#mengshilivesau

[littlesmartart]

look, I want a Meng Shi Lives AU for many reasons, but at least partially because I think if NMJ met her it would... not necessarily solve things, but I just feel like he'd struggle to hate JGY with the same veracity once he sees firsthand how much he loves his mum. and if NMJ showed Meng Shi even the tiniest ounce of respect and or basic kindness, or if Meng Shi happens to think he's a Very Nice Young Man, then...... JGY can't very well kill someone his mum likes, can he???

LXC is just happy there soaking up all them wholesome mum vibes ✌

#the untamed #lan xichen #meng shi #nie mingjue #mengshilivesau

[littlesmartart]

"what if Meng Shi didn't die" is an AU concept that I ADORE, not only because I genuinely believe her presence would fix a decent amount of JGY's shit (one of JGY's most significant core motivations is Making Mama Proud, and I do think that if she'd been alive to tell him that enduring constant emotional and physical abuse from the Jins just isn't fucking worth it, he might have done things pretty differently), but also because having his own mum witness his Fall In Love/Lifelong Obsession With Every Tall Handsome Man Who's Nice To Him tendencies would be inherently hilarious

also Xichen and Meng Shi would be bffs IMMEDIATELY. this man is the ideal son in law, and he hasn't had any maternal influence in his life since he was like eight years old, so JGY is definitely gonna become the third wheel if he lets them interact for more than a couple hours dkfjlsjfklsfd

#xiyao #lan xichen #jin guangyao #meng shi #the untamed #mengshilivesau

[littlesmartart]

i absolutely adore that meng shi comic with xiyao!! do you have any thoughts about meng shi interactions with the other jin siblings?? love your work!!

okay, so the Meng Shi Survives AU started as a conversation with @guqin-and-flute about an AU of the A-Fu AU where Meng Shi survives to meet A-Fu 🥹 (see more posts about it here) in this AU, she does not meet any of the Jins until after JGS is gone (ie. in the happy era), so MXY is a young teenager, Qin Su knows who her bio dad is, and Zixuan has a heap of kids

Zixuan - his relationship with Meng Shi rather understandably starts out a bit awkward (Meng Shi sees the life her son should have had, JZX sees the woman his father was already cheating on his mother with BEFORE HE WAS EVEN BORN), but by this stage of his life and post his father's death, Zixuan has gotten a lot better at handling situations that make him uncomfortable, so it's not actually too terrible. Meng Shi is very touched that Jin-zongzhu interacts with her respectfullly and allows her to spend time with his kids, so she is very deferential and kind with him, and that helps him warm up and be less awkward to her. they're never going to be super close but Zixuan has a complex relationship with his own mother, and has a decent relationship with JGY at this point, so he really really wants to keep things positive between himself and Meng Shi. plus Yanli really loves spending time with another Yunmeng woman. the first time he calls her auntie Meng Shi has to fight very hard not to cry.

Qin Su - by this point Qin Su is living in Koi Tower full time as part of Yanli's retinue and a member of the inner family. she doesn't form a particularly close relationship with Meng Shi, but they are friendly and enjoy each other's company, and Qin Su is happy to treat her as an honoured auntie. she considers introducing her to her mother, wondering if they'd find some sort of solidarity together, but ultimately decides against it.

Xuanyu - MXY is ready to collect any and all relatives that want him hell freakin yeah!!! an auntie who's fun and nice and knows all sorts of cool stuff about about poetry and the arts and doesn't treat him weird for his makeup, and is Yao-ge's mum? awesome! MXY has a tendency to form attachments to people who are kind to him VERY quickly and Meng Shi is no exception. he actually does introduce his mother to her, and although there is some awkwardness initially, Meng Shi winds up taking Second Madam Mo somewhat under her wing and they do get on well.

#mengshilivesau #afvsjh #lucreziaborgiagf #ask #the untamed

[littlesmartart]

@ebonykain said: I'm very curious what Meng Shi's opinions on her son's sworn brothers are

oh man, Meng Shi and Xichen were MADE to be mother and son-in-law. Xichen thinks Meng Shi is wonderful not only because she's the beloved mother of a man he loves, but also because they have a bunch of interests in common! the two of them spend ages happily bonding over literature and poetry and painting and music. also, Xichen has a lot of internalised guilt and grief about his own mother that he's never really gotten to process at ALL, and has literally ZERO other older women in his life, so hanging out with Meng Shi is very precious and theraputic for him. eventually, he does open up to her about what happened with his mother, and the compassion with which Meng Shi handles the story of a woman who was treated like a disgusting criminal who should be forgotten by the whole Lan sect means a great deal to him.

(the rest under the cut)

Meng Shi adores Xichen from the very start for no other reason that he seems to genuinely and earnestly respect her??? sometimes his attempts to talk about her profession are a little clumsy, but it's clear that he legitimately does not look down on her for it. once she gets to know him and sees how much he loves her son - when JGY tells her about the kindness Xichen treated him with even before they got together, and when she sees how persistently and devotedly Xichen cares for JGY - it's impossible for her not to not give her wholehearted approval. for her, their shared interests are just the icing on the cake.

things with Mingjue are a little more complicated - JGY certainly did not tell her all of the details of their No Good Very Bad breakup, so what she knows is that things were, uhhhhhhh not great for a long while, but they did their best to be civil for the sake of Xichen and A-Fu, and by the time Mingjue winds up meeting Meng Shi, he and JGY are reconciled. Mingjue feels oddly anxious about meeting her, given that he knows Xichen met her when they were hiding in the brothel and the two of them bonded over their love of the arts, so there's part of him that is worried he will come across as just a Big Uncouth Fighty Man in comparison :( but! he grew up with two mamas, and there are many older aunties in the Nie sect, so I feel like he does have a certain level of practice when it comes to interacting with older women. he genuinely respects Meng Shi for how well she raised JGY, and doesn't really have any personal issues with her profession, and there are many things about Meng Shi that low-key remind Mingjue of Huaisang's mum, which means once they're more comfortable with each other, Mingjue very much feels at home having his cheeks pinched and hands patted and being bossed around by a tiny older lady :)

on the flip side, Meng Shi finds Mingjue's awkward earnestness and quiet respect very charming! whilst Mingjue has a formidable reputation, and she knows he broke her son's heart many years ago, you don't get as famous as her in her profession without being exceptionally good at reading people, and it doesn't take her long to realise that Mingjue has a big heart under the famous temper and all those muscles. he is nothing but very polite and kind with her, and in the time that she sees them together, it is clear to her that whatever their history was, now that they are reconciled, Mingjue adores her son. they don't bond in the same way she and Xichen do, but Meng Shi is deeply fond of Mingjue all the same.

#3zun #afvsjh #the untamed #mengshilivesau

[littlesmartart]

Your hcs about the moms are so great but they also made me realize that even in happy AUs they don't really get a happy ending because the tragedy of their parents informs so much about the main characters that changing that and maintaining the original characterization would be difficult. Still to alleviate that a bit, what would their moms be like as grandmas if they had lived to see A-Fu?

you've absolutely hit the nail on the head - the trauma of parental death + being forced to grow up so early/take that parental role informs SO MUCH about the personalities and issues within in 3zun, and I think that's why I've not really explored it much even in the Happy AU.

...that said, @guqin-and-flute and I have discussed a sort of "AU of the AU" situation for the A-Fu 'verse where Meng Shi survives. she helped Meng Yao hide Xichen during the war (a whole kind of hilarious concept of its own tbh), and once JGS is well and truly out of the picture, after some strategic prodding from Yanli, Zixuan buys out her contract. ideally she would have been brought to live in Koi Tower, but the danger to her from Zixuan's mother just isn't worth it, so JGY sets her up all nice and comfortable with a little house and a good doctor and a healthy allowance nearby in Lanling city.

so in this AU yeah she gets to be a grandma and meet A-Fu!!! and it's fuckin lovely because JGY has told A-Fu quite a few bits and pieces about his zu-mu whiiiiiiilst also maybe possibly implying to him that she is dead, because A-Fu just could not possibly understand what a complicated clusterfuck of risk (in JGY's mind, at least) that relationship could wind up being, for all three of them, so it's best to avoid it completely. and then JGS is gone and Meng Shi is set up as an Educated Lady in Lanling and JGY is learning how to live without being terrified at almost every waking moment, and he realises that, OH, this is maybe a relationship that could be safely allowed now???

it's love at first sight for both of them. Meng Shi just ADORES A-Fu and A-Fu just ADORES Meng Shi and JGY is trying so fucking hard to not just burst into tears because finally someone loves his mum as much as he does!!!!! you know Meng Shi would be such an indulgent grandma when it comes to time and attention (lord knows she has spent her life listening to some of the world's most boring and awful men, she would have just infinite patience for her darling grandson), and I believe canonically she is crazy accomplished, so she definitely does a bunch of singing and music and painting with him.

#afvsjh #meng shi #ask #anonymous #the untamed #mengshilivesau