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stiltonbasket · 3 years

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Can we have a hundred day celebration for Shuilan in renouncement? Would love to see Wangxian happily showing off their baby and the everyone being KO’d by her cuteness.

If anyone had told Wei Wuxian what his future would hold five years ago, he would have laughed at the impossibility, and then dug a hole for himself in his favorite radish patch until Wen Qing came along to fetch him.

How strange it would have sounded to the Yiling Laozu holding court in the Burial Mounds, scraping by on thin luobo stew and the odd egg from market to feed A-Yuan, that one day a child of his would receive the blessings of all the Lan sect the moment she came into the world, and again thrice over at her hundred-day feast! It scarcely seems real to him now, after more than a year as Lan Zhan’s husband and the Lan Clan’s Xinhua-jun, and the sight of his richly dressed reflection in the looking glass bewilders him so much that he scarcely registers it when Lan Zhan materializes behind him with A-Lan in his arms.

“A-Lan looks so sweet, Lan Zhan,” he laughs, when his husband reaches out to touch his elbow--in a gesture that means come back, xingan, for I am here beside you, and you need never want for anything again. “She’s sparkling almost as much as you are.”

Lan Zhan dressed the baby in a tiny, glittering robe covered with beaded flowers, and whenever the light falls upon her little body, A-Lan glows like a moonlit pearl: so cool and soft and calm that Wei Wuxian can scarcely look away from her, even after the hundred-day feast is well underway in the banquet hall. He and Lan Zhan hold the seats of honor today, rather than Lan Xichen, and Xiao-Yu sits close beside them with his fluffy hair tied up into two pigtails.

“May I hold her, Hanguang-jun?” a kindly matron from the Cheng sect asks. Lan Zhan nods, and Lan-bao is swiftly transferred into Cheng-er-furen’s arms: puzzled by her sudden ascent, certainly, but happy enough to blink her big eyes up at Second Lady Cheng and coo like a roosting pigeon.

“Oh,” Cheng-er-furen gasps, as A-Lan kicks her tiny feet in their pink satin shoes. “Xinhua-jun, she’s beautiful.”

Wei Wuxian feels his heart quiver in his breast. “They say that one beauty recognizes another,” he says gravely, laughing out loud when Lady Cheng’s cheeks flush red. “Lan-bao can already tell, Lan Zhan, don’t you think?”

Lan Zhan presses his lips together and refuses to answer, but Wei Wuxian can see them twitching up at the corners. “That means he agrees with me,” he teases, as Cheng-furen slips a red packet into Xiao-Yu’s hands and kisses the toe of A-Lan’s little sock. “Don’t you, xingan?”

Lady Cheng rolls her eyes at their flirting and passes down the line with a smile, yielding her place to the next guest before going to find a seat at the banquet table.

“Ah, Wei-xiong,” the next well-wisher sighs, snapping open his favorite fan and holding it out to the baby. “A-Lan’s gathered quite a crowd today, hasn’t she?”

“Well, we did limit the full-moon ceremony to only our friends and family,” Wei Wuxian points out. As far as social events go, A-Lan’s full moon was one of the most exclusive gatherings of the year, open to members of the Lan sect and only by invitation to guests outside the Cloud Recesses; Ouyang Zizhen was generally envied as the sole attendee unconnected to Wei Wuxian by sect or familial ties, though he would have been invited anyway as Ouyang-zongzhu’s heir. “Lan Zhan was worried that we might fall ill during the monsoon season, so of course we had to invite everyone now that the weather’s turned warm again.”

Huaisang gives a meditative nod and lets A-Lan chew on the handle of his fan. “Lan-bao doesn’t have any teeth,” he yawns, when Wei Wuxian stares at the fan in disbelief and tries to pull it out of the baby’s mouth. “She can gum on my fan all she wants, I doubt she can put a dent in it.”

But the fan loses its charm before long, and A-Lan starts fussing in her blue satin wrap and refuses to settle until Wei Wuxian picks her up. The next group of guests offers their good-wishes one by one, leaving behind gifts like red packets and jade pendants and enough books to set up a new wing in the Library Pavilion; and a little while later, a shy two-year-old wanders up with his mother and presents a clumsily-carved dizi, just the right size for a toddler about as old as he is.

“I married out of the Cloud Recesses, so I live with my husband in Caiyi now,” the mother explains, as her son looks into Lan-bao’s crib with big eyes and makes soft cooing sounds in a clear attempt to play with her. “He runs a woodworking shop, so when we heard about the invitation to Lan-xiao-guniang’s hundred-day, Fang’er asked him to help carve a dizi for her.”

Wei Wuxian is so thoroughly charmed that he promises to stop by the woodworking shop later in the month, and present little Lan Fang--who seems to have taken his mother’s name, to retain his connection to her sect--with a learning dizi of his own.

“You can never begin too early,” Lan Zhan offers, catching Xiao-Yu by the sleeve to stop him from feeding his spicy peanut snacks to Lan Fang. “Does he prefer the flute above other instruments, furen? If so, he could come to the Cloud Recesses to study alongside Xiao-Yu when Wei Ying starts his music lessons.”

Wei Wuxian flinches, wondering if Lan Zhan has lost his senses--because what good mother would send her son to learn the dizi from the infamous Yiling Patriarch, even if he had been redeemed in the eyes of the gentry by his marriage to Lan Wangji? But Lan Fang’s mother is already nodding, looking fondly at Xiao-Yu as he offers Fang’er a bite of tangyuan, and the look in her eyes when she turns to Wei Wuxian is full of nothing but happiness.

“Xiao-Fang doesn’t get along very well with the children in Caiyi,” she sighs. “But he’ll surely come to study here one day, so if I could send him and know that Xiao-Yu-gongzi would look out for him--”

“Xiao-Yu will!” A-Yu exclaims, grabbing Lan Fang’s hand. “He’ll be A-Yu’s shidi!”

Lan Fang is more interested in doting on A-Lan, but Xiao-Yu is delighted by the prospect of having a junior sect brother, and tells the next ten people in line that he has become a shixiong now.

All in all, A-Lan’s hundred-day feast goes off without a hitch, and Wei Wuxian is nearly in tears at the sweetness of it all by the time Jiang Cheng arrives with a set of silver baby jewelry.

“A-Cheng, you shouldn’t have,” he chuckles, ducking his head so that Lan Zhan can pat his eyes with a cool handkerchief. “Lan-bao has enough jewelry for a new set every day, by now!”

“This isn’t just any set of jewelry,” Jiang Cheng informs him, motioning his head disciple to come forward and open the flat jewel-cases to reveal necklaces, bangles, ankle-bracelets and a longevity lock encrusted with silver beads.

Upon closer inspection, Wei Wuxian discovers that each tiny bead is a miniature clarity bell, etched with the Jiang sect lotus blossom and reinforced with so many protective charms that the collected set must have cost a small fortune.

“Didi,” Wei Wuxian begins, trying in vain to swallow the lump in his throat. “This, this is--”

“She won’t be able to wear these for long, but you could get them disassembled and extended with plain silver when she’s older,” his brother interrupts. “But A-Shuai says you should put them into storage when A-Lan gets older, because heaven knows I can’t afford another set.”

Lan Zhan frowns. “Why would we need another set?”

Jiang Cheng fixes him with a pointed stare, and Wei Wuxian feels his cheeks turn crimson when he finally gets the hint.

(Three years later, A-Lan’s hundred-day clarity jewels are passed down to a newborn baby sister, and no one is more pleased than her adoring jiujiu when Wei Chunyang wears them at her own full moon celebration.)

#wangxian #the untamed #mo dao zu shi #wangxian arranged marriage au #renouncement verse #my fic #RENOUNCEMENT VERSE IS BACK #baby!!!!#wei shuilan

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baoshan-sanren · 4 years

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Chapter 42

of the wwx emperor au that’s back to being called Emperor Wei WuXian And His Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Birthday

The summons come while the sky is still dark.

WangJi had woken with a tight sense of foreboding lodged in his chest, alert and on guard the moment his eyes had opened in the pre-dawn gloom. The events of the day before had certainly disturbed his equilibrium to such an extent that the anxiety and the trepidation do not seem out of the ordinary. The air is heavy in the Imperial guest chambers, weighed down with uncle’s disappointment and XiChen’s silent misery; in such an environment, it is difficult to trust one’s own instincts.

WangJi does not try. He moves though his morning routine as unobtrusively as possible, refraining from any unsolicited observations.

XiChen had not slept. If uncle had managed to sleep, no such thing can be garnered from the deep shadows under his eyes.

The small flame of joy in WangJi’s chest, so bright and unrestrained the day before, is now layered with bitter guilt. He has always experienced all of his happiness and misery with XiChen. They have always shared their burdens equally. It feels a betrayal, that this is a burden WangJi cannot make lighter for his brother, that he is powerless over the way their paths have diverged.

It is almost a relief, to have the heavy silence interrupted, to have something else to focus on for the time being.

The Imperial summons are for WangJi alone. Wei Ying is unpredictable in this respect; it is difficult to tell if he intends to sneak out of the Immortal Mountain again, propose for the second time, or if he simply wishes to have company with his morning tea. Nie ZongHui does not offer a reason for the summons, and WangJi does not ask. Still, the moment he steps out into the hall, his sense of foreboding increases.

The Imperial guest chambers have been heavily guarded from the moment the Lan Sect had taken up residence. However, the number of the guards had increased throughout the night, unnoticed by those within. Now, dozens of them stand shoulder to shoulder, forming an impenetrable wall outside the receiving hall.

Even more alarming is the fact that WangJi’s escort consists of thirty men, a mix of Nie Sect members and Imperial guards, all personally headed by the Lieutenant General of the Emperor’s army. The Emperor himself is rarely ever seen with such an excessive escort, especially within his own palace halls. It is slightly absurd, being surrounded by so many armed men, that they can barely fit through the palace halls without tangling in each other’s scabbards. The size of such an escort would suggest that their destination is some distance away, but hardly any time passes at all before he finds himself back in front of the doors to the Emperor’s personal study.

Immediately, he is both concerned and frustrated. If Wei Ying has summoned him before sunrise, with such an obnoxious escort, only to propose again, after he had promised to give WangJi time--

“Lan Zhan!”

The exasperation bleeds away in a hurry. Although it is difficult to pay attention to anything with Wei Ying’s bright smile turned his way, there are other people present in the Emperor’s personal study, each one a sharp reminder of WangJi’s current ambiguity of position.

He is not yet betrothed. Even if he were, the level of familiarity he has displayed when alone with the Emperor will certainly not be seen as appropriate. He knows that kneeling will make Wei Ying unhappy, so he settles for a compromise; a bow, and a polite greeting.

“Your Majesty.”

He does not quite manage to complete the bow before Wei Ying has his forearms in a tight grip, and is tugging him forward.

“Do not address me so Lan Zhan, everyone present is family. You have met my uncle XingChen and Song Lan.”

Being pulled into the circle of people he hardly knows is more than a little discomforting. Song Lan is coldly polite, but the Rogue Prince, the person WangJi had actually offended, smiles in a warm greeting, for the first time displaying some physical resemblance to his nephew.

“I know you have met Jiang Cheng and my Royal Companion as well.”

Jiang WanYin looks distinctly unhappy to see him.

Nie HuaiSang does not. He looks... half-asleep, and at best, disinterested in WangJi’s presence.

“I do not believe you have officially met Wen Qing.”

The day they were supposed to meet, the day WangJi had come upon Wei Ying covered in dirt, with a child on his hip, seems to have occurred decades ago.

WangJi bows, “Lady Wen.”

It is difficult to tell from her expression whether she approves or disapproves of him being present among the people Wei Ying had claimed as family, but WangJi has a clear impression that her approval is not something which can be easily obtained.

“Shijie should be here,” Wei Ying says, “but she had pressing business to attend to in the dungeons.”

Jiang WanYin snorts at that, but no one bothers to elaborate on the subject.

“Can we get on with this?” Nie HuaiSang says, “I would like to nap before the Gifting Ceremony.”

“You mean, you would like an opportunity to riffle through all the gifts before they are presented,” Jiang WanYin says.

He sounds irritable and cross. There is something defensive about his posture, the folded arms, the tightness around his mouth. WangJi does not know Jiang WanYin well, and cannot discern if this defensiveness is an ordinary occurrence, or a specific response to his own presence.

“I have already done so, yesterday,” Nie HuaiSang says, “so the joke is on you. By the way,” he turns to Wei Ying, “the set of jade hair ornaments from the LaoLing Qin are mine. They would look terrible with your complexion.”

Wen Qing and Jiang WanYin both roll their eyes at the same time. They do not seem aware that they have done so, as they appear to be taking particular care not to look in each other’s direction.

“We have the same complexion,” Wei Ying says.

Nie HuaiSang snorts, “Not even on your best day.”

“I have work to do today,” Wen Qing snaps, “can we focus on why we are here?”

A silence falls, one in which WangJi feels uncomfortably out of place. He is the only person who does not know why they are all gathered in the Emperor’s personal study, and he cannot help but wonder if he will ever feel a sense of belonging among the people Wei Ying considers his family. It is discouraging to think that he may always remain an unwelcome stranger, even once the marriage takes place.

“Second Young Master,” the Rogue Prince finally says, “You were perfectly correct in your assumption two days ago, and more than justified in your reproof. The man we are hunting is in the Immortal Mountain, and likely has been, all along.”

WangJi is not surprised. The thirty guards provided as an escort, just so WangJi could cross the length of the Jade Sword Palace, already implied the existence of some imminent threat.

It is somewhat of a relief, however, to have a rational explanation for his lingering sense of foreboding.

“The two servants connected with your attempted poisoning were killed by the same man,” Song Lan adds, “and it is possible that the attempt on the Emperor’s life, two days later, was also his work.”

“You are certain it is a man,” WangJi asks.

“We think it is a Jin Sect disciple,” Nie HuaiSang says, “Specifically one of these three Jin Sect disciples.”

The small piece of paper he passes to WangJi looks to have been folded up tightly, numerous times, by numerous hands. The three names appear unfamiliar at the first glance. Two carry the Jin name, but the third does not.

“Jin ZiXun,” he says, “is the Jin disciple who accused my brother of poisoning the Fan Sect Leader.”

“Jin ZiXun is not the one we want,” Nie HuaiSang says dismissively.

“You cannot be sure of that,” Jiang WanYin says, his tone quarrelsome.

“Jin ZiXun is clearly too stupid to commit mass murder, and not be caught in the process,” Nie HuaiSang counters.

“He must be an accomplice, at the very least.”

“He is too stupid to be an accomplice.”

“Okay!” Wei Ying says, “You have both had this argument three times now. Let us just-- move on.”

“We do not think that the Emperor is his target,” Song Lan says, as if Nie HuaiSang and Jiang WanYin had not spoken, “We believe that he is at the Immortal Mountain specifically because it provides him an easy access to a Sect that is fully removed from the public presence at all other times of the year.”

This does come as a surprise.

It had not been so difficult to believe that a hired assassin, or a random cultivator with a grudge, may be targeting the Lan Sect. But to be a target of a person who has collected the resentful energy from more than three hundred corpses seems preposterous in both theory, and in practice. WangJi cannot begin to guess what would motivate such a man to specifically attack the Lan Sect over any other.

“What none of them are brave enough to ask,” Wen Qing says impatiently, “is the Lan Sect’s history when it comes to the use of resentful energy.”

WangJi feels himself stiffen at the implication. Perhaps she did not mean to sound accusing, but it is difficult to hear the words in any other context.

Before he can respond, Wei Ying’s fingers are wrapping around his wrist, his body shifting slightly so his shoulder is in front of WangJi’s own. It is a small movement, barely half of a step. And yet, the intention is clear, and the result indisputable.

Wei Ying is shielding him. From those he had, only moments ago, referred to as his family.

The defensive armor that WangJi dons so easily, as familiar as his own skin, melts away at the gesture. It leaves behind a hot, dry lump in his throat, one he cannot seem to properly breathe around.

“We have had this argument three times as well,” Wei Ying says, his voice hard, “The Lan Sect is clearly a victim.”

“Yes, but why,” Nie HuaiSang says, seemingly unbothered by Wei Ying’s gesture and tone, “Why focus on the Lan Sect?”

“A madman does not need a reason,” Jiang WanYin says.

WangJi wonders if Jiang WanYin would resort to explicitly defending the Lan Sect for no other reason than to be as contrary as possible.

“I do not believe that we can assume him to be a madman,” XingChen says gently, “His actions so far, the way his victims are chosen, his behavior here at the Immortal Mountain, it all points to a highly organized individual, one who carefully plans each step before execution.”

“A madman cannot be organized?” Wei Ying says, and Nie HuaiSang shoots him a look which seems to imply that Wei Ying is being intentionally dense.

“The point is,” Nie HuaiSang says slowly, “he has not chosen the Lan Sect on a whim. There is a purpose in his focus.”

“A member of the Lan Sect murdered the rightful ruler of the Shan Empire, and her Consort, all because her distant relative, long dead, had used resentful energy,” Jiang WanYin says impatiently, “I would think, out of all the Sects, they would be the least likely to meddle in this type of cultivation.”

He may be right, but his defense somehow sounds both like censure and an accusation.

In the next moment, Nie HuaiSang’s fan meets Jiang WanYin’s shoulder hard enough to make him wince.

“Do not be crass,” the boy says coldly, “Frustration is no excuse for incivility.”

“The Lan Sect is particularly skilled in dispelling resentful energy,” the Rogue Prince says, “I suppose it is possible that this individual sees them as a threat to his plans.”

“The Lan Sect also has a few hundred cultivators and disciples, all in possession of this particular skill,” Wen Qing counters, “Killing three of them would hardly make a difference.”

“But it is unlikely that any three together could equal the power and skill of the current Sect Leader and his two top disciples,” Song Lan says.

All eyes now turn on WangJi, as if expecting him to deny or confirm the assertion.

Still reeling from the fact that Jiang WanYin, of all people, had felt the need to come to his defense, WangJi needs a few moments to consider the question.

“I am less skilled than my uncle or my brother,” he finally says, “Among the rest, only my father, two of the Sect Elders, and Lan HanLi have an equal, or greater ability. None of those we brought to the Immortal Mountain can be considered particularly proficient or powerful.”

Everyone seems to consider this in silence, forming their own conclusions.

Wei Ying’s hand is still wrapped around WangJi’s wrist. The gesture should be awkward in front of so many witnesses, but instead, it is a soothing, grounding contact that WangJi does not want to relinquish.

He wonders at the power of Wei Ying’s touch, to instill in him a sense of comfort even among strangers.

“I still do not see why we cannot simply arrest all three of them, stuff them into the dungeon, and get a confession through torture,” Jiang WanYin says irritably.

“Because two of them could be completely innocent,” Wen Qing retorts, sounding equally as irritable.

“Is anyone really innocent?” Nie HuaiSang says.

“Certainly not you,” Wei Ying quips.

“You were never innocent,” Wen Qing says.

Nie HuaiSang’s smile, hidden behind the fan, is only evident by a slight crinkling in the corners of his eyes.

Song Lan sighs, rubbing his forehead, “XingChen and I believe that this individual’s last attempt to eliminate the Lan Sect must be tonight. The sects and clans are all due to depart tomorrow, and despite the recent... development,” his eyes slide off WangJi, “there has been no indication that the Lan Sect plans to remain at the Immortal Mountain. The seventh day banquet is traditionally a much more... unrestrained event than any of the others, likely to result in drunken fights and unseemly indiscretions. We think the individual will try and use the revelry as a cover.”

“We want you to be the bait,” Jiang WanYin cuts in bluntly.

“No,” Wei Ying says, his voice hard, “We have discussed this already, and the answer is no.”

“It is not up to you,” XingChen says kindly, “This person has repeatedly attacked the Lan Sect. Whether they have a hand in his capture is entirely their choice.”

Wei Ying does not seem to realize that his hand around WangJi’s wrist has tightened to the point of pain.

“Wei Ying,” he says, fighting the urge to pull his hand back, “I am willing.”

“I will not put your family at risk again.”

“We will not be at risk. You will protect us.”

Wei Ying flinches, whirling to face WangJi, his eyes wide and lost, “How can you say that? I have done a terrible job protecting you.”

It is absurd, that he can be so sweetly endearing, and at the same time, so utterly maddening. WangJi is not sure if he would like to kiss him, or kick him. Perhaps both.

“All three of us are alive and unharmed. You have done nothing but protect us from the moment we had arrived at the Immortal Mountain. I trust you.”

Wonder of all wonders, he seems to have found a combination of words that will render Wei Ying speechless. His mouth is still moving, because he is Wei Ying, and apparently incapable of being speechless with his mouth shut, but no sounds are forthcoming.

Everyone else, however, is beginning to look noticeably uncomfortable in their presence.

Jiang WanYin, his expression sour, is the first to break the silence, “Ugh. Are we done?”

Nie HuaiSang smacks him on the shoulder again, “Why do you have to ruin the moment?”

“I do not want to see any moments. I want to finish this discussion, then leave.”

“I second that,” Wen Qing says.

“I will be the bait,” WangJi says firmly, ignoring the fact that his face feels uncomfortably hot, “Along with my uncle and brother.”

“Excellent,” Song Lan says, “We will meet again after the Gifting Ceremony to discuss the particulars.”

Apparently, he is in a hurry to leave as well, because he does not waste time tugging the Rogue Prince towards the exit. Jiang WanYin practically tramples Song Lan’s heels, and Wen Qing is only a step behind him.

Nie HuaiSang is the only one who feels the need to take his time, and although his grin is wide and knowing, WangJi feels little resentment.

He does not know how to erase this silly, speechless expression from Wei Ying’s face, but he will start his attempt with kissing, and decide the rest depending on the progress he makes.

#the untamed #cql #mdzs #ficlet #m #wwx emperor au #2-3 chapters more to go before the epilogue(s)#i don't wanna know the word count on this thing #ily chickens

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phoenixrisesoncemore · 4 years

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MDZS/CQL RPG mechanics

I was inspired by this awesome post from @wangxian-patriarch with additions by @moonwaif. Go check it out! And assume all those clever details and mechanics mentioned there.

This would work SO WELL for a late 90s PS1-style RPG, where graphics were improving and storylines/character arcs were becoming crazy complex but it was still kind of the Wild West/anything goes/take all the risks you want. And the best games (IMO) are those that mix genres in an episodic fashion and MDZS/CQL totally fits the bill for that! CQL even does it, itself.

This got so long that I hated to clog up their post with a reblog. Bear with me here. Batshit crazy thoughts coming at a million miles per hour. In addition to all the above wonderful stuff: picture this structured like a 75%/25% split of MDZS/CQL (because I think the interspersed flashbacks work better for a game where you get to see your past choices affect the present in chunks) but with 75% of the character expansions from CQL. AKA, more Shijie, meet WQ and WN in Cloud Recesses, interact with them at the Wen Indoctrination. Your choices determine at what pace the relationship with LWJ proceeds (see below)? The POV is always WWX.

Intro/tutorial: Mo Manor. WWX is your main character, obv. The main present story arc is a mostly linear action/adventure RPG. Mo Manor is your tutorial/training ground where you’re introduced to the main game mechanics, learn a bit about the world via NPC interaction and MXY’s notes, and get handed the first mystery/what appears to be the main game goal: who did MXY want you to get revenge on? Melodies keeps popping into WWX’s head. Begin mini game where you are introduced to the game’s musical mechanics as WWX tries to remember melodies. Most are eerie and harsh, but there is one WWX finds “strangely soothing” even though he can’t remember where it is from. Remember these songs, especially that soothing one, because it’s going to be important soon! Introduction of basic sword-based cultivation battle mechanics via an impromptu party forming with the ducklings against the corpse arm (WWX can join in with talismans or something relatively innocuous for now). Eventually WWX goes secret solo battle using flute-less demonic cultivation battle mechanics. Can you remember how to play some of those tunes to summon fierce corpses? Then LWJ appears and it’s time for you to get the Hell out of Dodge before there are questions about what you just did. Cue short sequence of getting out of Mo Village before you’re caught. Begin Little Apple game mechanics.

Dafan Mountain Quest. First big mission. Gather info and piece together the mystery while avoiding too much attention from the Jiang sect cultivators or Game Over. Solve the mystery and begin the first boss fight alongside the ducklings! But talismans and whistling isn’t cutting it any longer. Flute-based demonic cultivation mechanics activate! Remember those songs WWX has had going through his head. You’re going to need all of them now. Game Over if Jin Ling is killed by the goddess! Also: surprise! the goddess can only be defeated by a finishing move which requires summoning a high level fierce corpse. Which song is it? Succeed and summon Wen Ning, but oh no! he’s in berserk mode. Hmmm, what about that soothing song? Better remember how to play it fast or Wen Ning will kill the other cultivators and Game Over.

FLASHBACK: Cloud Recesses. I need this to somehow incorporate and deconstruct the school dating sim genre. I don’t know how, but I need that. Sharing loquats and Emperor’s Smile and causing trouble will sure make you popular. The rooftop fight seems like a standard fighting setup. Is there a way to mix those two genres? A fighting mini game inside a dating sim? Because there needs to be! Is Biling Lake a mini action-platformer segment? Also agree: Jiang Cheng interaction and combo learning here—sneak out to explore the back hill and learn pair fighting dynamics. Use WWX’s original sword-based cultivation skills. Rabbit-catching mini game. Decide what colors you want to gift to increasingly grumpy Lan Zhan. Get to know Mianmian and she’ll be more active in helping you later. Befriend NHS and change dialog trees with him in present arc.

Present day Cloud Recesses: your home base. Sandbox. Your actions in the flashback effect the present day Cloud Recesses. Did you hide some Emperor’s smile somewhere 16 years ago? Home of rabbit-raising mini game and various troublemaking side quests. You get points for every Lan Clan rule you break (and how deeply you corrupt the ducklings). The challenge is in figuring out how to break them. Break enough rules and gain early access to the library’s restricted section where you can learn all kinds of new unorthodox cultivation techniques. Break all of them and get a super awesome power-up. Up to a certain point you can return here with LWJ on Bichen once he joins your party. Duckling night hunts are initiated here?

Lan WangJi Joins the Party. The main body of the game commences as you begin the quest to solve the Mo Manor mystery and figure out who MXY wanted you to get revenge on. Your choices/skill in the flashbacks as they occur will alter (somewhat) the events of this, the game’s main “spine.” Each town/city encountered on the road trip has its own aesthetic and NPC populace from which you have to collect clues and learn what your next moves should be. Lots of immersive qualities and learning about the current political/social situation. Fierce corpse and ghost fights along the way. Collect (offensively inaccurate) YLLZ and Sunshot memorabilia. Slowly grow your affinity with LWJ in battle and use the skills for pair fighting you learned with Jiang Cheng to build towards those awesome battle-couple combos. LWJ will remain in your party for the rest of the main game (excluding flashbacks) except for short bits like Yi City. You can play WWX’s dizi along the road for practice and to up your skill level. Depending on how often and in what circumstances you play Wangxian and how you interact with LWJ you’ll start to get different (but still evasive) answers if you ask him how he knew it was you. Remember to play Rest so NMJ’s pieces don’t get out of hand.

Because this is long: more below the cut

The Man-eating castle. Logic puzzle dungeon. Try to outclever NHS in dialog trees to get him to spill information.

Chang Manor. Mystery dungeon with final grave robber boss fight. Learn about the story of XXC, SL, and XY as you explore Chang manor, looking for clues as to what happened. Avoid traps set by XY.

Yi City. I mean: THE FOG. It’s Silent Hill. It’s Fatal Frame. It’s a survival horror dungeon. How long and involved should the Empathy section be? How does the gameplay change there?

Explore Jin Lin Tai. Stealth dungeon. Sneak around Jin Lin Tai as first “MXY” and later as Paperman WWX (AH! Sudden scale/mechanics change), gathering clues and looking for NMJ’s head. Empathy cutscenes.

Escape Jin Lin Tai. Action segment/beat em up. A place to really show off those growing battle-couple mechanics with LWJ.

FLASHBACK: Happy Times at Lotus Pier. The closest we’ve been to the light-hearted gameplay of the first Cloud Recesses flashback. WWX. JC, and JYL involved in shenanigans at Lotus Pier. Maybe we even get the Lotus Seed Pod Extra content of stealing lotuses from the old man. Get a chance to use those Jiang Cheng combos you learned in the CR flashback. Last chance to use those sword cultivation techniques. Nostalgia galore.

FLASHBACK (cont): Indoctrination/Xuanwu Cave. WWX/JC party using non-sword techniques. Eventually morphs into a WWX/LWJ party. This would be the first time chronologically that they would have fought together.

FLASHBACK (cont): Lotus Pier Attack and Escape. I totally agree with the above that this will ultimately work out to stealth escort missions as you work to get JC to safety with WN’s help.

FLASHBACK (cont): Thrown into Burial Mounds. This could be super expressionistic. Wandering through Burial Mounds trying to stay alive, but with crazy nightmare-like elements. Think of the way Eternal Darkness messed with player perceptions and even broke the 4th wall when it came to game mechanics. Maybe this even bleeds seamlessly into the supervisory office deaths and Wen Chao’s chase and death.

Return to Cloud Recesses. More areas to explore are unlocked. Dialog trees with LWJ. Feelings.

Journey to Burial Mounds. This is your chance to really grind and refine those battle couple combos. Side-quests? How far has word spread that the YLLZ is back? How will that effect the way you can or can’t interact with NPCs. I also like the idea of interspersing the flashbacks from Sunshot and up through the building of the Burial Mounds settlement in here, so as to have the player get to interact with and design the settlement in the past before the ruins of it are seen in the present.

FLASHBACK: Sunshot. mashup of beat em up/strategy tactics using demonic cultivation with chenqing and the tiger seal to clear a path for the army of cultivators. WWX is a party of one for this.

FLASHBACK (cont): Post Sunshot. More deconstructed social sim mechanics. Use chenqing to help JC bag prey on Phoenix Mountain. Social decision trees at that really uncomfortable conference scene. Qiongqi Path rescue of the Wen Refugees. The LWJ in the rain confrontation either does or does not happen (or happens somewhat differently) depending on how your relationship has progressed thus far in the past.

FLASHBACK (cont): Building Burial Mounds Settlement. Settlement/Survival Sim elements. Choose where and how to build and what to grow. Play with and protect a-Yuan. Work to revive WN. Make demonic cultivation tools. Whatever you make will still exist in future and can be gathered/used for the Second Siege battle. JC duel (ouch, there’s those moves you learned together being used against you). Play around in YiLing with LWJ and a-Yuan. Spend the day as a family. Feelings.

Arrive at Burial Mounds. Explore the ruins of the place you built. Feelings. Gather items. Release the Juniors. Fight with the Cultivators.

FLASHBACK: Death of JZX/Nightless City. Beat em up using Wen Ning at Qiongqi Path. At Nightless City this time you’re solo sending hordes towards the cultivators. Heart breaking solo battle against LWJ, as with JC, he now knows and can anticipate your moves based on your previous flashback interactions. HORRIBLE TRAGEDY AND MASSIVE DEATH.

Second Seige of Burial Mounds. Massive beat em up where you finally get to utilize the full extent of your battle-couple skills along with Wen Ning in a series of brawls to end all brawls, eventually the ducklings join your party for brawl wave 3. You know that really big battle that happens near the turning point of video games that’s inevitably the second or third biggest battle of the game (and sometimes more difficult than the actual final boss battles)? That’s this one.

Return to Lotus Pier. Here’s where you get memories of WWX’s first night at Lotus Pier and YanLi saving him from the tree are interspersed as you explore the heartbreakingly different present day Lotus Pier. As with the other locations that you experience in both past and present, some choices in the past effect the location in the present. FEELINGS.

YunPing City: Final major location. Explore and gather info. Prep for the final battle. Drunk LWJ mini game shenanigans. (Sexy time? I mean, Indigo Prophecy did it...) Stealth your way into Guanyin Temple.

Guanyin Temple Climax: Dialog trees with JGY determine how difficult he is to defeat here in battle. Final boss fight against NMJ’s fierce corpse: poignant party/combo with both JC and LWJ.

Denouement. Maybe the Sizhui revelation happens differently depending on how you interact with him throughout the game. Obv NOT getting the revelation is considered the BAD ending.

Ultimately, how the relationship between WWX and LWJ unfolds in CQL and MDZS is influenced by the plot structure (or at least is better served in each medium by how it makes use of the plot structure). The character of that relashionship journey is so different between the mediums, but each has wonderful aspects. How that plays out here is kind of up in the air without nailing more things down. Is it possible your actions could determine the timing and expression of the ship such that you end up with something more distinctly MDZS or something more distinctly CQL? (And by that I don’t mean one is overtly sexual and one isn’t, but rather whether the revelation of their feelings comes all at once near the end or rather more gradually, shifting in intensity and character as the plot goes along). That would be quite a thing to pull off without breaking the central narrative. I don’t even want to think about how complex that decision tree would be, but it could potentially be kind of amazing!

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #cql #the untamed #chen qing ling #this is A LOT but i don’t care i am having a great time #i’ve only dipped my toes into game design previously but man this makes me wish I had done more #Because this is so fun #game design #rpgs #mdzs rpg?

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missholland · 4 years

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Lan Wangji (mostly, his love)

LAN ZHAN! I read somewhere that this was said 102 times by Wei Wuxian in The Untamed. It feels like an understatement, cause I’ve watched the show so many times now I could hear ‘Lan Zhan’ being called in my sleep...

My first time watching the drama, I was full on Team Xianxian. I mean, who would not be? He’s the central character of the story, he’s the first thing you see within the first few seconds of episode 1, and who could resist his sunflower aura? I was not into Lan Wangji at all. I remember this clearly because I just found an old Instagram story in my Archive on the day I first watched this show: a screenshot of Wangji’s face in episode 3 and my caption was: ‘OMG how could Wei sunshine fall in love with this dry and boring man?’. And just like how Wangji eventually swallowed all of the statements he had made about the young Wei Wuxian (’I don’t touch other people’, ‘We’re not close’, etc.), I am not the same person on that fateful day tuning in the first episode on Netflix. I am now Team Hanguang-Jun through and through!

What I’ve been enjoying so much these days is watching random earlier/later episodes just to compare how Wangji’s attitude changed toward Wei Wuxian over 16 years-ish. It’s probably so obvious for everyone that he definitely falls in love first, even when the drama purposely made their early relationship a lot more intense comparing to the novel i.e. showing Wei Wuxian somewhat feeling the same way about Wangji in his first life, with the constant flirting and mutual pining (don’t even get me started...). Now that I kinda understand what the character is like, it makes a lot of sense the way he processed his feelings for Wuxian in his youth. I wonder how different he would have reacted without the push from the best brother/wingman in the cultivation world - Lan Xichen. Sure, Jiang Cheng had a lot to say about this too, but mostly out of a slight envy (I reckon) over Wuxian’s new subject of desire. But Lan Xichen sees through his brother, and has been pretty much WangXian fanclub admin since day 1. I don’t have a brother, but man, I wish Lan Xichen could be mine.

In my humble opinion, the fact that we were given 3 versions of Wei Wuxian throughout the series kinda gifts us 3 versions of Lan Wangji too in a way - the straight face, the confused heart, and the national boyfriend/husband. Considering the number of times I rewatched the latter half of the series i.e. episode 33 onward, I just want to write down all of my thoughts about the national boyfriend/husband Lan Wangji, and not just because that version seems to have the most lines comparing to the other two.

There are several details that were not explained much in the series (although shown on screen) so I have to read from the novel later on. But oh my god, the stuff I found... I never realized that the scene before Lan Wangji went to Mo’s manor where his guqin was playing behind him standing on the balcony referred to how he used Inquiry to find Wuxian. What Jiang Cheng said to him about having gone to a lot of places for 16 years and searching for someone completely went over my head in the first watch, and imagine how I scratched my brain revisiting that part. That plus ‘oh I’ve never seen you at a cultivation conference before’ in episode 41 - my goodness, because he was spending ALL of his time LOOKING FOR Wei Wuxian.

Another thing I hope would have been addressed in the series was the hot iron mark on his chest. I thought the story of him drinking wine and giving himself a mark identical to Wuxian’s was the prime work of a broken heart. He must have thought about their conversation in Xuanwu cave, about the mark staying on his skin forever and how Wuxian was convinced Mianmian would never forget him. Was that how Wangji was making a point of never forgetting Wei Wuxian? If that scene made into the drama, I would have thought Wangji’s character song Buwang to be play in the background. The lyrics fit the situation so much.

Personally, everything from episode 33 onward was perfection for me, finally getting to see Wangji embrace his feelings and ACT ON THEM toward the romance-blind idiot Wei Wuxian (yes, he totally is). All the caring touches and details played out so astonishingly. One of my favourite (which doesn’t seem to be a popular one since I have not seen many gifs of it on Tumblr) was when, after interrogating Huaisang, Wangji comfortably moved over the other side of the table and picked up Wuxian’s left leg to CLEAN THE EVIL SPELL - think of the level of intimacy this act is! Although that came after the romantic piggyback under the moonlight, I thought that speaks volume for someone who doesn’t even physically interact with his family members, and serves as a great follow-up right after he, again comfortably, pulled up Wuxian’s trousers to check his leg.

What I thought was always presented so beautifully is every time Wangji serves Wuxian liquor. The way he carefully picks up his sleeve, prepares the cup (I know they’re probably not called ‘cups’ but I can’t find another word), pours the liquor and slides it over to his partner is so well demonstrated and shows how much he wants to properly take care of Wuxian. Would you put so much effort in such a tiny mundane act if you’re not doing it for the most important person in your life?

In a way, I feel like everything he does is making up for what he could not do the past 16 years, including remembering so many tiny details and keeping all sort of Wuxian-related things. My favourite Wangji keepsake moment, despite being a very short one, is the butterfly talisman at Yunping City which he gave to Wuxian to rescue Wen Ning. I don’t know why that moment makes me really really happy, probably because that was one of the earliest items Wangji could have kept hold of from Wuxian’s. That tells us how way long before he was developing feelings toward this little rebel. Not to mention, we did see Wangji even use this very talisman in episode 11 when he encountered Wen Chao on his way back to Cloud Recesses.

Yes, the ‘I knew he was Wei Ying all along’ while having all the swords pointed at you is highly pivotal as it’s basically the censored version of ‘I love you’. BUT, the moment all leading cultivators of all major and minor clans ran to Burial Mounds just to witness Lan Wangji standing proudly without flinch on the other side with Wei Wuxian makes me appreciate that whole arc a lot more than the big revelation in the last 3 episodes. Wangji ignoring his own Grand Master, Wuxian once again standing against every single person in the cultivation world but with so much confidence this time around - to me, is beyond satisfying. I love this arc so much so I wrote a separate piece about episode 44-45 - if you’re interested in more of my random thoughts, feel free to have a read here.

Thinking about all this, I’m absolutely in awe of how protective national boyfriend Wangji is to Wei Wuxian even before knowing he lost his golden core. They either have insanely accurate GPS, or just really good telepathy. Wangji’s constant attention to his partner (without having to verbally find out where he is) blows my mind every time. Remember how proud Wei Wuxian was having Lan Wangji come out just in time to fight Xue Yang at Coffin Town? That’s how much Wangji’s love and trust empowers Wuxian and makes him so so so secured, even when everyone was walking around in the fog hiding from the most notorious killer and his puppets.

The one detail that pushed me over the edge completely (thanks a lot Lan Xichen) was the story of Wangji’s mom. Oh my god, baby Wangji sitting in the snow really messes with my head. I cannot believe it took 40 something episodes for us to learn about Wangji’s emotionally damaged upbringing and what shapes him into a stubborn lovebird as we know today. It adds A LOT more context and sadness to his famous phrase ‘bring a man back to Cloud Recesses and hide him’, as well as Lan Qiren’s statement ‘have you not learned from your father’s lesson’. I revisit the ‘bring back and hide him’ scene with a completely new perspective and can sense Wangji’s pain and confusion that Xichen described. The desperation in that statement of Wangji was a lot heavier in my eyes now that I understand the back story. If I were Wei Wuxian listening to all of that from Lan Xichen, I would probably have a meltdown right there at the doorsteps of the Silence Room.

Now we all know the source of inspiration of the infamous ‘I want to bring a man to Cloud Recesses. Bring him back and hide him’ in episode 25:

So after all of Xichen’s effort in telling Wuxian how Wangji actually feels about him through the tear-jerker story about their parents, Wei Wuxian STILL asked Lan Wangji WHY he was willing to seal Bichen and his own spiritual power so that Jin Guangyao would not hurt him. This dense man, of course, brought up the guilt card i.e. ‘Oh you don’t owe me anything’. I mean COME ON NOW YILING PATRIARCH! CAN YOU ACTUALLY BE THAT OBLIVIOUS WHEN IT COMES TO THE MAN THAT TOOK 300 LASHES ON HIS BACK FOR PROTECTING YOUR LEGACY?

I know it went the other way in the novel, where the big confession happened. Maybe a bite from Fairy could do you some good, or just talk to Lan Xichen some more and then you can start appreciating your soulmate the way he deserves.

The silver lining after being deprived of an epic love confession is everything that happened in episode 50. It might have not been spelling-it-out clear as in ‘I love you’ ‘I love you too’ because of the government censorship, but it’s easily the most obvious yet emotional type of ending the production team has worked to hard to deliver. If you are still having trouble processing the allegedly ‘ambiguous’ finale, I can help with that - here. Just a heads up: it’s a happy ending.

Good to know Wei Wuxian has the rest of his life making up to Lan Wangji. Everyday means everyday, because Wangji deserves THAT much!

#wei wuxian #wei ying #lan zhan #lan wangji #hanguang jun #the untamed #mo dao zu shi #chen qing ling #gusu lan #character analysis #thoughts #yiling patriarch #yiling laozu #xiao zhan #wang yibo #lan xichen

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rosethornewrites · 3 years

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Fic: this body yet survives, ch. 4

Relationship: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn

Characters: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī, Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén, Lán Qǐrén, Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín, Jiāng Yànlí

Additional Tags: No War AU, Recovery, Trauma, Dissociation, Courtship, Courting Rituals

Summary: A conversation is had with Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen, and Wei Wuxian's trauma is an issue.

Notes: See end

Parts 1 & 2

Chapter 1 | 2 | 3

AO3 link

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Wei Ying flagged on the path back up the mountain, his previous bright energy replaced by a sort of trudge. He didn’t flit around, made no mention of catching a new rabbit as he had on the way down. He seemed wrung out, exhausted, simply letting Wangji lead him.

When they arrived back in Cloud Recesses, Wangji brought Wei Ying straight to the jingshi, where they released the turtle into the front pond. It was named, Wei Ying insisted, Tang, for the soup it would never become, and the glimpse of his sharp wit was relieving. Wangji found himself more focused on Wei Ying’s peaceful expression, rather than the turtle that sank into the depths of the pond to hide after its ordeal.

After, Wangji wrapped him in a blanket and played ‘Rest’ and ‘Clarity’ to help Wei Ying relax after the unexpected stress of the morning, then watched him nap.

They had a couple of hours before Uncle and xiongzhang expected Wei Ying, before his formal invitation to the sect, and before Wangji would approach the Jiang siblings for permission to court him. The music helped him, as well, nervousness bubbling in him, though logically he knew there was nothing to justify it—Jiang Yanli had made it clear, in her gestures and facial expressions, that she approved, and though he was uncertain how Jiang Wanyin might feel about it, he knew the young man cared about his brother’s happiness.

Wei Ying had consented to the courtship; that was what mattered, and it added a new layer to the anxiety, a lightheaded sort of happiness that he might have assumed in any other situation was the beginning of illness, it was so strong.

But perhaps love was a sort of illness.

Wangji was relieved Wei Ying seemed to be sleeping better, was eating and putting back on the weight he had lost in the year since his near death. He still looked fragile, curled on the bed, his body gaunt and skin pale. But his brow was unfurrowed as he slept, and good sleep was paramount to healing.

He kept playing his guqin, different songs but always returning to one.

Wei Ying woke after a shichen while he was playing WangXian. Wangji glanced up by chance to find him smiling softly, watching him. Wangji finished the song and stilled the strings before rising to go to him.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better,” Wei Ying said with a smile, sitting up. “The nap helped.”

Wangji offered a hand, and was gratified when it was taken. He helped Wei Ying up, and then helped him adjust his robes, smoothing any wrinkles.

As it was nearly time to meet with shufu and xiongzhang, they made their way to the hanshi after checking on Tang. The turtle seemed at home, sunning itself on a rock on the far side of the pond. Though it was odd to assign human emotions to a non-human creature, Wangji thought perhaps it looked content.

Xiongzhang answered their knock, opening the hanshi to show shufu waiting at the table with a steaming teapot.

He led them in, smiling and gesturing for them to sit.

Wangji tried not to be nervous, though he clenched Bichen’s textured sheath almost convulsively, a habit he had not quite overcome.

Wei Ying, too, seemed nervous, only barely managing not to drop the teacup shufu handed him. He knew only that their courtship would be discussed, not his status as a disciple of Gusu Lan; Wangji wondered if he should have informed him.

“Wei Ying has consented to a courtship,” he said, deciding to open with that.

“You gifted Mother’s guan as a love token, then,” xiongzhang said, sounding approving.

“My—my guan broke this morning,” Wei Ying admitted. “We- we’re going to get a new one in Caiyi, but Lan Zhan asked if I would wear it always.”

Wangji was delighted to notice the blush on Wei Ying’s cheeks, fetching on his still-too-pale skin.

“We approve, of course,” shufu said. “We also were made aware recently that we were not clear enough about your role in Gusu Lan.”

Xiongzhang pulled a simple box made of rosewood from his sleeve and offered it to Wei Ying, who took it, looking confused.

Inside was a pure white disciple’s ribbon with a light blue embroidered cloud in the center. It was a step above the peripheral disciple’s unadorned ribbon; that he was being given an adorned ribbon was a surprise even to Wangji. He had known Wei Ying would be given a ribbon, but that his denoted his status as higher than peripheral disciples was a clear statement of his acceptance on the part of Gusu Lan.

Wei Ying set the box on the table with shaking hands, glancing up at shufu and xiongzhang speechlessly.

“We should have made it clear from the beginning, and offered this when you arrived in Cloud Recesses,” XiChen told him gently. “Should you wish it, this is your home.”

Wei Ying looked like a startled rabbit, as though he might bolt, his mouth working soundlessly. Wangji reached forward slowly and took his hand, hoping to offer comfort, and was relieved when Wei Ying blinked at him, his eyes clearing.

“But… I’m so bad at following the rules. And you really hated me, xiansheng.”

“You have been following the rules for a year,” Wangji pointed out, not caring to address the latter.

Shufu sighed softly.

“Wei Wuxian, you are brilliant and undisciplined, and during your studies you were quite a bit more exuberant than is thought proper.”

It sounds almost like a rebuke, and Wangji squeezes Wei Ying’s hand.

“You were curious about forbidden topics, and I made judgments based on that curiosity,” Lan Qiren finished. “I was wrong to dismiss you so quickly.”

Even xiongzhang seemed surprised by shufu’s admission.

“Perhaps your exuberance was in part from being out from under the abusive thumb of that woman,” he finished. “Which is completely understandable.”

There was a sheen to Wei Ying’s eyes, and he looked down at his lap, trembling. He seemed beyond speech for a moment.

“No. It just… I was always punished no matter what I did,” he whispered. “I figured if I might as well earn it.”

Wangji ran his thumb against the back of Wei Ying’s hand, hoping to comfort him. Wei Ying looked almost haunted, and he wondered if Madam Yu had whipped him on other occasions, only less severely. He wasn’t certain he wanted to know. Wangji had learned more about abuse in the last year than he ever expected, knew that it likely escalated slowly, starting emotional and slowly normalizing until it was physical.

More realistically, he wondered how often Madam Yu had whipped Wei Ying, how many times he had endured until the last.

Shufu frowned, clearly taking in the new information.

“We intended to offer you a place as a Gusu Lan disciple at the beginning,” xiongzhang said, filling the silence. “I’m afraid we did not make that clear to you.”

A tear broke free and made its way down Wei Ying’s face. He managed a smile, though, one that was so filled with relief it broke Wangji’s heart.

“I guess I’ve followed the rules this long.”

His tone was almost cheeky, and xiongzhang laughed softly.

“You are a boon to Gusu Lan,” shufu said, though he shook his head at Wei Ying’s cheek. “As I said, any sect would be foolish to let go of such a talented young cultivator.”

A distant look passed over Wei Ying’s face.

“You did say that,” he murmured. “You said I would be welcome here. I… It’s hard to remember.”

Xiongzhang looked concerned.

“Do not push yourself to,” he advised.

Wei Ying nodded.

“The healers say my mind is repressing the trauma, that it’s protecting me, but that it can affect me. The memories can pop up, can be triggered.”

He crooks a smile, but it’s tremulous.

“But xiansheng told her off, so that’s a good memory.”

His voice was as tremulous as his smile, and Wangji knew these memories were painful regardless of what he said. Even shufu looked concerned and cleared his throat.

“When you are wed, you will receive a ribbon like Wangji’s, signifying you are a part of the inner Lan clan,” he said, clearly an attempt to distract Wei Ying, one Wangji appreciated.

He was even more pleased when it worked, the tremulous expression disappearing under open-mouthed surprise and elation.

“I’ll… I’ll be inner family?”

Wei Ying’s voice is rough. Wangji remembers suddenly that he was never formally adopted into the Jiang clan, referred to as a ward, often berated as the mere son of a servant by various members of the cultivation world, as though the circumstances of his birth lessened his talent and value. That, combined with constant punishment, had to have tainted his sense of self-worth.

“And you will be my husband,” Wangji added.

The way Wei Ying looked at him then, a tiny, almost dreamy smile gracing his lips, had Wangji clutching Bichen for a different reason—it would be inappropriate to push him against the hanshi wall and kiss him senseless, particularly as they were just beginning their courtship and in front of shufu and xiongzhang.

“That’s the best part,” Wei Ying said softly, and raised their joined hands to his lips to kiss the back of Wangji’s.

His eyes were like hot smoke. Wangji thought he was on fire or might melt, his mind going to the book Wei Ying had slipped in the sleeve of the Tao Te Ching...

Shufu cleared his throat, startling both of them. Xiongzhang, on the other hand, was watching with a little smile. Wangji appreciated that his brother was happy for him, but it was nonetheless embarrassing to have lost himself in front of family.

“Gusu Lan has prepared a betrothal gift for Wangji to present to your siblings,” shufu said, blessedly not commenting otherwise.

“I wish to present it to them today, to formally ask for their blessing,” Wangji added.

A gentle pink blush spread across Wei Ying’s cheeks.

“Am I to be the bride, Lan Zhan?” he asked. “I’m afraid I don’t have a dowry.”

Another wave of heat spread through Wangji’s body, imagining Wei Ying draped in red and gold, lifting a red veil.

“You’ve provided your own dowry,” Xichen replied. “All of those talismans you created, and the ones you will undoubtedly invent in the future.”

“Neither of you are brides,” shufu said. “It will be a wedding of a different sort, but the betrothal gifts in this case are to honor you and make it clear you are valued. Rumors in the cultivation world are often vicious, and it’s best to nip them in the bud by preventing them.”

Wei Ying grimaced at that, and Wangji distracted him by returning the gesture from earlier, bringing their joined hands to his lips to kiss gently. He was pleased when Wei Ying relaxed, smiling at him softly, but he couldn’t help but notice that shufu’s ears had gone red.

“I believe I will accompany the two of you,” xiongzhang said, not bothering to hide his amusement. “It’s fairly clear you will need a chaperone.”

Wei Ying blushed, disentangling their hands, and Wangji could feel his ears were red as well.

“Would you like to put on your forehead ribbon before you go?” shufu asked.

He looked at the box with the ribbon, biting his lip.

“I don’t know the right way to put it on,” Wei Ying confessed softly. “If… I mean, since Lan Zhan’s courting me, can he help?”

Wangji knew without looking, in part from how Wei Ying frowned, that his uncle would not approve until they were officially married. If he knew that just this morning Wangji had combed and styled his hair, he might even be scandalized.

“I would be happy to teach Jiang Yanli,” he said.

It was the right thing to say; Wei Ying lit up.

“Shijie taught me how to… how to do the proper style when I was young.”

His smile turned a little strained.

He was speaking of the Yunmeng Jiang style, Wangji knew, but he had never seen Wei Ying wear it. He suspected this was a delicate topic, one related to the cause of so many of his traumas.

Wangji often disagreed with Jiang Wanyin, but in this case he was of the opinion that lingchi would let Madam Yu off too lightly.

He could tell by the way shufu’s mouth tightened, the way Xichen smiled too widely, that they also understood the implications.

“I see you are wearing your hair in a Gusu Lan style today,” xiongzhang commented, clearly hoping to move the topic lighter.

Wei Ying nodded.

“Lan Zhan helped me, after my guan broke. All… all the rest of mine have… They have lotuses,” he finished in a whisper, looking down at the table.

Xiongzhang closed his eyes, clearly overwhelmed, and shufu stroked his beard, a nervous tic of his. They had been there when Wei Ying was found, had seen the lotuses in the water where he had been weighted down and left to die.

The silence that followed was almost oppressive, and Wangji busied himself topping off their tea just to have a reason to move.

“Perhaps your siblings would be willing to go through your qiankun bags to remove the clothing and other things that have that design,” shufu finally said.

“It would make them sad,” Wei Ying said, his voice small.

That it would upset his siblings made sense; large parts of their childhood had happened among the lotuses, swimming and harvesting them. Wei Ying’s favorite soup was made of them, and Wangji wondered if eating it was difficult for him now, if he showed Jiang Yanli a brave face when she made it while hurting inside, or if he could handle the pods but not the flowers. But they would be more hurt that he felt he had to hide his pain.

“They would prefer to help you,” Wangji pointed out gently. “Knowing would allow them to.”

“They would be more focused on helping you, Wei-gongzi, as they are now,” Xichen added. “It would be prudent to discuss this with them.”

Wei Ying grimaced, but said nothing, instead sipping his tea.

“I can help you speak to them,” Wangji offered.

He was troubled when Wei Ying didn’t cheer up, instead tracing a finger around the lip of the teacup in a pensive manner.

“Wei Ying?” he asked softly.

“You already do so much for me, Lan Zhan.”

Wangji could hear shame in his voice, and he took his hand again. He hated that Wei Ying felt like a burden, hated that he constantly put himself last, that he’d been taught to do so. He had been self-sufficient, trying not to bother others with his pain, until he had nearly died.

If he had been able to hide his near-death, Wangji was certain he would have. That the entire cultivation world knew of it almost certainly weighed on him.

“I will do as much as you need, as long as you need it,” he said. “And I will always want to.”

Wangji didn’t know how to convince him he wasn’t a burden, that his continued existence was a blessing. He could only keep trying to show him.

Wei Ying squeezed his hand, ducking his head and blushing.He could see tears in the corners of Wei Ying’s eyes, and thought perhaps he believed after all.

“Aiya, Lan Zhan, my heart can’t take your sincerity! Warn me next time.”

He knew this was Wei Ying’s way of deflecting in a moment of high emotion, injecting levity to try to avoid getting overwhelmed.

“Mn. This is your ongoing warning,” he replied.

A thrill ran through him when Wei Ying gaped at him, looking delighted. He wanted him to have that happiness always.

“Not fair! You have to warn me every time.”

“Not possible. Wei Ying always deserves sincerity.”

“Lan Zhan!”

A fetching blush spread across Wei Ying’s face, and Wangji caught himself leaning closer unconsciously.

Shufu cleared his throat, and Wangji realized he’d forgotten they were not alone for a moment, so focused he had been on reassuring Wei Ying.

But it seemed since he’d met him, his attention was always on Wei Ying. It belonged on Wei Ying.

“Perhaps we should go speak to the Jiang siblings now, to make your courtship official,” xiongzhang said diplomatically.

Xichen seemed amused, a little smile playing at the edges of his mouth.

“Though we will of course need to arrange for consistent chaperones, as well.”

Wei Ying blushed even brighter than before, and Wangji mentally recited relevant rules. He wanted to kiss those plush lips and the mole under them.

“I would not disrespect Wei Ying,” he said, though truly he could see himself tempted in moments. “But a chaperone would show his worth to the world.”

Shufu made a noise of agreement, stroking his beard.

“Now, more than ever, it is necessary to make that clear.”

It occurred to Wangji then to inform them of the encounter with Madam Jin and Jin Zixuan in the marketplace of Caiyi.

“She wished to keep the purpose of the talismans quiet,” Wei Ying murmured when he was done explaining.

“You accepted her commission, then?” shufu asked, looking surprised.

Wei Ying simply nodded, not offering any other details. He had shrunk in on himself, his posture defensive. Wangji could see that shufu and xiongzhang were concerned.

“Madam Jin mentioned she has dissolved her sworn sisterhood,” Wangji said carefully. “She commissioned talismans to help find Jin Zixuan’s half siblings so she may offer protection and a place in the cultivation world, should they wish it.”

A tremor ran through Wei Ying.

“She said she dissolved it because of what… what happened to me. That she didn’t want…”

Wei Ying choked on his words, and Wangji impulsively pulled him close, holding him as he did when he had finally reached him through “WangXian.”

“She’s going to blame me,” he said weakly. “She will.”

Wangji pulled him tighter against him, almost convulsively. Madam Yu had nearly killed him over something minor comparatively. He could only imagine what was running through Wei Ying’s mind, what memories were being dredged up.

“She will not be permitted in the Cloud Recesses,” xiongzhang said, his voice forceful, angrier than Wangji had ever heard his brother. “You are safe. You will be protected.”

Wei Ying said nothing, only trembled, and Wangji could supply what he was thinking with little effort—he had thought himself safe and protected at Lotus Cove, and it had not been so. How could he possibly feel safe anywhere when his last home turned out not to be?

Seeing him like this was difficult, watching him joke one minute and shake helplessly the next, but some days were like this for Wei Ying. Regardless, it was an improvement over his days of fugue.

“Madam Jin wants the world to know that behavior is unacceptable,” Wangji said hollowly, rubbing his thumb against the nape of Wei Ying’s neck in a way he hoped might comfort him, petting the soft baby hair at his hairline. “She said there needed to be an alternate example.”

Shufu looked intrigued by that, but Wangji kept his focus on Wei Ying. He was surprised to have not been scolded for this transgression, but perhaps his uncle and brother were taking Wei Ying’s mental well-being into account.

“We will speak to her. I assume she and Jin-gongzi will be visiting Cloud Recesses shortly if they are in Caiyi,” shufu said after a moment. “Though gossip is forbidden here, it can be weaponized in the cultivation world.”

Wangji frowned at shufu as Wei Ying’s grip tightened in his robes; he needed no reminder of that. The gossip of the cultivation world had stoked Madam Yu’s bitterness. Wei Ying had lived much of his life under its shadow, and the scars it had left pained him daily.

“Rumors can be turned,” xiongzhang said thoughtfully. “The talisman you will invent for Madam Jin would demonstrate the falseness of prior rumors.”

Such a demonstration would make it clear Wei Ying shared no blood with the Jiangs.

Wei Ying shook his head, still hidden against Wangji’s chest.

“I don’t want to.”

Even his voice trembled, and Wangji’s heart ached. So long ago, they had watched their lantern rise into the evening sky, and he had been awed by Wei Ying’s simple but profound wish, to stand with justice and live with no regrets. What was being proposed skirted the line between justice and revenge. Of course he would be opposed.

“‘Do not sow discord,’” Wangji said softly, ignoring how both his uncle and brother flinched at the reminder they were violating a tenet of Gusu Lan. “Nothing good would come of such a course of action.”

He turned his focus more completely to Wei Ying then, running a hand gently through his hair, humming “WangXian” again softly. Wangji was relieved when he started to relax against him.

“Please accept my apologies, Wei Wuxian,” shufu said eventually.

Though Wangji didn’t know how long it had been since he had spoken, Wei Ying had relaxed almost fully.

“Rumors, whether true or not, have done far too much damage,” xiongzhang acknowledged. “We are humbled by your reminder, Wangji.”

Wei Ying’s grip loosened on Wangji, and he sat back up, still leaning close. He didn’t say anything, but there was a sort of misery in his expression that made Wangji want to pull him back into his arms and protect him.

“I don’t wish her ill,” he whispered finally, his voice hoarse. “Even after everything, I don’t.”

“Wei Ying is righteous,” Wangji murmured, earning a tiny smile from Wei Ying.

So much of his attention was on Wei Ying that until Wei Ying gasped he didn’t realize that both shufu and xiongzhang had kowtowed.

“Our idle words have caused you unnecessary pain,” shufu said, still bowed forward. “I truly misjudged you when you came to the lectures before; you embody the virtues of Gusu Lan.”

“I don’t,” Wei Ying immediately denied. “I break the rules all the time.”

Wangji frowned at him; shufu was not speaking of rules but virtues, and he knew Wei Ying was aware of the difference. He was discounting his own virtue, his inherent goodness, that light in him that had nearly been snuffed out.

“Not the most essential teachings,” xiongzhang said before he could correct him, rising out of his kowtow. “You have the sort of integrity and moral compass that all our disciples should have.”

Wei Ying shrugged slightly, dismissive. Shufu righted himself, frowning.

“Wei Wuxian, perhaps one virtue you must work on is ‘Love and respect yourself.’”

Wei Ying flinched, looking down.

“I will try, xiansheng.”

“See that you do,” shufu replied easily. “I would prefer not to insist you study the virtues, though I will if necessary.”

Wangji wondered if such an exercise would help, if perhaps conversation about the virtues and their history and meaning would help Wei Ying understand what shufu meant, or if he would always doubt his own worth.

“As I am certain Madam Jin and Jin-gongzi will come to visit your sister shortly, we should speak to your siblings now,” xiongzhang said. “They will undoubtedly greet shufu first, so we have some time.”

Nervousness fluttered in Wangji’s stomach, but he helped Wei Ying stand when xiongzhang rose. Wei Ying picked up the box with his forehead ribbon with a sort of reverence.

Before they could move to properly bow to shufu and leave, there was a knock on the hanshi door.

“Enter,” shufu called.

One of the peripheral disciples, from his unadorned ribbon, came in and bowed.

“Jin-furen and Jin-gongzi have arrived at the Cloud Recesses and seek audience, xiansheng. They are being escorted here now.”

Shufu nodded.

“I will prepare tea. Please accompany Xichen, Wangji, and Wei Wuxian. There are several baskets to carry.”

He gestured toward a screen, behind which presumably were the betrothal gifts. The disciple bowed.

“Yes, xiansheng.”

Wei Ying shifted nervously as the baskets were brought out, all decorated in red ribbon and draped in red veil-like material to hide the contents from prying eyes. Wangji squeezed his hand. They would be together for this, and for all things to follow.

---------

This chapter was difficult and went places I didn’t entirely expect. Initially I thought it would get through the betrothal meeting, but Wei Wuxian’s trauma reared up and was important to explore. In the novel canon, Madam Yu has whipped him before the incident with Wang Lingjiao, but she whips no other Yunmeng Jiang disciples. Meanwhile, in CQL canon it seems to be an act that is completely shocking to Jiang Cheng, while Wei Wuxian accepts it as necessary for political reasons.

The Gusu Lan forehead ribbons here are kind of a meld of CQL and novel canon. Inner clan in the novel wear the embroidered ribbon, but in CQL there seems to be three levels, as Lan Wangji is shown wearing the metal cloud ribbon as a child and both Jingyi and Sizhui wear ones with an embroidered cloud, while some other disciples have unadorned ribbons. Technically, Wei Wuxian should probably have a plain ribbon, but here Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen are making a statement.

Yes, frankencanon. The rule about sowing discord is from CQL according to Unforth’s “A Compiled List of Known Lan Clan Rules.”

#the untamed #mo dao zu shi #chen qing ling #cql #mdzs #untamed fanfiction #untamed fanfic #mdzs fanfic #mdzs fanfiction #cql fanfic #cql fanfiction #lan wangji #lan qiren #lan xichen #wei wuxian #wei ying #lan zhan #my fanfiction

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needtherapy · 4 years

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A Time and Place For Us (pt 1)

It’s Xichen’s birthday, and what a coincidence, the Qinghe Nie sect leader is taking a tour that just happens to take him to Cloud Recesses.

Unsurprisingly, it’s an exciting few days.

In this story you will find: Mingjue breaking things; Sword fighting; Xichen’s issues; Mingjue’s birth name; Embarrassed younger brothers; Monsters; Birthday presents; Kissing...and more

This is a little bit of a longer story so it is in pieces. Also because there is explicit content later on.

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 (Explicit) / Part 4

A follow-up to Mingjue Falls and Xichen Remembers.

Chapter 1: Mingjue & Xichen

The closer they got to Cloud Recesses, the less certain Nie Mingjue was that this was a good idea.

He hadn’t wanted to visit with excessive ceremony, but his zongguan had assured him that as a new sect leader, it was expected. Mingjue would not shame his sect with any hint of deficiency, so here he was, riding at the front of a full company of disciples, his hands as numb and sweaty as...he thought about it...had he ever been this nervous? He grinned suddenly. Just once, on a cloudy day by a lake. And that had turned out so much better than even he had imagined. This would too.

They rounded the corner of the narrow path and he saw the gates of Cloud Recesses. He hadn’t been here since he was a child. The small part of him that was always aware of his surroundings admired the vibrant colors beginning to glimmer in the trees on either side of the elegantly carved white pillars.

The rest of him, however, was looking at Xichen.

/////

Xichen was used to standing still, particularly when his uncle was next to him, but he was finding it difficult to stop his fingers from twitching today.

They had twitched when he got dressed this morning. It was worse when he smoothed the first sheer robe over his silk undershirt. Still noticeable when he pulled on the last layer, a heavy coat to block the autumn wind.

They had twitched when he had played the guqin for morning meditation. Even his brother had shot him a curious sideways glance, which forced Xichen to slow down and focus.

And now they flexed involuntarily against his leg, fortunately on the other side of his body from shufu.

“Xichen, there is no need to be embarrassed.” His uncle’s deep voice interrupted his thoughts, and Xichen blinked at him, confused and a little horrified. Could his uncle possibly know what he was thinking about?

“Your father means no insult by not greeting the Nie zongzhu today. He is…” Shufu paused, clearing his throat. “He is at a critical juncture of his composition and can not be disturbed. As heir, you are a perfectly suitable representative of Gusu Lan.”

Xichen had tried to forget that Qingheng-Jun had decided not to join them today, but at this reminder, he felt a flush of anger rising across the back of his neck. Even for the first visit of a new sect leader, his father could not be bothered to leave his house. Even though Xichen had asked.

Then the Qinghe Nie rode into view and Xichen‘s mind went blank.

Mingjue rarely looked uncomfortable doing anything, but he looked most at home in the saddle, moving with his horse’s bouncing gait as though they were one creature. His hair swept back from broad shoulders in the light breeze, and even from behind the Cloud Recesses gate, Xichen saw the wide smile he loved so much spread across Mingjue’s face.

Xichen folded his fingers into a fist and gripped Shuoyue tightly so his hands would not betray him, so they would not touch Mingjue the minute his feet were on the ground.

Chapter 2: Mingjue

Mingjue dropped gracefully off his horse and strode through the gate when Lan-xiansheng released the wards. He bowed deeply to the elder Lan and then turned to Xichen, bowing with equal solemnity. He wondered briefly where the zongzhu was, but he didn’t really care. That was not why he had come.

“Chifeng-Zun, it is an honor to welcome you to Cloud Recesses,” Xichen said graciously, his expression aloof and calm. “Qingheng-Jun was unable to join us but sends his regards and hopes he will meet you during your visit.”

“Lan-xiansheng, Zewu-Jun, it is a privilege to be invited. Gusu Lan has always been a valuable friend and ally of the Qinghe Nie sect,” Mingjue responded politely, addressing Lan-xiansheng, the person he needed to impress if this visit was going to mean anything for the future.

To his surprise, Lan-xiansheng responded.

“We thought very highly of your father, and from what we have heard, you are a credit to the Nie family.”

At that, Mingjue flashed the man a quick smile, pleased by the compliment. It wasn’t only for selfish reasons that he wanted Lan-xiansheng to approve of him.

Mingjue missed his father. He hadn’t expected to be made sect leader before he was twenty, and he still didn’t feel like he was making the right decisions. Over the last few years, there had been more turmoil in the smaller sects, and his father had suspected that the Qishan Wen sect was stirring up trouble. Lately it seemed his fears were not unfounded, and it worried Mingjue. He had a feeling he would need Gusu Lan in the future.

A group of Lan servants appeared, taking the horses and leading the Qinghe Nie disciples to guest quarters. Lan-xiansheng beckoned Mingjue to follow him and Xichen down a path through the center of Cloud Recesses.The little house they led him to was set at the edge of the great forest under the shade of a sprawling wutong tree. Mingjue glanced curiously at Xichen, but Xichen only smiled blandly.

“The former Nie zongzhu and his wife preferred to be quartered away from their disciples. They said it gave their people more opportunity to enjoy bonding with each other,” Lan-xiansheng explained, clearly disapproving of such a lack of discipline.

Remembering the loud and boisterous affections between his father and step-mother, Mingjue strongly doubted that they had any such reason, but he didn’t argue.

Xichen followed him into the main room to point out a pair of curved plates on the wall. “Chifeng-Zun, there is a spell here for the lights, and one here if there is anything you require to make you more comfortable.”

Mingjue tried to bite his tongue, but the words came out anyway.

“Anything I require?”

The faintest hint of a smile grazed the corners of Xichen’s eyes, but his voice was carefully neutral.

“We desire Nie-zongzhu’s first visit to Cloud Recesses to be pleasant. Of course, we will do anything in our power to make your visit enjoyable.”

Mingjue shifted, turning in a circle as though admiring the room, which was open and calming. Appealing, although everything was a touch more breakable than he preferred. When his back was to the door where Lan-xiansheng still stood, he winked at Xichen.

“It is my understanding that the Qinghe Nie visit has coincided with Zewu-Jun’s birthday,” Mingjue said, not bothering to keep the slow suggestive smile from curving his mouth. “I have brought gifts from my sect, and would look forward to presenting them.”

And, he did not add, gifts that are only from me.

“We will celebrate Zewu-Jun’s birthday tomorrow evening,” Lan-xiansheng said behind him. “When you have settled in, you will be shown around Cloud Recesses.”

Mingjue raised his eyebrows at Xichen, and grinned at the light pink that dusted his cheeks.

Chapter 3: Xichen

For five glorious minutes, Xichen was alone with Mingjue, inasmuch as he was ever alone in Cloud Recesses. Still mindful of the disciples and servants all around, he could at least stand next to Mingjue, brush his shoulder, and look him directly in the eyes for as long as he wanted.

“What would you like to see, Chifeng-Zun?” Xichen asked, tilting the corner of his mouth in a smile.

Mingjue leaned toward him slightly, enough that Xichen caught the familiar scent of pine.

“Anything you want to show me, Zewu-Jun.”

A voice interrupted them, and they both jumped.

“Xiongzhang?”

His fifteen-year-old brother stood behind Xichen, eyebrows raised, and Xichen fervently hoped he had taken the words at face value.

“Wangji, this is Nie Mingjue, Chifeng-Zun, Nie-zongzhu.”

Xichen retreated into the safety of courtesy, hoping it would calm the burning embarrassment in his ears. Wangji bowed respectfully, but with no more interest than he ever showed in people.

“Chifeng-Zun, this is my brother, Lan Zhan, given name Wangji.”

Mingjue bowed, before saying, “One of the Twin Jades of Gusu. I am pleased to meet you, Lan-er-gongzi.”

Xichen couldn’t help the smile at his brother’s flush. The title was an embarrassment to Wangji, but Xichen was so proud that the elders of the five sects had seen in Wangji what Xichen did. His brother had often been overlooked when they were growing up because he was quiet and because he was not the heir. But Xichen knew that he was intelligent and strong, with a just heart and formidable cultivation skills, and it pleased Xichen that other people had begun to recognize it.

Xichen wasn’t sure why his brother had sought him out, but he wanted Wangji to like Mingjue and he had a sudden inspiration.

“We are going to the sword-training courts. Would you like to join us?”

His brother hesitated, but eventually nodded and followed them.

Cut into the rock of the mountain, the sword courts maintained much of their original rugged nature, with boulders and trees occasionally interrupting the flat, sandy circles. They were not crowded this time of day. Only a few junior and senior disciples and a small group of children were sparring in the arenas.

To Xichen’s surprise, Mingjue turned to Wangji.

“Lan-er-gongzi, I have heard of your skill from your brother. Would you like to spar?”

The change on Wangji’s face was so slight, Xichen thought no one else would have noticed the widening of his eyes and relaxing of his mouth. Mingjue certainly didn’t recognize the acquiescence until Wangji nodded. Mingjue flashed him a broad smile and pulled Baxia from his back. At that, Wangji’s eyebrows raised, and he looked to Xichen. Normally sparring was done with blunted training blades, and both Wangji and Xichen rarely used their own swords with less skilled opponents.

Xichen nodded, hiding a smile at the idea that his brother thought Mingjue might not be up to his level. He knew of no finer swordsman than Mingjue, and he trusted that they would both be safe.

With a shrug, Wangji drew Bichen, handing the scabbard to Xichen. After observing the traditional bow, he set his feet and arms in the familiar half-turn he favored. Mingjue lifted his dao, blade turned up, and nodded, giving Wangji the first move. Xichen knew he wouldn’t hesitate, and he did not, pulling his arm back and thrusting forward toward Mingjue’s middle with ferocious intensity.

Xichen was glad he wasn’t going to hold back. He didn’t get a chance to fight with his full capability against very many opponents.

Mingjue swept his arm down, blocking Bichen and turning Wangji’s fast parry with a hard sweep that pushed Wangji’s arm wide. In three quick steps, Mingjue spun around, bringing Baxia in a full circle and pushing the flat of the blade against Wangji’s chest. The look on Wangji’s face was one of the greatest moments of Xichen’s life. No one ever expected Mingjue to be fast and no one ever surprised his brother.

But Wangji was undaunted as usual. He let the momentum of the touch push him back, but he swung his body sideways, twisting to the far side of MIngjue’s blade, returning the attack with a series of breathtakingly fast upward strikes, the final one ending with a twisting downward press.

Mingjue turned sideways, hauling Baxia up with sheer force and shifting the sword midair to hack downward from overhead, his strongest position. Wangji lifted Bichen in a high two-handed intercept, and although the momentum of the heavy dao staggered him slightly, Xichen nodded in approval at how strong Wangji had gotten.

Wangji continued to lash out with quick strikes and Mingjue blocked them almost thoughtlessly, occasionally springing forward with devastating speed and strength. But Wangji was unnaturally fast and evaded him easily, more relaxed in fighting than any other time.

A crowd was starting to form around the court. Xichen noticed children mimicking the strikes, and some of the older disciples were watching with wide-eyed awe. He couldn’t blame them. It was one of the best fights he had ever watched.

Mingjue’s eyes narrowed in consideration as Wangji brushed Baxia to the side in a low arc before raising Bichen to chop down toward Mingjue’s unprotected arm. Mingjue only barely had time to sidestep, turning his back to Wangji, who tried to make use of the momentary advantage by switching his hack into a curving swipe. Mingjue was forced to swing Baxia back awkwardly to clash against Bichen, and Wangji spun away, whirling his sword through the air and stepping forward into Mingjue’s guard space. Xichen saw Mingjue grin, appreciating the skillful reverse, but he was back on balance and met Bichen’s attack, sliding Baxia’s edge toward Bichen’s hilt.

It had been a clever gambit on Wangji’s part, but not one without risk. Despite the immense length of the dao, Mingjue preferred fighting up close, and he pressed forward gleefully, driving Wangji back in a series of left and right slashes that a weaker man would not have been able to control. But Xichen knew that the set of Wangji’s face meant he was patiently waiting for an opening.

After the fourth sweeping cut, Wangji planted his feet and, instead of merely blocking, swung with all his strength up into the stroke, throwing Mingjue’s arm high into the air. He swiftly pulled Bichen back and slashed forward diagonally, aiming for Mingjue’s shoulder. Xichen sucked in his breath, knowing Mingjue wasn’t going to be able to intercept the blow from his position. But instead of trying, Mingjue dropped all the way to the ground into a crouching spin that ended with him just managing to get Baxia under Wangji’s blade, inches from contact.

With a quick flip of his hands, Mingjue used Baxia to twist Bichen around and down, slamming the blade into the ground and dragging Wangji forward. Mingjue stepped on Bichen’s tip and lifted Baxia’s blade to Wangji’s neck, stopping well before he got close to the skin.

“Do you yield, Lan-er-gongzi?” Mingjue asked with a smile, and Xichen was stunned to see his brother return the smile. At least, what passed for a smile from Wangji, the slightest lift of the corners of his mouth and a slow blink.

“I do,” he answered softly.

Their small crowd cheered the end of a good battle, and Mingjue acknowledged Wangji with a bow before waving cheerfully to the onlookers.

“Lan-er-gongzi, you are a formidable opponent. I will not make such a hasty offer to spar in the future.”

Xichen saw something like disappointment cross Wangji’s face, so he stepped forward to soften Mingjue’s teasing.

“Chifeng-Zun, a great master always welcomes a challenge.”

Mingjue laughed, as Xichen knew he would.

“Whichever of us you are referring to, I am humbled by your words. Lan-er-gongzi, it would be my honor to lose to you in the future.”

On their way back, Wangji left them at the library--hardly a surprise--and then they were alone again.

It was nearly time for dinner, so Xichen led Mingjue back to the guest house. He wanted so badly to follow Mingjue inside. His hands were aching to caress the face of his beloved and welcome him to Cloud Recesses in a very different way, but there were still so many people around.

Instead, he stood in the doorway and watched Mingjue splash his face with cold water before digging in a heavy leather bag. He pulled out a box and came back over to Xichen.

“I brought you a gift, Xichen.”

“You’re supposed to present these at my birthday dinner, Shi-ge,” Xichen teased, daring to use Mingjue’s birth name where no one could hear them, and Mingjue’s eyes darkened.

“I brought gifts from Qinghe Nie as well, but this is from me.”

The flock of sparrows fluttering in Xichen’s heart whenever he was around Mingjue turned into the flight of dragons. He opened the box and found a delicate jade hair stick, the end carved in a circle. Xichen looked at it closer and saw that the curve was the tail of a phoenix, and the point was the bird’s beak. He touched it gently and looked up to find that Mingjue was watching him intently.

“Do you like it?” he asked, sounding a little uncertain, and Xichen wanted to throw him on the floor and do wicked, delicious, delightful things to properly express how much he liked it.

“Shi-ge, it is beautiful. It is the most beautiful thing anyone has ever given me.”

Xichen felt the hot sting of tears and wiped them away before they could spill across his cheeks. Gifts from his family usually included books, music, weapons, and even plants. Thoughtful, useful gifts he appreciated. But no one had ever given him something with no practical value other than aesthetic.

Mingjue looked startled and lifted his hand as though he was going to pull Xichen to him, but settled for resting it against his chest, hidden from the view of anyone who might be walking by. Xichen was reconsidering his commitment to propriety when the dinner gong sounded. Regretfully, he squeezed Mingjue’s hand and turned to leave. He had only made it down two stairs before Mingjue was behind him.

“Xichen,” Mingjue said, boldly laying his hand on Xichen’s where it rested on the stair railing. “I am glad to be here.”

With a slow turn of his wrist, Xichen brushed his fingers against Mingjue’s palm and relished the way Mingjue inhaled, eyes closing.

“I am so glad you came,” he murmured, running his thumb across the top of Mingjue’s knuckles right before Mingjue’s hand clenched, accidentally breaking the carved railing.

Chapter 4: Mingjue

Xichen had assured him that Lan-er-gongzi had been pleased by the bout, but Mingjue wasn’t sure how he could tell. The boy was unnervingly quiet. Still, Mingjue couldn’t doubt his sword skill, unlike his own brother.

In some ways, it would be so much easier if Huaisang was a bit more like Lan Wangji. Mingjue might even be willing to trade some of Huaisang’s effusive affection for a little more interest in seriously studying cultivation. Then he thought of his brother’s never-ending chatter when Huaisang braided his hair, and grinned. Maybe not.

Dinner had been mostly uneventful, although Mingjue had managed to break a teapot. He wasn’t exactly sure how it had happened.

He had been seated at a low table and had tried to rise when Lan-xiansheng and Xichen had come into the dining hall. He hadn’t been paying enough attention to where his knees were, possibly because Xichen was wearing the jade hair stick and had met Mingjue’s eyes before briefly biting his lip. Mingjue had stood up so fast, the table, teapot, plates, bowls, and cups had shot across the floor. On its own, he wouldn’t have cared, but after the incident with the stair railing, it was a little embarrassing.

Mingjue was startled to learn that dinner was followed immediately by meditation and sleep. Evenings in Qinghe Nie were rarely so docile, sometimes involving meditation, but more often ending in drinks or storytelling. Or brawling. Or all three. At least he had been promised that the next evening would have a night hunt.

But at least the early bedtime meant he was already fully awake and dressed when the knock came on his door at dawn. Xichen was on the other side, and Mingjue thought he would never get tired of opening his door to Xichen. There was a mischievous look on his face, and Mingjue instantly forgot whatever he had been planning to say.

“I have come to show you the rest of Cloud Recesses, Chifeng-Zun. Will you follow me?”

Of course he would. Anywhere.

Xichen led him down a narrow path, barely lit by the early morning light, but his feet were sure and confident. Through a grove of tall bamboo, they came to a pond set in a ring of smooth grey stones. He furrowed his brow at Xichen in puzzlement and Xichen laughed.

“It’s a healing pool, Mingjue. After your long ride and fight with Wangji, I thought you might like to relax.”

“Xichen,” Mingjue protested. “It’s dawn. And autumn. Do you want me to turn to ice?”

“The water is always the same temperature. In summer, it feels cool and refreshing. In autumn, it feels...well...also cool. But it never feels cold. See,” he gestured, pulling off his outer robe and starting to undo his belt. “I’ll join you and prove it.”

Ah, that was the reason for the mischief. Mingjue was not going to turn down a chance to be undressed with Xichen, and he hastily pulled off his robes and boots, leaving his pants as Xichen did. He couldn’t hear or see anyone around them, so he let himself openly admire Xichen as he stepped into the water, his eyes roving over the shape of his arms, the tight stretch of muscle on his stomach, the curve of his back. Xichen shook his head, amused at Mingjue’s leering and gestured for Mingjue to join him.

The water still felt cold, but Xichen had been right. It did not chill him the way he expected. He sat on a rock next to Xichen and closed his eyes, finding that the water loosened muscles he hadn’t realized were tight. He opened them quickly, though, when he felt Xichen’s hands on his knees under the water. Xichen was kneeling in front of him, probably far enough away to satisfy Lan propriety, but definitely close enough to make Mingjue’s stomach flop wildly.

Xichen’s lips quirked in a thoroughly unrepentant smile as he drew circles on the inside of Mingjue’s thighs with his thumbs. As his hands slid higher, Mingjue’s body reacted as it always did when Xichen touched him. He stretched out his long legs and squeezed them around Xichen’s waist, trying to tug him closer. Xichen didn’t move, but he let out a small hum of contentment, eyes half closing.

“Xichen, this is not fair,” Mingjue complained but only got a tilted smile in response.

Still, Xichen’s hands moved closer, stroking Mingjue’s legs in a very indecent way. Mingjue sat forward, reaching for the waist of Xichen’s pants, but Xichen evaded him.

“There are rules, Chifeng-Zun,” he said lightly, smoothing his hands along the top of Mingjue’s thighs.

Mingjue chuckled, catching Xichen’s hand under the water and pulling it closer to where he hoped it was headed.

“I am nearly certain you’re breaking them right now,” he retorted, his voice low and husky and he let Xichen hear how much desire was in him.

“Which rules are you breaking?”

The voice came from Mingjue’s right side, and Xichen’s face paled. He dropped back on his heels and Mingjue released his hand.

“Wangji,” Xichen breathed out a quavering laugh. “Only that I am showing a stranger the cold pond.”

He sounded much more reasonable than Mingjue felt.

After a pause, Lan-er-gongzi pointed out, in much the same reasonable tone Xichen had used, “That is not a rule.”

“Is it not? My mind must have slipped. Thank you for the reminder, Wangji. Did you come to find me? Or…” Xichen let the words trail off, and Mingjue finally looked over to see the boy nod.

“Qingheng-Jun would like to meet our guest. For lunch.”

Xichen’s eyes widened and snapped back to meet Mingjue’s. He looked panicked for a moment before he shaped his features back to relaxed and measured.

“Wangji, please have tea and lunch sent to Hanshi. We will be there shortly.”

But Lan-er-gongzi didn’t leave, peering at Xichen as though he expected them to follow him immediately. There was absolutely no chance Mingjue was going to get up from the dark safety of the water. Instead he rested his arms on the bank, and sighed deeply.

“This healing pool of yours is a marvel, Zewu-Jun.” Mingjue closed his eyes and tipped his head back, aiming for casual indifference. “I’m sure I’ll be fully recovered in a few more minutes, Lan-er-gongzi. I look forward to meeting Qingheng-Jun.”

Mingjue only realized the boy was gone when he felt lips pressed to his, so quickly he might have imagined it. He reached out to empty air and grunted in disappointment when he heard the sound of Xichen getting out of the water before he even had a chance to open his eyes.

“Chifeng-Zun, we can not keep my father waiting,” Xichen said in a tense voice that made Mingjue uneasy.

“Lunch is hours away, isn’t it?” he asked cautiously.

But Xichen shook his head, pulling on his robes. “Just get dressed.”

Mingjue did, but he did not like anyone making Xichen so agitated.

Jump to Part 2

Note: Thanks to @wangxianbunnydoodles for Mingjue’s clever birth name, 奭, Shì which means majestic manner, red, angry.

It sounds like nieshi, which means to gnaw, and can also mean "torment," as in 悲痛啮噬着他的心 (bēitòng nièshì zhe tā de xīn), grief gnaws his heart.

Since Mingjue and Huaisang are half brothers, I imagined that Mingjue’s mother died in childbirth, because I am a cheerful person like that.

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if-found-return-to-gusu · 3 years

Text

Happy Birthday to Me Pt 7

Knowing it was pointless, I turned away to try and mop up my face. Save a little of my dignity at least.

“Maybe now the gift will be overkill if that’s his reaction to the cake,” someone… MianMian maybe? Whispered. It was hard to tell with my ears still plugged from my crying session still in progress.

It worked as a good distraction though! I’d already been given so much I couldn’t accept any more! “No! After all that no one is allowed to give me any gifts! As king I forbid it!” I cried.

And then Jin Ling, in his best and clearest 3 year old voice, chimed in.

“No! /I/ am king!” he declared. “Gift for uncle!”

To which SangSang responded with a hearty laugh before stating that Jin Ling was his favorite.

“But you guys!” I protested, but Jiang Cheng cut me off by shoving me back into my chair in front of the cake.

Everyone sat back down and stared at me.

I looked back at the cake. To the three figures on the pier. The tallest one was me. I could tell she’d spend the most time on that figure.

I poked it a couple of times, jealous for a moment that it got to live in the past that was forever lost to me, only to be scalded by the candles that were still burning down to the quick.

I know I was supposed to make a wish but that felt too greedy. What could I have the nerve to wish for after all that had been given to me?

I tried not to start crying again when DaGe suggested I blow out the candles. That was probably a good idea before I burned down the whole establishment or ruined Shijie’s masterpiece. It took me a couple of tries but I managed to get them all out.

Apparently I’d been watched closer than I thought because Qin Su noticed I hadn’t paused to make a wish.

“I already have everything I could ever ask for right now. How could I wish for more?”

I must have said something right because I got a lot of loving smiles instead of looks of admonishment for once.

In a clear attempt to keep me from conveniently forgetting about the present (MianMian said as much. I swear they’re all out to get me.), everyone decided to have me open it before they would cut the cake, which was sure to be as delicious as it was beautiful.

Jin Ling demanded he be the one to give the gift to me. Jin Zixuan held onto him to keep him steady as he leaned over to try to get the heavy gift while still on his dad’s lap.

A-Yuan, who is just such a good, sweet boy, asked if he could help when he saw Jin Ling struggling. A-Ling looked at him for a loooong moment before he finally nodded. Lan Zhan moved out of his chair so that A-Yuan could stand on it to reach the bag. Between the two of them they managed to nearly topple it in front of me, but due to my own lightning fast ninja reflexes I managed to catch it and them before they could crash into anything.

Through the bag I could feel…

“You guys bought me a book?” I asked. I mean I like reading but it’s an odd present. There wasn’t anything I was particularly craving to read and especially not something as thick as this felt.

Everyone just grinned and chattered at me excitedly. “Open your gift, Kid,” DaGe said, just as excited as everyone else.

Well I’m not gonna say no to DaGe. I opened the bag and pulled out what did indeed turn out to be a book. But not just a book.

“What…. Is this..?” I asked, even though the answer was more than obvious.

“Open it up, Idiot,” Jiang Cheng said, though I don’t think he’s ever spoken to me in a more gentle tone before. I still stuck my tongue out at him as is my noble duty as the elder brother.

I opened the cover carefully and was met with a picture of my parents. They were smiling at the camera with a little black-haired baby that could only be me held safely in their arms.

I’d seen this photo before at Gamby’s house but oh… I wasn’t able to process it fully then. I’m not sure I was able to process it fully now. I’ll have to go through the album again when I’m alone. I’m tired of crying in front of other people. I flipped through the pages. A timeline of my life.

In the beginning it showed me slowly getting bigger with my mom and dad and gamby. A few pictures featured other children I didn’t know. We seemed so happy.

And then, of course, all too soon in the timeline my parents were no longer featured.

A photo of Gamby with Aunty Yi smiled up at me between the last of the photos that had clearly been supplied by them and the next ones that showed the further progression of my life.

Of course there was a large gap in between the last photo with Gamby and the first with my siblings. A ten year old me grinned, holding up a large fish while Jiang Cheng pouted next to me with a much smaller catch. Shijie had insisted on the photo even though she hadn’t particularly liked fishing.

Another picture of the three of us playing on the pier. It must have been a reference photo for the cake because we were all dressed in the same clothing. There was even one Jiang Cheng must have taken once of Shijie brushing my hair for me after a bath.

I watched the three of us grow up, though through the following 8 years the pictures clearly grew more scarce.

Then another gap in time. Much more recent pictures now featured me with my new siblings. Wen Qing had insisted on a ‘family photo’ after I learned how to smile again. I hated for Lan Zhan to see me there. I hadn’t quite recovered and even I can tell I was way too thin. Still the Wen siblings were at my sides and A-Yuan was in my lap while Granny Wen stood happily behind us. Uncle Four had taken the photo. I can still see his doofy grins as he tried to get A-Yuan to smile. The best we managed was to get him to look mildly puzzled. Still adorable. It must have been from a birthday of past because there were Halloween decorations all over in the background.

Oh yes that’s right. I’d let it slip that it was my birthday and was soundly scolded for not telling them sooner. I remember.

There were more pictures of the Wens. Just us all being silly together. Wen Ning agreeing to drink with me for once. That time I planted A-Yuan in the mud. (Wen Qing scolded me soundly for that too and made me do laundry for a month straight.)

Oh yes. We caught that scolding on camera too. Wen Ning snickered the whole time it’s a miracle he was able to hold the camera steady at all.

Then came SangSang’s section. Selfies taken from our phone that we then sent to each other. Fake bar fights. Goofy smiles.

It’s so good to have someone that I can just be silly with. Thank you for giving me that, Huaisang. I know I give you a lot of crap. You helped me out of a dark place by becoming my friend. I can’t thank you enough for that.

Just like Gamby and Aunty Yi’s section, the Nie section ended with a selfie taken of DaGe and SangSang. They’d taped a little note next to it in what must have been DaGe’s handwriting promising that I’d get to know him soon enough.

When I mentioned how threatening that sounded, DaGe grinned at me and told me to blame Huaisang for that one. “He’s the one who wanted that written.”

I think SangSang stomped on his brother’s foot but it’s hard to tell because DaGe didn’t even flinch.

I laughed a little and kept going.

Lan Zhan.

Of course the picture he would have first would be of the bunnies.

I say first picture.

I mean first couple pages of pictures.

All bunnies. So. Many. Bunnies.

I couldn’t help but coo at Suibian though. I know you’re not supposed to have favorites, but she’s my favorite. I can’t help it. She's so cuuuuuuuuuuute.

Eventually I made it through the sea of bunbuns and found people again!

Qin Su and MianMian were pressing their cheeks against mine in a dark room. The theater!

Oh I never told you guys about the theater!! I’ll give you a short rundown

So Lan Zhan had gone out with Nie Huaisang I think and I was apparently moping. So the girls decided that it was time we all went out as friends. We had to wait until closing time so we couldn’t go out until it was rather late. Qin Su had leaned on the counter in front of me and slid her phone over for me to look at. She’d pulled up the showtimes for the theater nearby and told me to pick one.

I must have looked as confused as I felt because MianMian had told me we were going out for drinks and a movie after work and told me again to pick one.

“Newbie’s choice,” they’d insisted in sync when I tried to tell them anything was fine. In the end we went with the sappiest looking romantic comedy we could find. (It was the off season so there really weren’t any winners. May as well go for broke right?).

We grabbed a couple of drinks at the bar while we waited for the time and had a wonderful time getting to know each other. MianMian had told me her actual name again but I still can’t for the life of me ever remember it. Sorry MianMian. I told her she could call me Yuandao to make it even. She looked confused until Qin Su snorted with laughter. She got it then and looked positively aghast.

“Who yearns for you??

“I am HAPPILY married I’ll have you know!” she said indignantly while firmly grasping Qin Su’s hand. Qin Su just kept laughing.

After that we spent a grand time watching what turned out to be a gloriously shitty movie while snickering and snarking to each other in careful whispers so as not to disturb the 4 other people in the theater.

We’d taken a selfie on the way out to commemorate the evening and the formation of new friendships. <3

After that, to my delighted horror, was pictures of Lan Zhan and myself on our spa day. I’m amazed he was willing to show those to others. He even included the one of us with those ridiculous face masks!

“I can’t believe you had them printed!”

“There were no other pictures,” Lan Zhan pointed out.

Fuck! He was right! I told him we’d have to fix that by spending at least an hour in the photo booth. Lan Zhan looked like he wanted to say something but Jiang Cheng interrupted by telling me to keep going.

There were a couple of pictures of Qin Su and MianMian looking adorable together.

And then.

A picture of Xichen smiling at the camera followed by a picture of Lan Zhan staring stoically ahead as he played his guqin. Well not stoic so much as completely absorbed by the music he was playing. It was in a room I didn’t recognize. He looked a bit younger though unfortunately it didn’t have long hair in it so it couldn’t have been from THAT long ago.

He looked quietly peaceful.

I nearly traced his face with my finger but caught myself before my hand actually made contact. I covered the movement by turning the page instead. I hope my face wasn’t as red as it felt.

There wasn’t really anything after that. Just a few empty pages so I could keep adding new photos - something I will absolutely do. I started to close the book but SangSang stopped me. He told me to keep going.

Why? Was there a secret message at the end?

Turns out rather than a secret message, there was an envelope taped to the inside of the back cover.

Oh fuck I’m still sick just thinking about it.

It was full of checks. Like the money kind! Lots of them!

And Cash on top of it!

I pulled out the first one and screamed (which I still feel bad for because poor little A-Lian started to cry because I startled her). I didn’t mean to but FUCK!

“$3,000????? Huaisang are you f--CRAZY????”

I managed to remember just in time that there were, in fact, children present and stopped myself from exploding in expletives.

He said it was also half from DaGe. As if that made it better.

“Great. Then you’re BOTH crazy! Who gives $3000 as a birthday gift????????”

The golden peacock decided to chirp then and told me to keep counting because there was more.

I nearly passed out then. More. MORE???

Yes more!

$7.5K more!

I’m pretty sure my voice reached decibels no human could hear

“You’re all crazy! I’m NOT keeping this!” I said. How could I possibly? That’s WAY WAY TOO MUCH.

Ghosty I’m sorry I ever said you were extra after going through this my eyes have been opened to the true meaning of excess. (NO this is NOT an offer to give me more money!!!!!!!!!!)

“Yes you will,” Jiang Cheng said with the most punchable smirk I’d ever seen. “Accept it now with grace or you’ll see it in your bank account tomorrow anyway.”

“You wouldn’t!” I said. He wouldn’t even know how.

“Oh yes I would. It’s as easy to get into your bank account as it is to get into your bl--”

For the second time in an evening I felt my palm getting viciously licked as I slapped my hand over Jiang Cheng’s mouth to keep him from fucking talking.

We do NOT need people at that party

Asking about this blog.

Fuck you JC.

And SangSang, don’t you DARE tell people either!

Let me save SOME face. I don’t know if I’d be able to face anyone again if they read this shit other than you two assholes.

Rather than risk another slip of the tongue I thanked everyone kindly for their contributions.

“You really really didn’t have to though! My boss is very generous and pays me quite well!”

I winked at Lan Zhan for fun.

But I promised to cherish that photo album forever. And I will. I held it to my heart and tried not to cry againnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.

#wei ying #wei wuxian #mo dao zu shi #mdzs #cql #the untamed #Long Post #(Modern AU!)

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wangxiangiftexchange · 3 years

Text

Winter Solstice Gift for maggiedeshiboux

For @maggiedeshiboux. I think I may have been projecting a bit when I was writing this. Anyway, to my wonderful giftee, I hope you like it!! I loved the prompts you presented me with (I have many ideas brewing in my head, thanks to you!) and I see we have many interests that certainly line up. Happy holidays!

Read on AO3

*****

where our hopes rest

“They want the baby—A-Yuan… They want A-Yuan back.”

Wei Ying never thought he would ever hear those words. In the first place, he never thought he would be in a situation where those words would apply at all. But he did hear them—is hearing them, and he has never been more devastated. He can vaguely register Lan Zhan’s hand locking with his, squeezing in a manner that is meant to be reassuring but Wei Ying knows also needs grounding. He understands. If they were not having this discussion at the dining table, Wei Ying fears he might have already collapsed to the floor.

The social worker in front of them, Fang Yingxiu, is nice enough. They have known her since A-Yuan had first come into their care. Her face is always graced with a pleasant smile, one that Wei Ying finds reminds him of Jiang Yanli’s, but today she sends them one of pity. Wei Ying decides he liked her other smile better.

There is a moment of silence before Fang Yingxiu clears her throat and explains the situation. Wei Ying barely hears any of it, choosing instead to watch the sleeping child in the crib by the table. Sometimes he thinks he can still hear Wen Qing’s voice, frantic and pleading, asking him to take A-Yuan as far as he could from the DafanWen residences. He sometimes feels the ghost of her vice grip on his arm, wrapping them around the child before sprinting back to the building lit up in flames. He can still see the fear in Wen Ning’s eyes as he cards his shaky hand through A-Yuan’s hair for the last time, a silent farewell, before running off to chase his sister.

Wei Ying squeezes his eyes shut.

“I’m sorry,” he says, standing abruptly. Fang Yingxiu is still staring at him with pitiful eyes. “I need a moment.”

Without another word or a glance back, he moves towards the crib and takes A-Yuan in his arms. He is careful not to wake the child as he paces out of the room as quick as he can. By the time he arrives to their bedroom, he has tears slipping down his cheeks. A sob threatens to break free from his chest and all Wei Ying can do is to lie on the bed, holding A-Yuan close to him.

He tries not to let it consume him. All the guilt of not being able to help, of not being able to run back inside the building to drag more of the Wens out. All the memories of brilliant smiles, gentle hugs, of uninhibited laughter—of a family that he found all on his own. Most of all, not the grief of losing the only one he had of them left. Of losing A-Yuan.

It feels as though it were only yesterday that he had come back home, numb and only barely registering Lan Zhan’s concerned voice. He had nearly collapsed, only holding on for the sake of the child in his arms. Lan Zhan had immediately taken them to the living room and held them both in his arms. They had done everything they could to raise A-Yuan, since then.

But now, six months later, the QishanWens—the bastards that killed his family wanted A-Yuan. They wanted his son.

Lan Zhan enters the room half an hour later.

“Fang Yingxiu has just left,” is the first thing he says. Wei Ying’s back is turned away from the door, so he can’t see his husband but he does feel his presence before he sits at the edge of the bed. He lays a gentle hand on Wei Ying’s arm. “She says she’ll do what she can.”

Wei Ying does not mean to, but a derisive laugh escapes him.

“And what can she do?” He buries his head in a still-sleeping A-Yuan’s hair, taking in the clean scent of his son. “Deliver more terrible news? Offer sympathetic smiles?”

He did not need to look at Lan Zhan’s face to know he was frowning. And in truth, Wei Ying felt horrible about his words. Fang Yingxiu had been the same social worker to secure that A-Yuan would be in their care, in the first place. She had jumped through hoops to get them the legal guardianship that originally would have been given to the members of the QishanWen family. She even assisted them in anyway she could when they had questions, although it may have been wiser to ask a pediatrician, regarding A-Yuan.

She has done everything and more than she should for them.

“I know you’re upset,” Lan Zhan says. He starts rubbing soothing circles onto Wei Ying’s arm. “I am, too, but we can’t take it out on her.”

“I know, sweetheart, I do.” Wei Ying sighs, finally turning his gaze on to his husband. “I’m sorry. I just—I’m more than upset. I’m more than just angry!”

Lan Zhan shifts his body until he has made it to the other side of the bed. This way, Wei Ying would not strain his neck to look at him and he can wrap sling his arm over his son and his husband. They glance at A-Yuan. The child is still blissfully unaware of the turmoil they were in, sleeping so deeply that he had Wei Ying wondering what he could be dreaming of.

“Mn, you have every right to be,” Lan Zhan says, voice barely above a whisper. There is a pause. “Do you want to talk about it? From the way things were earlier, I assume you didn’t hear everything Fang Yingxiu said.”

Wei Ying does not pout, but he is close to it. Instead, he leans closer to his husband and nods his head. Lan Zhan delivers immediately. He relays everything Fang Yingxiu had discussed. How the prosecution was no match for the QishanWens’ lawyers, how they’ve managed to come out innocent despite their clear involvement in the burning of the DafanWens’ home. Apparently, despite A-Yuan being a descendant of the half of their family that they just slaughtered, they want him in their custody.

“They can’t have him.” Wei Ying shift to hug A-Yuan closer to his chest. The child stirs but only to nuzzle closer to the warmth he was wrapped in. The love that Wei Ying already feel for him grows and suddenly there are tears once again threatening to streak down his face and tiny sobs are making their way up his throat. “I can’t—I won’t let them. They just can’t—!”

Lan Zhan pulls Wei Ying closer to him, effectively sandwiching A-Yuan between them. He cards his fingers through Wei Ying’s hair and presses reassuring kiss after reassuring kiss to his head. It does not make the pain go away, but it does serve as an anchor.

“It’s not over, Wei Ying.” Lan Zhan whispers, pressing his own face close to A-Yuan’s head. “They may be walking free, they might try and take A-Yuan away, but the truth doesn’t stay hidden forever. We will find a way to put them in their rightful place, and we will not let them have take our son from us. I guarantee it.

“Fang Yingxiu is also skeptical of how they managed to win the trial. She’s promised to look into it, as well as do everything in her power to let us keep A-Yuan. Things might not look like they are in our favor right now, but I promise you that nothing—nothing and no one is taking away our child.”

Hope grows in Wei Ying’s chest. It could all just be words, just something to pacify him for now. And even if they were not, there is no telling just how far the QishanWens would go to take A-Yuan from them. It is all uncertain and perhaps too ambitious, but Wei Ying wants to believe in it. Lan Zhan has never lied, never broken a promise to him, and this only fuels the stubborn hope he has.

Between them, A-Yuan stirs again except now, his eye peer open. A gurgle and slurred ‘baba’ escape his lips and all other thoughts leave Lan Zhan and Wei Ying. They fall into routine: checking if a change of diapers is necessary, preparing A-Yuan’s lunch, setting up the toys for his afternoon play.

Though momentarily distracted, the thoughts do not leave Wei Ying’s head. For a moment, he doubts Lan Zhan’s words. For a moment, he imagines what it would be like to lose A-Yuan. But then he hears a shout of laughter and finds Lan Zhan smiling as he spins their screeching son around the living room. Right then and there, Wei Ying makes the decision to believe.

He will not let anyone take their son from them. He will do whatever it takes.

#maggiedeshiboux #wangxiansolstice20 #*fic20 #*gifts20

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rosethornewrites · 4 years

Text

Fic: this body yet survives, ch. 2

Relationship: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn

Characters: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī, Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén, Lán Qǐrén, Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín, Jiāng Yànlí

Additional Tags: No War AU, Recovery, Trauma, Dissociation, Courtship, Courting Rituals

Summary: Lan WangJi finds Wei Ying having a bad start to the day, and tries to make it better. He succeeds.

Notes: See end

Parts 1 & 2

Chapter 1

AO3 link

---------------------

WangJi knew when he knocked on the door to Wei Ying’s quarters carrying a tray of breakfast to share and received no answer that today was potentially a bad day.

The day before, shufu and xiongzhang had done as they had discussed over morning tea and spoken to the Jiang siblings in order to clarify Wei Ying’s position as disciple in the sect, should he desire such; from his understanding, Jiang YanLi had cried in relief at the news, while Jiang Cheng had asked whether his brother was aware yet and had been furious when the answer was no. He had all but demanded they speak to him as soon as possible.

The plan had been to discuss it with him today, but if Wei Ying was doing poorly the offer could overwhelm him more.

When WangJi opened the door, carefully balancing the tray on one hand he found Wei Ying half-dressed, curled on the bed, his face blank, the simple wooden guan he had been using to keep his hair in its crown broken in his hands. Scattered across the floor were several guan, trailing from an open pouch; all of them were adorned with lotuses.

He immediately understood the problem: the lotuses reminded him of what had been lost, potentially of even struggling not to drown while weighed down floating among them. Wei Ying had never spoken of the experience, but in the year since it had become all too easy for WangJi to imagine.

WangJi set the tray down on the low table, then scooped the guan back into the pouch so they would no longer be in Wei Ying’s line of vision.

WangJi felt helpless, limited in what he could do aside from remove the offending objects. He could not change what had occurred or help Wei Ying regain what he had lost. He could only try to help him build a new home here.

He sat beside him on the bed and reached out to touch his shoulder. Wei Ying’s flinch was unexpected and heartbreaking, but his eyes focused quickly.

“Lan Zhan?”

“Mm, I am here.”

“It broke,” he whispered, his voice mournful. “It’s not a big deal, not important. But all the others…”

A tear traced its way down his face, curving around his nose. WangJi tried not to be alarmed; he’d come to understand it was good for Wei Ying to cry, to let out the pain rather than bottle it inside where it could eat away at his spirit.

“I put them away. We will eat breakfast, and then go to the jingshi. You will borrow one of mine.”

He was glad Lan MingKai knew there would be days Wei Ying would not be able to attend his lessons, as he believed today would be such a day. All of Wei Ying’s instructors were aware, given the public way in which he had been harmed, and accommodated him with kindness. None of them would be offended by his absence.

He could tell Wei Ying’s attention was on him, his eyes clear despite the tears, and thought perhaps today could be salvaged after all.

“We can go to Caiyi this morning and purchase a new guan in the market. Perhaps stay for lunch, if you like.”

Though shufu and xiongzhang had put together a betrothal gift to present to the Jiang siblings when he asked for their blessing to court Wei Ying, WangJi could surely find something to add to it, something perhaps more personal for each of them.

Wei Ying nodded. He let go of the broken guan and held out a hand to WangJi, a silent request he didn’t mind fulfilling, and he gently took his hand and pulled him into a sitting position.

“Shijie usually cooks lunch,” he murmured as WangJi helped him up and led him to the table so they could eat. “So we should let her know before we go.”

WangJi nodded; always, Wei Ying thought of others. He hoped to help him think of himself.

“We will. If they are not awake when we leave, then we will leave a note.”

WangJi had placed a container of chili oil on the tray with their morning congee, and was happy when Wei Ying added a liberal amount to his breakfast. When he was struggling, he often simply ate it plain, despite his often loud complaints at the tastelessness of it when he had originally come to study. Whether he spiced his meal was often a good gauge of his mental state. Further, he was eating without requiring prompting.

All good signs.

When they had finished, he asked Wei Ying where his comb was, and received a blank stare for a moment.

“You gave me a comb,” Wei Ying murmured, almost in realization, looking at him apologetically. “I… It was hard to think then. It didn’t really register.”

He opened a drawer in his dressing table and stood staring at the comb, long enough that WangJi came to stand beside him. Wei Ying reached forward, removing the comb with a sort of reverence.

WangJi realized Wei Ying was truly seeing the gift for the first time, and he knew he was enough a master of the six arts to know the symbolism of a gift of a comb carved with orchids. A comb itself symbolized one’s wish to grow old with the recipient. Orchids could mean many things, but carved on a comb would imply love.

He had given it meaning for it to be a confession, but now he knew Wei Ying had been too lost in his trauma-induced fog to see it.

The comb was carved of sandalwood, which calmed shen, helping to ease depression and insomnia, to heal and protect, to remove negative energy and help regulate qi. WangJi used sandalwood incense himself, and found it soothing, as he hoped Wei Ying would be soothed.

He tried not to think about the further properties—that sandalwood was considered an aphrodisiac.

Wei Ying’s hand was shaking as he held the comb, and when he looked at WangJi there were tears in his eyes.

“Really?” he whispered. “Me?”

“It cannot be anyone but you.”

WangJi wanted to say more, but he had never been good with words, which was why he had turned to music to reach Wei Ying.

That he wanted to wake by his side every morning, night hunt with him, go wherever he wished to go, cherish him as he deserved.

“I… and ‘WangXian,’ Lan Zhan…”

Wei Ying looked almost overwhelmed, and WangJi tried to tread carefully.

“I hope to ask your siblings for their blessing to court you later today,” WangJi admitted. “Shufu and xiongzhang have given their blessing. They wish to speak with you.”

Wei Ying stared at him, so still he was almost not breathing, and WangJi wondered if he had made assumptions.

“Only if you consent to be courted,” he added softly. “I understand if you prefer otherwise.”

When Wei Ying spoke finally, his breath came out almost as a sob, his voice shaky, his eyes wet.

“Lan Zhan… You’re so good, and I’m nothing. The son of a servant. I have nothing to offer you. I… I can barely function some days. You deserve better.”

His voice was grieved. WangJi hated to hear him degrade himself, hated hearing Madam Yu’s awful words from his mouth as though they were true.

“Wei Ying, I do not want anyone but you.”

WangJi stepped forward, taking the hand in which Wei Ying held the comb, gently bending his fingers around it.

“You are Wei Ying. You are everything.”

Another tear made its way down Wei Ying’s cheek and WangJi longed to wipe it away, but Wei Ying was trembling, and he didn't wish to startle him.

“For a long time, I thought you hated me, Lan Zhan.”

The words horrified him, that he had led Wei Ying to think he saw him so negatively. But he had difficulty expressing himself, so clearly he had acted in such a manner.

“I have never hated you. You… confused me. I am sorry I gave you that impression.”

Wei Ying was opening crying now, making no attempt to stem his tears.

“I… I’m glad. After, when you said I would come to Gusu, I thought maybe I was wrong, that you didn’t really hate me,” he whispered. “You held my hand, by the river. You stayed with me, and you’ve stayed with me ever since.”

WangJi gently squeezed his hand, taking care not to exert too much pressure and damage the comb. In asking, he had put too much pressure on Wei Ying, pressure that could damage him, given his fragility in the aftermath of his near-death and loss of home.

“You need not answer now. I do not wish to pressure you. If you do not wish to be courted by me, I wish to remain friends regardless.”

Wei Ying’s mouth opened and closed a few times before he found his voice.

“We’re friends? You really mean it?”

WangJi nodded, saddened that he let Wei Ying think they were not. But in the year since his near death, he had learned much about Wei Ying’s lack of self-esteem.

“You called me zhiji,” he reminded him softly. “I do not disagree.”

The tremulous smile he received relieved a tension in him. Whether Wei Ying wished to be courted did not matter in this moment. What mattered was his health and happiness.

“Come,” he said, letting go of Wei Ying’s hand. “You may choose one of my guan to wear and we will go to Caiyi today.”

WangJi offered him a cloth to wipe his tear and pulled the jade plum blossom hairstick he had gifted him from the container of calligraphy brushes on his desk. It would serve to fasten any of the guan Wei Ying might choose. He selected one of the crimson ribbons he had given Wei Ying from his dressing table, then set the tray outside for one of the servants to pick up while Wei Ying finished dressing.

The walk to the jingshi was short and they encountered no one, but Wei Ying clung to his sleeve, head down, almost hiding against him. WangJi didn’t know the reason—it could be as simple as feeling underdressed with his hair down or it could be more profound—but he kept a steady pace so he could feel secure within the jingshi as soon as possible.

Shortly, they were settled at a low table, WangJi’s box of guan in front of them. For perhaps the first time, he realized how many of them were cloud themed, similar to Wei Ying’s collection of lotus guan.

Wei Ying looked hesitant, and WangJi remembered shufu and xiongzhang had not yet made his position in GusuLan clear—that was to be part of the discussion later today. Perhaps then he would feel comfortable wearing such a guan.

WangJi picked through the pieces until he found one that wasn’t, a guan of white jade carved in the shape of a cluster of gentians, a gift left by his mother for him to wear when he came of age.

He had never worn it, but he would not be averse to Wei Ying doing so. It would, in fact, work quite well with the plum blossom hair stick, also made of white jade, and he was fond of the mixture of meanings. Gentians for intrinsic worth, plum blossoms for perseverance and hope.

“This was a gift from my mother,” he told Wei Ying, determined not to lie by omission. “She was a very lively person, much like you. You may wear it.”

Before the incident, Wei Ying had been lively like his mother; after, less so. But he hoped still to bring him back to himself.

“Your mother?” Wei Ying asked.

“Mn. She died when I was six.”

Wei Ying looked startled, pulling his hand back.

“I… it’s too important, then. Not something I should wear.”

WangJi caught his hand, found Wei Ying’s fingers cold against his. He set the guan down to clasp his hand in both of his, for warmth as well as closeness.

“Wei Ying, I can think of no one more appropriate to wear it. If only to Caiyi, though I would not mind if you wore it always.”

Wei Ying blushed, looking down at the table.

“I asked you,” he finally said. “Back when I was here the first time.”

“Asked me what?” WangJi asked, confused by the change in topic.

With his free hand, Wei Ying reached forward and with his index and middle fingers tugged on WangJi’s sleeve.

WangJi stared at him, baffled by the gesture, though he remembered it from the night he had caught Wei Ying drinking with Nie HuaiSang and Jiang WanYin.

Wei Ying laughed softly, the sound beautiful to WangJi.

“You didn’t get it, then.”

He held up his hand in the same gesture, moving the two fingers together in a cutting motion like a pair of shears, and awareness washed over WangJi.

Wei Ying had, all the way back then, been asking if he cut his sleeve.

Wei Ying had propositioned him, all the way back then.

“There is only you,” WangJi said, feeling breathless. “There was only ever you.”

Certainly, loving Wei Ying meant he cut his sleeve, but he had never had interest in anyone before him. No one before him had tried to get to know WangJi, sought his company, wanted to be around him.

“For you, I do,” he said finally.

Wei Ying blushes, ducking his head.

“I… I’ll wear the guan,” he murmured, looking up through his lashes at WangJi.

He seemed to be consenting to more than that, to being courted, but WangJi would still wait until he was ready to say so more clearly.

Instead he held out his hand, beckoning for the comb.

“May I do your hair for you?”

“Yes,” Wei Ying breathed, handing him the comb.

WangJi retrieved the sandalwood-scented hair oil from his dressing table and settled behind Wei Ying. Perhaps in Caiyi they could purchase some in a scent his zhiji would prefer. WangJi imagined orange and cinnamon would fit him best. Oranges for happiness and abundance, something he had always associated with Wei Ying, and cinnamon for his liveliness and love of spice. That both, he had learned, could ease anxiety and depression was also fortuitous.

He gently worked out the tangles using the oil until the teeth of the comb passed through without catching. Wei Ying, he could tell, nearly fell asleep several times. WangJi had allowed the process to go more slowly than it needed to, enjoying the silky feel of Wei Ying’s hair in his hands.

When it came to the style, WangJi was only familiar with GusuLan style, and so he gently separated sections of the hair, styling it as he would his own, a bun at the crown with the guan and hairstick fastening it. He weaved the red ribbon into the hair pulled from the side to keep the crown in place. For himself, he used his forehead ribbon. For Wei Ying, he braided the sections of hair with the ribbon for better stability, then let the ends of the ribbon cascade with the rest of his hair.

He wished the process took longer, that he could linger in the intimacy of the moment, but he withdrew his hands and let himself enjoy the sight of Wei Ying with a red ribbon in his hair, as he should , after so many months without.

Wei Ying let him pull him to a mirror to see the results, and stood still, staring at his reflection for a while before he reached up and ran a finger over the guan and hairstick, touched the short braid down his back and the ribbon.

Then he smiled, a hint of brightness, a little mischief in his grey eyes.

“Once you ask, Jiang Cheng will insist we be chaperoned,” Wei Ying said finally. “He’s… a little overprotective.”

WangJi swallowed, trying not to remember blue lips.

“As he should be,” he replied.

Not being overprotective had almost led to Wei Ying’s murder, and still a year later WangJi didn’t want to leave his side for a moment. Jiang WanYin’s own mother had attempted to kill his brother, and he had watched his decline as well. Of course he would feel overprotective, though WangJi hoped not against him.

The smile was sad for a moment as his meaning sunk in, but Wei Ying shook his head.

“I mean this will be our last morning just us for a while.”

WangJi felt his ears heat, suggestions running through his mind that certainly should not be acted upon before marriage. The crimson ribbon caught his eye, and for a moment he imagined Wei Ying in red and gold, imagined exchanging forehead ribbons with him, imagined…

Before he could shake the image from his head to respond, Wei Ying darted in and kissed his cheek, blushing.

“So let’s have fun in Caiyi today,” he said, then flounced away.

WangJi’s mind took a moment to catch up, to understand Wei Ying had just consented to be courted, had acknowledged his intentions and what would change.

As Wei Ying moved toward the jingshi door, WangJi wondered if it was possible to die of desire.

-----------------

I was tempted to reference Chang'e and Houyi, regarding the cinnamon (and rabbits), but that’s more of a sad tale of separation, so I decided not to. I did some research on courtship for this and explored more of Lan WangJi’s symbolic reasons for the gifts, including the ones he’s considering getting for Wei WuXian.

Wei WuXian, for his part, feels he can no longer wear the lotus, and the symbol can even trigger him, which is why Lan WangJi finds him in that state. It’s also why he hasn’t unpacked. As the head disciple of YunMengJiang sect, can you imagine how much of his clothing has lotus imagery embroidered into it?

This chapter didn’t go the way I expected it to, but I like where it went. Also, yes, there is a scene in CQL with the cut sleeve gesture.

Also, the gifting of an heirloom (which the gentian guan would be) is essentially a love token, and is a pretty big thing. By consenting to wear it, Wei WuXian is essentially announcing his acceptance of Lan WangJi's love.

#the untamed #untamed fanfiction #untamed fanfic #mo dao zu shi #mdzs #mdzs fanfic #mdzs fanfiction #chen qing ling #cql #cql fanfiction #cql fanfic #lan zhan #lan wangji #wei wuxian #wei ying #my fanfiction

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phoenixrisesoncemore · 4 years

Text

But Whose Deontology?

The Untamed: three-fifths mark

OK, @thearrogantemu I finally had a chance to look at a non-work screen for long enough to watch some more Untamed; through episode 30 now! Oh boy. Spoilers for anyone who isn’t this far yet below the cut:

I feel like this show didn’t exactly *hide* that it was interested in poking holes in everyone’s moral system, but it did spend a lot of time... not distracting us, really, but using the other assorted comical, tender, and otherwise emotional aspects of the show to deepen our investment in these characters’ lives and choices before it started really making its moves. I suspect it wouldn’t have had the same effect otherwise.

The long run up is a pacing I’m quite the fan of from almost three decades of JRPGs that start out as light-hearted adventures about teenage angst only to turn into philosophical ruminations on God and the nature of the universe (see my favorite example: Xenogears). Even The Lord of the Rings does something... similar, albeit not intentionally on the part of the author. It’s actually one of my favorite “tropes” in storytelling: the tone shift—the moment the light-hearted and comfortingly simple reveals itself to be something much wider and deeper and which will leave you unsettled in its wake.(1)

I’m really quite impressed with Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo. Xiao Zhan manages to believably play the process of aging from arrogant and ornery but innocent and lovable “student” in Cloud Recesses, to the (still arrogant and ornery but lovable) rebellious “hero” during the Wen indoctrination, to the (still arrogant but lovable) young man forced to grow up too fast when his adoptive parents are killed, to the Master of Demonic Cultivation and head of The World’s Most Wholesome Farming Co-op (why cultivate only demons when you can cultivate turnips, too!?).(2) And he manages to play it all as believably the same character, always deeply expressive but also somehow... authentic... even when he is putting on a show: his play-acted irresponsible argumentativeness with Wen Qing; his self-infantilization whenever he wants Yanli to mother him. The latter would be laughable if we were to take it as entirely straight-faced—he knows he is playing childish, and he knows that she knows, even if he does legitimately want to be mothered. Jiang Cheng on the other hand seems to never handle the reality of Wei Wuxian as well as Wei Wuxian handles the reality of Jiang Cheng...

I understand there was some criticism of Yibo’s perceived lack of expressiveness when the show first came out, but I think he’s doing a fantastic job portraying a deeply stoic character whose emotional turmoil is buried under mountains of learned and self-enforced composure. It’s not like he’s missing beats; he’s responding, it’s just subtle. He’s responsible for two of my favorite moments so far: when he first smiles ever so slightly when he sees the lantern Wuxian has made him with the rabbit drawing(3) and the scene of him kneeling in the snow as punishment. I don’t know if it’s the lighting or the fact that it’s one of the few times he’s not carrying tension in his eyebrows, but he looks SO YOUNG in that shot. Honestly, he looks more AT PEACE in that shot than I think he does at almost any other time in the show so far. It feels to me like, in that moment, he has no regrets either about what he did nor about the fact that he should have to atone for it. Like he has internalized some sense that both things are right and can exist in tension. The weird effect of this growth next to Wei Wuxian’s feels like watching one of the two grow older (Wuxian) while the other grows younger (Wangji).

Now, I’m a sucker for every last story where two highly disparate-seeming people move from from some variation of dislike (either on the part of one or both) to friendship to, sometimes, something more (no, no BL here, none at all *looks the other way*). Certainly Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji have very different personalities. Wei Wuxian has little regard for rules, authority, tradition, taboos, or social etiquette: he uses Lan Wangji’s ming(4) almost as soon as he meets him! The way he interacts with objects and spaces (and personal space!) shows his lack of reverence/respect for the people and things others expect him to have reverence for. He has no problem questioning what everyone else seems to see as obvious up to the point of outright suggesting the use of dark magic. Because...well, why not?? Because “they said so?”

It’s not that he doesn’t KNOW the rules. Another of my absolute favorite moments is during the Wen indoctrination when Wei Wuxian starts reciting not the Wen clan principles, but the Lan clan principles! Sure, he lacks the expected respect for sources of authority be they personal or ideological, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t KNOW them. He’s obviously naturally talented, gifted, a fast learner, curious, but also—and crucially—he has a very strong moral compass! He does not tolerate bullies, especially when they turn their attention to the vulnerable, like Wen Chao.(5) Yanli notes that their father always favors those with moral integrity and who does he favor? Wei Wuxian.

And this is where he and Lan Wangji are more alike than Wangji initially thinks, and why I love that moment, just after they release the lanterns, when you see, just for a second, the surprise on his face at the content of Wei Wuxian’s prayer: that he always be able to “stand with justice and live with no regrets.” It is, I imagine, the moment when it really hits Wangji that this rebel he finds himself irrationally attracted to truly is *good* despite the fact that he shows no outward signs of respecting the same sources of moral authority Wangji does.

So what is the main difference? Where the rules come from. Who makes the rules? Both of them are pretty sure they know.

Lan Wangji gets his moment to present his source just after their rooftop duel when he catches Wei Wuxian drinking: the Lan Clan principles chiseled right into stone. All 3000 of them. Interestingly, even though Wei Wuxian can and does memorize the code and seems perfectly happy with the notion of moral principles in general, I’ll wager a guess that he is confused by the very idea that a moral code would be so strict and unchanging and inflexible that it could be chiseled into stone *in the first place* or that it would *need to be memorized*. Surely you’d just...”know?” Besides, morality is too contextual to treat this way surely?

As a CLH (Confirmed Lifelong Heretic) my sympathies admittedly lie more with Wei Wuxian than Lan Wangji. It’s not that traditional codes of ethics and conduct are bad things. These are the things that provide stability across entire cultures and peoples. If they’re written in stone, at least that means they’re something everyone has a greater chance of pointing to and agreeing on.(7) And just as Lan Wangji has to learn that there are moral codes that aren’t written in stone and that individual minds can have very clear senses of right and wrong outside of group structures, Wei Wuxian has to learn to temper his arrogance—that his actions, for however right he *thinks* they are, can and do have consequences he would not intend for those he loves, as when he stops himself from calling to Wangji during the hunt. I have a feeling he’s going to be learning more...

Then there’s that whole conversation from ep. 29 as Lan Wangji prepares to leave the burial mounds which is just full of whammies (set, naturally, against the exceedingly domestic reality of the community as a whole and their exceedingly sweet interactions with a-Yuan). Wei Wuxian says: “But let yourself be the judge of what is right and what is wrong, leave others’ comments aside, and care little about gain and loss. What I should do. I know it very well. I believe that I’ll be able to control it well.” And then there’s that moment where you can actually feel Lan Wangji’s heart drop into the pit of his stomach as he presses his eyes closed.

This is the reverse of the moment when Wangji directed Wuxian’s attention to the list of Lan clan principles, so solid they are written in stone.(8)

Then there is that wonderful bit about their respective paths—Lan Wangji’s path vs. Wei Wuxian’s path: the wide avenue vs the one-log bridge. I assume this is a literal translation of the Mandarin. Is it an idiom? If so, I may mangle its meaning terribly and for that I am sorry. But it seems to me that a wide avenue is safe, easy, populated; a single-log bridge is comparatively dangerous and only one person can walk it. Which seems a pretty good metaphor for the differences in whose rule-book each of the leads chooses. Not to mention, with my Western ears, it sounds a WHOLE lot like a “straight and narrow path.” Interesting then, that it is The Master of Demonic Cultivation who is choosing it, while Lan Wangji—with his brightness and discipline and clarity—is following the “easy” way.

So, there it is: whose deontology is the right one? How do you choose?

It’s the epistemological aspect of the question of ethics that Newbigin gets right in that quote I posted the other day. Honestly, I disagree with a great deal (like, a lot) of what Newbigin says in that book, and I think he spends far too much time running himself in ever tighter Calvinist circles, (not to mention I have little interest in missiology and am highly skeptical of evangelism). But! I appreciate that he does, at least, recognize the danger of believing we have insulated ourselves completely from uncertainty or of expecting that certainty is even a thing possible to achieve.

But where do we choose to anchor our axioms? And why? Whose deontology is the right deontology? The rules written on parchment and stone? Or the rules written on our souls? Remembering, of course, that both are fallible. 16 years in the future, will the two leads have changed their minds at all?

And now with any luck, I’ll have a free weekend in which to watch the last 20 episodes, assuming no one wants me to do adult things like house cleaning or completing design projects people are paying me for.(10)

Like how Tolkien switches register from the low and comedic to the high and romantic but you’re fully aware it’s all really part of the same story and suddenly, bam!, you recognize that those aspects of life are somehow not able to be disentangled.

OMG is this an intentional play on “cultivation”? Sometimes I can’t tell what might be getting lost in translation, and I’m certainly too ignorant of Chinese culture, mythology, and folklore to really appreciate everything happening in this show, not least of which due to the language barrier.

He is, interestingly, far more moved by it than the drawing Wuxian does of *him* two episodes beforehand—is this merely the result of the progression of their relationship? This is post-cold springs after all.

That took some research to understand!

The main “vulnerable” character that he never seems to swoop in to save is Meng Yao and I wonder if it’s because he can sense something “off” about him. I felt bad for Meng Yao at first but he always put me on edge. Honestly, is there anyone who trusts Meng Yao as far as they can throw him? *looks at Elrond* OK, anyone except Elrond?(6)

Honestly, before I started watching this I saw that one of the characters was being referred to as Elrond and I wondered, going into it, if I’d know which character it was, and then Lan Xichen walked in and I was like “oh, yeah, obviously!” Seriously, what is it about him? Is it his physical appearance? The way he holds himself? His outfit? His pattern of speaking? How is this person so obviously coded “Elrond?”

Except they don’t really. That’s never how it works.

And interestingly, when looking at his name: “Wei Ying, Ying is his 名, meaning, baby; Wuxian is his 字, it comes from an ancient prose “喜乐无羡赏,忿怒无羡刑”, which means when you’re delighted don’t reward without restraint, when you’re angry don’t punish without restraint. Wuxian here means exercise your power reasonably.”(9)

The richness of the world in this show really appeals to me as does the carefully choreographed costume design, productions design, and cinematography (seriously, everyone needs to dress like this all the time; end of story; I have spoken). There have been some amazing shots that I can only assume are drone footage that have been ADRed?

20 years in and adulthood still sucks. 0 of 5 stars. Would not recommend.

#the untamed #mo dao zu shi #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #mzds #tolkien #yes tolkien gets a namedrop too #he's like the linchpin of my brain

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