he saw zidian going haywire with wild sparks, he would assume (correctly) that his uncle's qi was veering into the danger zone, and so out of fear for his uncle's safety and sanity he would do his absolute best to help his uncle calm down before he hurt himself.

of course, this gets interpreted incorrectly by outsiders — they see sect leader jiang getting pissed off, zidian throwing off sparks, and they see little jin ling frantically trying to calm his uncle down, fear clear in his eyes... it doesn't paint a good picture, suffice to say.

for years and years and years, no one outside of jin ling is aware of jiang cheng's struggles with hallucinations and qi deviations — right up until one day, wei wuxian is raised from the dead.

and, well... it's one thing to try to hide something from strangers — but siblings? they're a lot harder to fool.

(that's not entirely true — jin ling may know the most, and he may be the only one that jiang cheng is even semi-open about it with — but he's far from the only one to ever suspect anything, to notice anything. the closer a disciple is to jiang cheng, the higher up they are, and/or the more they interact with him, the more likely they are to know something is up — to notice the little things jiang cheng does that he thinks no one notices... but they do — they do notice. they just... choose not to say anything. to trust in their sect leader, who has yet to ever lead them astray.

...but they're not the only ones to notice something's up, and unfortunately the next person is a lot less nice... afterall, what with jin ling and all it is only inevitable that jiang cheng will end up spending a fair amount of time with jin guangyao... and, well... let's just say that the scene in the temple goes a lot differently in this au — what with all of the additional secrets jin guangyao has undoubtedly been gathering on jiang cheng...

maybe this is when wei wuxian and et all finally find out. maybe wei wuxian's been suspecting for some time that something's up with jiang cheng but he couldn't put his finger on quite what...

until jin guangyao unflinchingly announces it in front of everyone in the temple, without hesitation. he's been waiting to use this information, this blackmail, for a while now... and finally, the opportunity has arisen.)

---

¹idea for jiang cheng's qi deviations and zidian's effect on them from anonkun's "hating the hand life has dealt us" on ao3 (strongly recommend)

(it's a sort-of crossover fic with svsss about the og shen jiu being reincarnated as jiang cheng except when jiang cheng regains his memories of being shen jiu he flat out rejects them to the point of accidentally developing a sort of dissociative identity disorder where he sees himself and shen jiu as two separate people just inhabiting the same body)

#the untamed #cql #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #jiang cheng #jiang cheng fanfic #jiang cheng centric #jiang cheng defense squad #jin ling #jin guangyao #meng yao #wei wuxian #yunmeng jiang #yunmeng bros #yunmeng duo #twin heroes of yunmeng #yunmeng shuangjie #qi deviation #hallucinations #fanfic #fan fic #fanfiction #fic #fan fiction #mdzs fanfiction #mdzs fanfic #jiang siblings #jiang yanli #jiang wanyin

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

Hello

Finished the mdzs book and the protagonist confuses me maybe because all I heard of this novel before I read it was that he was morally gray so I was expecting something else. Just wanted to ask do you think his traits of forgiving and forgetting and to not linger in the past and not let resentment in his heart a bit too unrealistic? Also why do you think he choose to live in the world that pushed him in a corner to the point where he did lose everything? And if he does not hold anything against those people specially jc does that mean their could be a relationship between them again he does ask jin ling about how he’s doing ? Those are questions I have to anser for myself by re reading but would love to hear you opinions.

Good day, anon. I will break your ask down a bit since there are several questions here! I will place the rest under the cut since this is a bit wordy (my apologies).

All I heard of this novel before i read it was that he was morally grey so I was expecting something else

This is a fandom misconception, as the title itself, is supposed to be a red herring and falling into the in story lies of what was spread about Wei Wuxian. The author herself has stated as such that Wei Wuxian was always meant to reflect a moral and right stance in his ideals and thoughts. Now does this always mean "no mistakes ever", not at all. That simply isn't human, but, he reflects on the actions that he had gone through himself, and his only regrets are, feeding into the cruelty and pushing Lan Wangji away years ago, and, not saying anything of his own sufferings out of the obligation of appearing ungrateful for the help he had received from others.

Meaning the Jiang leaders, being sheltered by Wen Qing during the Sun Shot Campaign and Wen Qing having successfully transferred his core to a despondent Jiang Cheng). In each of these instances there is the underlying theme of honor and duty that he tries to fulfill, due to the unsaid stipulations placed upon him from several parties and his own ethics telling him he cannot leave them in such dire circumstances, or say no as he was raised as a cultivator despite his status as an orphan. He is simply not morally grey or questionable aside from his fall when he tortures Wen Chao and Wen Zhuliu further with Jiang Cheng. He knows then, that Lan Wangji was not condemning him, but worried about how he was driven to those lengths of hate, and if he was able to actually pull back from that brink.

He was, but not without a lot of continued consequences of his actions. It is meant to reflect the daoist principles of life. There is no redemption in Daoist Buddhism, there are actions, consequences, and reflection to overcome the sufferings of human life. You learn and move on with that enlightenment of life lessons.

Do you think his traits of forgiving and forgetting and not to linger in the past and not let resentment in his heart a bit too unrealistic?

No, I do not think this unrealistic. Simply because, this is a lesson my own mother has told me time and again, and still does to this day when I get upset. Hate is the suffering of the world. Let it take over, and what else is there for you in the end when you have achieved whatever revenge you want? Or, hold on to that hate so much nothing can make you happy or satisfied because you compare it to everything you do not have or achieved?

Forgiveness as well, does not mean that you forget, it just means you have moved on, and no longer will let the past dictate the happiness you can have in the future. You also do not need to invite that situation within your own life again, other than saying "I learned for the better, and I don't need to resent that."

Wei Wuxian chooses to live in a hurtful world, because we all live in that. There is going to be hurt in the world, I myself as well would choose the happiness I can gain, without spite. Dwelling on the hate and what if's of better that you do not have, without actually choosing to reach for it, is useless and hypocritical. We make our own unhappiness (at least if we go by Buddhist principle). Wei Wuxian knows what continued hate does to people (Madam Yu), and it is not a way to continue life as he tries to encourage Jiang Cheng to look towards the future that could have been happier for the both.

If he does not hold anything against those people specifically jc does that mean their could be a relationship between them again he does ask jin ling about how he was doing?

Forgiveness as I have said, does not mean forgetting or always a restart to reopen anything. You can close a chapter of your life, without needing that person in your life again.

For example, I have an estranged relationship with my father, but, this does not mean I will not ask my family in contact with him how he is doing. I'll ask, I get an answer, he is the same as always, that's all I need to know. I am different, he is different, we do not have the same wants, it is better that way without needing more. There are still complicated feelings. They will always be there, but, I have as much of an answer and closure I will ever get, it has to be enough. I cannot dwell on the what if's any longer when my own life has happiness, and I don't need him in that. My happiness is not mandated any longer on his wants or expectations.

Wei Wuxian, does not need Jiang Cheng personally in his life, but will care about him, as he was a significant part of his past. We do not stop caring, but we choose to let go.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #wei wuxian

[mostlikelytofangirl]

Ok but can you do a fic with like baby trapped au done by jiang cheng to jin guangyao

Hi there! Sorry this took so long ^^;. I'm literally at the other side of the world on vacations, but I figured I should reply to this already, especially after having been hit by inspiration.

Idk if this is what you had in mind, but I could only think of modern AU since I failed to come up with a canonverse way in which JL could ever be under the full care of the Jiang sect :P

---

Jiang Cheng had no idea who was that guy trying to fool. He would admit to not being the most observant individual and that only made the situation all the more infuriating: Jiang Cheng noticing it all so blatantly and Jin Guangyao still shamelessly denying it.

“I have no idea what you are talking about, Wanyin.”

The Wanyin in question frowned in his best unimpressed face, hoping he didn’t have to spell out how little he believed the guy standing in front of him in his designer suit and shades, all perfectly professional like it was a business meeting and not a casual conversation at Jiang Cheng’s porch. 

If they could even call dropping their currently sleeping shared nephew at Jiang Cheng’s place after a legal battle ‘casual’, that is.

“You can wear all the Gucci you want and that still won’t cover the bruises, Guangyao.”

Jiang Cheng rolled his sleeves up and crossed his arms. He was pleased to see Guangyao’s hand flinch towards his own sleeve, realizing too late that his tailored shirt wasn’t covering his wrists enough.

“Accidents happen, Wanyin,” replied Guangyao, shrugging and placing his shades on top of his head. “Forgive my bluntness, but this is hardly your business.”

That only made Jiang Cheng furrow his brow deeper. Yes, maybe it wasn’t his place to say a thing about what clearly was happening between Guangyao and his father and step-mother, but it just didn’t sit well with him, not saying a thing.

“We have been handling this issue together for a while, sorry if I show some concern,” Jiang Cheng rebuked, not sorry at all. “The Jin household is not a safe place and—”

“And that’s why I helped you get full custody of A-Ling, didn’t I? Which is a secret you swore to take to the grave with you.”

The urgency in Guangyao’s voice was only adding to the pile of clues he was unknowingly giving Jiang Cheng about his own situation at the Jin residence. Or maybe he was trying to get Jiang Cheng to do something about it? He couldn’t put it past Guangyao to be too much of a proud bastard to directly ask for help. That was something Jiang Cheng could respect, truth to be told, as much as such mind games were a pain in the ass.

“I will, don’t worry, no one will know.” 

“Good. It wasn’t an easy case, I’d hate for all the hard work to be wasted just because you can’t keep your mouth shut.”

“You know, it would have made the case easier if you had just declared the mistreat—”

“It’s all done now, Wanyin, we accomplished our goal.” Guangyao looked away, putting his shades back in place as he got ready to leave. “I’ll have the rest of A-Ling’s things ready in a couple days, tops; father and Mrs. Jin are very sore losers and I wouldn’t be surprised if they offered resistance, so it would probably help if you applied pressure, calling frequently and threatening to get the police involved for failure to comply with a court ruling.”

“I’ll pick the bags up myself.”

Guangyao nodded, and just as he leaned down to pick up the bag that had contained Jin Ling's basic things, Jiang Cheng managed to catch another fading bruise on his nape.

“Come on, man, seriously?!”

The shades went up again, showing Guangyao’s confused expression, blinking at Jiang Cheng with something way too close to indignation, waiting for the other to explain himself.

“What—?”

“You neck, goddamnit! You gonna tell me that that one was an accident, too?”

Jiang Cheng considered it a victory that Guangyao’s hand automatically moved to the spot in his neck without having to be pointed out. With a sigh, Jiang Cheng rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“Can you at least not act like I’m too dumb to notice?”

“I’m not doing such a thing, Wan—”

“You are doing it right…!” He took a deep breath. “Listen, we’ve gone through our fair share of shit together.”

“So what, we are friends now?”

“Aren’t we?”

Guangyao’s fierce gaze didn’t soften after the question, but he closed his mouth, pursing his lips as he breathed in and out, recovering his infamous composure. He hadn’t downright denied it and Jiang Cheng wasn’t very sure why he was relieved about that. They had spent months plotting in secret how to get Jin Ling away of the clutches of his grandparents, both agreeing that Jin Guangshan and his wife were the furthest cry from good role models for the three-years old; and knowing fully well that there wasn’t a place far enough that Guangyao could run to where his father wouldn’t find him if his involvement was ever discovered. It had been a brave thing that Jiang Cheng hadn’t expected from a Jin, much less the peacock’s uptight little half-brother; a selfless act, too, since Jiang Cheng having full custody meant Jin Ling would no longer be living in the same place as Guangyao. 

The man’s dedication to their little nephew was something that took Jiang Cheng by surprise, and he couldn’t deny that it gave the guy a lot of points in his book. He had been an unsuspectedly nice co-conspirator, as well: he was smart, with a mean steak and a sharp tongue that made Jiang Cheng laugh like he didn’t imagine he would after a-jie’s death. It also made him more confident about that brash side of himself that Wei Wuxian always said scared people away.

Jin Guangyao was someone Jiang Cheng could be as openly assholish (to others) as he wanted, and he honestly appreciated that he could be that for the other man, too, if the way his customer service persona slipped when they were alone was anything to go by.

Which was why it was so fucking frustrating that Guangyao was hell bent in denying that he was being physically abused! Hadn’t Jiang Cheng proved himself already?! Wei Wuxian was abroad and Guangyao’s other half-siblings had been clever enough to not get too involved with their father, Jin Ling was the only family they both had left, why couldn’t they…

Why couldn’t they.

“I appreciate your help with this issue, Wanyin, but I’m afraid there are no more miracles you can work.” Guangyao said in a tone that sounded awfully similar to defeat, offering a shy little smile as he tentatively took a step back. “Do let me know if there is anything I can do for you and A-Ling from now on…”

“Stay.”

Jiang Cheng acted before he could either talk himself out of it or think it through; he simply reached out and grabbed Guangyao’s wrist, carefully.

“What?”

“Stay.”

He fixed Guangyao with an intense gaze, trying to convey how much he meant it. However, it was plain to see that Guangyao wasn’t convinced, he just stared back at him in disbelief, almost like Jiang Cheng had grown another head.

“The hell are you talking about, Wanyin?”

He was fucking talking about giving Guangyao a place where he wouldn’t have to hide bruises, damnit! But that stubborn son of a bitch was not going to relent in his denial and Jiang Cheng only had one more weapon in his arsenal.

“I’m a single dude that has never looked after a toddler all fucking day long, man. At least you have lived with the kid.”

“... You want me to help you care for A-Ling?”

“Yes. You know your shit around kids, from what I heard.”

“From where did you—?”

“A-jie.”

Guangyao averted his gaze at last. He had loved A-jie almost as much as Jiang Cheng himself, she had always been the nicest towards him and that apparently was a change in the guy’s life. 

“Well, I do know that you don’t curse anywhere near them, Wanyin.”

There was a hint of a smile there, and Jiang Cheng felt his own lips curling upwards.

“See? I could use some help.”

When Guangyao made eye contact again, he did so barely peeking through his ridiculously long eyelashes.

“Are you sure you want this?”

“Hey, I wouldn’t be asking if I wasn’t sure.”

Guangyao’s hand moved to his shoulder, rubbing it in a gesture that could easily pass as nervousness and hesitation, but Jiang Cheng was already sure that he was going to find another nasty purple-green marking there.

“Alright,” Guangyao eventually relented, taking a deep breath as if mustering his conviction. “I will have A-Ling’s and… my things ready in a couple days.”

“I’ll pick you up, then.”

Jiang Cheng let go of him once he saw an actual smile on the guy’s face, shades on again and picking up the empty bag.

“I guess I’ll see you soon, then,” Guangyao was saying as he made his way to his car. “The things I do for this child, honestly.”

“That brat, forcing our hands like this,” replied Jiang Cheng, watching him go with his back leaning on the doorframe.

“This is just for A-Ling.”

“Just for Jin Ling.”

Guangyao went inside his tacky golden car and started the engine, but just before he drove off, he looked at Jiang Cheng one more time, smiled again, got another smile in return, and mouthed a ‘thank you’.

#replies #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #jiang cheng #jin guangyao #chengyao #baby trapping #kinda sorta #I MEAN #I could have gone the legit literal way #(and maybe some day I will lol) #but I had this idea popping up in my head and I thought it was cute #hope you like it anon #thanks for the nice suprise prompt #(now I better go to sleep man. I'm drunk and it's almost 2:30 am) #me is writing #this was a prompt

[irresistiibles]

beneath the cut is a far too long event starter/plot call! feel free to like this and i will come bother you on discord probably tomorrow. this is also a starter call, though i definitely tend to prefer plotting first you're welcome to just hop in and request things with that being said i'm working on clearing out a lot of my older threads. if you request two people we previously had a thread for i will probably drop the old one unless it is extremely plot heavy, and in general i am going to use the event as a way to clear out my older things that have been reaching an end.

amber: not too worried, but could definitely get it in her head that she should go out and play detective to help people and try to drag others into the nonsense as well

asami sato: she pays for a good security system and knows several different ways to defend herself. she's a little on edge just because it's yet another thing and she's tired, but is mostly feeling alright all things considered.

ciel phantomhive: also pays for good security and isn't letting himself stress out too much, or at least that's how he's coming off. will be pretty dismissive towards anyone that brings it up but potentially go looking for answers on his own.

starters (1/?): lizzie midford

columbina: she's amused more than anything i'm afraid. really, if you're going to kill someone she thinks you should do it with a bit more tact or care, but she's got morbid interests and could definitely be found looking for, or even tampering with evidence, more for amusement rather than answers though.

emily daivs: very unhappy and a little harsly paranoid about it. she's already worked way too hard to survive, she is not letting just some nobody in washington take her out. with that said she's going to be pretty careful around jsut about anyone. if she doesn't know you she doesn't trust you and she wants you at least five feet away from her at all times.

esther mckinnon: tired of these things happening, but not making too many changes in her life to be careful. she's going to text the family and try and make sure they're all good but beyond that she doesn't want to let some weirdness change her day to day life and make things unbearable. it's not that she doesn't care but she can't halt her life every two months when washington gets wild

starters (1/?): marlene mckinnon

gerard of greenleigh: anxious frog dad continues to be anxious, sort of. listen, murders aren't exactly new considering the life he was living back home, but still! everyone here is making it sound like a big deal so he feels like it's a big deal!! he is not investigating at all. he is trying to make sure ylfa and ros are safe and then just keep his nose out of it

starters (1/?): ylfa

glinda upland: honestly? she knows she is not the type to solve a murder. she is trying to stay out of it, and just not be lurking around alone. will drag people to do just about anything with her so that there's safety in numbers, but that's about it. she's not getting too worked up by it. she'll talk theories with some people but she won't be good at it and may just confuse everyone involved

starters (1/?): irina denali

gu zi: concerned for sure, but also doesn't know what he could actually do about it. checking in on the people he knows, but otherwise is trying to stay out of it and let the authorities handle it

inej ghafa: so many concerns. first and foremost she's looking out for her people, especially the unaware ones who might not be able to defend themselves as well. after that she's definitely doing a lot of lurking, trying to grab whatever information she can. she means well and will try and help people if it's ever needed, and is sort of looking into things, but from a much more quiet point of view. she's not throwing herself into it for everyone to see

starters (1/?) : jesper fahey

jin ling: tired! will threaten to fight if you seem weird even though he shouldn't! trying to keep track of seven thousand family members. not going anywhere without his dog who will attack on command. he's worked up but what else is new

starters (1/?): wei wuxian

lily evans: trying!! to stay out of it. she's nosy, and has a good sense of judgement, so she could wind up looking into things and being involved even though she knows it's not the smart thing to do, but her intention truly is to keep her distance and let the authorities handle it.

luo qingyang: another one who would like to avoid drama as much as possible. this isn't her problem, though she'll definitely be a little more defensive. carrying her sword around more than normal and will pull it out if it feels necessary, but not running around trying to solve and fucking mysteries.

madoka kaname: very stressed! wants to help but doesn't really know how. honestly she's mostly staying out of it but if you catch her near a murder sight or evidence she would be very easy to talk into investigating cause she wants to do the write thing

starters (1/?): homura akemi

mei nianqing: tired. looking for jun wu cause man is convinced he has something to do with all of this, but isn't doing a lot to actively solve or fix anything outside of that. this is a problem for younger people

nico di angelo: mostly uncaring. he doesn't think anyone's gonna come kill him and even if they do like ? cool he apparently comes right back. he's worried about his sisters but beyond that man is truly chilling with mcdonalds. life goes on.

nie huaisang: keeping up with the news but beyond that staying out of it. this is an art student, what the fuck is he supposed to do about it. if you approach him and he thinks you seem shady he will absolutely start screaming at the top of his lungs with zero remorse. he would rather be an annoying idiot than dead. can talk theory and be pretty smart about it if you make him focus long enough.

pearl: this is a human problem which means it's not her problem, though she also doesn't respect the cops and would tamper with evidence on the basis of like "i can definitely figure this out faster how has no one been caught yet." will investigate if she's around the area or someone asks her to but isn't going out of her way to do it

princess zelda: is this her problem? no. is zelda a nosy little know-it-all who will have a hard time completely staying away from it? absolutely yes. she knows it's not the smart thing but will keep trying to head around areas where bodies were found and look around. someone please either get her to relax or encourage the bad behavior.

shang qinghua: highkey staying out of it. this just is not his problem, and he's not investigating murders without any money being offered. honestly, he is not that worried. like he'll carry a knife with him in case but he's surprisingly good at surviving, and he doesn't consider himself particularly fun to murder. just don't sneak up on him for the next two weeks or you might wind up with an accidental stab wound

starters (1/?): qi yan

shi qingxuan: trying to stay out of it. a little worried that one of the two morally dubious people she's close to could be involved somehow but absolutely does not want to ask. qingxuan is head empty though and is relatively still way too trustworthy throughout this whole thing and would be way too easy to murder.

starters (1/?): ling wen

toph beifong: relatively unbothered. toph can take care of herself and knows that. confident she could body like anyone in washington if need be. if someone wants to play detective they'll take backup for fun, but isn't going to run in and do anything herself out of the blue.

starters: (2/?): ty lee, katara

victor nikiforov: another fool who is way too casual about the whole thing. sure there's murderers out there but he's still gonna go out and do his thing. why would they come after him? he's too handsom to be murdered. someone should probably attempt to talk some sense into him. he's not investigating, but if he comes across anything that feels weird he will post on instagram about it

yin yu: he's not investigating unless he's explicitly told to. he tries to be a good person, but he's pretty sure you don't need to jump into solving a murder to qualify for that. a little careful because he's the type to keep to quieter areas and the shadows and probably realizes that maybe he has to go out into crowds more until this is handled, but that's his biggest struggle. will tell people to chill and not run in and play hero if he has to

zagreus: speaking of running in and playing hero, this man absolutely would be like "alright, i have to lend and hand and solve things!" sticking his nose anywhere and everywhere, sharing theories with people, being way up in people's faces about getting things solved. he's annoying but he means well.

zhongli: another tired old man. he's trying to keep the people he cares about safe, especially since a lot (if not all) of them are young and reckless and he knows they're going to run head first into this stuff. he's not investigating, but does have a lot of knowledge and is happy to sit and talk theories with anyone who is.

starters (1/?): amelia shepherd

#i will add sections for the starters as i need them #i got real lazy with formatting on this one tbh #hw: starter call #hw: plot call #hwevent15 #murder mention tw #death mention tw #weapon mention tw #violence mention tw

[truly-morgan]

[Aroace!JC and JL]

Jiang Cheng | Mo Dao Zu Shi Modern AU 14-04-2021

[modern aroace #jiangcheng and jin ling]

where jl grew up with jc never really being in a relationship and the handful of ones he had only going on for a couple of weeks (or even days one time) before breaking off.

he wonders if it's because of him, since jc is young but had to take care of a small child. obviously, jc reassures him about this and simply says "I was too busy with school and wasn't even looking for a relationship, don't worry a-ling".

But jl doesn't want him to be alone so he tries to sneakily get jc to find someone or just put is attention on people. "Isn't she pretty?" "Oh, she seems to like you". but he realises quickly that his uncle doesn't seem interested in ladies, so he changes his strategy and tries with guys. The results are as bad. it's only around 15-16 that jl realises something: his uncle is just /not/ interested in anybody and seems really uncomfortable when people are obviously flirting with him.

"Do you think jiujiu is alright?" he ask his friends once after telling them (he has no one else apart from them and jc to talk about it. It was rather obvious jc is not an option).

"Maybe he just doesn't feel that kind of attraction?" suggest oyz, a bit unsure how it would work.

"Maybe he's like Wen Ning" suggest lsz only to have the three other turn to him. They didn't know much about lsz extended cousin, so they were unsure what he was talking about, just asking for more detail.

"He just doesn't experience sexual or romantic attraction at all, I forgot the words for it I would need to ask him for that" he explained. This made a lot of sense in jl mind, assuming jc probably already knew that about himself and just never told him about it (probably unsure how he would react or because he didn't see it necessary?).

So he instead switches to push away anyone who was trying to bother him by flirting heavily. It was to a point even his friend would (more subtly) make people understand jc was not interested.

of course, jc catches onto that 180 his nephew and finds it a bit weird. He was all in to apparently find him a date and now he chases away anyone who approaches him?

So at dinner one time, he asks about it.

"Isn't jiujiu aromantic and asexual? Doesn't it make you uncomfortable when people do that?" jl answers.

and this throws jc into confusion because what is he talking about?! so jl explains to him, looking a bit unsure that he might have wrongly assumed (again) something about his jiujiu. but what could he do when he doesn't tell him much in that department?!

jc looks pensive for a while, making jl a bit nervous, before he sees realisation and relief flashing over his jiujiu face, looking up towards him.

"You're telling me... there are other people who feel like this?"

and this is when jl realises his jiujiu /never/ knew. jc eyes look teary rather quickly, looking to the side a bit. "So there isn't something wrong with me, other people feel like that too".

oh. his jiujiu thought something was /wrong/ with him. jl feel sad about the idea that his jc had believed all these years that something was wrong and had probably forced himself into a relationship "No! There is nothing wrong with you!" he quickly replied, wanting to reassure his jiujiu.

They end up talking some more about it, jl is happy to see his uncle looking so relieved and reassured about something he felt like people might have shamed him for. from there on out, jl is jc biggest ally ever and supports him and is ready to remind him nothing is wrong with him.

(jl is the best ally until he realises he might not be as straight as he thought he was, nor as all as he thought he was)

Like, I can easily imagine jfm and yzy shoving in his head that he /will/ find a wife one day. Hence making him feel shame because he's /failing/ them /again/.

Not to help some of his past relationships might not have had the best reaction to him trying to put it into words.

and he overall stopped mentioning it since the couple of people he confided in only made him feel worst and broken as if something was really wrong with him and that no one else was like that.

Original

#tweet archive #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #jiang cheng #jin ling #aroace jiang cheng #aroace headcanon

[llycaons]

He was so incredibly grateful for Jin Ling. He had no idea what a twisted, bitter creature his brother would have become without that young man to raise.

the writing for this one fell off a little here. it's got wwx's mindset backwards - he doesn't see JL as a force acting on JC, he sees the opposite. which is....obviously true since jc helped raise jl lmao, of course jl is the party most acted on. he's far more invested in jc's impact on jl (the CHILD) than vice versa. and I don't think that jl even 'saved' jc from becoming the violent, bitter man we saw in postres. if anything, having a constant reminder of his sister's death to interact with probably just made him angrier and more vengeful, which he intentionally passed on to jl. but wwx is of course more focused on and worried about jl than he is jc; jl is the child between them no matter how much fans treat jc like a misunderstood child

and wwx does not think that jc escaped becoming bitter and twisted, he's actually very critical of him constantly in ways that fic authors love to ignore. like its a little confusing honestly that authors make wwx compliment jc all the time like how strong/determined/endearing etc he is, postcnaon or even immediately postres when it's made abundantly clear multiple times how much wwx disrespects what jc has become and how much he resents jc's behavior and actions. and this is in large part bc of how jc treated wwx himself (and has treated him in the past) and so it always felt shitty when ppl have wwx, someone who's gone through tremendous suffering and abuse, praise someone who he canonically criticizes for mistreating him

#BE SERIOUS!!!! #ficblogging

[satonthelotuspier]

Allcheng and Jiujiu & A-Ling ficlet! This was written for valentines. Feel free to guess which MC sent which present if you'd like!

It started that morning, when Jiang Cheng awoke to find the lotus flower on the table in his room. It was made expertly out of paper, but the petals and stamen swayed slightly, magically, as if in response to some ghostly wind.

It was a very clever and beautiful piece of work, and Jiang Cheng filed it away as a task for later, to try and find out who had left it, and for what purpose.

The next odd item to turn up was a carefully folded fan on his breakfast tray, which the servant who brought his meal from the kitchens couldn't tell him the origins of.

He dismissed the servant, and began to eat. But curiosity did get the better of him briefly, and he opened the fan. It was exquisitely painted with several small birds, made bright with splashes of red and yellow.

He spent the morning in training with the newest group of disciples, and then, as he made his way back to undertake the paperwork piling up on his desk, he passed the main hall.

The loud chatter drew his attention, and he entered. Several of the disciples were clustered around the Lotus Throne, talking excitedly. He pushed to the front of them, to see what had them in a tizzy; a jar of the finest sword oil sat in the middle of the seat.

"Another gift for Zongzhu!" One of the disciples tittered excitedly.

"What do you mean, another gift for me?" He demanded in irritation. At his temperful demand the disciples all suddenly remembered this task or that training they needed to see to immediately, and dispersed like smoke.

He picked up the jar, looking at it in confusion; it was a good, useful oil, but were all these little trinkets and so forth gifts for him?

Why?

Who from?

He was neither getting married, nor was it his birthday.

He sighed, and took the oil with him as he completed his intended journey to his office.

There was a box on the middle of his table, and he hardly dared to open it. What was going on today?

Jiang Cheng did investigate, however. How could he not?

It was a painting, showing a scenery of beautifully rendered piers and buildings on a lotus lake. After looking his fill of what was an excellent work, he rolled up the scroll, and got down to his own tasks.

His favourite snacks and drinks were brought at regular intervals throughout the afternoon, each placed down proudly by disciple after disciple, telling him to enjoy. He thanked them sincerely, as they each seemed to be waiting for some response from him excited and eager as puppies, and they each left happily, and each time he heard excited whispers from outside his door as if a group of the others waited outside for each new courier of treats.

Was he losing his mind?

What day was it?

Why were all these gifts and treats turning up today of all days?

He didn't know, however, and so filed it away as something to worry about later, and continued to work.

That evening, as he returned to his rooms to bathe, before he sent for a dinner tray to be brought, he found another suspicious box. This one was smaller, however. He opened it; it contained a stunningly wrought jade and gold hairpin. This was absolutely too much, and too confusing. He really had to find out who had gifted this and return it. All the items, really.

Had he hit his head and was this some unusual dream he was dreaming? There was a serious, yet unusually soft knock on his door, then, and he put the pin away, hurried over to door, and opened it, to find his six year old nephew, Jin Ling, the one seeking entrance. Jiang Yanli stood behind him, bearing a tray.

He could smell the famous soup his sister always made for them from the tray.

Jin Ling looked up seriously. "I came to have dinner with Jiujiu, to show we love him!" Jin Ling declared seriously.

Jiang Cheng stood aside to let them in, and Jiang Yanli moved over to the table, setting the tray of soup and tableware in the middle.

"A-Ling wanted to eat with you tonight, and I was more than happy to take advantage, to spend some time with my husband." She said it softly, so Jin Ling, busy making an amazing amount of noise while sorting out the dishes and utensils, didn't hear her, but there was a mildly amused smile on her face. "A-Ling, let your Jiujiu serve the soup, I don't want you to scald yourself."

Jin Ling nodded, "I know, Mama."

With Jiang Cheng’s silent nod of agreement to look after Jin Ling for the evening, Jiang Yanli left the pair together. Jiang Cheng finished serving the soup, and they settled down to eat.

Jin Ling was a wealth of chatter over the meal, and Jiang Cheng was happy to remain mostly quiet and respond only when required. Afterwards they played with Jin Ling’s toys, and went for a short swim in the lake.

Later that night, as he was putting Jin Ling to bed in his rooms, located next to Jiang Cheng’s, where he stayed when visiting Lotus Pier, Jin Ling caught his sleeves, and sleepily said, "Jiujiu liked my gift the best? Of all the ones he received today? A-Ling’s love is the best, yes?"

"Of course, A-Ling. Your love is the best." He agreed, and ruffled Jin Ling’s hair fondly, accepted the other's scolding for doing so, then left his nephew to his sleep.

#allcheng #jiujiu and a ling #fanfic #mdzs #valentines

[eternalstarlights]

@mearizus continued from here.

“Because I wouldn’t want her to get hurt. While yes, she is brave but that doesn’t mean it is a good idea to bring a fearless kitten into danger.” Regulus laughed. He couldn’t imagine Fairy accidentally sitting on Leo. Since Fairy was a clever dog with special training, he was sure Fairy would be careful and gentle around Leo. Plus Leo would definitely scratch and hissed if he was hurt in any way. “I guess, but dogs are very smart. I doubt Fairy would accidentally sit on Leo.”

At the mention of Morax, Regulus’ eyes lit up. He had heard stories about how Liyue archon was a huge dragon. He saw pictures of Morax too although it look to be different from Dvalin. Fortunately, for Jin Ling, Regulus was behind on the news and did not know what had happen to Morax yet.

“That is amazing. Dvalin protects us too. Well, he used to attack us before but he doesn’t attack us anymore. I don’t know the full details but I heard he was being controlled by the bad guys. He is freed now and living as a free dragon in the sky. Do you think maybe Morax would know Dvalin? Maybe they are dragon buddies! By the way, have you ever seen pictures of how Dvalin looks? He looks different from what Morax look in the drawings and paintings I see him in.”  

At the mention that Jin Ling will show him how to defeat a Geovishap, he looked forward to fighting one with him.

“Alright, I will keep you to that when we do face a Geovishap together one day.”

Regulus guessed only knowing his name and his cat’s name would not be enough. To him, it was enough but he had no issue with sharing more about himself. It seems that Jin Link didn’t trust him yet because of how little he knew about him and not because he was young.

“I assume you would be able to guess my age. You and I look around the same age. I am 15 years old! My vision is electro.” He lifted up his vision to show to Jin Ling. “People around my age are usually trainees but I became a knight at an early age because I am a genius. As for my uncle and the other knights, they are back at our camp not far away from here. I keep telling you to come meet them but you keep refusing. What else do you need to know about me so I can gain your trust?”

Regulus was fine with telling more about himself but he didn’t want to keep standing here and talking. It will be getting dark soon and who knows what kind of dangers might be lurking. Plus if he doesn’t come back soon, his uncle might start to worry.

At the mention of Jin Ling’s uncle breaking his legs, Regulus raised his eyebrows. It confuses and concerns him, however, he assumed Jin Ling must have meant it metaphorically.

“I understand your concern. My uncle can be overprotective of me too. The worst your uncle would do is lecture and maybe ground you like my uncle does. But still, if something were to happen to you and you got hurt, I am sure your uncle would become even angrier at you. My uncle can talk to your uncle if you want. He would explain to your uncle that it is important that you stay with the knights for your own safety especially when there aren’t any Millelith nearby to keep you safe.”

#mearizus #goldsaintleoregulus [Leo Regulus] #lol regulus be like don't worry the worse your uncle can do is lecture and ground you #if he ever sees jiang cheng he is going to change his mind real quick #he would be like why is your uncle so grumpy angry and scary lol

[twistedappletree]

TYPE: One-shot (bite sized!)

JURISDICTION: It’s feelings realization, your honor.

PAIRING: Jin Ling/Lan Sizhui

SIDE CHARACTERS: Lan Jingyi, unnamed town girls

ELEMENTS: Town setting, canon universe, first kiss, Jin Ling POV, internal monologue, awkward juniors being awkward because feelings are confusing~

•

He doesn’t ask what’s wrong with himself because it’s obvious now—why he doesn’t know how to talk to girls, why it bothers him to see Lan Sizhui so natural at it, why it hurts so much to walk away from him.

Stupidly perfect, charming Lan Sizhui.

•

In which Jin Ling is bad at feelings, Lan Sizhui’s ‘people-pleasing’ is mistaken as flirting and both discover the magic of (young and awkward) communication.

{ AO3 }

🍁

Jin Ling doesn’t know how to talk to girls.

In fact, he’s better at scaring them away more than anything. Lan Jingyi doesn’t know how to talk to girls either, which makes Jin Ling feel better knowing there’s someone equally as hopeless as him—and let’s face it, it would be devastatingly embarrassing if Lan Jingyi out of all people were better at courting than him.

The thing is, no matter how much Lan Jingyi sucks at talking to girls, he still seems to enjoy it.

Jin Ling doesn’t.

And because of this, he feels like there’s something wrong with him beyond terrible social skills. That’s why, when he sees Lan Sizhui easily talking to girls as though it’s second nature, he experiences a crushing mix of jealousy and despair.

Jealousy because he’s better than Jin Ling at something? Maybe. Despair for the same reason? Possibly. But Jin Ling doesn’t even like talking to girls, or other people in general, so this reasoning doesn’t quite make sense.

They’re at the docks of a new town, going through the same routine as usual: a flock of girls their age oohs and ahhs at the young cultivators of the esteemed Lan clan, then swarms Lan Sizhui in particular—all batting eyelashes and playful smiles as they bombard him with questions.

And Lan Sizhui, a gentleman to a fault, humors them, laughs with them, matches their smiles in all the right ways at all the right times, making the group of pretty young girls swoon.

But it isn’t fair because Lan Sizhui’s smile could make anyone swoon, including Jin Ling—Wait, he thinks, What?!

Jin Ling glances at Lan Jingyi who definitely isn’t swooning and, instead, is dreamily staring at (and salivating over) the contents of a nearby food stall.

The fishermen are tending to their catches, the shopkeepers are peddling their wares, the children are chasing each other around the docks. No one is swooning over Lan Sizhui’s handsome smile except the girls… and Jin Ling.

He digs his nails into his hand to bring himself back to his senses. What the hell is wrong with me?

One of the girls makes Lan Sizhui laugh—a beautiful, carefree, genuine laugh—and Jin Ling’s heart drops.

Stupidly perfect, charming Lan Sizhui.

•

The three young cultivators stop at a tea house, still accompanied by the giggling group of girls who insist on showing them around.

They take their seats inside and Jin Ling scrunches his nose at the way the girls strategically position themselves on both sides of Lan Sizhui. Not even Lan Jingyi is given the chance to claim a seat next to his best friend.

Lan Sizhui graciously pours everyone tea while the girls argue about who gets to pour his. Lan Jingyi clings onto the conversation by telling unprompted jokes and Jin Ling tries to drown out the noise by lazily resting his cheek on his fist and staring at the wall.

Half an hour goes by in what seems like seconds and Jin Ling hasn’t spoken a word. No one seems to notice his silence or the very clear boredom and annoyance plastered on his face.

He suddenly stands up and smooths his hands over his robes. “I’m going for a walk.”

“Wait,” Lan Sizhui calls, his face swimming with something Jin Ling can’t quite place. Worry? Anxiety?

“I’ll go with you,” he says, trying to stand up but the girls suddenly whine and paw at his robes, tugging him back down to his seat.

Jin Ling rolls his eyes at the pathetic sight. “Don’t bother. I won’t be gone long anyway.”

Lan Sizhui frowns and Jin Ling doesn’t understand why. Surely, if Wei Wuxian were here, he’d be egging the Lan boy on, telling him how proud he is, how Lan Sizhui is such a heartbreaker (because my god, is he ever).

Without another word, Jin Ling reluctantly tears his gaze from Lan Sizhui, walks out of the tea house and into the street. His head pounds, his heart aches, the world drains of color.

He doesn’t ask what’s wrong with himself because it’s obvious now—why he doesn’t know how to talk to girls, why it bothers him to see Lan Sizhui so natural at it, why it hurts so much to walk away from him.

Stupidly perfect, charming Lan Sizhui.

•

Jin Ling sits on a crescent moon bridge in a spacious garden, idly dipping a cattail stalk into the pond below and watching as a colorful spectrum of koi fish nip at what they think is food.

The town’s bustle and noise is muffled enough that he can finally hear himself think. No one else is in the garden but him and he hopes it stays that way.

The problem is, he doesn’t know what to think about. He doesn’t know if thinking is even worth it.

All he knows is that he wants to be alone. He hates to be alone. He hates him. He wants him. He wants, he hates, he—

“Young Master Jin?”

The cattail falls into the pond and Jin Ling’s chest fills with light. He looks up at Lan Sizhui, at his starlight skin shaming the sun, at his soft, downturned lips parted with visible worry, at his raven hair dusting the top of his gentle amethyst eyes.

He hates him.

“May I sit?” Lan Sizhui asks, a sheepish smile on his face.

No, Jin Ling thinks as he looks back down at the pond and scoots over. Lan Sizhui sits next to him and curiously stares down at the koi fish.

“Where’s your entourage?” Jin Ling asks, trying to sound as disinterested as possible.

“Oh,” Lan Sizhui smiles, “I left them with Jingyi at the tea house.”

Jin Ling huffs, his bangs fluttering forward like a curtain. “I can’t tell if that’s a blessing or a curse.”

A soft chuckle escapes Lan Sizhui’s lips, low and sweet like chimes in the wind. Jin Ling draws his knees up to his chest and plants his chin between them, hugging his shins.

He wants him.

“They didn’t seem to mind,” Lan Sizhui assures, “And I was worried about you. I wanted to find you and apologize—“

Jin Ling snaps his head up and stares at him. “Huh? For what?”

“For neglecting you at the tea house,” Lan Sizhui frowns, regret flooding his voice. “I was trying to be polite to the girls, but…” He thinks for a moment then shakes his head. “That’s not an excuse to ignore my friends. I’m sorry.”

Jin Ling wants to keep being angry but his heart betrays him. Because Lan Sizhui is looking directly into his eyes, because his apology is earnest and true, because he’s genuinely afraid he hurt Jin Ling’s feelings.

And he did. He did.

So why can’t Jin Ling stay mad at him? He’s horrified by the words that seem to subconsciously spill out of his mouth. “It’s okay.”

But it’s not okay and they both know it. Lan Sizhui knows it by looking at Jin Ling, and Jin Ling knows it by the way Lan Sizhui makes him feel like his heart’s been thrown into a furnace full of fireworks.

He hates him.

“You talk to a lot of girls,” Jin Ling quietly mumbles, almost hoping Lan Sizhui won’t hear him. “Don’t you like any of them?”

Lan Sizhui’s a bit taken aback by the question but ponders it for a moment before replying, “It’s important to show others courtesy and respect. When someone talks to me, I acknowledge them because it’s the polite thing to do.”

“Lan sect rules?” Jin Ling teases.

Lan Sizhui laughs. “Human rules.”

Jin Ling suddenly wonders if maybe he’s not bad at talking to people. Maybe he’s just bad at being human.

“If you really want to know,” Lan Sizhui starts, “I can’t like someone in… that way if I’ve only just met them. I have to be friends with them first.”

Heat invades Jin Ling’s cheeks and he hugs his knees tighter while recalling Lan Sizhui’s words from earlier: ‘That’s not an excuse to ignore my friends.’

Could he mean…? Maybe…?

Jin Ling mentally curses at himself. Don’t be stupid. “Then… do you like any of your friends?”

You absolute idiot.

Lan Sizhui blushes and Jin Ling can’t look at him because if he looks at him, he’ll crack and say too much and ruin everything and—

“Yes,” Lan Sizhui answers.

He wants him.

“And… and I hope he likes me too.”

He.

The silence between them is deafening, terrifying, revealing. The type of silence words can’t fill but actions can.

It’s too much and Jin Ling caves. He’s looking at him now. Amber eyes burn in the violet reflection of Lan Sizhui’s intense, hopeful stare.

Stupidly…

Their fingers touch and a fire ignites.

Perfect…

Warm breath against skin, time slows down.

Charming…

Their lips meet and the world stops.

Lan Sizhui.

He loves him.

{ 🖤 }

#fell asleep before I could post this here too OOPS lmaooo #super short one shot about junior disaster gays - ace coded as usual #mdzs #the untamed #jin ling #lan sizhui #zhuiling #mo dao su zhi #lingzhui #mdzs fanfic #mdzs fanfiction #one shot #ao3 #apple fics 🍎 #my fics #mdzs junior trio #lan jingyi #mdzs juniors #precious juniors #aspec writer #demisexual LSZ #happy ending bc I can’t write anything tragic about them or I’ll actually die #a little bit different than my usual style btw #just felt like playing around and experimenting ~✨ #fanfic #fan fiction #ficlet #mini fic #LSZ having immaculate rizz without even trying is the funniest shit to me idk LMAO #meanwhile poor JL is having a crisis because what the heck are even feelings 😭

[inexchangeforyoursoul]

Whoops I forgot to post, save organize these, so the blogging will be a mess/// one volume at a time though, one at a time

SO ANYWAY, second one.

Bring tissues and something to lower blood pressure because some parts will have the goo in your vessels boiling and not everyone gets their just desserts - yet.

One thing to point out in general is that this volume is very flashback heavy and all of these are depressing, really. The order of things is basically as follows: crying, laughing, gay, mission impossible, intermission, well shit, angry, and crying. Has a snot framing, if you like.

I'd say it's a solid 8.0 as the three flashbacks come with a windfall of flavor text, though this is also the reason they are enjoyable short stories of their own. I wasn’t all that into the middle one, though. Maybe obecause of its fragmented structure. Oh, and gay rating is 5 bc there's like one kith but then not really. It's the only real breather in the whole shebang so savor it.

So, quick characters update. But mostly for the supporting cast because Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are doing their usual shenanigans and gay panic until the last chapter. All in all, Wei Wuxian is hella embarrassed about tween him and slowly he's beginning his own gay panic. It's funny. Also it turns out he semi-accidentally started a revolution. As he would… and as he should. He’s also a very good teacher, I really respect that.

The first person, or rather group I’d like to talk about is the Xiao gang,,, A-Qing is among the bravest people around and I hope her and Xiao will be okay, although I'm not worried because they are in good hands. Ohana means family, and family means no one gets left behind. That's all. (Fuck, I'm crying again,,,, moving swiftly along,)

(theirs is the best flashback imo)

Xue Yang gives me like,,, especially warped Toga Himiko vibes if you know what I mean. At one point, he has no way to get the “candy” he so desperately wants and the realization is where he really goes crazy, obsessed with that victim to the point of mimicking him as best as he can. Whether it's for revenge still, or a way to make the victim out to be something he wanted him to be, OR even vica versa, envying what the other had and wanting to become more like the other(s), is left hanging in the air. He’s probably doing his own weird roleplaying gig out here in his personal shrek swamp and has long lost contact with the outside world.

He definitely deserves what he has coming, but with the little additional things sprinkled in, it is still just… sad and regrettable. I think we'll hear from him in the future, one way or another(TM).

Jin Ling is even younger than I thought?? (Fifteen instead of seventeen, dude. Fifteen. You have no business running off alone, kiddo.) and has never ceased worrying me. He's confused and angry and I don't blame him for what's happened.

Speaking of Jin Ling, the thing I want to keep him away from the most is his uncle. The other one. As in, the other one who is officially his uncle. That guy is a deranged control freak and it's definitely in him to either kill the kid himself or have someone else do it for him. Or trick them into doing it. Someone else I'm not gonna name again had to learn the nuances of these things somewhere. I hope this mofo will be the first real victim to Jin Ling's new trick, hell, I want it to be the thing to tip the scales. After all, he isn't supposed to know that.

I'm glad the Lan boys are not around to see this shitstorm. They've had enough to deal with for the time being.

I really like Wen Ning, hope he becomes permanent comic relief. Mainly because as of right now, I desperately need either that or some soft bonding time. Him and Wei Wuxian seem like the best of friends and it warms my torn little heart. I'm also wondering how they met because the Wen name certainly does not scream friendly or nice, but he sure seems to be. I imagine him having, like, the softest voice for some reason...

Anyhow, later the Wen duches do pop out of the woodworks and yeah they definitely are no good news, hell, along with uncle, they are the most despicable kind of people up till now. The reason is as simple as posing as heroes when they are actually unabashed villains

I will also disclose my opinion that young Mo Xuanyu may have been a victim of something other than just getting outed and promptly ostracized. He either made a mistake to get mad or got the pointy end of something to “help” him there. Explains it more than anything else.

Anyway, cat's out of the bag and we are kinda on the run now.

#Kate reads

[foularcadebanana]

The Guide to being a fun-er and cooler uncle by Jiang Cheng (or how to become more like Wei Wuxian)

Finally I have finished writing the fic for the last prompt of the Untamed Fall Fest 2020. Day 31-Wei Wuxian. I know I’m late, but this fic was huge and the idea was a big one. I still haven’t done one for the Day 1 prompt and the idea I have is similar but at the same time very different for that one. 

Thank you so much @fytheuntamed for arranging this amazing fest. I had so much fun participating in this and writing so many different fics. I feel like writing a fic every day for a month had really helped me grow as a writer. So here is the fic. I hope you all enjoy it!

Summary: Where after having an argument with Jin Ling, Jiang Cheng decides to become a much cooler and more fun uncle. Or the one where Jiang Cheng decides to become a better Wei Wuxian than even Wei Wuxian could ever hope to be.

READ ON AO3 (This is a really big one guys)

It began during an argument with Jin Ling of all things. It wasn’t even an argument. Jin Ling was being a particularly insolent brat on that day of all days. Ever since he had become a Sect Leader, he had started to talk back to Jiang Cheng and disagree with him more and more.

Jiang Cheng wondered how people could think they were alike since Jiang Cheng had never dared to speak up against his parents when he had been a teenager. But then again, he had never really had the best relationship with them, and he liked to think that his relationship with Jin Ling was better and that they were a bit close, if nothing else.

All of that changed during that one argument. “Why not?” Jin Ling asked, and Jiang Cheng could tell he was resisting the urge to stomp his foot. “Lan Sizhui’s going and so is Lan Jingyi, even Ouyang Zizhen’s dad is letting him go.”

“You’re not like them though, are you, A-Ling? You’re a sect leader now, you have more responsibilities,” Jiang Cheng tried to explain through the headache he was getting.

“I know that, Jiujiu, but can’t I go just this once?” A-Ling asked, and Jiang Cheng sighed. “I’ll be back as soon as—”

“That’s what you said the last time, and the time before that, and the time before that. You can’t keep making excuses to get out of Koi Tower and avoid your responsibilities and duties to the sect. If you tell your friends, I’m sure they’ll understand and change their plans.” Jiang Cheng replied, keeping his tone firm.

He couldn’t let Jin Ling wander off wherever he wanted and let him have his way every time. He needed to understand that things changed when you became a sect leader, and you had a duty to protect your sect and its people. He wished that things could have gone differently for Jin Ling, and Jiang Cheng was trying his best to not let too much burden fall on Jin Ling’s shoulders, but Jin Ling had to try too.

Jin Ling crossed his arms and pouted like a child. “I’m sure if I’d asked Wei Wuxian, he would have allowed me to go. He lets Sizhui go anywhere he wishes whenever he wants. I’m sure if he had been my guardian he would have wanted me to go have fun.”

Before Jiang Cheng could get the chance to respond, Jin Ling stomped away from Jiang Cheng’s office, closing the door behind him a bit too harshly. Jiang Cheng couldn’t muster up the energy to shout at him for it.

He wanted to go behind Jin Ling. He wanted to pull him back and order him, ask him to please take back his words. If I’d asked Wei Wuxian, he would have allowed me to go. If he had been my guardian, he would have wanted me to go have fun.

A knot formed in Jiang Cheng’s stomach and he tried to swallow the lump in his throat. But he wasn’t there for you, A-Ling. He was dead for sixteen years while I— I suffered. I tried my best for you, but I guess it still wasn’t good enough.

It had never been like this with Jin Guangyao, it had been different with him. With him, Jiang Cheng had never felt the pressure to compete, to be the best uncle he could be because he had known that he already was.

Jin Guangyao may have had the emotional sensitivity that Jiang Cheng lacked, and a way with words. He may have had his advantages, but Jiang Cheng had known that the way Jin Ling had called out to his ‘jiujiu’ was never the same as when he had talked about his ‘xiao-shushu’.

Jiang Cheng had seen the way Jin Ling had brightened up every time he had been in Jiang Cheng’s presence. He had never mouthed off to Jin Guangyao the way he had to Jiang Cheng, and still did. 

People had always said that Jin Ling behaved like Jiang Cheng, his personality, and the way that he acted being remarkably similar to Sect Leader Jiang’s. Jin Guangyao had never stood a chance.

Wei Wuxian, on the other hand… Jiang Cheng had once loved him dearly (still did, even if he denied it profusely) and had always been competing with him for his entire life. For the affection of his father, for the satisfaction of his mother, he had competed against Wei Wuxian with everything he’d had, he had worked so hard and practiced and practiced until he had been a bleeding mess on the floor, but it had never been enough.

And then Wei Wuxian had taken everything from him, including his free will. Now here he was, promising to take another important part of his life. One that Jiang Cheng had been growing and cherishing for sixteen years. Wei Wuxian hadn’t even done anything really, and yet, here Jiang Cheng was, already losing this battle of acquiring nephew’s affections. How long had Wei Wuxian been back and alive for?

Didn’t Jin Ling hate him? Or at least mildly dislike him? Jiang Cheng couldn’t lose to Wei Wuxian already. Sixteen years, dammit. He was going to win this competition against Wei Wuxian. He was going to come out on the top and be a better uncle than Wei Wuxian. The cooler uncle. The best uncle he could possibly be!

He needed to be a better Wei Wuxian than even Wei Wuxian could ever hope be.

Jiang Cheng stared into the mirror, looking at himself properly. He wasn’t going to start dressing like Wei Wuxian, obviously. He wasn’t obnoxious enough to wear all black, and he quite liked his purples and navy blues. What he was going to try though, was to smile like Wei Wuxian. So, he looked into the mirror, staring at his mouth.

But no matter how much he stared at it, he could not turn his frown upside down. He sighed and pressed his lips together, glaring at the mirror. How did a person smile, again? He tried turning the edges of his lips up…UP. But they just wouldn’t move. He groaned. What was he supposed to do? He couldn’t even smile like Wei Wuxian could. How could he hope to become a better uncle than Wei Wuxian if he couldn’t even smile for his kid?

This was a great start.

It was just a week later that he found himself in the Cloud Recesses. Jin Ling was going on a night hunt with the rest of his friends and Jiang Cheng was going to spend the night in the Cloud Recesses after a meeting with Hanguang-Jun.

So, he stood outside the entrance of the Cloud Recesses with Jin Ling, who was about to leave for the hunt. Jiang Cheng knew what he had to do. Project WWWWD (What Would Wei Wuxian Do) was about to begin.

“A-Ling,” Jiang Cheng said, his hands twitching at his sides. He was sweating and red in the face, wasn’t he? He was sure Jin Ling was giving him a weird look. Jiang Cheng could do this. All he had to do was lift his hands and give Jin Ling a hug, just like he’d seen Wei Wuxian give all of the juniors. Jin Ling had avoided his. But he wouldn’t avoid Jiang Cheng’s hug would he?

Jiang Cheng lifted one hand. Jin Ling looked at it. Jiang Cheng swallowed and cleared his throat, putting the hand on Jin Ling’s shoulder and patting him. “Have fun,” he said, just like Wei Wuxian had said earlier. He tried to smile like he had practiced in the mirror.

“Jiujiu, are you okay?” Jin Ling was staring at him worriedly. Jiang Cheng nodded his head, letting his hand drop and a frown settle on his face. He expected Jin Ling to say ‘goodbye’ and ‘see you soon’ before sprinting off to join his friends, but instead he waited, as if expecting Jiang Cheng to say something more.

Jiang Cheng gritted his teeth, resisting the urge to ask to check Jin Ling’s pouch and ask him if he had carried all of the necessities with him, his clarity bell, and the flares and…

Taking a deep breath, Jiang Cheng asked, “Is there a problem, A-Ling?”

Jin Ling seemed to search Jiang Cheng’s features before he shook his head. “No. I guess I should get going.” The kid had his lips pursued as he turned around and walked slowly over to his friends.

Jiang Cheng watched him take a few steps forward before he swore under his breath and gave up. “A-Ling!” Jin Ling turned back with a hopeful expression on his face. “Take care and stay safe.”

Jin Ling’s face brightened, and to Jiang Cheng’s surprise, he walked back to Jiang Cheng, pulling his pouch out of his robes. “I will, Jiujiu.” He opened his pouch in front of Jiang Cheng with a serious expression on his face. “Here, look. I’ve packed everything……”

After Jin Ling had finished showing Jiang Cheng all of the items in his pouch, had pointed to his clarity bell, attached to his waist, and had shown Jiang Cheng his supply of flares, he was gone with his friends waving and enthusiastically saying goodbye to Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng watched Jin Ling disappear and sighed. He had failed in the first step of his project. He hadn’t even been able to chill out like Wei Wuxian and let Jin Ling have fun. He’d had to check up on him. Well, he would not anymore. He turned to look at Wei Wuxian, who was sat on a rock, looking up at the moon.

As Jiang Cheng passed by him, Wei Wuxian’s head whipped around to look at him. “Do you think we should go behind them? I think we should trail behind them for this hunt, just in case.” Wei Wuxian said, and on the surface, the words seemed innocent and harmless enough. But Jiang Cheng knew better.

He narrowed his eyes at Wei Wuxian. Subtly trying to steal his nephews love and earn the spot as his most favourite uncle was one thing, but this. This was too much.

“Oh, haha, Wei Wuxian. Very funny. Let’s make fun of Jiang Cheng for being concerned about his nephew and being cautious. They’re teenagers, you know, and even if they don’t think so, they still need someone to look after them. That includes Jin Ling, even though he’s a sect leader now. So, I don’t appreciate you making fun of me for that,” Jiang Cheng answered and stomped off after he had finished his rant, ignoring Wei Wuxian’s calls to him.

Phase two of the plan to win Jin Ling back and be the cooler uncle involved going to Koi Tower. Jiang Cheng took the day off and went there late into the morning. As soon as he opened the door to Jin Ling’s office, he was greeted with a surprised “Jiujiu!”

Jin Ling stood up and rushed over to Jiang Cheng, who tried not to eye the messy pile of letters Jin Ling had left on the table. “A-Ling,” he said, greeting Jin Ling with a nod of his head, and a slight curve of his lips. He was trying, okay? At least Jin Ling seemed like he was glad to see him. That was a start, right?

“Jiujiu, what are you doing here?” Jin Ling asked. Jiang Cheng understood why. He didn’t really come visit Jin Ling at Koi Tower unless there was a meeting, a conference, some type of a celebration, or if Jiang Cheng believed that Jin Ling needed his help with something, or Jin Ling called him over for an emergency.

One of these things happened at least once a month and Jin Ling visited Lotus Pier often enough, so it wasn’t as if Jiang Cheng needed to casually go over to check up on the kid. But he was there now, for an extremely specific reason, and Jin Ling was curious.

“Well, I was hoping we could go out and do something fun,” Jiang Cheng said. Take that Wei Wuxian. Who’s the fun uncle now?

Jin Ling’s entire demeanor changed as he straightened up and gave Jiang Cheng a serious look. “Is this some kind of a test, Jiujiu?” A test? Jiang Cheng frowned. “Because I’ve been working very hard on the upcoming night hunt I have to arrange for all of the elites in the Jin sect. The elders have been on my back for weeks, and if you’re wondering why I haven’t responded to the letters, it’s not because I’ve been wandering around with my friends. I’ve just been so busy—”

“I know,” Jiang Cheng interrupted, feeling guilt gnawing at his insides. Was this the kind of uncle he was? One that put Jin Ling into such an anxious and frustrated state even when he suggested doing something fun? He swallowed the lump in his throat. “I know how hard you’ve been working, A-Ling. I’ve never doubted you. That’s why I was thinking that maybe we could get away from here and do something fun. It’s up to you, we can do whatever you want.”

Jin Ling stared at Jiang Cheng. He seemed to be searching Jiang Cheng’s eyes again, or maybe searching for the right words. Jiang Cheng didn’t know what he had said to make Jin Ling turn speechless. Did Wei Wuxian not speak like this to Sizhui? Or Jin Ling? He didn’t know. He was betting it was something much, much more sentimental.

Jiang Cheng scowled at the thought that Wei Wuxian had one-upped him in this too. “Jiujiu?” Jin Ling was biting his lower lip, deep in thought. “Could we maybe do that later?” Jiang Cheng blinked. What? “First, could we— well, now that you’re here, I was hoping that you could help me with arranging the Jin hunt. Please, Jiujiu? I’ve been working so hard and—”

“Alright, let’s take a look at it,” Jiang Cheng agreed. Jin Ling’s whole face lit up as he practically dragged Jiang Cheng to his worktable to take a look at what he had come up with so far.

Jiang Cheng blinked and listened as Jin Ling spoke rapidly, ranting to Jiang Cheng about everything all at once. Everything Jiang Cheng had missed so far, everything the elders had told him, everything Jin Ling had incorporated into his arrangement of the hunt so far, and all of the things he planned to do.

To Jiang Cheng, Jin Ling looked not like the capable Sect Leader that Jiang Cheng knew he had become, but like the tiny child who used to pull Jiang Cheng through the entire Lotus Pier to look at a flower he had seen or a bird or a butterfly, anything that had caught his attention, really. He reminded Jiang Cheng of the Jin Ling who, every time he had come to Lotus Pier from Koi Tower, would hold Jiang Cheng’s hand in his pudgy, little one and go off on a rant, rapidly recalling everything that had happened at Koi Tower.

And maybe, phase two of his plan had failed too, maybe it hadn’t. Jin Ling had said that they could go have fun after they had arranged the night hunt, but Jiang Cheng was sure that A-Ling really couldn’t care less about it.

Maybe that was Jiang Cheng’s problem. He was too hard on the kid. Maybe he should ease up, loosen his leash, and show a little more trust and belief in Jin Ling. Like Wei Wuxian tended to do.

“Jiujiu, you should come with us.” Jiang Cheng blinked as Jin Ling looked at him. Go with them where, again? He had almost dozed off while Jin Ling had been having a conversation with Jiang Cheng and his friends, and of course, Wei Wuxian.

Jiang Cheng felt like he somehow got less sleep as he became older, and surely enough there would come a time in the future where no one would let him get any sleep at all.

“Hmmm?” Jiang Cheng casually asked.

“To the lake nearby!” Jin Ling said, clapping his hands excitedly. “We could go for a swim.”

Jiang Cheng just wanted to get some rest, but he turned to look at Wei Wuxian. WWWWD—What would Wei Wuxian do? Wei Wuxian was nodding at the plan approvingly which meant that Jiang Cheng would have to do the same.

He tried to hold in his sigh. “Sure. That sounds like a great idea.” Jin Ling blinked and narrowed his eyes at Jiang Cheng, as if he had said the wrong thing. But Wei Wuxian seemed pleasantly surprised.

“Are you sure, Jiujiu? You look tired, and I saw you kind of dozing off in the meeting earlier.” Jin Ling said. Damn that kid and his observation skills. Maybe he could blame that one on Jin Guangyao?

Jiang Cheng searched for a response. What would Wei Wuxian say? “Ah, A-Ling, it’s fine. I’m fine. I can sleep after we come back, but I wouldn’t want to miss this.” A smile. Jiang Cheng should go for a smile right about now. He felt his lips twitching upwards, but he couldn’t see himself, there was no mirror around. Was he smiling?

Jin Ling’s eyes widened, and he looked stricken. Was that the kind of response people got when they smiled? Was he doing this right?

“We…should go,” Jin Ling said.

As they reached the spot near the lake, Jiang Cheng noticed the shade under the trees. Maybe coming here had been a good idea after all. Jiang Cheng could get some rest while the boys had some fun. Wei Wuxian was there to keep an eye on them, or not. But Jiang Cheng most certainly wasn’t going to pay them any attention. Just like he had promised himself.

He could also get to spend some time with A-Ling like this, and he wouldn’t keep bugging Jiang Cheng to try to meet up with Wei Wuxian. He was in his presence now, and that would have to be enough.

Spreading out a blanket for himself on the grass, Jiang Cheng lay down under the shade of the trees and closed his eyes. He had kept the picnic basket which contained warm food a bit of a distance away from him, but still on top of the blanket.

Jiang Cheng let himself relax. He felt the breeze gently caressing his face and his hair, and he allowed himself to finally fall asleep….

“Jiujiu!” Jiang Cheng startled awake.

“Jiang Cheng, Jiang Cheng!” Wei Wuxian called out, and Jiang Cheng heard the urgency in his voice.

“What is it? Who’s hurting you? Where’s the dog? What’s wrong?” Jiang Cheng immediately stood up, alert.

“It’s Jingyi and Sizhui. We were just playing in the lake and they both got hurt and almost drowned, but Wei Wuxian and I saved them.” Jin Ling told Jiang Cheng. While Jin Ling’s tone remained calm, Jiang Cheng could see the worry and concern on his face. “They need your help, Jiujiu.”

Wei Wuxian, on the other hand, could not seem to stand still, hopping from one foot to the other and hovering around the two boys. As Jiang Cheng walked towards them, he noticed that the boys were both sitting upright and coughing. Ouyang Zizhen seemed to be rubbing their backs, the smart kid.

“Do something, Jiang Cheng,” Wei Wuxian said in a panicked voice. “Look at them. I almost lost Sizhui a second time! I think they might have a concussion. Jingyi’s looking a bit pale—”

“They’re going to be fine, Wei Wuxian. Stopping jumping around and help me.” Jiang Cheng snapped, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. This was great. Wei Wuxian was acting like a child. He felt like the only adult around. At least he could still count on Jin Ling to help.

Jiang Cheng saw that Sizhui’s knees were scratched up and immediately pulled out a few creams and lotions along with a bandage from his pouch. The lotions would help Sizhui’s sea sickness and help clear both the boys’ lungs of water. Lan Jingyi did not have a concussion, but he had a bruise on his forehead. Jiang Cheng pulled out a pack of ice for him before closing his pouch.

After tending to both the boys and giving them instructions, with Jin Ling sitting right next to him and adding a few pieces of advice of his own, and Wei Wuxian still hovering around them, Jiang Cheng thought it would be best to go back to his blanket. He had done what he had been asked to do. That was enough, right?

Jiang Cheng felt almost proud of himself, as he pulled warm food out of his picnic basket for everyone. He hadn’t even given the boys a single lecture. He was getting the hang of this cool, fun uncle thing.

“Jiujiu,” Jin Ling said. He standing next to Jiang Cheng and conveniently blocking out the sun. Jiang Cheng watched him as he looked down and fidgeted with his fingers. What was wrong now? “I’m sorry.” Jiang Cheng stared questioningly at Jin Ling. “You were right. You’re always right. We should have been more careful. I didn’t know Sizhui couldn’t swim, and the tides were very strong. It was stupid, Jiujiu, and I know that I was being irresponsible. It won’t happen again.”

Jiang Cheng blinked up at Jin Ling. He hadn’t even lectured Jin Ling this time, but he had somehow still received an explanation and an apology. He hadn’t even said anything and yet, here A-Ling was doing the talking for him, saying words in response to everything that Jiang Cheng wanted to say to him.

Sighing exasperatedly, Jiang Cheng tugged on Jin Ling’s arm, making him sit down beside him. “It’s alright, A-Ling. I’m glad you’ve understood your mistake, and I’m sure you’ll be more careful from now on.” There. His response had been short and sweet. Wei Wuxian could get wrecked!

What was Wei Wuxian doing anyway? Jiang Cheng looked over at him. Wei Wuxian seemed to have gone mad, making wild hand gestures as he spoke loudly. Sizhui seemed to be trying to placate him, as if the idiot were angry at the kid and not concerned for him. Jiang Cheng scoffed. Who was the cooler uncle now?

Looking back at his own nephew, Jiang Cheng was puzzled by the hidden disappointment he found in Jin Ling’s eyes. “Jiujiu, why aren’t you getting angry at me?” Jin Ling softly asked.

Jiang Cheng was even more confused now. Hadn’t Jin Ling wanted this? Hadn’t he wanted Jiang Cheng to be just like Wei Wuxian?

What would Wei Wuxian say? “A-Ling, you are a grown-up now. You’re managing to look after an entire sect all by yourself, aren’t you? Then it wouldn’t do for me to treat you like you’re still a child, to shout at you or get angry with you. You’re a responsible and mature individual now, and I’m sure you can take care of yourself. You don’t—” Jiang Cheng cut off and cleared his throat, immediately looking away.

He swallowed the emotions threatening to spill over. You don’t need me to take care of you anymore. You have Wei Wuxian here with you if you need a fun, cool uncle to spend some time with.

“A-Ling. Why don’t you call your friends and your idiotic uncle over to have some food before it goes cold?”

Jiang Cheng found himself going on a night hunt with the juniors and Wei Wuxian soon after that. He knew that this would be difficult. It would be hard for him to keep his cool and stay calm if a monster came at the kids, especially at Jin Ling, but Jiang Cheng would try. For A-Ling.

He was even keeping his distance, walking right next to Wei Wuxian, who was at least a few steps behind the juniors. Jiang Cheng sighed, tightening, and loosening his grip on Sandu. He wanted to ask Wei Wuxian how he did it, how he made everyone like him so much. How he inspired the loyalty and devotion of the people around him instantly.

Maybe he got it from his parents, or maybe he got it from Jiang Cheng’s parents. Either way, Jiang Cheng hadn’t acquired that particular personality trait. Maybe it was the smile that did it. That bright, blinding smile that made people instantly melt, no matter what had just happened. Then it made sense, because Jiang Cheng had never learned how to smile like that, had he?

A sudden gurgling sound tore through the silence of the night and Jiang Cheng instinctually looked over at Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian was looking back at him. He gave Jiang Cheng a quick nod, and Jiang Cheng could feel Zidian slowly beginning to flare up, could feel the itch in his hands to unsheathe Sandu. But he straightened up, took a deep breath, and decided to watch as the juniors handled the monster by themselves.

It was after all just one monster. They would be able to handle it wouldn’t they?

“Jiujiu!” Jin Ling called, his eyes flashing over to Jiang Cheng. Be supportive. Trust him. Tell him that you believe in him.

Jiang Cheng  gestured with his hands and gave a small smile. “It’s alright, A-Ling! I believe in you.”

Disbelief flashed in Jin Ling’s eyes before he joined the rest of the juniors in fighting the monster. There, it seemed like Jiang Cheng had done a good job. Now all he had to do was stay away from the fight and let Jin Ling and the rest of his friends handle it. Easier said than done.

“Jiang Cheng, what are you doing?” Wei Wuxian hissed. Jiang Cheng blinked and turned to him. Wei Wuxian had a desperation in his tone and this look in his eyes that Jiang Cheng hadn’t seen since he had been resurrected. “Why aren’t you helping them?”

Jiang Cheng scoffed. Was Wei Wuxian serious? Was this some kind of a trap to knock Jiang Cheng down a few pegs so he could never achieve the title of a cool, fun uncle? Well, Jiang Cheng was not falling for that. “Why don’t you go help them?”

Wei Wuxian gave Jiang Cheng the same look of disbelief that Jin Ling had.

“You’re the one who has Sandu and Zidian. Why would I use Chenqing on a single monster?” Wei Wuxian asked. Jiang Cheng could not understand what was wrong with him. Why was he acting like Jiang Cheng had to be the one to handle this hunt? The juniors were handling it just fine, weren’t they?

“There are four of them, Wei Wuxian. I’m sure they can handle a single monster,” Jiang Cheng replied, pointing at the monster, who was apparently already dead. “See, I told you.” Jiang Cheng felt like the coolest, fun-est uncle ever in that moment.

But before Wei Wuxian could respond, a second monster ran into the clearing, and Jiang Cheng held his breath as he realised that it was going straight for Jin Ling. Jiang Cheng was ready with his sword and Zidian, he was ready if he felt like Jin Ling was in even the slightest bit of danger. But the kid looked at the monster running towards him, unsheathed his sword smoothly, and in one clear move, pierced the monster straight in his heart. Jiang Cheng couldn’t have felt prouder.

As Jin Ling pulled the sword out from the monster’s chest, blood spurted all over his face and body. He groaned. “This is just fucking great!” He exclaimed, lifting his hands up in the air.

“Nice aim, Young Mistress.” Lan Jingyi said. As the rest of his friends gathered around Jin Ling, Jiang Cheng suddenly remembered how to breathe again.

“That was close,” Wei Wuxian muttered, with another expression Jiang Cheng didn’t remember seeing on his face since the resurrection, or maybe since Guanyin Temple.

Too close, Jiang Cheng thought as he rushed over to Jin Ling.

“A-Ling—” Jiang Cheng said, and something throbbed in his chest as Jin Ling’s expressions turned grim and more serious.

“It’s all right, Jiujiu. I’m okay. You don’t need to— You were right. I can handle these things myself,” Jin Ling said, his voice a little harsh as he walked past Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng stayed frozen in place. Jin Ling had never spoken to him like this before. What had gotten into him? A small voice in Jiang Cheng’s mind said that this was the way Jin Ling spoke to Wei Wuxian. So, was it really a good idea to try and be more like him?

But it’s what A-Ling wants. A-Ling likes him. Jiang Cheng sighed. He didn’t understand what was wrong. What had he done wrong?

‘A-Ling, what’s wrong?’

Something was wrong with Jin Ling. Jiang Cheng knew that. Ever since they had gone on the night hunt, Jin Ling had been acting different. More distant. And Jiang Cheng didn’t know what he had done wrong.

It had been a month, and Jin Ling hadn’t come to visit him in Lotus Pier. He hadn’t met him or found a reason to call him to Koi Tower, and Jiang Cheng just wanted to know what had happened. What had Jiang Cheng done wrong? He had tried to be like Wei Wuxian. He had tried to be fun and laid back and cool. Was that still not enough? Was Wei Wuxian still a better choice than him? Better company than him?

Of course, he was. Jiang Cheng didn’t know what he had been thinking. Trying to be like Wei Wuxian had only confirmed one thing for him, that he could never be him. No matter how hard he tried, he could never evoke the same sense of loyalty and devotion as him. Jiang Cheng had never been and could never be likeable or fun or cool or anything good.

He just had to surrender the title and spend the rest of his life knowing that he would be Jin Ling’s angry, temperamental, strict uncle. That Jin Ling would only come to him because he had to. When he had no choice.

‘If I’d asked Wei Wuxian, he would have allowed me to go. If he had been my guardian, he would have wanted me to go have fun.’

And now that Jin Ling was a Sect Leader, he didn’t have to come to Jiang Cheng anymore. He had a choice, and it was even better now because he had Wei Wuxian. Another uncle. A better uncle.

Jiang Cheng sighed, putting his head in his hands. Fuck all of this, he missed his kid.

He missed having Jin Ling around, walking into his office to interrupt his work every once in a while. He missed Jin Ling pulling pranks on him, and Jiang Cheng getting so angry that he would threaten Jin Ling by pulling out Zidian. Jin Ling would retort by mouthing off to him.

He missed having the kid insist that they sit together for lunch and dinner and all of their meals, and having him insist that they go to the training grounds to train together or because he wanted Jiang Cheng to teach him a particular technique or to show him something he had recently learned.

He just missed his A-Ling. Jiang Cheng rubbed at his eyes, roughly wiping away his tears.

“Jiang Cheng!” A sudden voice called out, making Jiang Cheng look up as his office door banged open. It was Wei Wuxian. What was he doing—

“You need to come with me to Koi Tower. It’s Jin Ling.” Wei Wuxian was a mess, and Jiang Cheng’s heart was in his throat.

“A-Ling, what—” He’s alive. He has to be alive.

“He’s got a fever, and he’s calling for you. Please. I don’t know what to do,” Wei Wuxian pleaded, looking helpless in a way that he had never seemed before.

Jiang Cheng relaxed slightly as Wei Wuxian’s words sunk in. He already had Sandu unsheathed and was marching outside with Wei Wuxian. “How long has he had the fever? Why didn’t anyone tell me? How did you get here?”

“He just got it this morning, but he didn’t tell anyone because he thought it was nothing. We only noticed when it spiked this afternoon. It’s a good thing I was there at Koi Tower with the rest of the juniors. I came here on Suibian as fast as I could.”

Jiang Cheng looked at the sky as he stepped outside the entrance. It was evening now. He swallowed and hopped onto his sword, pulling Wei Wuxian onto it before he could protest.

As they flew into the sky, headed towards Lanling full speed, Jiang Cheng swallowed. “What were you doing there?”

“Oh,” Wei Wuxian seemed hesitant to speak. “Jin Ling needed some help with some things, so he called me.” Of course, he did. Why would he call me when he has you? “It was no big deal, Jiang Cheng. He knows that you’ve been busy and he just didn’t want to cause you more stress.”

Jiang Cheng snorted. That was easy for Wei Wuxian to say. Everyone actually wanted him around. He was everyone’s first choice. So where did that leave Jiang Cheng?

They flew in silence for a few moments before Jiang Cheng remembered what Wei Wuxian had said as soon as he had burst into his office.

“You said that A-Ling was calling for me,” Jiang Cheng spoke. A knot tightened in his stomach at the thought. He imagined a feverish Jin Ling calling out for him, and for a moment, he couldn’t breathe. They had to go faster.

“Yeah, he— he had a high fever and he kept murmuring your name in his sleep. Kept saying he needed his jiujiu, even after he woke up. We found him fainted in his office in the afternoon, y’know.” Wei Wuxian said.

Jiang Cheng gritted his teeth, clenching his fists. This was all his fault. He should have been there for A-Ling. He should have visited him. He should have—

Koi Tower appeared in Jiang Cheng’s vision and he almost leapt off his sword.

“A-Ling!” Jiang Cheng pushed open the door to Jin Ling’s room. “A-Li—”

“Jiujiu,” Jin Ling spoke. He was sitting up, leaning against a soft pillow. He seemed fine. Jiang Cheng’s posture slumped slightly. “What are you doing here?”

Jin Ling looked surprised. As if there was no need for Jiang Cheng to be there. Well, fuck that.

“What do you mean what am I doing here?” Jiang Cheng asked as he strode over to stand to Jin Ling’s side. “Am I not allowed to enter my nephew’s room? Who are you to demand answers from me when you cannot even take care of yourself?”

Jin Ling blinked at Jiang Cheng, and a tenseness that Jiang Cheng hadn’t even known Jin Ling had been holding in his shoulders, disappeared. “I—”

“I don’t show up for a few weeks and you forget you have another uncle!” Jiang Cheng knew that he was getting worked up over nothing. It was just a fever; it was supposed to be nothing. But he’d had enough. Jin Ling not taking care of himself was the last straw and all bets were off.

If being Jin Ling’s temperamental and strict uncle would mean that Jin Ling wouldn’t get hurt and that Jiang Cheng could protect him, then Jiang Cheng would happily take that title back. “You forget you have another home and just decide to not come visit Lotus Pier. Not only that but you don’t even write me letters! You think you can get rid of me that easily, you brat?! Huh?

You think you can just keep things from me and not have me find out about them? Well that’s too bad because I’m going to find out anyway! And I’m going to come nag you about them. I made a promise to your mother and father to take care of you, and I’m going to keep that promise!”

“Jiujiu,” Jin Ling looked at Jiang Cheng with a soft look in his eyes, and as he coughed, Jiang Cheng was reminded that the kid was sick. He had a high fever.

Jiang Cheng sat down with a frown on his face, taking the wet cloth lying beside A-Ling and dipping it in the cold water kept in a bowl. Gently squeezing the cloth, Jiang Cheng kept it on A-Ling’s forehead. He touched the back of his hand carefully to Jin Ling’s neck and his cheeks. The kid was burning up.

“Jiujiu,” A-Ling said a little more meaningfully. He grasped Jiang Cheng’s hand in both of his own and held on.

“A-Ling,” Jiang Cheng whispered softly. He swallowed the bile rising up his throat. “What were you thinking? Why didn’t you call me here?”

“I thought—” Jin Ling looked away from him.

Jiang Cheng used his sleeves to wipe the sweat off of Jin Ling’s cheeks and neck before keeping another wet cloth on the neck. “You though what?”

“That you didn’t care anymore,” Jin Ling muttered. What?!

“What?” Jiang Cheng gaped at Jin Ling. What had given him that idea? “What made you think that?”

“You— you started acting really weird, Jiujiu. You didn’t ask me to stay safe and take care during night hunts anymore and you didn’t tag along on this recent one until I asked you to, and told you that Wei Wuxian was coming too. You didn’t demand to see what I’d kept in my pouch or check if I’d packed the flares and tied my clarity bell around my waist. You came over to Koi Tower to visit me but you didn’t ask about the elders or how my sect leader duties were going. I had to ask you to help me instead.

When we went out to the lake to take a break, instead of keeping an eye on us or joining us, you just fell asleep. When you found out that Sizhui and Lan Jingyi were hurt, you just tended to them and walked away. You didn’t even ask if I was okay, you weren’t even mad or angry at me, and you didn’t even shout at me or tell me to be more careful. You just— You just didn’t care!”

“A-Ling—” Jiang Cheng’s heart hurt to see his kid in so much pain. There were tears in Jin Ling’s eyes and he had gone red the more he had spoken. But he wasn’t done yet.

“And then during this recent night hunt, you didn’t even come to help us. You just stood there and watched! Even when that second monster was about to kill me.” Tears fell from Jin Ling’s eyes and he turned to look away from Jiang Cheng, but Jiang Cheng firmly held Jin Ling’s face in his hands. He wiped away Jin Ling’s tears with his thumbs.

“It’s like you don’t even care about me anymore.” Jin Ling brokenly whispered, and Jiang Cheng wondered how they had gotten here. How had they reached this point of almost no return?

It was because Jiang Cheng was a fool. “A-Ling, that’s not true. You know that. You know how much I care about you. You’re the most important person in the world to me.” Jiang Cheng said softly.

“Then why were you acting like that?” Jin Ling demanded. “Why were you acting like— like Wei Wuxian?!”

“Hey!” Wei Wuxian protested, but neither of them paid him any attention.

“I thought you wanted me to act that way,” Jiang Cheng said, and Jin Ling blinked at him confusedly. Jin Ling looked so tired that Jiang Cheng just wanted to pull him into his arms and sing to him until he fell fast asleep. “You told me to, remember, when we fought a while ago. I didn’t let you go out with your friends so you said that Wei Wuxian would have allowed you to go. You said that he lets Sizhui go anywhere he wants and that you wished he were your guardian. So, I— I tried to be…more like him.”

“What?!” Wei Wuxian exclaimed. “Jin Ling you wanted me—”

“No!” Jin Ling almost shouted. “That wasn’t what I meant. Jiujiu, I was angry and frustrated. You never usually take me that seriously. What happened this time?”

Jiang Cheng tried to hold back the tears that sprung into his own eyes. “I just…I just wanted to be the fun and cool uncle that you wanted me to be, A-Ling. For once. I wanted you to— I didn’t want you to—” choose Wei Wuxian over me “—hate me because I couldn’t be as amazing as Wei Wuxian.” Jiang Cheng let out a sharp breath, feeling like a shard of broken glass was stuck in his chest. Breathing hurt.

“Jiang Cheng…” Wei Wuxian spoke, but Jiang Cheng didn’t want to hear it. He didn’t want to hear the pity in his brother’s voice.

But he didn’t have to, because Jin Ling spoke up in response. “Well, I was lying you know. Wei Wuxian lets Sizhui go wherever he wants but only because he goes with him. Just like he follows us on night hunts and brings out his flute any time anyone so much as breathes. He says it’s because he wants to teach us things, but he just makes us do things on our own and plays pranks on us. And he’s a shitty teacher, Jiujiu. He’s nowhere near as good as you are.

And every time anything happens to any one of us, even if it’s a scratch, he just freaks out. Especially if it’s Sizhui, cause Sizhui always gets hurt. He tries to reassure Wei Wuxian, but it just ends up with the both of them hugging each other and saying they love each other.” Jin Ling made a disgusted face.

“And if, unluckily, any one of us gets hurt so badly that we start crying, then he begins to cry too, and then so does everyone else. I’m the only one who just sits there wishing that you were there too. Because I know if you’d have been there with us then you wouldn’t have cried, you would have actually done something to help us.” Jin Ling scowled as he looked at Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng had never loved the kid more than he did in that moment. Without even thinking about it, Jiang Cheng hugged Jin Ling tightly. “I missed you so much, A-Ling,” he admitted.

He heard Jin Ling swallowing heavily. “I missed you too, Jiujiu.”

“I’m sorry I made you feel like I didn’t care. That promise I told you I made, to take care of you and always protect you. To never let any harm come to you. That wasn’t just a promise that I made to your parents, A-Ling. That was a promise that I made to myself first. And I intend to always keep it.”

Jin Ling brushed away more tears as they appeared and leaned in to hug Jiang Cheng again. “I’m sorry too, Jiujiu. I never should have said those things about Wei Wuxian. You are a fun and cool uncle. At least for me, you are. And I don’t care what anyone else thinks about you, they can fight me if they want. I don’t want you to change, Jiujiu. I don’t want you to stop caring about me. You’re the best uncle. Wei Wuxian is the lame one.”

“Hey!”

“I will never stop caring about you, A-Ling.” Jiang Cheng promised. He pulled the kid into his arms and softly caressed his hair. He was hot with fever, and they were surrounded by Jin Ling’s friends, and Wei Wuxian, but Jiang Cheng could care less. “Sleep, A-Ling. I’m here. I’ve got you and I’m going to take care of you, okay?”

Jin Ling melted into Jiang Cheng’s embrace, closing his eyes and sighing softly. “Okay, Jiujiu. Goodnight.”

“Night, A-Ling.” Jiang Cheng murmured.

“You know,” Lan Jingyi spoke up. “I think Sect Leader Jiang is a really cool uncle, too. Remember when he patched us up at the lake, Sizhui? Wei Wuxian just stood by and did nothing.” This Lan kid was really starting to grow on Jiang Cheng, he wouldn’t lie.

“I remember,” Sizhui spoke up with a smile.

“And I’ve heard tales of Jin Ling having fun at Lotus Pier, so I think he might be a really fun uncle too.” Ouyang Zizhen added. Had Jiang Cheng mentioned what a smart kid he thought the Ouyang heir he was before?

“Hmm, he might be,” Sizhui agreed, making Jiang Cheng narrow his eyes. He could spot the slight smirk on the kid’s lips. “We’ll just have to see proof of that then, won’t we?”

Jiang Cheng blinked at that. Had Lan Sizhui just invited himself to Lotus Pier that easily? Wei Wuxian really had been the worst influence on the kid.

“What is happening here? Are you forgetting that I’m the fun, cool uncle here?” Wei Wuxian dramatically said

Jiang Cheng shook his head and smiled to himself.

“Oh my god, look at that. Sect Leader Jiang is smiling.”

“He is. How nice.”

“He looks so handsome when he smiles.”

Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes, his cheeks flushing at the comments made by Jin Ling’s friends. As he looked down at his nephew, who was fast asleep in his arms, he realised that the last part of his project was complete. He could smile like Wei Wuxian after all, and charm those around him.

He had already inspired the loyalty of an entire sect, the Yunmeng Jiang sect, and the utter, complete devotion of his nephew somehow. Jiang Cheng supposed he had just been too blind to notice it until now.

#foularcadebanana #yesimawriter on ao3 #untamed fall fest #untamed fall fest 2020 #the untamed fanfic #the untamed #mdzs fanfic #mdzs #jiang cheng #jin ling #wei wuxian #ft the juniors #honestly jiang cheng can be fun and cool too #he is emotionally hurt and constipated in this one #jin ling is confused and worried #and he misunderstands #wei wuxian is wei wuxian #everyone sufferes #but especially jc #bc it just be like that sometimes

[wangxianficfinder]

I'm in the mood for a fic where...

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1. Hello!! I hope you’re having a good day 🥰 I’m in the mood for a fic/fics where it’s wwx chasing after lwj? I don’t mind temporary unrequited love (from lwj’s side) as long as wangxian are still endgame 💗 Hopefully no (lwj/wwx sleeps with everyone they meet) characterization/trope though 😭🙏 Thank you!!! [You can see this is one of my favorite tropes, lol, here, have many unabashed and in love wwx...]

❤️tame by rikke (M, 12k, wangxian, my post)

❤️unabashed indecency by quags1re  (T, 25k, WIP, READ IT ANYWAY!!!, my post)

things happen, don’t ask by MarbleGlove (T, 6k, wangxian, my post)

❤️ You Are My Euphoria by Orphan Account (M, 18k, wangxian, my post)

❤️The Beast of Gusu by Netrixie (M, 212k, wangxian, my post)

❤️Unable To Stay Away by Waterrain (E, 23k, wangxian, my post)

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2. Hello there! I am in the mood for fics that use the term cutsleeve and have the same connotation as the novel, societal homophobia. Wangxian preferred. Thank you so much!

Just As Much by Gemiblu (E, 24k, wangxian, Mojo’s post)

Jin Ling vs. The 8 Uncles of Sex Education by Wildcard (M, 4k, JL & all the uncles)

❤️The Amazing Adventures Of Jiang Xiaolian And Family by bumbledees (T, 71k, wangxian, chengning, xuanli, 3 works complete, series in progress, Mojo’s post)

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3. hey!! I've just been thinking of the moment from ep2 where wuxian plays wangxian and sizhui recognizes it... which led me to want more fics where it's more apparent what wangi adopted sizhui or that their relationship as father & son is treated as such?? I hope that makes sense bonus if wuxian realizes it and it so confused until he actually realizes its yuan haha

❤️ Tragedy is Not the End by Hobbsy3 (T, 358k, wangxian, Mojo’s bookmark)

❤️ nevermore, nevermore by agloeian (T, 120k, lan sizhui & everyone, wangxian. Mojo’s post)

❤️Attempting the Impossible by Ariaste (T, 36k, jiang cheng & wei wuxian, wangxian, background zhuiling, Mojo’s post)

your name, safe in their mouth by astrolesbian (G, 11k, wangxian, Mojo’s bookmark)

A Ray of Sunshine in the Darkness of the Jingshi by OnlyMeAndMyBones (Not rated, 4k, wangxian, LSZ & LWJ, LWJ & LXC, first part of the series)

sing to that lonely child by ravenditefairylights (G, 12k, wangxian) author in tumblr @child-of-the-fairy-folk​

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4. Hii this is my first time doing this so i apologize if I get anything wrong.. **You are doing great, no worries! ~Mod L**

For the next 'in the mood for..' i would like to ask for fics with ayuan and the jiang sibs bonding? I feel like jiang yanli would be a great aunt and ayuan certainly deserves it😊 (i was hoping for canon divergent happy fics? With all of them alive? I have seen a fic where yanli survives and it was really good but i really want jin zixuan to live too😅) thank you for all the work you do! Really you are a life saver❤

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5. Mod L, I’ve got a Mood request for you: are there fics addressing how WWX learned the flute, one of his most iconic abilities?

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6. Hi!~ Could you rec me a fic where the main couple is Nie Mingjue x Lan Xichen? @plzloveme

my shine light, true light, starlight by ravenditefairylights (G, 2k, wangxian) author in tumblr @child-of-the-fairy-folk​

❤️shades of grey by cl410 (M, 59k, wangxian, nielan, Mojo’s post)

black milk of daybreak, drunk at sundown by stiltonbasket (G, 3k, wangxian) -  @airmidcelt adds it’s lxc focused

silver-steel and snow by stiltonbasket (G, 4k, LXC/NMJ, WIP, part of the Twelve Moons and a Fortnight Vers)

moved by the sight of you, sleeping by stiltonbasket (G, 2k, LXC/NMJ, WIP, part of the Twelve Moons and a Fortnight Vers)

that which my soul repairs to your devotion by stiltonbasket (G, 2k, LXC/NMJ, part of the Twelve Moons and a Fortnight Vers) 

oceans, drowned in starfire by stiltonbasket (T, 30k, wangxian, LXC/NMJ, modern au, mermaid au) this isn’t wholly LXC/NMJ but I remember it had a big part of it. ~Mod L

Lan Xichen's Day Off by WeAllCatchFoxes (G, 3k, LXC/NMJ, wangxian, humor)

One Moment And Another by Anonymous (E, 11k, LXC/NMJ, battle couple, pining, friends w/ benefits to lovers)

7. Hello again :) could you rec me some wwx chronic pain fics plz? Thank youuuu! @plzloveme 

How to Treat Your Injured Yiling Laozu by merakily (T, 3k, wangxian, my post)

the thread may stretch or tangle but it will never break by RoseThorne (E, 64k, wangxian, lan wangji & wen qing, WIP)

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8. Do you have any fics where wwx is abused by Yu Ziyuan?

rain falls and soaks into the earth by RoseThorne (T, 37k, wangxian, series in progress)

This is a pretty consistent theme in Moominmammashandbag's work, most notable in ❤️To have and to hold (M, 79k, wangxian, Mojo’s post)

the worth of a whipping boy series by JemTheKingOfSass (M, 26k, wangxian, JC & WWX, angst, mind the TWs)

❤️ Company by WithBroomBefore (T, 30k, wangxian, Mojo’s post)

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9. Do you have any favorite crossover fics to rec?

Of Ghosts and Heroes by The Silverfish (ZephyrAndTheSilverfish) (T, 51k, wangxian, BNHA crossover)

Wei Wuxian is the Actual Bogeyman (no, really) by chatonnerie (T, 57k, wangxian, Rise of the Guardians au)

Come by it Honestly by ladyshadowdrake (M, 26k, wangxian, Geralt of Rivia / Jaskier, witcher crossover)

The Remnants of our Struggle by Naamah_Beherit (G, 11k, HC/XL, WN & WWX, TGCF/MDZS)

Farmer's Almanac / 情雨濛濛 by Irrelevancy (T, 13k, WQ/YH, fix-it, TGCF/MDZS)

Atlas by etymologyplayground (M, 12k, wangxian, hualian, TGCF, Mojo’s post)

Lan Jingyi and the Adventure of the Immortal Cultivator by litbynosun (T, 5k, the junior quartet, TGCF/MDZS)

For Whom the Bell Rings by DawnCloud (G, 24k, JYL & XL, JYL & HC, fix-it of sorts, calamity!JYL, TGCF/MDZS)

when you're ready, we'll turn the page together series by merthurlin (T, 33k, TGCF/MDZS)

The Red Ribbon by Xiao_Hua (M, 20k, wangxian, TGCF/MDZS)

thrice as cruel by iliacquer (E, 15k, wangxian, WIP, Kushiel fusion; WRH enlists celibate holy knight WWX as a bodyguard for his favorite courtesan LWJ)

turn towards the sun by Ariaste (E, 21k, wangxian, Kushiel  fusion; WWX and LWJ are in training as elite courtesans)

Burn the Land and Boil the Sea (You Can't Take My Son from Me) by PolkaDotDragon (M, 91k, wangxian, Firefly fusion, WIP)

A Blade Without an Edge is Still As Sharp by JustAWanderingBabbit (M, drabble series, Thunderbolt Fantasy crossover)

Of Hats and Flutes by FixaIdea (G, 6k, wangxian, Discworld crossover, wip)

a journal of impossible things by lily_winterwood (T, 18k, wangxian, WN & WWX & WQ, Doctor Who fusion; 1930’s Shanghai; Timelord WWX with Companions WQ and WN)

It’s the Great Pumpkin, Lan JingYi by DragonsPhoenix (G, <1k, LJY and Linus; Peanuts crossover)

MDZS crossover outlines by oneiriad (T, 11k, wangxian, check the tags for all the fandoms involved)

The Source of All Resentment by Aquamarinade (T, 40k, wangxian, SW/ZY, 镇魂 | Guardian fusion, WIP)

Myopia by rustycol (M, 67k, wangxian, WIP, Water Margin crossover)

❤️Dignity and Animality by Anielka (G, 37k, wangxian, Watership Down fusion, Mojo’s post)

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10. Is there fics where Wangxian are playful together?

Flaga prowokująca by vulnerable_bead (E, 3k, wangxian, fluff & smut, Polish), English translation by joolita

Falling for you by Aki_no_hikari (G, 1k, wangxian, WWX and LWJ play hide-and-seek and frolic in the fallen autumn leaves.)

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11.   Hello! I was wondering if you knew any fics where lwj had to woo wwx after he gives up on him. Like wwx had seen that lwj didn't seem to want to hang out, so he just stopped.

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12. Hewwo! I was wondering if you knew of fics that are heavy in angst? Like, the “I am literally crying at three am” kind of fics.

blue skies forever series by rikke (M, 12k, wangxian, major character death)

❤️ Tragedy is Not the End by Hobbsy3 (T, 358k, wangxian, Mojo’s bookmark)

❤️ you are safe / loved / worthy / enough by everythingispoetry (T, 150k, wangxian, modern au, mental health issues) might not be exactly what you’re looking for but definitely made me cry haha ~Mod L

Found You (Flightless Bird) by etymologyplayground (T, <1k, LXC & LWJ, wangxian, major character death)

No Road to the Sky by amphitrite (T, 3k, major character death, golden core transfer)

decay by antebunny  (G, 16k, wangxian)

❤️ Shattered Dreams by pupeez4eva (G, 9k, wangxian)

rain falls and soaks into the earth by RoseThorne (T, 37k, wangxian, series in progress)

❤️And I Will Call You Home by Spodumene (E, 43k, wangxian, Mojo’s post)

ghost out on the water by twigofwillow (T, 15k, wangxian, Mojo’s post)

emptiness in harmony (homeward bound) by estel_willow (T, 9k, wangxian, hinted zhuiyi) 

Like A Light Gone Out by OnlyMeAndMyBones (T, 100k, wangxian) 

The Devil Bleeds Regret by greybird_crookedbranch (T, 4k, wangxian, Mojo’s post)

Twelve Moons and a Fortnight by stiltonbasket (G*, 290k, wangxian, Mojo’s post)​

body and bone, hair and skin by Mikkeneko (T, 6k, wangxian, major character death)

brother, the password and the plans of our city are safe with me by Mikkeneko (T, 2k, LWJ & WWX, JC & WWX, major character death)

When the Night Gets Cold by JustAWanderingBabbit (G, <1k, the five times Jin Guangyao played Inquiry and no one answered)

Pieces of Us by JustAWanderingBabbit (not rated, 33k, jin guangyao & nie mingjue) - immediately post canon

We Can Haunt Each Others' Dreams by arahith (E, 10k, LXC/JGY, angst w/ happy ending, WIP) LXC performs a very dark and fraught Empathy/Inquiry to commune with JGY’s soul. Experimental prose and formatting style; unreality issues; animal sacrifice; wartime atrocities.

Versimilitude, or: closer to the truth by asisoitorre (G, 2k, wangxian, a ghostly WWX bids farewell to LWJ in seclusion)

Come Marching Home by piecrust (G, 4k, wangxian, WN, SL, major character death)

Unfulfilled Wishes Granted by mondengel (T, 3k, wangxian, major character death, angst)

Footprints in the Snow by TempestDouble (M, 6k, wangxian, angst, tragedy) 

The Only One by cchocolatekat (G, <1k, SL/XXC, angst, feels, after yi city, WIP)

blow me to bermuda by victortor (T, 5k, wangxian, au, time shenanigans, immortality)

No rest for the sinners or the saints by Captain_stab_a_hoe (M, 2k, SL/XXC/XY, major character death, angst & tragedy, graphic descriptions of corpses, post-canon, suicide)

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13. Hi there! I'm yearning for fic that deals with the fallout of Jin Ling finding out Sizhui is actually a Wen (preferably with a happy ending because I'm a sucker and Sizhui deserves all the happy endings) @divinesquishes

Our hearts, beating in our hands by MemeKonMDZS (MemeKonYA) (T, 3k, wangxian, JC & LSZ, junior quartet, animal transformation)

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14. hi ^-^ just wondering if anyone knows of any fics where wei wuxian doesn’t eat meat or struggles to after the burial mounds? thank you for all you hard work!!

❤️Lynchpin by ShanaStoryteller (not rated, 103k, wangxian)

The most dangerous thing is to love by KatAnni (E, 113k, wangxian, angst w/ happy ending)

the absence of hunger by parsnipit (M, 27k, wangxian) Not exclusive to meat

we're starting at the end by Miss_Enthusiasimal (M, 92k, wangxian, time travel, part of a more general eating disorder; WWX *believes* himself to be dead and is festering with unreality issues when LWJ and JC rescue him from the Burial Mounds, mind the tags!)

Wish Me Luck by Starlight1395 (Not rated, 164kt, wangxian, time travel, fix it, PTSD) Spanish translation by UchihaSakuraa, Polish translation by SilverGoldEyes

A Corruption of Comfort by BegrudginglyTumbling (SarcasticSmiler) (M, 1k, wangxian, JYL & WWX, eating disorders, ptsd, vomiting, cannibalism, angst, hurt/comfort, JYL’s lotus pork soup has become a trigger for WWX)

Lakes of wine and forests of meat by androktasia (M, 1k, wangxian, aftermath of cannibalism, WWX’s burial mounds trauma, post-canon, post-sunshot, non-linear)

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15. hi! thank you so much for all your hard work! do you know of any stories where people either spy on or visit the burial mounds and discover that wei wuxian and the wens aren't doing anything evil?

Jin Guangshan's terrible day, and Lan Wangji's not so bad one! by Tlkfluentsarcasm (Not rated, 2k, wangxian)

Check #18b on this post and #7 on this post for more fics that fit

the road in leaves no step had trodden black by Skadiseven (G, 1k, JC/WQ, JC & WN, JC & WWX, JC visits the Burial Mounds and gets conscripted into planting potatoes by WN)

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16. Thank you so much for this amazing blog!! Wanted some modern AU rec were there is jealous LWJ

how to be a heartbreaker by sweetlolixo (E, 122k, wangxian)

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17.  Hi Mojo! Your blog is terrible for my TBR list, yet here I am with a request. [Hahaha, it happens to us all.]  I'd love some recs for gameshow/reality show AUs. I've read and enjoyed I Don't Want to Debut! by countingcr0ws, Falling to the Rhythm by Selenay, and on your marks, get set, bake! by BlackWiresOnHerHead . This is the type of crack I am in the mood for right now, but they are hard to find! Thank you so much! @marilenalena​

shoot your shot -- hot or knot by defractum (nyargles) (E, 51k, wangxian, modern, ABO, hunger games setting)

Call me out by your name by Asparmagus (E, 51k, wangxian, inspired by the reality show Paradise Hotel, WIP)

❤️Knight Hunt! Phoenix Mountain by travelingneuritis (E, 51k, wangxian, modern, dating show)

❤️ start getting real by azurewaxwing (T, 21k, wangxian)

The Great Chinese Cook-Off by aubreyli & cafecliche & etymologyplayground & mme_anxious (G, 10k, wangxian, WIP)

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18.   Hi! Do you have any rec fanfics that (18a) focus on the friendship between WWX and Nie huaisang? Or (18b) any fanfics where the cultivator world realizes when WWX comes back ( or after a major event ) that WWX is really, but like really, powerful and he could take them all with or without difficulty ?

18a)

❤️shades of grey by cl410 (M, 59k, nielan, wangxian, nie huaisang & wei wuxian, big brother nmj, my post)

a grain of millet drifting by RoseThorne (T, 7k, nie huaisang & wei wuxian)

Come From My Inkstone by magicgenetek (M, 150k, NHS&WWX, polyamory, WIP)

Gone Shopping by nirejseki (G, 2k, NHS & WWX, wangxian) and many of their other work

You Think I Wasn't Lost? by Eleanor_Fenyx (M, 3k, NHS & WWX, 5th of the series)

so you’ve been robbed by a museum by yukla (M, 6k, wangxian, Mojo’s post)

and so falls the fan by b_ofdale (G, 4k, NHS & WWX, wangxian, post-canon)

The Light That Fails to Dim by glowingreverie (T, 311k, wangxian)

Lingering Pieces of You by dragonofeternal (T, <1k, NHS, WWX)

18b)

Old Foreshadows by protos_metazu_ison (M, 15k, wangxian, my post)

❤️love, in fire and blood by cicer (E, 360k, wangxian, Mojo’s bookmark) YLLZ is immortal and they give him offerings etc

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19. Hello I've been following you since around when CoVID started and you do amazing work! I was wondering if there is any fics where WWX is actually closer to JYL age than JC. I feel like him being older would either make it harder on him or easier. @scented-harmony​

After We Say This by TiredAndTired (T, 10k, wangxian, series in progress, age reversal fic, here are the tumblr ficlets that inspired it) ​

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20. Hii, first of all love all your hardwork to find the fic that we want.💕💕I’m just asking if you have any fic that married wangxian meet the old wangxian ?? @souky123​

Check #3 on this post for suggestions that may fit.​

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If you didn’t get an answer to your ask here, don’t forget to make use of @mdzs-kinkmemeand MDZS KINK MEMEon Dreamwidth.  Authors actually do use them for ideas. You may get what you order!   ***Your prompt doesn’t have to be kink!  Fluff, crack, whatever - it’s all good!***

#wangxian #mdzs #wangxian fic recs #i'm in the mood for a fic #the untamed #wangxian fic search #wangxianficfinder