#nie ancestral shrine

[frankencanon]

Non-binary Jin Ling AU where Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are in the Nie bunker asking the "spirit" all these questions with inquiry and it keeps answering "I don't know" to everything, so finally Wei Wuxian tells Lan Wangji to ask the spirit if they're male since "they have to know that at least" but instead of simply answering "yes" or "no" the "spirit" (Jin Ling) again responds with "I don't know..." 💛🤍💜🖤

#jin ling #jin rulan #the untamed #cql #chen qing ling #mo dao zu shi #mdzs #nie bunker #nie ancestral shrine #wei wuxian #lan wangji #jl #jrl #mdzs jin ling #mdzs jl #non binary #nonbinary #nb #genderqueer #nonbinary jin ling #queer #gender #questioning #trans jin ling #trans #transgender

[asksythe]

We know Nie Mingjue died of qi deviation, but i quite often saw the fandom also called what happened to Lan Qiren inside mingshi and Wei Wuxian in the lotus pier's ancestral shrine was qi deviation as well.

Can you explain what qi deviation actually is?

Thank you 🙏

It's "magical psychosis".... caused by improper cultivation practice or a detrimental state of mind.

Psychosis in a regular person is scary enough. But what about when someone who has superhuman strength and an unthinkable degree of control over their own body starts undergoing violent psychosis? What about when this person can warp reality itself (as is often the case in high xianxia genre)?

That's the simple way to explain a qi deviation (or as Nie Huaissang refers to them in the book 走火入魔, this term can be understood as "to be so consumed by an obsession that one succumbs to madness"). To understand Qi deviation, you have to understand cultivation, though. And that's a fair bit harder to describe in simple terms without being stymied by the cultural barrier.

A simple way to describe cultivation is that it's the process where people slowly turn themselves into biological magic (qi) reactors (like a Mako reactor from FF7 + the Zerg Hive from Starcraft). This process takes years, decades, or even centuries, depending on the specific story. This process requires very careful conditioning of both the body and mind over the years (i.e. building the reactor).

Just like with building a reactor, if you use shoddy materials or if the blueprints are lacking, or if the reactor starts taking in questionable supplies, or if the environments are stressful, problems can happen. And problems can be anything from a minor hiccup, a pause in operation, the reactor failing to expand further and stagnating, or the reactor going kaboom (i.e. the Nie's terminal problem).

I can see why people call what Wei Wuxian experienced in Lotus Pier's ancestral shrine a qi deviation. He was in a heightened state of emotion. They just came back from the second Siege, so he was already exhausted both physically and mentally. Then he had that fairly onesided altercation with Jiang Cheng. He exhibited the classic symptom of bleeding from facial orifices. It does line up, doesn't it?

In the case of Lan Qiren, uh... I guess? So this is the passage concerning Lan Qiren in the book (Wuji, the first volume of MDZS simplified Mandarin):

Lit (It's my translation. I never read any English translation, so it may be rough, but it should carry the meaning):

…Lan Qiren, who originally had lost consciousness, sat up straight. He was bleeding and smoking from the seven orifices on his face. His beard pointed up straight. His finger pointing at Wei Wuxian trembled. (He) hoarsely said: "Stop blowing! Scram! Scram right away! You can't--"

Before he could finish saying "can't" what, he spewed up blood and fell back down, once more deep in unconsciousness.

So it's the same physical symptom: bleeding (and smoking!) from the seven orifices. The prior stressor is the Lan failing the invoking ritual on Nie Mingjue's hand and were injured when the hand retaliated. So that's on par with Wei Wuxian after the second siege. It's not just Lan Qiren, but every other Lan in the chamber other than Lan Wangji and the Lan disciple who managed to escape. Lan Qiren also sat at one of the key positions in the array used to suppress the hand, so he would suffer a worse bounce-back attack.

And then Wei Wuxian entered the picture....

Are we to understand being in Wei Wuxian's presence and hearing his "atrocious" flute blowing to be such mental stress that it pushed Lan Qiren from 'wounded and unconscious' straight into 'qi deviation' territory (which is capital S serious for a cultivator) ??!! Is Lan Qiren that fragile, or does Wei Wuxian just have that much of an impact on him? 😦

I guess it is.... 😅 if we are meant to take it humorously.

In any case, there are actually resources in English if you want to dig deeper into this phenomenon/concept:

Although if you want to completely grasp qi deviation and such cultivation-related topics, I recommend you read mainstream xianxia books (as while they are amazing, MXTX's books are oft-criticized for being threadbare in regards to the cultivation aspect.) or play cultivation games (I play Overmortal. It's fairly easy and free to get into. It's pay to win though. If you only want to get a better idea on cultivation, it's a good option).

#ask sythe #mo dao zu shi #mdzs

[tavina-writes]

Hii! I am the anon about the world building's informations and thank you! You are very kind! If I am annoying, please say it to me! I would like to ask you about your opinions about two events in mdzs: was really disprectful for wwx and lwj to stay in the Jiang ancestral hall without jc's permission? And nmj was really harsh about wq's punishment and (not counting his feelings), there was a moral conduct that asked them to kill all their enemies? (in historical books I have seen it a lot! Like"we should kill all of our emenies, regardless of everything "! But there's a lot of disagreement in this fandom)

Hi Nonny! You're not annoying at all!

For the first question, re: WWX and LWJ in the Jiang Family Shrine without permission from JC or any other Jiang (though JC is the only bloodline Jiang left so mostly JC) -- yes, that is actually majorly disrespectful. Esp for LWJ because he didn't previously have any relation to the Jiang.

Longer answer on why this is: during most of ancient Chinese history (and in fairly traditional families to this day) ancestor worship is practiced more so or equally to other religions like Taoism or Buddhism, meaning that yes, the family shrine is a sacred space BUT it's also a very private space that stores the memorial placards of your immediate family. It's kind of like if you have a family tomb/crypt and you get sudden uninvited guests in it.

(for the record, WangXian going and poking around in the Nie sect's blade tomb does at least in CQL prompt NHS to say something like "hey that saber is my grandfather" or something similar. It's also equally rude to run around in there without an invitation, it's just less bad for that particular incident because NHS actually did intend for them to come visit if that makes sense.)

For the second question re: NMJ and his thoughts about punishing the Wens (I've written meta about if he wants them all dead here) but your question is mostly about "is it kosher to kill the whole family of your enemies?" and the answer to this is a bit complicated!

in Imperial China at various points throughout history, certain crimes (varying depending on the dynasty) are punishable by the execution of the "nine kindreds" (九族) which is also sometimes included your spouse, uncles and aunts, second and third cousins, in-laws, adult children and grandchildren and their spouses. (wikipedia has a brief discussion of it here)

often, during a regime overthrow during premodern China, the imperial family of the previous dynasty would be persecuted and killed to prevent new political factions from rallying around them to cause civil unrest, though this was often incomplete (see writings on the fall of the House of Zhao which ruled the Song dynasty and the JingKang incident, where most of the Song Dynasty royal family was captured and humiliated/turned into prisoners/slaves by the Jurchen who captured most of the imperial family and court after invading the capital of Bianjing.)

So there is historical precedent for clan extermination in historical China, but I do feel that it's definitely played up in dramas and novels that are set in ~historical fantasy ancient China land~ just because it's not a punishment that was flung around willynilly. At this point it's more a trope than a reflection of the practice in real history, but it was a thing that could've been a kosher punishment in a society like MDZS.

#asks and answers #hopefully this helps? #not exactly #meta

[jaimebluesq]

I posted 1,420 times in 2022

That's 750 more posts than 2021!

245 posts created (17%)

1,175 posts reblogged (83%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@cerusee

@ibijau

@dgcatanisiri

@ntnttalksnothing

@fortune-maiden

I tagged 928 of my posts in 2022

Only 35% of my posts had no tags

#nie huaisang - 97 posts

#the untamed - 42 posts

#sangcheng - 40 posts

#writing process - 35 posts

#wip wednesday - 30 posts

#nie mingjue - 28 posts

#jiang cheng - 28 posts

#for future reference - 26 posts

#wei wuxian - 21 posts

#omfg - 19 posts

Longest Tag: 128 characters

#but you suggest two boys or two girls might like each other as more than friends and it's suddenly “stop forcing kids to be gay”

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

What My Favourite Ships Say About Me

I've seen a few "What your favourite (insert X fandom) ship says about you" videos and posts, and thought I'd make my own about some of MY favourite pairings (spoiler - they're all NHS based - big surprise to anyone who follows me >.<), all of which I have written before.

Be warned, I poke fun at them and myself - this is all for shits and giggles :D

If anyone wants to use this as an excuse to make their own, please do! The more the merrier!

So let's start with the biggest one...

SangCheng

SangChengSu

See the full post

93 notes - Posted September 24, 2022

#4

Have seen talk of non-fatal and non-romantic hanahaki and the following beast entered my brain.

Jiang Cheng

He starts coughing up lavender-tinted petals as a child. Everyone thinks it's from an unrequited crush and thinks it's cute and will go away on its own one day. Nobody really notices the petals are the same shade as Jiang Fengmian's robes nor that they get worse after Wei Wuxian is brought to Lotus Pier.

After WWX enters the family, some of the petals start taking on an aqua/teal colouring, and they always come on strongest after a derisive scolding from Madame Yu about how he's not enough and he can't allow the son of a servant to show him up.

The day WWX leaves with the Wen remnants, scarlet-tinted petals join the mix. Eventually Jiang Yanli marries and leaves Lotus Pier and every time she sees JC, her first words are always about WWX or Jin Zixuan - petals of blended purple and gold join the mix.

And then JC is left completely alone with a tiny child in his arms.

He does his best to push through his grief and do his duties to sect and nephew, by now long used to the frequent petals brought up every day.

One day he's holding Jin Ling and the baby says his first word - Jiujiu.

Another day, the nanny brings JL to JC's office and puts him on the ground - the baby gets up onto wobbly legs and takes his first steps, hands reaching out for JC.

And one day JC realizes that the only times he coughs up petals anymore is when he prays at the ancestral shrine, thinking on the family he lost. And even those eventually peter away as time scabs over the wounds in his heart.

By this time, JC knows what the petals meant.

When WWX comes back from the dead, JC fears the petals will come back.

They almost do - for a moment he coughs and feels something in his throat when he watches WWX leave with LWJ... and then Jin Ling is before him, asking if he's all right, all love and concern under a tough/snarky veneer. Just like his uncle.

He never worries about coughing up a petal again.

152 notes - Posted June 20, 2022

#3

Nie Sect headcanon of the day:

The Nie traditionally prefer riding horses to flying their sabers. They let the other sects think its for aesthetics or because their sabers are too heavy. In reality, it's because their saber spirits are terrible backseat drivers and never shut up the whole journey.

202 notes - Posted January 5, 2022

#2

Watch "【Multi Sub】《#陈情令之乱魄》/ Fatal Journey 祖传刀墓事件跌宕起伏 明玦怀桑再续陈情令不朽传奇【玄幻 | 肖战 王一博 | iQIYI大电影-欢迎订阅】" on YouTube

Guess what movie is now on Youtube?!?!

Posting for everyone who hasn't yet gotten their fill of the Nie Bros feels and Nie Huaisang's epic kubrick stare.

242 notes - Posted September 17, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Today I was made aware that this image exists - I will NEVER be the same!!!!!

1,010 notes - Posted April 11, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #Youtube

[perpetuallytiredandtired]

For the age reversal au, can we have a scene where wangxian get married but from lxc perspective? Also what’s their age difference? I’ve always been confused about the lans and nies age differences

Lan Xichen serves tea for a good cause

Lan Xichen, is very excited for the start of the day, as today is Xiongzhang and Xian-gege’s wedding day. Usually, the Cloud Recesses is very quiet and tranquil, the white and blue colors making the mountain more peaceful. But for today, and the days to come he suspects, there is an energy that makes everyone giddy and excited. Even Shufu can be seen in a good mood in the days leading up to the wedding.

Now is the time for the tea ceremony, Lan Xichen is expected to serve tea to his brother and brother-in-law. He hopes that his hands aren’t shaking too much, he wants their happy day to be great! 

So by the time that they served tea to Shufu, Xiongzhang looked so happy along with Xian-gege in their red robes. Lan Xichen is very proud to admit that his hands only shook a little when he poured tea, but Xiongzhang gave him a red packet in thanks. They did the same with his brother-in-law’s family as Sect leader Yu was served first, Sect Leader Jiang and his wife next. Cheng-gege and Li-jie also served tea, since they are Xian-gege's younger siblings, they are also given red packets. When the tea of red dates and lotus seeds are served, he breathes out a sigh of relief that there wasn’t anything bad that had happened. 

Although, when Xian-gege saw the tea, he blushed a bright red. 

Afterward, they bowed in the ancestral shrine. They bowed three times: first for heaven and earth, the second is for their family and finally, the third bow is to each other. At that, they are now married. He claps with everyone in joy, but he sees that they only have eyes on each other as if they were the only people in the room.

He sits in the banquet with everyone celebrating the wedding, they eat and drink. His brothers have disappeared in the distraction during the celebrations. He is happy for them since they have been together even from the time that he was young until now it is as if their love grows with them.

Maybe he’s feeling a bit lonely, as he watches two mandarin ducks swim together. He just wants to find someone who can look at him the way that Brother looks at Xian-gege. 

“Hey,”

He turns around to see Nie Mingjue, who is already so much taller next to him. The other looks handsome in his forest green robes. Although, they seem to be a little more fashionable, accentuating the breadth of Nie Mingjue’s shoulders. Lan Xichen suspects that Sang-gege had something to do with the younger Nie’s clothing. 

He leans towards his friend as he swipes the cup of tea in his hands, pretending not to hear the playful protests. He hides his smile as he drinks the tea when A-Jue lets him rest his head on his shoulder. It’s very sweet, despite the fact that he knows Nie Mingjue prefers bitter teas as of late.

He’ll be fine, as long as Nie Mingjue is next to him.

((and as for the age differences, the Nie Bros and the Lan bros have the difference of ~9 years))

#mdzs #mdzs au #the untamed #cql #lxc #lan xichen #wei wuxian #wwx #lwj #lan wangji #blink and you miss it nielan #awst #after we say this

[aki-draws-things]

Ok, so.. The not yet finished summary of Immortal Lost. I'll probably add details or change things here and there. Summaries exist because I will most certainly forget things. Anyway.

Feel free to drop ideas to fill the gaps ~ fill free to grab them away from all the angst I'm going to dump on them. (or maybe no. Let them suffer together). Feel free to drop ideas to make it more angsty and make this mouse happy~~

Will I find a sense in this idea by the end of the week?

Beginning - past - set one or two generations after yin metal

- young nie mingjue, with his family, one younger brother, two older sisters. His father have the ancestral tomb made for the sabers after they had to fight the angry spirits. He dies against one of the spirits and his saber is the first to be laid officially in the tomb. Out of everyone he develops a closer bond with his saber when, during a battle, he hides in a cave in the mountain, wounded, and there he meets what he first believe was a goddess. (but in truth it was just baxia, chilling away from the demon's realm because it was too noisy.)

- immortality is gained through cultivation. He learned to control the saber spirit, who becomes baxia in the end, qi deviations still occurs, but when they happen he hides in the cave, Baxia guides him through control, that's the only place where she can take a physical form, though not for long.

- the cave was one of the places where the divide between dimension is thinner, hiding in the cave, both the first time and after, he absorbed the energy of the place, both from the demon's realm and from the heavens. It's in a mountain close to the unclean realm, something that will later pass on the legend as a celestial mountain.

- after many years, after his brother and sisters died, he leaves Qinghe in the hands of a nephew and travels the world until his name becomes somehow a legend (he uses an alias, different names and such, he's tired.), the one nie who achieved immortality. The one who ascended to godhood. People around Qinghe starts to pray to him for protection, especially in battle for protection. After travelling long and far he always returns to the cave only to find that someone not only managed to find it but built a small shrine even. He sets a spell on it, so that it's way harder to find the actual place but still allows people to reach the shrine and pray, he won't take it from his people, but won't let them disrupt his peace either.

- from time to time, over the next years, he finds ways and strategies to return to the unclean realm when the Nie sect is most in need, looking younger or sometimes even different (as a God he can change his look, though he's quite fond of his original one.) to help them or even lead them again for a while, if needed. (only the elders are aware of who he really is, at least during the first times, later he will keep it secret and roll with nie zhenxiang's idea, in present years.) he's not sure he qualifies as a good God for them, there are others far more benevolent than someone wielding a saber with a demon spirit inside, but it's Qinghe that decided for him.

Past, in between.

- it's during one of these times, while acting as sect leader because the actual one is a 5yo child, that he meets the future chief cultivator wen ruohan. He looks young at the time, passing as an older cousin for the actual leader and taking control because of his young age, participating in a competition where he defeats wen ruohan eldest brother and is later introduced as sect leader. (poor baby ruohan was so enchanted that he managed to trip right against him and feel embarrassed for years for that being their official first meeting.)

- [I don't know exactly how things happens in between halp] wen ruohan, being the youngest is less pressured at fighting or ruling position and he's more of a scholar, asking sect leader Nie (of who he doesn't know the actual name) to teach him everything he knows, spacing from history, military strategies, fighting styles. Everything. Sometimes sect leader Nie disappear for weeks and months, for battles, but never allows wen ruohan to follow.

- a battle happens, years after the first meeting, wen ruohan is supposed to fight with his older brother and ask if sect leader Nie would help them. But Qinghe too needs protection. So they part ways until young ruohan realizes that theory fighting is different from actual one, a real battle is gruesome and hard and dangerous, in ways he wouldn't imagine.

- he wakes up after being wounded away from the battlefield, in a shrine in the mountains, covered in silver furs to protect him from the cold. There's a man in the shrine, with frost on his hair and robes and still not shivering one bit. And oh no! It's sect leader Nie! Right when he was starting to believe his crush couldn't get any worse!

- quick think, ruohan. Quick think. Make him think you're dead! Okay, no, I said quick, not stupid. Unconscious. Still unconscious. Oh fuck. Was he always so... SO? Ruohan no! Okay, maybe a little peaking --- oh, fuck me! Well, he probably wouldn't --- ugh! Ruohan shut up!

- anyway, that is the moment Wen Ruohan realizes (his crush definitely won't disappear) nie mingjue is in fact not human and decides to keep the secret for himself if he trains him more. Of course nie mingjue was already training h, and doesn't take his request as a threat, knowing that wen ruohan won't simply go and tell the world, and anyway, who would really believe him?

- so wen ruohan learns and grow, following nie mingjue (who still hasn't told him the name a d that's getting quite annoying, right?) as a shadow, growing closer and closer to him, falling more and more in love until he can't be rejected anymore because he throws himself on mingjue. Things don't exactly change after, much to ruohan's disappointment, but he starts to notice the little gestures from mingjue that somehow escaped his attention.

- [something in between probably, I don't know... More angst? Do we want more angst? A bit of Immortal angst?] until a bigger battle, something that unites the main Sects again against a common enemy. In the end it seems like wen ruohan is killed, dying while nie mingjue is trying to get him out of the battlefield and somewhere safe. He tells him his name then, his real name, probably regretting not doing it sooner. And then, then control snaps. He let baxia's howls reach the surface and doesn't try to hold her back, merging witb the saber spirit.

- the enemy is defeated, it stood little chance against a very angry immortal with a demon spirit howling in his mind. But he can't subdue her again, he doesn't want to. For years and years he had been good, righteous and kind, he deserves to let anger out, but when it does it explodes. So the sects unites again to stop him, they kill him, or so they think, and leave. Many soldiers and generals are lost against his power, included the wen sect leader.

- since wen ruohan wasn't actually dead, once he recovers he takes the role of leader, role he never wanted, he refuses to believe mingjue really did that, his mingjue. He gets angry at whoever calls him a demon, he let slip that a God such as him cannot be a demon. And he tries to reach for the shrine, only to find it empty, the statue that once was there gone, with only dust and ashes, the altar broken on half. He makes a new one, and light an incense stick and prays, but no one appears and after a while he stops going there too. (he doesn't see people beginning to return to the shrine though, with offerings and prayers.)

Present times

- meeting nie zhenxiang had been an accident, or perhaps fate decided it was time for him to return to the mortal realm. Nie zhenxiang is a capable man and leader, smart to know who he really is, a direct descendant from MingJue's original family, and a curious one. He claims to have had a thing with yue huangshui, and it's true, they use that thing to make people believe mingjue is his son and justify his absence until then. He doesn't use his real name but goes as Nia xiá (or something combined. Still o want to keep the character for afterglow), it was both part of the name his brother had and the name he used with wen ruohan, a call back to the sun symbol of the wen sect. (his regrets at not being able to protect him are what caused him to stay away from the mortal realm and the shrine at first.)

- he fits in the new family really fast and well, huaisang never question if he's really his brother or not, he looks at him once and declare he's his dage. Soon disciples of Qinghe and the other sects stop questioning where he comes from and all and just accept nie xiá as the new heir.

- in between something else happened. Wen ruohan, keeping his role as sect leader and, to popular knowledge, immortal (not yet, he once would say, quite shily, but that's his goal.) and chief cultivator, well respected by everyone, got his hands on yin metal. At first it wasn't for power. He never believe mingjue to be dead and even if he stopped going to the shrine he still searched for him. The yin metal promised, in a seductive voice, to help him find the one he desperately searched for, and he believed him. He didn't change right away, but the yin metal is malicious and twisted promises into what it wants. To be whole again, to rule over them. And wen ruohan slowly gets twisted into the one they all want to fight. (he has two sons, his wife dying giving birth to wen chao, he loved her, and still had these doubts because what if he found the one he loved before? She's a replacement, but still he loves her.)

- meanwhile nie mingjue grows in the Nie sect and finds new friends in the lan heir, xichen. He doesn't want to love someone, burned by what happened once. Still he gets close and shares a bond stronger than he felt in years. Somehow they don't work out, lan xichen is great but there are so many secrets mingjue keeps from him that they decides that being friends, instead of engaged, is better, for both of them. Huaisang is upset by that, he wanted them to be together because they looked perfect, but no. Dage had to go and declare being friends was better.

- until at a conference he meets officially the other sect leaders. And especially sect leader wen. A man, young and undeniably pretty, with two sons, with the same name, and characters, of the one he lost. But wen ruohan, his ruohan, died many years before, he died in his arms, and nie mingjue remembered that moment very clearly. This leader seems just as taken back as he is, staring at him with wide eyes, frozen mid-bow and then mumbling that he reminded him of someone he knew as an apology.

- this wen ruohan, mingjue finds out, is very different from the one he knew, convincing him even more that it's just a weird chance. He's strong, he likes fights and he's hunger for power is something that would've never crossed his ruohan's mind. But mingjue changed too, he had left baxia spirit in charge for long, he didn't want to deal with mortals anymore and she was a good replacement, but baxia is a demon, and while not being as bloodthirsty as the others she's still a demon.

- [more things in between. Mistakes, accidents incomprehensions. nie zhenxiang is actually killed, indirectly, by wen ruohan. I just need to define things better]

#Ruojue #Nie mingjue #Wen ruohan #Immortal lost #Summary #Fic plans #Mdzs fic #Aki writes

[coffee-n-some-cream]

sangcheng - hands

Huaisang doesn’t shiver as he wraps his soft wool cloak around his shoulders, stepping out of his room and into the inky, moonless night. For someone who grew up in Qinghe, winters in Lotus Pier don’t mean much. But his breaths still turn to ghostly white puffs, and he woke up in the first place because of the chilly emptiness of his bed. He glances around the lightly illuminated pier and spots Jiang Wanyin. He cuts a lonely figure, standing at the end of a dock, head bowed. Nie Huaisang gathers the cloak around himself and approaches.

Jiang Wanyin doesn’t look up when he says his name, but he usually doesn’t when he’s lost in the ugly thoughts of his nightmares. Nie Huaisang simply moves to stand beside him, lips pursing at the sight of his bare feet and shivering body. He’s only wearing his underrobe, which is not enough on a night like this, not for someone accustomed to the bright Yunmeng summers. But Nie Huaisang doesn’t mention it. He knows that the sooner he can understand why he’s out here, the sooner he can get him inside and into something warm, like the blankets of their bed.

“Are you worried about him?” Nie Huaisang asks, leaning just close enough to brush his cloak-covered shoulder against Jiang Wanyin’s. It’s just a guess, one problem plucked from the cesspool of horrors that often plague his mind, but it’s the most likely one. It’s usually what has him standing outside, alone, on chilly nights like this. “Jin Ling?”

“No.” Jiang Wanyin’s hair is soft, loose, falling in strands around and across his face, his eyes. He stares into the star-speckled water, watching how it laps gently against the dock. “Yes.”

Rather than asking for clarification, Nie Huaisang simply keeps his eyes trained on Wanyin’s hands as they clench into fists against him, holding his robe harshly around his arms. He knows to wait.

He sighs and says, “I’m guess I’m worried that… it’s too late to worry.” He turns his head slightly away. “I ruined him, didn’t I?” He curls further into himself, his shoulders hunching. “I ruined everything.”

Nie Huaisang bites his lip. This isn’t new, per se. But it is, perhaps, the first time he’s heard it said so plainly. He turns to gaze at Lotus Pier, in all its glowing, soft lamplight, in its intricate beauty. Its soft curves and sharp, twinkling points. He listens to the low breeze and the wash of the pond against the wooden dock and the chirping of frogs. He listens to the peace, not meditative, but alive. He remembers visiting with his brother several years ago and catching sight of a tiny Jin Ling scampering across this very dock, bootless and dripping wet, grinning just like his mother used to. And he can’t fathom what on earth Jiang Wanyin is claiming to have ruined.

“It was left to me, all of it,” he continues, and when Nie Huaisang turns back to look at him, he’s staring at his hand as if he wants to lop it off at the wrist. “And I ruined it all.”

Nie Huaisang trains his gaze on that hand and tries to imagine it as Jiang Wanyin does. As something that has been entrusted with the most precious things in the world – Jin Ling, Lotus Pier, his family’s legacy, even his brother – but has failed to keep them safe, has let all those things crumble and deform as they slip between his fingers like sand. Jiang Wanyin does not see Jin Ling’s righteous anger or sweet thoughtfulness, only his insecurity, his flinches, his pride that is so easily bruised. He does not see Lotus Pier’s reinforced beauty, the steel of his strength supporting its delicate wooden structure. He only sees fear and discipline smothering the gentle joy of his childhood. He does not see his family’s legacy preserved, but a legacy dead and gone and taunting from the ancestral shrine. He does not see his brother alive and healthy and trying to rekindle their relationship. He sees the ease that was lost, sees his sister’s sad eyes as they try to fit back together like jagged, mismatched puzzle pieces.

That hand ruined it all.

Nie Huaisang reaches out and places his own hand in Jiang Wanyin’s palm, and he twitches, almost flinches, almost tries to pull away. “Huaisang-” But he doesn’t let him. He softly slots their fingers together and lets him hold their entwined hands before his eyes.

He’s not sure exactly what he’s trying to do. Maybe show him one thing he hasn’t ruined, one thing that was ruined far before he got his hands on it. Maybe let him know he’s not alone. Maybe remind him that he’s human, see? Look at my hand, see how it fits, it’s just like yours. You’re only human. Or maybe he’s trying to show him that he trusts that hand. He trusts that hand to hold his own, to hold him.

Jiang Wanyin’s fingers curl and grip, trembling, almost too tight.

“You didn’t ruin him. You didn’t ruin any of it,” Nie Huaisang says, soft but sure. “You kept him safe. You keep everything safe, right here. Me, too.”

He thinks it was the right thing to say, because in the next moment, Jiang Wanyin has turned his head to rest it on Nie Huaisang’s shoulder, to bury his face into the crook of his neck, all while keeping hold of his hand. He breathes, deep, and Nie Huaisang rubs a soothing hand through his hair, lightly scratching his scalp with his fingernails.

“Come back to bed,” he says, “You’re cold.” Jiang Wanyin nods against his neck.

#my writings #fandom writings #the untamed #cql #mdzs #jiang cheng #nie huaisang #sangcheng #shippy shit

[curiosity-killed]

a bow for the bad decisions: chapter 17

prev | start | next

(on ao3)

“Zewu-jun has invited me to a medical conference in Cloud Recesses,” Wen Qing remarks from across the desk. Frowning, Jiang Cheng looks up from the latest report out of the oldest class of juniors to gauge her reaction. Their dishes have already been neatly stacked on the tray to be returned to the kitchens, and tea has been traded for wine in their cups. Wen Qing studies the invitation as if looking for something hidden between the lines. “Do you want to go?” he asks. She hums, pursing her lips in thought. “It would be a good way to re-enter society, as it were,” she says. “Zewu-jun’s invitation provides a solid backing, and some of the Nie physicians I worked with will likely attend.” She passes the invitation over to him, but even reading it twice, he can’t find any faults in Lan Xichen’s impeccable calligraphy. 

“You should take Xingtao,” he says as he returns it. “A few of the upper level juniors are ready for a trip like this, too.”

He hates the idea of sending her off on her own, but he’s already expected in Lanling at the same time. Besides, he doesn’t think he ever wants to step in Cloud Recesses again. He doesn’t know whether he or Lan Wangji would be the first to throw a punch, but either way, he’s not particularly interested in providing an opening.  “Mm,” Wen Qing hums. “Yuanxing and Suichun would benefit from attending, as well. They’ve both shown an interest in working in the remote reaches; building some relationships outside the sect would serve them well.” Privately, Jiang Cheng thinks the two junior assistants would show an interest in anything as long as Wen Qing was the one to suggest it, but he keeps that to himself. It’s not like he can really blame them. The two weeks pass quietly, and on the morning he is to depart for Lanling, he gives Wen Qing a light kiss and asks her to be careful. She rolls her eyes but smiles, pulling him back for a second. She’s radiant today in a deep Yunmeng teal and a red underlayer. He doesn’t think he’ll every stop feeling a little breathless looking at her, but he’s grown to enjoy the feeling. Ostensibly, his trip to Lanling is to speak with Jin Guangyao and Jin Zixuan about the upcoming night hunt hosted jointly by Lanling Jin and Yunmeng Jiang. In reality, they wind up spending as much time cradling their niece and nephews as discussing business. Baby a-Zhu is just old enough to be held by others, and Jin Guangyao hovers the entire time he’s in someone else’s arms. “Relax, a-Yao,” Jin Zixuan laughs. “Remember how Wanyin was the only one who could calm a-Ling when he was this age? Rusong will be fine.” ‘Rusong,’ Jiang Cheng mouths at the infant dozing in his arms. He’s never going to be used to the Jins’ tradition of saddling babes with courtesy names and then actually using them. Even the Gusu Lan wait till they’re at an age to start training. “He’s just so delicate,” Jin Guangyao admits, sounding a little helpless. It’s out of respect to his office as Chief Cultivator that Jiang Cheng doesn’t actually laugh at Jin Guangyao’s concern. There’s a tug on his skirts, and Jiang Cheng looks down to see a-Ling clinging to the fabric by his hip. “Jiujiu, can I hold baby a-Zhu?” he asks. Jiang Cheng hesitates before nodding toward the windowseat on which Jin Zixuan and a-Mu are sitting. “Sit up by your father, first,” he says. Jin Ling hurries to obey, scrambling up to sit nestled into Jin Zixuan’s side. His father’s eyes go soft and warm, one hand lifting to stroke his hair. Jin Ling hardly notices, fixed on Jiang Cheng as he walks over and carefully deposits Jin Rusong into his cousin’s lap. Jin Ling’s small enough that Jiang Cheng keeps his hand under the baby’s head, and Jin Zixuan reaches out to help support the little one. “Hello a-Zhu,” a-Ling says solemnly. “I’m your big cousin a-Ling.” Jiang Cheng does snort at that, but it’s quiet enough that Jin Ling doesn’t seem to notice. “When you’re big,” a-Ling says, “you can practice swords with me and jiujiu and we’ll be the two prides of Lanling.” Something squeezes in Jiang Cheng’s chest, an old ache. Jin Ling’s grown up on stories of the Twin Prides of Yunmeng, mostly told by his mother but every now and then by Jiang Cheng himself. He’ll never meet Wei Wuxian, but he’s grown up hearing about his bravery and cleverness. He doesn’t know to connect that storied hero with the Yiling laozu, isn’t old enough yet to understand why Yanli and Jiang Cheng can’t hide the bittersweetness of the stories no matter how they spin them into fairytales. “No fair!” a-Mu protests. “We’re two prides!” Her eyes scrunch up like she’s about to start screaming, but before she can, Jin Guangyao steps in to kneel just before her and catch her chubby fists in delicate hands. “Xiao-Mu,” he soothes, “it’s alright now. You can all be the prides of Lanling together, mm?” Something twinges in Jiang Cheng’s chest at that, a strange jealousy. It’s not as if Jin Guangyao knows what the words mean, really. They’d never meant anything to anyone beside him and Wei Wuxian — and after everything, maybe they’d only ever meant anything to Jiang Cheng. A-Mu sniffs, her lips still trembling, but she turns her big wet eyes on Jin Guangyao and doesn’t scream. “Xiao-shushu,” she whines and sticks her arms out. He breathes out a sigh-like laugh and shifts to scoop her up onto his hip. No matter how many times Jiang Cheng’s seen him hold a-Ling and a-Mu, he still always seems a little nervous, like he’s afraid he’ll break them. A-Mu holds no such concerns and latches on with her arms and legs, burying her face in Jin Guangyao’s shoulder. Watching, Jin Zixuan shakes his head. “If he weren’t so busy being Chief Cultivator, a-Yao could run a thriving business taming little demons,” he snorts. Jin Guangyao’s lips quirk up at the corners though he doesn’t look up from where he’s soothing a-Mu, and Jiang Cheng bites back a laugh, a sudden sorrow pinching his heart. It still always feels strange, feels like a betrayal, to sit in such close company with them. How many times over the years had he and Wei Wuxian griped about Jin Zixuan’s terrible arrogance and absurd pretentions? In the years before the Gusu lecture, they’d plotted pranks and mischief for every Jin visit to Lotus Pier: one of Wei Wuxian’s talismans conveniently located to trip Jin Zixuan and knock him into a shallow, stagnant pond; a few extra spoonfuls of chili oil in his food till sweat beaded at his hairline and his eyes watered; climbing onto the roof above his guest quarters in the middle of the night and scraping thin branches against his windows until he was convinced there were ghosts clawing at the walls. And now he sits beside him, sharing near-jokes and commiserating about his toddlers’ mood swings. Jiang Cheng had Wei Wuxian at his side for twelve years — less than that, if he took into account his missing months and that year and a half in Yiling. What will happen when Jin Zixuan has been his brother-in-law for the same time? Will there come a day when Jin Zixuan is more his brother than Wei Wuxian? Guilt tightens in his throat at the thought of replacing his brother, no matter how accidental or out of his control. Whether he wants it or not, there will come a day when he knows Jin Zixuan better than he ever had a chance to know Wei Wuxian, when Wei Wuxian is a time-faded memory with only the brightest pigments still sticking out while Jiang Cheng continues to live on. On his return to Lotus Pier, he goes to the ancestral shrine. Lighting the incense, he bows amidst the first thin tendrils of smoke and settles back with his hands over his thighs to gaze up at the three tablets. Mother would have suffered qi deviation to know Wei Wuxian’s tablet stood among their family, but he and jie hadn’t needed to talk to know it would be this way. He was their brother after all, after everything. “Mother, Father,” he greets, “a-jie is doing well. Little a-Ling has started his initiate training and a-Mu is in a hurry to catch up with him. We just finished construction of new quarters for junior disciples here, to handle the larger class sizes. This year will be our largest since — since the war.” He falls quiet, gaze dropping down to the thin yellow incense smoldering. The scent of smoke is gentle as it drifts on the evening breeze. “I hope you are pleased by how we have grown,” he says quietly. Releasing his fingers from where they’ve knotted into his skirts, he breathes out a quiet sigh. He never talks to Wei Wuxian when he visits. It still feels too strange, too wrong. Ever since the failed summoning, he’s carried some lingering superstition that if he speaks to him as he does his parents, it will condemn Wei Wuxian’s spirit to some limbo, trapped for all eternity. Instead, he kneels in silence and closes his eyes against the memory of a shoulder rocked into his, of a cajoling voice in his ear. In another life— He’s out on the pavilion behind his study when Wen Qing arrives. He hears her first, her sure strides across the wooden planks, and then feels the warmth of her press close to his side. Lifting his arm to admit her, he hums a little in pleasure at the feeling of her tucked up beside him. She smiles up at him, a small, soft thing he sees only rarely and almost exclusively in private. “How was the conference?” he asks. “Good,” she says, leaning her head against his shoulder. Her arms slip around his waist loosely. “I have a good deal to consider.” That is, in its own way, her highest compliment. He snugs his arm around her, pleased, and they settle into a comfortable quiet. Stars glitter on the water before them, a speckling of pearls in the night. “What do you think of children?” His eyebrows shoot toward his hairline at the question. It’s not that he hasn’t thought of it, of course, it’s just — well. He’s never let himself think of it outside of daydreams or brief fantasies. “I thought this was a medical conference,” he replies before swallowing, a little unsteady. “What do you think of marriage?” Wen Qing pulls back, and he glances down even as his hand tightens in reflexive fear. There’s a smile curving up the corners of her lips and amusement in her eyes, though, and he relaxes an inch. “Is that your idea of a proposal, Jiang Wanyin?” she teases. He huffs, but she laughs. She doesn’t say no. In the morning, Jiang Cheng rises early and visits the smith who replaced the one who forged Sandu and Suibian. She took over the forge after her uncle and his entire family was killed in the massacre, and she’s forged every pejian in Lotus Pier since then. He picks up a jade hairpin, too, for good measure. Wen Qing is a pragmatic woman, but he thrills a little at the thought of lotuses in her hair. Time rolls on, unfathomably steady, and the years accumulate like droplets in a river. Chifeng-zun dies a month before their wedding and Wen Qing takes the news with thinned lips and her hands laced together. He’s not sure if she liked the man, but she respected him, had still visited when she could to help him. Jiang Cheng sees Lan Wangji on night hunts sometimes, always too frequent for his liking no matter how many months slip between them. He’s always there for the ugliest hunts, the ones reeking of resentment and demonic cultivation. The way his gaze falls on Jiang Cheng is sharper than any sword’s bite, and Jiang Cheng riles under the absurdity. What are you looking for, Lan Wangji? He wants to spit. Do you really think he’d come back to you? He doesn’t say it. He doesn’t want to hear any answer that might come. His brother’s dead. He saw it. He did it. Still, deep in the darkness of his belly, a stubborn hope holds roots. Their wedding is a quiet affair, small. Jie cries even as she smiles through the whole event, and the hug she gives Jiang Cheng beforehand is tighter and fiercer than any since the war. “A-Cheng, I’m so happy for you,” she says, and then they’re both crying. They have so little family left, and neither care much for ostentation. If any of the other sects have objections to his choice of wife, they’re welcome to raise them at the next conference, when he has Zidian in hand. He’s not about to have a Lan at his wedding banquet, and Nie Huaisang’s still in mourning. They bow together and he lifts the red veil to find a smile, radiant and small and just for him. He didn’t know how much happiness could hurt before. He hadn’t realized how it could burn like a star behind his chest, all overwhelming glow. Jin Xue is born three months after the wedding, and Jiang Cheng can’t stop himself from melting at the sight of his littlest nephew cradled in his wife’s arms. She glances up, catches his eye, and hides her smile by turning back to the baby. Soon, he thinks, and his heart kicks a rabbit beat into the back of his ribs.  Four and a half months into the first pregnancy, something goes wrong. Jiang Cheng is left outside the infirmary as Xiong Chunfeng tends to Wen Qing, and when he’s finally permitted to enter, both women are pale and drawn. The scent of blood lingers in the air though the sheets have been changed and Wen Qing bathed. Xiong Chunfeng bows to him and leaves them. “It happens,” Wen Qing says evenly. “Usually not so late but.” She swallows and looks to the side, carefully composed. A crack splits through Jiang Cheng’s chest at that, at how tightly she holds himself. He takes an involuntary step forward. “A-Qing,” he says. Clenching her jaw, she closes her eyes and a furrow of pain creases her brow. He steps forward, wraps his arms around her like he can protect her from any of this. Shuddering, she collapses into his arms and the tears start in quiet, aching sobs. He holds her close, presses a kiss to the top of her damp hair. After that, they turn their focus to the matters of the sect, allow themselves some time for healing. Yunmeng Jiang grows under their watch, excelling in cultivation and medicine alike. Disciples from the outer villages come in flocks, and some of the other sects have started sending their pupils for brief exchanges. Each summer, jie and Jin Zixuan bring their children to visit for a month at a time, and the halls and docks of Lotus Pier ring with children’s laughter. Jiang Cheng pushes himself into training both with his senior disciples and on his own. He sets bars higher and higher, throwing himself into the challenge of making this borrowed core his own. He meditates and spars and practices until Zidian sings like an extension of his soul, till Sandu answers his commands before he’s had time to fully think them. He spars with Bujue until they’re both winded, and Bujue collapses on his back in the dust. “Zongzhu,” he pants, “the disciples are never going to get a night hunt in if the beasts see you. Even demons would run.” He scoffs and kicks at his cousin’s ankle, bullying him back onto his feet for one more round. Smaller sects start protesting when Jin Guangyao pushes to expand his watchtowers, and little Jin Rusong pays for their aggression, poisoned by the same sweet cakes that leave his father bedridden for two weeks. Gifts from the Cai sect of Haodangchuan, to celebrate the child’s fourth birthday. Jiang Cheng cannot speak against the ruthlessness the Jin sect shows in dealing with the offending sects. He can’t know what it’s like, not really, but he sees the way Jin Zixuan holds a-Ling a little closer and he can understand. Five years after they marry, Jiang Lu comes screaming into the world. She’s small and red-faced and has approximately five strands of hair on all her head. She is so beautiful Jiang Cheng breaks down into tears. He carries her everywhere Wen Qing will let him, and for the first time since his father died, Jiang Cheng passes work off to Bujue instead of doing it himself so that he can spend more time doting on his daughter. “She is going to be the most spoiled daughter to ever come from Yunmeng,” Wen Qing sighs in dismay. “You are a perfect little pearl, aren’t you?” he coos as a-Lu wraps a tiny hand around his finger. “And you’ll grow up strong and safe and so good! Yes, you will.” “You are ridiculous,” Wen Qing says. She leans against him, one hand settling at his back while the other reaches over to adjust the blanket wrapped around their daughter. “The little pearl who defeated the great Sandu Shengshou,” Wen Qing singsongs. “You could be a legend at less than a year.” Jiang Cheng snorts and turns to Wen Qing. “Her mother already lays claim to that title,” he points out. She smiles and leans up to kiss him. And then, all at once, it is thirteen years since his brother died, and Jin Ling is ready for his first big night hunt. His nightmares have grown rare, and when he has them, they’re more often bizarre than familiar: that a-Lu has found a chicken the size of the moon and refuses to come home unless they let the chicken come, too, or that jie has run off to be a rogue cultivator on Baoshan Sanren’s mountain. Once, he has a dream where Jin Zixuan takes up musical cultivation using the pipa and no one has the heart to tell him he’s terrible. He can’t meet the man’s eyes for three days after that. Yunmeng Jiang has prospered, and when Jiang Cheng looks out over his home, he breathes in peace. More days than not, the warm loop around his wrist brings comfort instead of pain. “If you wished, you could visit their graves,” he says now. “We’ll be right there.” Wen Qing hums and seals the jar of herbs she was checking before making a note in her inventory. Her hand lifts absently to rest on her belly, and he resists the urge to ask if the baby’s kicking again. “The hunt will be disruptive,” she says. She looks up and gives him a softer look, adding, “Qingming, perhaps. A-Lu’s old enough to visit.” He relents and drops his arms as he finally gives in to his desire to step around and wrap his arms around her waist from behind. He’s out of her way, this way, and she gives his hand a gentle squeeze before reaching for the next jar of medicine. “Will her little sister be ready to travel by then?” he asks. “Or brother,” Wen Qing says. “Brother?” he echoes. It’s been six months now, and he still hasn’t quite gotten over his excitement at a little sibling for a-Lu. Even after years with jie’s children, every addition to their family feels somehow healing, something like the seeds of the future taking root and turning toward the sun. “Just a feeling,” Wen Qing says. Jiang Cheng hums, resting his chin on her shoulder. A little brother, then. From the hallway, he hears a familiar set of steps and even more familiar voice, lilting and cooing. He hides a smile in his wife’s shoulder before straightening. “Ah you are such a cute little rice ball, I’m going to gobble you up!” Bujue calls. “Om om om no more little rice ball.” Pealing laughter rings out, all giddy and delighted, and Bujue steps into the doorway with one of a-Lu’s bare feet alarmingly close to his mouth as he pretends to nibble on her toes. Shaking his head, Jiang Cheng crosses his arms. “You are going to give her the strangest fears, a-Jue,” he complains. Straightening, Bujue turns to push his lip out in an exaggerated pout at a-Lu. “A-Lu,” he says, “is your Yu-gege scary?” She laughs, wriggling in his arms. She’s really too big to be carried around like this, but that hasn’t stopped any of them. “No! Yu-gege is good!” she chirps happily. Bujue turns a triumphant look on Jiang Cheng, who rolls his eyes and extends his arms in a clear order. A-Lu is, as always, delighted as Bujue sets her on her feet so she can run over and tackle Jiang Cheng’s knees. Her little arms barely extend around his thighs, and she turns her head to fix him with a bright grin, her chin pressed into his leg. “Baba!” she greets. “Hello, you little monster,” he says, bending down to pull her up into his arms. “What have you been doing all day?” Looping her arms around his shoulder, she sets into a delighted retelling of every event of significance that has occurred since he saw her at breakfast. For a child that spent an hour sleeping in the afternoon and most the rest of the day in lessons, it is a surprisingly long list. Many of them have to do with the fish in one of the back ponds, which have been claimed by a-Lu, Xingtao’s son, and the daughter of one of the senior disciples who came to Lotus Pier after the war. “And a-Hun’s mother said we can practice with the little swords if we’re really good, and his mama said that we were going to be the best cultivators since Baba and Hanguang-jun!” she says, and Jiang Cheng valiantly resists the urge to wrinkle his nose at Lan Wangji’s title coming out of his daughter’s mouth. He may take some small satisfaction in the way she trips over it a little. He doesn’t want her to get it into her head to show that man too much deference, after all. “Jiang Lu will be the best cultivator since Jiang Chi,” he says, wiggling his nose against her forehead. “A mighty warrior.” She giggles and pulls back, even as her hands tighten in his collars. Setting down her inventory, Wen Qing reaches over to pinch a-Lu’s cheek. “Mighty warriors have to do well in their lessons,” she says. “Did you behave for Zheng-xiansheng?” “Yes, mama!” a-Lu answers, bobbing her head in a vigorous nod. “A-Lu was really good for Teacher. I counted ten sticks and drew shapes for Teacher.” Wen Qing hums in acknowledgment and brushes wisps of hair back from a-Lu’s face. “Very good,” she affirms. “Now give your a-die a big hug before he has to go.” “Why does Baba have to go?” a-Lu asks, brow wrinkling. Jiang Cheng hitches her up on his hip and frees one hand to tickle her side. Immediately, her consternation dissolves into bubbles of laughter, and she wriggles closer as he resituates his hand beneath her. “I have to go help your cousins a-Ling and Ruxia,” he explains. In the last year, a-Mu has started insisting on going by her courtesy name everywhere while Jin Ling stubbornly sticks with his birth name. When he’s feeling sentimental, Jiang Cheng will admit only to himself that it reminds him of when he and Wei Wuxian received their courtesy names: Wei Wuxian had been so delighted with his he’d stopped responded to a-Ying at all, while Jiang Cheng’s courtesy name always left him feeling like he was trying to fit into shoes three sizes too large. That’s mostly where the similarities end. Both jie’s children have grown up with their father’s stubborn pride and Jin Mu with a temper that people often claim comes from their uncle. Neither he nor jie will say it, but that anger’s older than him: the older she gets, the more Jin Ruxia is the spitting image of the grandmother she never met. “I can help!” a-Lu exclaims. “I’m good at helping.” Beside him, Wen Qing lets out a little laugh. “You’re very good at helping, a-Lu,” she affirms, “but I need you to stay and help me, alright?” It takes a moment before a-Lu decides that’s a satisfactory option. She wraps her arms around Jiang Cheng’s neck in a throttling hug before wiggling to be set down. With a last kiss to Wen Qing, he turns and heads to Lanling. He’ll have enough time to have dinner with jie and bounce little a-Xue in his arms, and then he’ll leave with the eldest two in the morning. Only a handful of senior disciples are accompanying them, mostly to help support the kids while they travel. Even with how much the two of them have been practicing lately, it’s a long flight to Dafan Mountain.

#mdzs #cql #the untamed #untamed fic #my writing #chengqing #BABIIIIIIESSSS #and the end of coming up with courtesy names thank god

[fortune-maiden]

3 Sentence Ficathon IV

Fourth 3 Sentence Ficathon roundup! :D

2 MDZS, 1 TGCF, 1 FEH, 1 HP

changelings & rubber ducks & time travel parodies oh my!

The Untamed, Lan Xichen/Nie Mingjue, diplomacy

“I can't believe I got dragged into this with you,” Lan Xichen lamented, rubbing at his stinging knees. “Mingjue-xiong, you can’t beat up a guest from another sect, just because he said something like that.”

“Why not?” Nie Mingjue challenged; kneeling beside him before the ancestral shrine, and as repentant as a rock – they were not going to be allowed to leave anytime soon.

Lan Xichen didn’t know whether to laugh, cry, or start mentally searching through his family’s rulebooks in the vain hopes his best friend could at least understand a written rule more than he did common sense.

-

any, any, time-travel fix-it (The Untamed, WQ & JC & Others, They were trying to fix it...)

The problem with being a time traveler, Wen Qing thought tiredly as she looked at the room’s equally tired and frustrated occupants, was that there was only so much foresight and memory to work off.

“So then,” Jiang Wanyin started, because someone had to, “who wants to explain how we ended up with a three-way-war between the Wen, Nie, and Jin, a minor clan coalition, and my sister married to Nie Huaisang?”

The problem with being one of eight time travelers was that there was not even that.

-

Harry Potter, any, the function of a rubber duck

“So then I added this column of numbers here…”

Neville Longbottom recognized Hermione’s voice the moment he heard it, but after listening to her angrily go over an arithmancy problem for a while and not hearing back any response, he followed her voice and found her sitting at a desk holding up a – “Hermione? I-Is that a rubber duck?”

“Yes,” Hermione replied, a deadly serious expression on her face. “He’s fixing the code.”

(Moments later, Neville heard her shouting “Finally! Thank you, Duck,” and wondered if the duck could also fix his potions homework.)

-

Any, any, I don't care if heaven won't take me back (TGCF, Xie Lian)

I don’t care if heaven won’t take me back.

On the morning of his second banishment, Xie Lian carved those words into his heart and set out with only Rouye and the bamboo hat on his head, and tried very hard not to think of what he was leaving behind.

800 years later, Xie Lian lived true to himself and found that he truly believed them – in the next moment, he ascended.

-

Fire Emblem Heroes, Sharena, a changeling after all

Something was different with Sharena.

She still looked and acted the same – but there were too many little things; her favorite colors, how she styled her hair, little nervous tics she had, how she looked at him…

Alfonse’s parents assured him it was normal – as children grew up, these kinds of things changed, they said – and eventually, he believed them.

#3 sentence ficathon #three sentence ficathon #mo dao zu shi #tian guan ci fu #harry potter #fire emblem heroes #fortune's fanfics