#spot the jiang cheng challenge
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Drabble Challenge Day 5/30 (aka back from accidental hiatus)
Hiiiii to anyone out there still interested. I didn't intend to take that long of a break, but life happens, inspiration comes and goes, and sometimes social media breaks are necessary. Anyway, I'm excited to be back to writing and have a plan to keep it up longer this time and hopefully post some longer projects sometime soon!
TLDR; I'm back for now and hopefully for a while. Previous prompts can be read here.
Prompt: Arguing
Wangxian, Modern AU, genderswap, trans LWJ, 1025 words, G
“You’re going to get caught or run over if you keep leaning out of the booth like that,” Nie Huaisang commented, not looking up from where they were perusing the menu.
“But what if–”
“Stop being ridiculous and sit up,” Jiang Cheng snapped. “Lan Zhan’s not going to start making out with a girl in public on their first date.”
Wei Ying wrinkled her nose, an uncomfortable twist in her stomach at the thought of Lan Zhan kissing anyone, public or not.
“A-sang! Tell him I’m not being ridiculous.”
“You’re being a little ridiculous.”
Wei Ying slumped down on the vinyl bench, pouting while her brother and supposed best friend ignored her. She fiddled with a loose thread on the hem of her shirt, determinedly not thinking about Lan Zhan and kissing. That only ever led to thinking about Lan Zhan kissing her, which wasn’t the point of this venture at all. She was here for 100% selfless reasons.
“I just think,” she said, ignoring Jiang Cheng’s groan and Nie Huaisang rolling their eyes, “that someone should keep an eye on them. We don’t know this girl’s intentions, what if she ends up doing something to make Lan Zhan uncomfortable? It’s her first date since starting HRT, and there are a lot of weirdos out there, you know.”
“You’re her roommate,” Jiang Cheng barked. Nie Huaisang shushed him, darting a quick glance over their shoulder to make sure he hadn’t alerted Lan Zhan to their presence. Jiang Cheng glared at them, but leaned in and lowered his voice when he continued, “You could have just used location sharing and fake emergencies like everyone else who wants to get out of a bad date.”
“He has a point,” Nie Huaisang said. “And your argument would be a lot more convincing if you hadn’t gotten drunk and cried to us about how you’re in love with your perfect best friend two nights ago.”
“I knew telling you would be a bad idea,” she groaned.
“Because we might actually force you to do something about it instead of moping around about it?” Jiang Cheng challenged, raising an angry eyebrow.
“There’s nothing to do about it,” Wei Ying insisted. “Lan Zhan doesn’t feel the same way about me.” Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang shot each other looks that Wei Ying couldn’t decipher. Instead of waiting for either of them to placate her, she slid out of the booth. “I’m going to the bathroom, order me the spicy pork noodles and something strong and alcoholic if the waiter comes by.”
When Wei Ying got to a stall, she locked the door behind her and leaned against it, letting out a shaky breath.
“Get it together and be a good friend,” she muttered to herself. It did little to untangle the knot in her stomach that had formed the instant Lan Zhan had walked into the restaurant with another girl on her arm. She knew she was being ridiculous. She didn’t have some claim to Lan Zhan just because they were best friends, or because she’d been the first person Lan Zhan had come out to, or because she’d been there when Lan Zhan had started hormones, or because they lived together, or because she’d been in love with her for virtually forever. She allowed herself two more deep breaths before slapping her cheeks with her hands. No more wallowing. She was going to go back to her booth, eat her spicy noods, and get shitfaced with her brother and best friend, even if it killed her a little inside. Maybe if she looked sad enough Nie Huaisang would switch spots with her so she wouldn’t be tempted to spy on Lan Zhan’s entire date.
Resolve set, she opened the stall door and marched out towards the sink, ready to shove her feelings back into the bullet proof safe she’d been keeping them in for years.
“Ooof,” she said, fumbling to a stop when she nearly ran into a person in front of her stall. “Sorry! I didn’t know anyone was–”
Her breath caught in her throat. It was Lan Zhan standing before her, tall and beautiful and clearly unsurprised to be running into her.
“Wei Ying.”
“L-Lan Zhan! Hi, I didn’t know you were here tonight too!”
Lan Zhan said nothing, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow at her.
“Aiyah, Lan Zhan,” she sighed. “When did you see me?”
“When you leaned out of your booth right after we sat down,” Lan Zhan said, her gaze strong and unwavering and pinning Wei Ying in place. “Why did you follow me here?”
Wei Ying gulped. She’d always had trouble lying to Lan Zhan–hiding her endless love and devotion didn’t count as lying, technically, just avoiding the truth for the good of their friendship–and she couldn’t bring herself to do it now. She was pretty sure Lan Zhan knew exactly why she was there anyway.
“I, um… I was spying on your date.”
Lan Zhan’s mouth pressed into a hard line, undoubtedly displeased at having her suspicions confirmed.
“Why?”
“I’m sorry Zhan-jie,” she said, unable to keep the whine out of her voice entirely. “I just wanted to make sure Mo Whatserface isn’t, like a murderer or a stalker or an undercover bigot. Roommate responsibilities and all that. You’re my friend, I just–”
“I’m not a child,” Lan Zhan cut in. Wei Ying’s mouth snapped shut. Lan Zhan never interrupted anyone. Her beautiful face was twisted in anger, a flush on her ears and spreading down her neck. Her hands, clenched into fists at her side, were shaking. She hadn’t been this angry with Wei Ying since they were teenagers. “And I don’t need you to supervise me. My dates are my business.”
Anguish and regret curled in Wei Ying’s stomach, creeping up her throat, nearly suffocating in its strength.
“Zhan-jie,” she choked out, “I’m really–”
“Don’t,” Lan Zhan huffed. “Just leave me alone.”
Lan Zhan didn’t wait for a response. With one more huff she turned on her heel and stomped out of the bathroom, the clicking of her cute and sensible kitten heels the only sound left behind her.
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🍰 coffee & cake 💜💚
commission for @pipuhattar ☕️ it's my favorite from this run bc i just really loved the prompt of shijie and da-ge hanging out and being cute!
the series so far: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67 | 68 | 69 | 70 | 71 | 72 | 73 | ★ | wallpapers: 1 | 2 | printable: 1 | 2 | 3
#nie mingjue#jiang yanli#mdzs#mo dao zu shi#mdzs modern au#(art)#(fanart)#(august2021)#(commission)#spot the jiang cheng challenge#I LOVE THEM!!#someone tell me the ship name so i can tag it!!#they're buying cake to take home to their didis
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That artwork awakened the Yaoli feelings that have lain dormant since last spring, and I started writing out this whole summary of the two canon-divergence scenarios for them that live in my head (one which fixes things, one which makes many things worse), but that was taking too long. So instead! Here is why I find them compelling!
One of the only times they interact (sort of) in CQL canon is the godawful dinner party after Nightless City, where JGS tries to pressure them back into a marriage alliance and WWX comes in and makes it WORSE by insisting JYL speak her mind. JYL respectfully declines the offer, but she looks PROFOUNDLY uncomfortable the entire time. And then! Once she’s done speaking, JGY stands up, acknowledges and praises JYL’s response in a way that prevents JGS from trying to push back, and skillfully changes the subjects. It’s the most helpful thing anyone does for JYL that entire night! It’s the only time someone doesn’t speak for her or put her on the spot! GET YOU A MAN LIKE THAT, YANLI.
Both of them prioritize being polite and accommodating in their interactions with others... and both would be able to figure out when the other one is fronting. JYL would know that something was Off with JGY’s strained :) face, and JGY wouldn’t mistake (or willfully misinterpret) JYL’s silences and demure nods for enthusiasm.
They could be such good allies for each other within the rancid environment of Jinlintai! They’re both outsiders with limited freedoms; JYL is higher-ranking and in less physical danger than JGY, but JGY has more freedom of movement. They can protect each other!
(Without getting too in the weeds... JYL’s experiences growing up would make her sensitive to Madame Jin’s treatment of JGY, and JGY’s experiences growing up would make him sensitive to the threat JGS potentially poses to JYL.)
JGY has an established Type and that Type is “eldest daughter.”
JYL would probably not hold the dirty work JGY does for JGS against him? I mean, she wouldn’t be THRILLED, but her kid brother’s the Yiling Laozu, so her threshold for is “that was bad but he felt stuck so I’ll forgive it” is pretty high.
If they start having an affair while JZX is still alive, there is all KINDS of messy drama potential. Does this factor into JGY putting JZX into harm’s way (or, in CQL canon, straight-up having him killed)? Is the resemblance between Jin Ling and JGY more than a coincidence (esp. given novel canon’s implication that JGY strongly favors his mother)? HMMM!
If they have an arranged marriage after JZX’s death as JGS tries to maintain control over Lotus Pier, we have the potential for JGY shifting his loyalties to Lotus Pier as he and JYL develop feelings for each other and he becomes more enmeshed with her and Jiang Cheng. Can JGY do anything about his father without implicating himself (and likely taking the blame if it becomes his word against JGS’s)? No. Can Yunmeng Jiang challenge Lanling Jin militarily or financially? Also no. But could Great Sect Leader Jiang Wanyin, armed with a long list of receipts, turn public opinion against JGS? Especially with the support of Nie Mingjue, who doesn’t trust JGY as far as he can throw him but does trust his comrade in arms from the Sunshot Campaign and his jiejie who tirelessly healed Nie soldiers? HMMM!!!
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Post-post-post cannon Wangxian being completely in love in the cloud recessess as teenagers who time travelled back to their own 16-17 year old bodies on accident.
In love. Wangxian are in love. In love. Just smooph and fluff.
Like they're effortlessly in love. (No matter how much Jiang Cheng yells and ties to control Wei Wuxian, Wei Wuxian casually refuses to hear any of it, as he'd been ignoring Jiang Cheng's homophobia and hate forever by the time they both came back by accident. )
Also wwx doesn't hide his genius and every one around him is like senpai *heart eyes* (honestly he's almost forgotten how to hide his effortless genius.)
(Just FYI, don't have to include this: this Wei Wuxian has long since come to terms with all his war and Sunshot and Shiji related trauma— just FYI.)
I just want to read as much of the smooph, smushy fluff and love you can stomach writing please.
Extra points if you can show them both just effortlessly and absentmindedly flirting.
(You don't have to incude this, but: They just take like a weekend off and go raze the main Wen family to the ground casually— back late with Starbucks— "We were night hunting. What do you mean the Wen family died? So sad. We feel so bad. Don't we feel bad?" " Mm. Feel bad.")
Thank you so much for existing in this fandom. I love your fics. I love you. 💖
Xichen is proud of his brother but he can't deny that he is sometimes concerned for him as well. Wangji is a dedicated and accomplished disciple but he is isolated from his peers. Xichen has friends and confidants but Wangji is simply content to be by himself.
That is concerning, even for a Lan.
He had hopes that incoming disciples would manage to shake him up a little but that hope didn't last long. Year after year, Wangji continued to remain aloof, not expressing any interest in the disciples.
But something has changed this year. Xichen didn't even know what was going on until a few weeks into the introduction of the guest disciples.
He spots them by chance. Young Master Wei is cheerfully waving at a vendor, his smile wide and bright, ensnaring the old woman's entire attention.
Wangji is right by him, Bichen in one hand but the other…
The other is placed on the small of Wei-gongzi's back.
Xichen watches as they move on from the vendor. He sees how Wangji seems to shield Wei-gongzi from the crowd, angling his body slightly to ensure his companion can walk freely.
It is a gesture of protectiveness. It is a gesture of possession.
Xichen studies their body language carefully. Wangji seems content to follow Wei-gongzi around, his expression closed but gentle. There are no frosty glares or pursed lips. His brother, for once, looks entirely relaxed. Everything about him is loose and easy underneath all of his Lan elegance. His shoulders slope gently, his spine isn't as rigid, and his walk is steady.
The First Jade has never seen his brother look so settled.
Wei Wuxian seems happy too, his smile incandescent and lovely. Almost as tall as Wangji, the boy is the very antithesis of his brother. While Wangji is sedate and content, Wei Wuxian is nearly bursting with energy and joy. His silver eyes sparkle in the sunlight and his long hair sways with every movement of his body.
Xichen's heart softens at the glimpse of such open beauty. There's certainly something alluring about Young Master Wei. He seems to suffuse his surroundings with happiness.
There's something in the air around them.
Despite his lively mind wandering from one stall to another, Wei-gongzi always finds his way back to Wangji, looking at him with a hopeful smile and a cheerful comment.
His brother's expression is unfamiliar to him. Wangji looks like his entire world is smiling up at him.
'Is this love?' He wonders to himself as he watches his brother gently pull Wei-gongzi out of a running child's way. He doesn't miss how the touch lingers, fingers curling slightly around the slender wrist before pulling away.
There are many eyes following Wangji and his friend, and all of them have indulgent expressions. The people of Caiyi town have seen Wangji since he was a child. They know him and his nature well enough.
Xichen suspects they're just as happy to see Wangji roaming the markets leisurely as a pretty butterfly flutters around him.
"Is that Lan Wangji?" Nei Mingjue observes, stepping up beside him.
Xichen nods, "And his friend, Wei Wuxian."
"Hm," his friend says, "I've been hearing that name a lot recently. They say the only reason Jin Zuxian beat him in the rankings is because of his looks."
Xichen chuckles at Mingjue's tone, "Ah, Da-ge, you must hate that."
His friend rolls his eyes, taking a sip of his tea. "How do looks matter when you're facing down Fierce Corpses?"
"From what shufu says, Young Master Wei is Wangji's equal in many ways." Shufu had been wary at first, wondering what sort of chaos the son of Cangse Sanren would bring to Cloud Recesses. So far, Wei Wuxian has proven to be a mischievous but brilliant student. "He challenges shufu in class. They end up having loud, angry debates," Xichen chuckles because he knows his uncle, despite all appearances, loves being stimulated, "He mentions the boy often." There's a comment about Wei Wuxian almost every time he has tea with his uncle.
He looks at the two younger master's thoughtfully, "I didn't expect this."
"Are they courting?" Nei Mingjue asks bluntly, "Because your little brother is acting like a husband already."
Xichen stills and looks at the pair again. That is what's off about their body language. They move around each other confidently, not like a young couple in fresh blooms of love.
There are no tentative glances, awkward touches, and hyperawareness. Wangji touches Wei Wuxian like it is his right. Like he is confident that his touch is welcome and desired.
For a moment, he feels a pang of worry. Xichen looks at Wei Wuxian, studying him carefully to see if there's any sign of strain or distress.
He finds nothing. Wei-gongzi responds to every gesture of affection like a flower blooming under the Sun.
"Ah." He realizes, "You think…?"
"Strong bonds form quickly between cultivators with matching potential." Nei Mingjue observes, "It wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility. Your brother looks a little too enamored for this to be a teenage fancy."
Well, isn't this an interesting development?
---
"Your hair looks nice," Nie Huaisang says, hiding a smile behind his fan. Wei-xiong always looks good but there's something particularly radiant about him now. He seems to stand a bit taller, carry himself with a bit more confidence. His gestures seem stronger, somehow carrying more authority than before.
But the hair intrigues him. There's a glittering silver hairpiece in it and the strands of ebony are tied up in a neat style.
Neater than Wei-xiong's usual style. While Huaisang is certain Wei-xiong is perfectly capable of making himself as elegant as the Jades of Lan, he usually doesn't bother.
This was done by someone else's careful, loving, hand.
Jiang Yanli isn't at Cloud Recesses and Jiang Cheng would rather burn his own hands than show even an ounce of love towards his shixiong - something pricks when he thinks about that.
So there's someone else, someone willing to comb Wei-xiong's hair until every strand is glossy and straight, before tying it up with a silver and jade pin that looks expensive.
Wei-xiong is courting- no, he corrects himself, watching his friend wave enthusiastically at Lan Wangji, 'Wei-xiong is being courted.'
Wangji-xiong bows to his brother and walks towards Wei-xiong, his gaze softer than usual. His friend is smiling widely and immediately dissolves into excited chatter. Wangji-xiong doesn't seem bothered, just nodding occasionally and watching with indulgent patience.
There's something entirely lovely about the way Wangji-xiong's eyes remain fixed on Wei Wuxian's face. It is like nothing else is more important to him than Wei-xiong's smile and cheerful voice.
Standing together in the courtyard, both clad in white and glowing under the warm light of the morning sun, they look stunning. Huaisang's romantic heart sighs at the sight.
"What is he doing?" Jiang Wanyin hisses and Huaisang looks at him, startled by his icy tone, "I can't believe he's making a nuisance of himself again!"
"Jiang-gongzi-"
"Wei Wuxian! What are you doing, messing around?"
The loud voice catches almost everyone's attention. Wei-xiong looks over his shoulder and Wangji-xiong's expression turns frosty, all warmth draining from it immediately.
"Aiya, Jiang Cheng," Wei-xiong grins but it doesn't have that sheepish, placating quality that Huaisang had seen before, on those rare occasions he visited Lotus Pier with his da-ge. This grin was full of confidence and almost... dismissal. "Why are you angry now?"
Was that tone... mocking?
Huaisang's lips twitch as Jiang-gongzi swells further with rage, "Wei Wuxian! How can you be so shameless? Imposing yourself on Lan Wangji, always trying to distract him. Think of our sect's reputation for once!"
"Do not speak for me." Wangji-xiong's voice is icy and it cuts Jiang-gongzi's rant short immediately, "Wei Ying is free to seek me out whenever he wishes. No one may stop him."
And that seems to be that. Wei-xiong laughs and Wangji-xiong guides him away gently like he's someone delicate and not the strongest cultivator of their generation.
But, Huaisang muses, even strong people deserve gentleness.
---
"Da-shixiong! Show us that one again," A Jiang disciple demands and Wangji looks up from his work. He has clear sight of the training ground from where he's sitting. Wei Ying is standing in the middle, surrounded by a few Jiang and Lan disciples.
They're all looking at him in adoration.
Wangji feels a flood of amusement and sets his work aside, content to take a small break. It is always a treat to see his husband in his element; teaching people and nurturing young minds. They may be back in their teenage bodies, but their soul is much older.
Wei Ying, with his natural ability to charm juniors and his hard-earned wisdom, is the perfect teacher.
"It is amusing to see you so smitten," Wangji looks up to see his brother smiling at him, "Wei-gongzi must be very special, yes?"
His brother probably aims to fluster him, he is so fond of teasing Wangji. But Wangji had been Wei Ying's husband for more than a decade before an accident sent them back in time. He is no longer flustered or overwhelmed by his feelings. "Very special," He agrees, unable to help glancing back at his beloved, "Very lovely."
Xichen chuckles, "He is indeed lovely." His expression turns sly, "Do I need to speak with Uncle? Betrothal negotiations may be complicated in this case."
Wangji remains unphased, "You may," He says calmly, much to his brother's surprise, "Wei Ying will marry into the Lans. Give no concession to the Jiangs. He is just their Head Disciple, not the part of the family."
"Wangji," His brother breathes, "You're that invested?"
"Un. Will marry Wei Ying. Give him a better life. A life of dignity, freedom, and respect. Free of unnecessary debt that no one should foist on a child."
That is enough for Xichen to understand. His gaze turns solemn and he looks at Wei Ying carefully, "If that is what you wish, brother, you will have it."
---
Wangji feels his heart still when he steps into the library pavilion. He gazes at the scene before him, feeling the stiff formality of his expression melt away.
Wei Ying is beautiful, sitting there and reading peacefully. The evening sunlight envelopes him, giving him an ethereal glow. He traces his husband's features, feeling something akin to desperate love. It has been so since he saw this face and this body. Mo Xuanyu didn't lack beauty and Wei Ying's radiant personality had only added to it.
But this is Wei Ying's true body.
Helplessly drawn, he steps forward. "Xingan."
Wei Ying looks up, startled to hear such an endearment aloud. Immediately, his face is aglow with a pretty blush even as he laughs teasingly, "Lan Zhan! Don't be so bold!"
He walks towards Wei Ying and settles down by him, closer than truly appropriate but this is his husband. "Research?"
Wei Ying smiles, drawing Wangji's attention to his lips. There's no one in the library so Wangji permits himself the touch, reaching forward to gently caress them, "Such beauty." He whispers.
Wei Ying blushes again, "Er-gege," He protests, "Have mercy on my heart."
His fingers slide under Wei Ying's jaw, drawing him in gently. His husband is sweet and compliant as Wangji kisses him, an innocent brush of lips and nothing more. "My Wei Ying." His voice is low, heated in ways Wei Ying recognizes. He watches as those enchanting silver eyes brighten with passion.
His Wei Ying buries his warm face in his neck with a moan of protest, "Mercy, husband. You're so cruel to tease me like this when you can't take me to bed."
It is indeed a challenge to not have their 'everyday' but Wangji can be patient. Xiongzhang is already working on it.
For now, he is content.
They sit like that for a long time, Wei Ying leaning against him, trusting and calm. No one disturbs them and Xichen only stops by once, smiling knowingly in their direction and pointedly ignoring Wangji's restraining hand around Wei Ying's waist, stopping him from pulling away.
They spend the rest of the evening exchanging soft murmurs and softer kisses.
Nothing will stand in their way this time.
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@lan-xichens’ march gif challenge ; week four
what matters is 'you', not the state of you.
the reason i picked this scene with this quote is because i feel jiang cheng is a character who struggles with how he views himself a lot and it was obvious that he felt utterly worthless after his golden core was taken from him, so i feel this quote is something that befits him well; what matters is jiang cheng himself, not his ability to cultivate or not, and i know he fucked up a lot in his life and isn’t an overall good character, but damn i have a soft spot for this man
i went on a font downloading spree yesterday (downloaded over 60 fonts in about two hours) specifically for this challenge and i ended up using only two (2) fonts lmao but anyways i had a lot of fun making this set! the coloring style is far from what i’m used to but i was messing around and i ended up liking the color palette :D
tagging, as always, some of my fave gifmakers on this site @linglynz @mylastbraincql @leonzhng @paulyubin @sarawatsaraleo @yibobibo @lan-xichens @lanszhan @jiancheng @gaoshide @highwarlockkareena @nyx4 @purplexedhuman @aowyn @aheartfullofjolllly @xiaoxzhan but there’s absolutely no pressure <3
#marchgifchallenges#tag game#if you see me post this set again but in a yellow color palette no you don't
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Restless Rewatch: The Untamed, Episode 23, second part
(Masterpost) (Other Canary Stuff)
Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!
Nature Abhors a (Power) Vacuum
Jin Guangshan, Nie Mingjue, and Lan Xichen have gathered to decide what to do about the remaining Wen people and also what to do about the Yin metal. They have not invited Jiang Cheng to this discussion, or blowhard Clan Leader Yao, despite those clans having been hit particularly hard by the Wens in the course of the war.
The three of them have a conversation about what to do with the Wen captives, showing their different attitudes towards killing.
Jin Guangshan: Killing is awesome, particularly in project management. It's just so efficient.
Nie Mingjue: Killing is necessary, and a little bit fun, too.
Lan Xichen: Killing is necessary, sadly, but we can randomly spare some women or old people, as a token sign that we’re not monsters. Kind of like when you have a fancy dinner and include a tofu dish for the vegetarians.
Nie Mingjue: Nobody likes tofu, Xichen.
Jin Guangshan says he's looking for the Yin Iron and that they can't let any Wens or "ambitious people" get a hold of it. By ambitious people he means Wei Wuxian, not himself and his murder kid. Lan Xichen realizes this right away but doesn't, you know, do anything to contradict him. Jin Guangshan says he's asked "A-Yao" to look into it. Which is smart, because A-Yao is already in cahoots with Xue Yang, who actually has the piece of Yin Iron they're looking for.
Getting Jiggy With It
Then Jin Guangshan introduces Meng Yao, now renamed Jin Guangyao, in a weird twist on generation names. He has given him the name of a sibling or cousin of his own generation (starting with Guang), rather than a name of the next generation (starting with Zi). JGS says that JGY just recently learned about about being related to him, although we know perfectly well that's not true.
And they both talk like he appreciates JGY's efficiency and helpfulness, but that's not why JGS has him at his side. He has taken him in because he is a steel-eyed murder bot, not in spite of it.
(OP does not believe that Jin Guangyao could have been a good person if only his dad had let him hold Jin Ling that one time, as some have argued. Dude killed his own child because there was a chance he might be disabled in a way that could lead to gossip. Dude is a stone cold killer.)
(more after the cut)
In the language of CDrama costume (which is not, precisely, the language of actual historical clothing), Jin Guangyao has chosen to dress as a minister instead of as a chevalier. This is partly an artifact of his mother's ideas about a gentleman. It also suggests that he’s content with the sort of career that's available to a bastard of a noble house--not inheriting the noble title, but having enough favor to rise in power.
It may also be a ruse to make him seem like he's not a strong cultivator and not a strong fighter, when in fact he is both, at least by the time he’s throwing death chords at Jiang Cheng, much later in the show.
Mingjue makes all kinds of grumpy faces and snarky remarks to let everyone know that he fucking hates Jin Guangyao. Xichen agrees to his “nice refugee camp with only a little death” plan, with no qualifications.
Now we get to see Jin Guangyao's manipulation of Lan Xichen. Lan Xichen says that Nie Mingjue wants a plan that’s more killy, because he believes in punishing evil. JGY deliberately misunderstands this, pretending that Lan Xichen said he, JGY, is evil, kind of forcing LXC to reassure him and take his side in an argument that isn’t actually happening.
They have a little handholding while bowing, and then after Lan Xichen leaves, Jin Guangyao puts on his evil face and has all the prisoners killed behind the big closed door.
This is done in such a violent fashion that the blood apparently flows up several stairs to the door, and over the tall raised threshold, before flowing downward toward the camera. Some evil is so extreme that even traditional Chinese doorway architecture can’t stop it.
Run To the Rock
Then we go outside to where Wei Wuxian is standing on a rocky outcropping, thinking it would be a good strategic spot to choose if he's ever in a battle where he wants to commit suicide right quick.
Lan Wangji comes to join him and admire the view, not knowing yet that this view, or one a whole lot like it, is going to be seared into his memory for most of his life.
Lan Wangji is becoming more and more committed to Wei Wuxian, more and more inexorably joined to him, but he still doesn't agree with him. So they each have this comfort in each others' presence at the same time as being massively in conflict.
Wei Wuxian asks him what he thinks of all the politicking and murdering. Who is good and who is evil? LWJ doesn't answer because WWX is leaking black smoke, so he grabs him and tells him to concentrate. Lan Wangji is, incidentally, wearing Princess-Leia quantities of lip gloss.
Lan Wangji asks if Wei Wuxian would like to learn a new tune, "Absterge" according to Netflix. The fuck? [op looks it up in the dictionary]. "To cleanse, especially by wiping." Also known as aftercare. Netflix. Honey. This word is MIDDLE FRENCH. Will you knock it the fuck off?
So anyway, instead of answering his question about who is good and who is evil, LWJ asks if he wants to learn a song called "Cleansing." Wei Wuxian says “hey babe, are you fucking kidding me?”
His actual words are "you doubt me too?" meaning "you think I also took the missing 4th chunk of Yin iron to make my ugly tiger amulet, rather than obviously having used that giant sword I pulled out of the turtle?"
Lan Wangji mentally replays Wen Ruohan's questions in his head--the questions he barked at Wei Wuxian right before choking him unconscious--which Lan Wangji also feels entitled to know the answers to. Fuck you, Lan Wangji. He answers WWX with "when did you forge your amulet?" Which is his way of saying "yes, I doubt you."
Wei Wuxian kindly refrains from saying "while we were on a break, bitch" and instead tells him the exact truth--I found a yin iron sword in the turtle--but says it in his patented "make it sound like a lie" way.
LWJ keeps grilling him, eventually coming out and saying dude, you knew the sword was Yin iron, why did you need to use it?
This is the crucial question--why WWX broke his first promise, to Lan Yi, which was to try to get rid of the Yin Iron. He won’t tell anyone the answer, which is that he needs to use it because he can't cultivate normally, because he lost his golden core. He made a lot of promises before that happened, and he probably expected to keep them. But without his core, everything changed; without his core, he’s a different person, so it’s maybe not fair to expect him to honor his previous promises.
I’m reminded of my grandfather, who was the oldest son of an old southern US family, with lots of expectations as the firstborn. He went off to WWI as a soldier, expecting to die. He didn’t die, and so from that point on, he regarded his life as a gift. He felt could do whatever he wanted with it, and let go of expectations from before the war. He moved to Paris and took up with a glamorous divorcee 7 years older than him (my Grandma, eventually).
The actual point of that story, other than OP having cool grandparents, is that when you think you’re going to die, and then you don’t die, your ideas about what you owe to people can change quite a bit. Wei Wuxian expected to die in the Burial Mounds; he expected to die at Nightless City; he expects it, over and over, and each time he doesn’t die, he gets further and further from being what everyone else wants him to be. And--a lot like soldiers returning from a war-- NOBODY in his life knows how to talk to him about it.
Wei Wuxian tells Lan Wangji to back off, Lan Wangji says why aren't you letting me help you, and they are once again on the edge of the same fight they keep having. Lan Wangji does some impassioned arm holding while Wei Wuxian says he's not like Wen Ruohan.
Romantic Duet #1
The argument is interrupted by screams and killing, so they go to check it out, and find the Jins hunting down some prisoners for sport. They arrive in time to save two people. Yay?
Jin ZIxun acts like a jerk, as always. The new element is that per Jin Guangshan, anyone concerned with Yin Iron shouldn't be alive. He says that the Lan and Nie clans agreed, and challenges Wei Wuxian. Lan Wangji stops him from responding, grabbing his wrist.
The Jins leave and Wei Wuxian refers back to their earlier conversation, saying there will be more resentful spirits now and that "Rest" is the music to play, not "Cleansing."
He gives Lan Wangji a long look and then pointedly removes Lan Wangji’s hand from his wrist, by holding his hand, which is some next-level mixed signaling. Lan Wangji totally deserves it at this point, though. He keeps pushing and pushing WWX about his cultivation method, but he refuses to discuss the underlying morality of it, or the morality of the killing going on right in front of them.
WWX walks off, leaving LWJ to stew in his own juices surrounded by a bunch of fresh corpses.
Lan Wangji fails his saving throw against the guilt trip, and sits his ass down to play Rest, just like Wei Ying told him to. So switchy! Wei Wuxian, out of sight but not out of earshot, hears him and accompanies him on Chenqing.
This scene is slightly ridiculous and a whole lot sublime. Ridiculous because it's their first time playing music together, so it's a super slow, romantic, extended scene, but they're surrounded by corpses. And not the helpful, friendly, third-wheel-on-a-date type of corpses.
It's sublime because the occasion of their first beautiful, literally magical duet is an argument. And they are joining together to play beautiful romantic music - as a service for the dead. And they are doing it while they are on literally opposite sides of a literal killing field. And Lan Wangji is sitting literally in the middle of a wide open road; the sort of road that they will both reject, metaphorically, later in the show. There is so much about their conflict and their journey that is encapsulated in this one musical moment.
Lan Wangji, by playing the song Wei Wuxian said was needed, is telling WWX that he took his words to heart, that he is listening, even though they're at odds.
WWX, by stopping and playing with him, is acknowledging this. And by settling the dead souls together, they are both reinforcing their dedication to doing what's right even as they both struggle with knowing what that is.
When Other Friendships Have Been Forgot, Ours Will Still Be Hot
Now we have the sworn brothers thing. I understand, plot wise, why this has to happen, but why would Nie Mingjue ever agree to this? Lan Xichen's puppy eyes are just that persuasive?
If they ever crack your spine, drop a line
If they ever cut your throat, write a note
If you’re ever in a mill and get sawed in half, I won’t laugh (HA HA HA HA)
Tedious Party Time
Now there's a cultivation party, which is about as excruciating to watch as it would be to attend.
Everyone is lining up to praise Jin Guangshan. To be fair, he did provide shelter for most of the smaller clans while the war was going on. So being grateful is appropriate, but Clan Leader Yao practically breaks his own neck kissing Jin ass. Yao says JGY’s contribution was the greatest of the war, adding, "fuck Wei Wuxian; everything is his fault."
The Jiangs show up wearing mourning belts that show off their itty bitty waists, and Jin Guangshan makes shifty eyes like a cartoon landlord when he sees them arrive.
JGS praises Jiang Cheng, and asks when his fancy clan-leader ceremony is going to happen. Jiang Cheng says he's still in mourning so it's not appropriate. JGS is like “Oh...yeah," as if he totally forgot about all the Yunmeng slaughter, and talks up his friendship with Jiang Fengmian. He acts comforting while WWX manages not to barf.
Then the Lan clan shows up and there is nice encouraging chit chat between LXC and JC...
...and just, SO MUCH mournful staring between Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian.
Then the Nies arrive. Jin Guangshan tells Nie Mingjue he's late, and that everyone's waiting for him. That might be true in the script but it’s clearly bullshit on the screen, where the Lans and the Jiangs are still milling around looking for the coat room.
Nie Mingjue--who, let's remember, JUST swore to be brothers with Jin Guangyao--looks at him like he's something that fell off a garbage truck. Lan Xichen jumps in to maximize the discomfort by pointing out that Jin Guangyao should address Nie Mingjue as Big Daddy Da-ge from now on.
Then the Jins offer Nie Mingjue the giant fire throne because...he's the leader of the Sunshot campaign, I guess? Of course it's all a manipulation tactic, designed to make him say he won't sit there, so that JGS can elevate himself to head cultivator, or something? And sit in front of the throne but not on it? Cultivator succession seems kinda arbitrary.
I swear to god, it wasn't until I was clipping this episode that I realized Wen Ruohan had two thrones and they're in different rooms from each other.
Finally everyone goes to sit down, but because there hasn't been enough fucking awkwardness, JGY stops WWX to ask him what's on his mind. WWX asks him why he's not carrying his sword, which made me laugh and laugh. Wei Wuxian must have been just waiting for a chance to ask someone else that question for a change.
Jin Guangyao says he threw it away, because it was just a random sword, but he really means he had it made into a sneaky murder belt, that he will be using again in 13 to 16 years. They both fake-laugh and trade Mean Girls insults pretend to like each other.
Everyone wanders around toasting each other. Lan Wangji goes to find Wei Wuxian, after first making sure that his hair looks good.
Wei Wuxian is lying around on the steps, sprawling and drinking wine, and not, incidentally, looking for Lan Wangji. He continues to not seek him out and Lan Wangji continues to chase after him.
Wei Wuxian says "how about playing Cleansing?" but Lan Wangji says he's learning a new score. It looks like it's going to be another argument, but then Wei Wuxian smiles and kind of praises Lan Wangji for being stubborn.
Awkward Marriage Proposal
Just then everyone inside starts cheering for Jin Guangshan to give a speech. Jin Guangshan is making a move to marry Jiang Yanli to his son, which is a big time power grab, given that the Jiang Clan is 1. vulnerable and depleted 2. has control of the Yin tiger amulet.
We get a very rare glimpse into Jiang Cheng’s inner mind, where he thinks that saying yes isn’t a great idea, but isn’t sure what to do. This marriage would make his sister happy, but could destroy the Jiang Clan's independence.
Fortunately, Wei Wuxian joins the party just in time to fuck up Jin Guanshan’s plans. Will this teach Jin Guangshan not to invite Wei Wuxian to parties? It will not.
Soundtrack: Friendship, by Cole Porter (from “Anything Goes”)
Bonus:
#the untamed#the untamed gifs#wangxian#restless rewatch the untamed#canary3d-original#my gifs#words:2750
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Futures past pt19 / on AO3
As music lessons resume, Lan Xichen has a suggestion for Nie Huaisang
Nie Huaisang cheerfully knocked on the door, ready for his first music lesson of the year, only to be met by a decidedly grumpy Lan Xichen. The other boy tried to smile at him, tried to make conversation as usual and to ask how much he’d practiced that week, but Nie Huaisang wasn’t fooled.
“So, what’s wrong?” he asked as he set up his guqin, a little proud to show off again that he had his own instrument now. “You look so dejected that I could mistake you for your brother.”
“Let’s not talk about Wangji right now,” Lan Xichen replied, his expression turning sour.
Now he looked like his uncle, though Nie Huaisang was too polite to say as much. It was really strange to see him so upset, and a little worrying as well, but Lan Xichen did not give him the chance to ask any questions.
“I’ve been thinking a lot while you were gone,” Lan Xichen announced with a fake smile that wasn’t fooling anyone, “and I think your level is good enough to start teaching you something a little more advanced. Shufu has given me permission to give you an introduction to some techniques we use for musical cultivation, if that interests you.”
Nie Huaisang gasped at the news.
“Really? You mean, real musical cultivation?” he asked excitedly. “The real deal? Like… like battle songs? Healing songs? You think I’m good enough?”
His earlier bad mood quickly melting away, Lan Xichen smiled warmly and came to sit next to Nie Huaisang.
“I think you’re very skilled, yes,” he said, making Nie Huaisang flush at the praise, “though it’ll be a while until you can use musical techniques in a Night Hunt. But since we have this entire year before us, I thought you could try to learn Inquiry.”
“Really?”
To confirm it, Lan Xichen merely handed Nie Huaisang a musical score, one he appeared to have copied himself. Nie Huaisang took it with trembling hands, awed to be trusted in that manner.
“The song itself is not particularly complex,” Lan Xichen explained as Nie Huaisang looked over the score, “and it can be learned and used even by someone of ordinary cultivation level. The real difficulty, and what is going to take us a while, is the Qin language needed to understand the answers given by spirits.”
His eyes still on the sheet of music, Nie Huaisang just nodded. Then, realising what he’d just heard, he looked up and stared at Lan Xichen with wide, shocked eyes.
“Isn’t that a secret Lan technique?”
“I'm not sure about 'secret' but it is an exclusive technique,” Lan Xichen confirmed, his expression turning more serious. “That’s why I had to ask for shufu’s permission before I could offer to teach you. I won’t hide that he was reluctant,” he added with a strained smile. “But I told him that I fully trust you to respect our secrets.”
Hands clenched on the music sheet, Nie Huaisang hurriedly nodded again. He couldn’t think of a bigger honour done to him. He’d never have dared to ask to be taught any Lan secret techniques, but since it was offered he would do his best to be worthy of it, and to show proper respect and gratitude.
“I also told him that having a goal of your own seemed to help you in your studies last year,” Lan Xichen added, “and that this might help you do better in your exams by giving you better motivation.”
However pleased he was that Lan Xichen would trust him, and with something that important, the reminder of his failure to do well in class made Nie Huaisang grimace, and instantly reduced his enthusiasm. “Does it mean the music lessons will be dependent on the grades I get in regular classes?”
“It’s possible that shufu came to that conclusion,” Lan Xichen replied with a mischievous smile. “But I never actually said that, and your grades are of no concern to me. I just like teaching you”
“Xichen-gege, you’re so crafty!” Nie Huaisang laughed. “Who knew you were capable of that! You’re the best, you know? I like when you teach me, too. I’ll try to be as good a student as you are a teacher!”
“I’m pleased you’d think so well of me,” Lan Xichen said, his cheeks turning a little pink. “Now, let’s get to work. I think for today, we’re just going to focus on the song itself. Then next week, if you are comfortable enough playing it, I can show you how to infuse it with your spiritual energy to have the right effect, and we can start learning Qin language.”
It sounded like a great plan, and one Nie Huaisang wholeheartedly agreed to.
Just as Lan Xichen promised, the song itself was not particularly challenging, and short enough that Nie Huaisang had good hopes of quickly learning it by heart if he just put his mind to it. He’d try to be careful not to practice it around the other Nie disciples, since it was a Lan technique, but he’d still work hard on it, and… maybe that might turn Night Hunts into something interesting at last. It should certainly make Nie Mingjue happy if his brother finally became interested in those, even if he had to use another sect’s method for it.
It opened a world of possibilities, and Nie Huaisang promised himself to practice hard to make this happen, so both his brother and Lan Xichen would be proud of him. Or at least, as hard as he was capable, especially with all that he had to do that year.
That would come later. The lesson having reached its conclusion for the day, Lan Xichen served tea for both of them, and offered some candies to celebrate the start of a new year of learning. By then, Lan Xichen’s mood appeared to have improved a great deal, and Nie Huaisang decided it would be fine to start the first phase of his great plan.
"So, Xichen-gege, what do you think of this year's students?" Nie Huaisang asked innocently while grabbing some candies.
Lan Xichen's expression turned sour for a brief moment, before he got himself back under control and smiled again.
"They are an interesting lot, certainly," he said without enthusiasm. "Are you making friends this time?"
After taking a quick sip of tea, Nie Huaisang nodded, grinning.
"Gege, you won't believe it, but even last year I made a friend!” he announced. “Apparently, Zixun thinks I'm really cool and told his cousin about me!"
It was still really funny to him, and judging by his surprised expression, Lan Xichen hadn’t expected that either.
"Then Jin Zixun has better tastes than I expected,” Lan Xichen said with some hesitation, “and I must reconsider my opinion of him."
"Well, me too! But I am making friends this year too, and they're nicer about it than Zixun was. Have you met Wei Wuxian yet?"
Stopping short of drinking some tea, Lan Xichen's smile wavered. He froze for a second, and put down his glass again.
"I have,” Lan Xichen said in a tone of voice that made it plain the encounter had brought him little joy. “Jiang Cheng… I mean, Jiang gongzi came to greet me on his second day here, and Wei gongzi was with him. I suppose he was polite enough with me."
Nie Huaisang laughed at seeing him struggle to find something nice to say.
"But he upset your uncle and you don't like that."
That was all the encouragement Lan Xichen needed to allow his expression to turn into anger, which Nie Huaisang found very funny.
"He was extremely rude to shufu,” Lan Xichen complained. “It’s very unfortunate that he should show so little respect to a teacher. He's also determined to pester poor Wangji, who isn't used to being treated like that!” He paused, taking a deep breath to compose himself, but didn’t manage to put on a smile again. “Huaisang, since you're his friend, do you think you might tell him to leave Wangji alone?"
All of Nie Huaisang’s amusement quickly dissipated at that demand and he frowned.
"Well that's a problem! You really dislike him that much?"
Lan Xichen fell silent for a moment. Nie Huaisang found it more worrying than if he’d answered right away. A little anger at a misbehaving student was one thing, but he’d talked enough with Lan Xichen to recognise those moments when he was trying hard to be fair to someone he didn’t particularly like. He used to make the same face when talking about Su She, back before he started warming up to him.
"He doesn't seem like a bad person,” Lan Xichen said at last, “and he hasn't done anything to me, so I cannot dislike him. I am just worried for Wangji, who isn’t very good at dealing with people."
"That's really inconvenient,” Nie Huaisang sighed. “Xichen-gege, I was really hoping you'd help me help them to become friends! It would have been a lot of fun, the two of us scheming together…” he sighed again. “Oh, well. I'll see if I can get Jiang-xiong or Su-xiong instead. I don’t want to involve you in something you’d find upsetting."
"I think the fact you’d want such a thing is already upsetting me a little,” Lan Xichen replied. “Is it even possible for them to be friends? They are… very different."
Nie Huaisang gave that a moment of consideration before shrugging.
"I guess. But we're pretty different too, and we didn't start off so well either, and look at us now! If it worked for us, it can work for them! I’m sure they can become good friends like us!"
A spot or pink appeared on Lan Xichen's cheeks, but his expression remained conflicted.
"I think it's different. Their first meeting was a fight."
Nie Huaisang could only laugh.
"And I ran away from you when you tried to chat!” he pointed out, grabbing another candy which he pushed toward Lan Xichen. “Anyway, wouldn't it be good for Wangji to have friends? He's too serious. It's not healthy for a boy his age to be so serious. As his elders, we need to make sure he doesn't get lonely."
"you're barely a year older than him," Lan Xichen remarked, fighting a smile as he took the candy. "I'm not sure you have much claim as an elder."
One hand on his heart, Nie Huaisang faked an offended expression which made Lan Xichen chuckle.
"I am an elder!” he protested theatrically. “I am wiser in the way of the world, so it is my duty to guide these children. Wei Wuxian too!” he added, a touch more seriously. “I think he was impressed by Wangji, you know. Jiang-xiong says that it's unheard of for him to find someone he can't beat.” He paused, and considered that. “Jiang-xiong also says he kind of hopes that Wei-xiong gets his ass kicked very hard, so it teaches him humility. And Meng-xiong didn't say anything, but he did nod."
Lan Xichen grinned.
"I do get the sensation that people tend to be as irritated by him as they are endeared. And I suppose… Wangji too was impressed by Wei gongzi's skill. Mostly he said it was quite upsetting that such talent should belong to a person with such poor manners."
Nie Huaisang smiled at that most encouraging news.
"There! If Wangji is complimenting him, then they need to be friends!" he exclaimed, making Lan Xichen laugh hard enough that he felt the need to hide it behind his sleeve.
"That's hardly a compliment."
"Coming from Wangji, it is."
That got another laugh out of Lan Xichen, which he quickly got under control and attempted to replace by a more severe expression. It might have worked, if his eyes had not been shining with barely repressed mirth.
"Wangji is not nearly as bad as you seem to think,” Lan Xichen said. “He's just very shy, and being distant is the way he deals with it. Not everyone can be as bold and determined to collect friends as you are, Huaisang."
"I'm not sure how to take that."
"Coming from any other Lan, it might be an insult,” Lan Xichen admitted. “Coming from me, and to you, it's probably a compliment."
Nie Huaisang grinned, delighted to be teased like that. How had he ever thought that Lan Xichen was boring? Maybe his future self was right about him not being too bright. But then again, wasn't it easy to make that sort of judgement in hindsight? Lan Xichen was fun now, but it had taken time for his smiles to gain real warmth when they were together. It had been time well invested though, and realising that made him hopeful that this business between Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian might turn out fine. Maybe they too would get to have that sort of comfortable relationship someday.
More comfortable, even, since they were to fall in love someday. It was going to be so funny to see how Lan Wangji acted when he was in love.
After this, the two boys fell silent for a moment as they finished their tea. It was getting a little late, and Nie Huaisang knew that he would soon have to leave. It made him almost wish that Lan Qiren had already given them homework, so he’d have an excuse to stay a little longer by whining that he always worked better when he was with Lan Xichen. Or else, he might have offered to help copy some scroll or other for Lan Xichen’s great secret project. Anything at all so he wouldn’t have to go. After almost a whole winter apart, he just wanted to be in his friend’s company a little more, just a tiny bit more, even if he knew they were sure to have time together again the week after.
Then, just as Nie Huaisang was trying to accept that he couldn’t find a good excuse to stay, Lan Xichen spoke again.
"If we do help Wangji and Wei-gongzi become friends,” he said, “and that's still an 'if' on my part, the main issue will be to make them understand they both want to be friends. Wangji seems to think Wei-gongzi only exists to torment him, and despairs to see again his more positive qualities."
Excited both for the excuse to chat a little more and by the fact that Lan Xichen was falling to his side, Nie Huaisang nodded.
"Wei-xiong is convinced Wangji is giving him the cold shoulder in spite of his efforts to become friends,” he replied. “He’s not used to people not fawning over him, I fear. Xichen-gege, we're gonna have to work hard!"
"It would take effort,” Lan Xichen agreed. “I can see you're very excited about this little project, but don't let it get in the way of your studies."
Nie Huaisang dismissed that worry with a hand gesture.
"Don't worry! I'll practice the guqin every day no matter what!"
That answer made Lan Xichen laugh.
"I meant your actual studies, Huaisang,” he corrected, trying to sound scolding but too obviously amused to be scary at all. “The lectures? With my uncle? You do remember that's why you're here in the first place?"
Blushing a little at his blunder, Nie Huaisang shrugged.
"Oh, that. I'll deal with that,” he said with more confidence than he felt. “At worst, I'll just come again a third year. Wouldn't that be fun? We'd get even more time together!"
"I'm not sure shufu would be thrilled,” Lan Xichen pointed out. “But I would certainly be happy to have you around as long as you want. And… of course, you'd get more time with Su She as well. Apparently you've even told your brother about him?"
If he hadn’t been in such good humour upon hearing that Lan Xichen enjoyed his company that much, Nie Huaisang might have noticed that the other boy’s expression became a little more pained when he mentioned Su She. But he was in too good a mood to be observant.
"Of course. It fell through last year because I didn't plan it enough in advance and my grades were bad,” he explained, “but this year, I absolutely want to invite Su-xiong home with me when I go back, even if I don't pass! I think we'll have a lot of fun, and da-ge can't ground me if I have a guest to entertain!"
Lan Xichen's smile turned strained again, nearly as much as when Nie Huaisang first arrived to see him.
"How cunning of you. I'm sure you'll have great fun. I could try to steal your brother for a Night Hunt, so you and Su She can have some peace."
It was a very generous offer, and Nie Huaisang gave it all the consideration it deserved.
"No, I think if you make it all the way to Qinghe, I'll want to keep you around too,” he announced. “Xichen-gege, even though you've come a few times, we weren’t friends back then so I've never really shown you my birds, right? And we could go painting all three of us… wait, Su-xiong isn't that fond of painting!” he remembered, hitting his forehead. “So it won’t do. Then… let's dump him with da-ge for a bit, so they can get all excited together about fighting and cultivation, and I'll steal you away! Oh there's this gorgeous little spot from where you can see the mountains at a wonderful angle… I've always wanted to show it to someone, and I think you're really someone who would know how to appreciate it. Will you go there with me next time you visit us, Xichen-gege?"
Lan Xichen tried to smile, his face a little pinker than usual.
"Wouldn't you rather take Su She, if you like it so much?"
Nie Huaisang considered that, too, before shaking his head.
"There are other places I can show him. That one, I really want to show you."
Looking definitely quite pink now, Lan Xichen smiled.
"Then I will gladly accompany you. If you like it so much, it must be very beautiful indeed, and I can’t wait to see it."
"Xichen-gege is too kind,” Nie Huaisang replied, delighted by that new plan. “Really too kind. And in his great kindness, will he help me give Wangji a friend?"
"You’re just as stubborn as your brother,” Lan Xichen accused, his good mood fully returned. “We'll see. I need to see a little more of this Wei Wuxian before I decide. But if I find him to be a good person, and if I am given reasons to think he’ll be good for Wangji, then yes, I will help."
It wasn't unfair to worry about that, especially when Lan Xichen didn't have a messenger from the future to tell him that Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji were pretty much soulmates. Indeed, without that information, Nie Huaisang would never have guessed that Lan Wangji's cold anger might have hidden any other sort of tender feelings. That was why Nie Huaisang really needed Lan Xichen's help, he was the only person in the world who could understand his brother.
Since he needed Lan Xichen's assistance so badly, Nie Huaisang wondered if he should maybe not ask Wei Wuxian to help him cheat in the next test. But he had already done his part of the deal in that regards, so it would be very upsetting to have copied all those boring texts for nothing. Besides, it would probably be fine.
There was no way they'd be caught, right?
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Has ZYX!JC been done?
has not, but idk if this would be an interesting isekai as the changes would be subtle
as mentioned in dbd, zyx sees a lot of their ... everything in the yunmeng trio. esp jc. so having z!jc would be like if actual jc went to therapy and learned to stop taking shit out on other people/learned to express themselves better
it won’t erase the bitterness that comes from being given the tough love that they should be used to from yzy (she doesn’t have the wrinkles on her hands, the spots on her skin, the stress from labor like her first mom), the disappointment-but-lack-of-surprise from the negligent and dismissive attitude from jfm (at least this father wasn’t ... at least he didn’t have a temper). the irrational burn of shame and frustration from how wwx outshoots him in skill, intelligence, talent, everything with a blasé smile but still unfailingly warm and kind to z!jc
(the only person that didn’t sour their stomach was jiang yanli. and only if z!jc didn’t think too hard how she was everything z!jc was supposed to be in their first life)
(z!jc doesn’t realize that things have already changed.
yu ziyuan sees her son with an irrepressible hunger to improve, even if he lacks the natural talent of that... son of a servant. keen intellect, emotional comportment, maturity, sense of politics and social awareness. she treats jiang cheng like how one takes a blade to a whetstone because she trusts that he won’t shatter.
jiang fengmian sees his son as the perfect mix between his wife’s determination and his own steady temperament. he doesn’t know what he can do for him, if jiang cheng doesn’t need guidance. doesn’t need correction. he feels impotent. so he doubles his efforts on wei ying--for all he is his mother’s son and shines the brightest of all the disciples, there’s a vulnerability present in him that’s not in jiang cheng.
to jiang yanli, her little brother feels more like a peer than someone under her care. yes, he would eventually become her sect leader until she leaves for the jins, but she doesn’t have to protect him from their parents’ less-than-perfect union. she doesn’t have to temper his anger. he doesn’t need her sweet words to cajole him into getting along with wei ying.
wei ying feels that yunmeng jiang is everything he could have hoped for when he was on the streets. jiang-shushu is kind and indulgent. yu-furen is strict, but she at least allows him to stay. his shijie is loving and caring. and jiang cheng makes him want to be the best he can be, with the unrelenting challenge that makes up his shidi’s personality that still manages to stay untainted by yu-furen’s more personal affront. but for all that he manages to grow, he feels like jiang cheng is so far away from him in the ways that matter.)
changed yunmeng trio dynamic would be interesting leading up to sunshot campaign. z!jc would know how to make nice and stand outside of wwx’s shadow (even if they don’t think so or give the whole thing much thought beyond feeling inferior to wwx’s natural protag energy)
lwj ends up super vinegar sippin’ bc of z!jc’s ‘closer’ relationship with wwx.
the punch is averted by z!jc’s verbal evisceration of jzx before wwx could get mad enough to attack.
(“jin-gongzi, your personal inadequacies and complexes with your parents’ union should not burden my sister.”
it becomes very apparent that the violet spider will have a legacy)
(even if z!jc’s mouth is entirely their own; sometimes there’s no need for civility)
because one attitude change can’t stop a war, the leadup to the sunshot campaign still happens.
and with the fall of lotus pier, none of that og!jc falling apart thing since... z!jc’s not built like that. it’s not like they don’t care. that’s just not what someone in their position should do. it will help no one.
if they still get caught by wen chao’s group, it would only be as a trio (not the secret self-sacrifice bs) and they’d melt jc’s core right there. no way in hell would wwx not take his martial sibs and run, and still find a way to transfer his core to z!jc. z!jc has to lead the sect. wwx loves z!jc. if z!jc does not wake up in time post-melting, wwx will have wq perform the surgery right at the yiling supervisory office). but he can’t run off to do more self-sacrificing bs, bc z!jc will catch him and give him the dressing down of the dynasty
if not caught, they have to go retrieve the weapons from the indoctrination camp. from there, wwx gets the bright idea about making a weapon from the sword inside the xuanwu of slaughter. bc z!jc is actually receptive to talking about wwx’s ideas in the past, wwx tells them about their idea. and two heads are better than one.
with z!jc willing to work with wwx, wwx’s obnoxious protag energy can be reigned in so he doesn’t put such a huge fucking target on his own back
blah blah a lot of political maneuvering post-ssc, but z!jc can’t be made to doubt wwx and contribute to the clusterfuck that is wwx’s first death. they have the insider information. the cheat codes. the only thing is to survive with yunmeng jiang’s reputation and power intact.
!! with jgy trying to maneuver z!jc for his father, the two of them end up having many encounters and it’s def a type of ‘enemies-to-lovers’ deal. z!jc isn’t shy about their appreciation for jgy’s abilities (if not being his target), and jgy likes being appreciated and there’s a thrill in trying to outmaneuver someone that’s not ignorant.
#z!jiang cheng#zyx au's#mdzyx#Anonymous#inquiry#this one is purely novel canon-based#the more i give it thought the more post-ssc drama increases#so much intrigue#so much wordplay and (unintentional) seduction back and forth#ofc wangxian is also causing trouble
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chancellor of the morning sun: burdens, mingjue (youth)
In which being a woman in the cultivation world is difficult, and Nie Mingjue comforts a friend.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | | Part 8 | Part 9 | AO3
On the night after the welcoming banquet, Nie Mingjue wakes to the sound of someone crying outside his door.
This was by no means unusual when he was younger; Huaisang often had night terrors after his mother died, and refused to sleep without Nie Mingjue for the next three or four years. But A-Sang is thirteen now, far too old to come crying to his da-ge after dark, and the person on the other side of his door seems to be a woman.
“Who’s there?” he calls, lighting one of his dream lanterns before getting out of bed. “A-Sang, is that you?”
“No, it’s me!” a familiar voice shouts, nearly sending Nie Mingjue to the ground as he scrambles to keep his footing. “A-Jue, let me in!”
Nie Mingjue drops his lantern and tries not to panic. The crying is still going on, but the person who called his name was Lan Xichen, without a doubt; and if she had come to his chambers this late, with the Unclean Realm full of foreign cultivators who would gladly take any chance to see her reputation ruined, then she must have come to seek his help with some kind of emergency.
And Nie Mingjue has not forgotten that the son of his father’s murderer is sleeping under his roof, or that Wen Ruohan openly sought Xichen’s hand in marriage for Wen Xu, and would have forced the two to meet if Nie Mingjue’s own fuqin had not intervened.
“I’m coming!” he says frantically, throwing the door open and grasping Lan Xichen’s arm the moment she crosses the threshold. “Lan Huan, I’m—”
And then he looks over Lan Xichen’s shoulder, blinking at the miserable line of young maidens trailing down the corridor behind her. Jiang Yanli is standing at Xichen’s side, crying into her sleeves, and Qin Su and Jin Zixuan’s first shimei are there, too; and Wen Ruohan’s young niece is standing in the back, holding Qin Su’s arm to keep her from falling over. All five girls smell of liquor, even Xichen, and Nie Mingjue gapes at them in bewilderment as Xichen fists her hands in his tunic and shakes him from side to side.
“Jiang-jie won’t listen to us!” she complains, sobbing drunkenly into his chest: which sets Jiang Yanli off again, and then Luo Qingyang starts weeping, too. “A-Jue, tell her!”’
Mingjue frowns. “Tell her what, A-Huan?” he says gently, wiping his intended’s face. It will be ruin for them both if anyone spots her here in the middle of the night, let alone with four other girls in front of his private quarters, but Nie Mingjue would rather cut his own hands off than turn the girl he loves away in such distress. “What’s wrong?”
“Jiang-guniang thinks she’s not worthy of Zixuan,” Luo Qingyang wails. “But just look at him! He prances around like a prize stallion, and he keeps making a fool of himself everywhere he goes! It’s pathetic! And he keeps talking about how wonderful he is, almost as much as Zixun! Nie-zongzhu, I have to beat him up twice a month to keep him in line, and it’s not even working!”
“Not worthy of Jin Zixuan?” he snorts. “Jiang-guniang, it’s Jin-gongzi who isn’t worthy of you. A-Huan, didn’t you tell her so?”
Jiang Yanli only cries even harder, and Xichen gives him a reproachful look and pinches his stubbly cheek. “She won’t listen to us when we tell her she’s more than enough. Yanli thinks we have to say so, since we’re her friends, so I brought her to you so you could tell her instead!”
“Jin-gongzi should count himself lucky that a maiden like Lady Jiang would give him the time of day,” Nie Mingjue says promptly. “He’ll get over himself in time, and Luo-guniang will beat him into the ground if he doesn’t. Right, Luo-guniang?”
Luo Qingyang nods fervently before listing straight into one of the walls. “I will!” she yells, as Wen Qing reaches over and puts her back on her feet again. “‘N then I’ll put itching powder in Jin Zixun’s pants, and, and…”
“Steal his wine again,” Qin Su suggests, letting out a loud burp. “That peach-blossom brew was delicious. Don’t you feel any better after drinking it, A-Li?”
“No, I don’t,” Jiang Yanli murmurs. “Good night, Nie-zongzhu. I’m going back to bed now.”
“Yanli!” begs Xichen, throwing herself at the shorter girl and almost knocking both of them backwards onto the floor. “Yanli, don’t go! You’re worth a hundred of Jin-zongzi, you—A-Jue, help!”
“What am I supposed to say?” he asks, thoroughly bewildered. “I can go challenge Jin-gongzi to a duel myself, if you like. Would that cheer you up, Jiang-guniang!”
But to his surprise, Jiang Yanli only goes to her knees and trembles like a kitten left out in the cold, sobbing about her fears for her future at Koi Tower and her dread of being bound to a man who will never respect her, her terror at the prospect of having no allies past her wedding day save for her mother-in-law, and then about having to spend the rest of her life within reach of Jin Guangshan.
“Mother keeps telling me that I should try to do better, so that Jin-gongzi likes me,” she chokes. “And one of my Yu aunties told me once that Jin-gongzi has to like me, since that’s going to be the only thing keeping me safe from—from—”
“Why haven’t you spoken to your parents about this?” Nie Mingjue demands, aghast. He knows very little about how his own engagement was settled on Xichen’s side; but not long after his ascension, he discovered that neither she nor her uncle were consulted on the matter, and that the sect elders only informed Lan Qiren of his niece’s engagement after the betrothal papers were sealed and signed and the bride price was already paid.
Nie Mingjue’s father made the agreement believing that Lan Qiren was amenable, and would have dissolved the betrothal in a heartbeat if Lan Xichen ever said she was unhappy with it—even in the months just before his death, when his greatest regret was that he would likely not live long enough to see his grandchildren. But he never disapproved of Lan Xichen’s decision to remain unwed until Wangji was at least eighteen, though the wedding was originally set to take place just after Xichen turned eighteen, and he would even have accepted a divorce if his daughter-in-law initiated it.
And Jiang Fengmian is widely known to dote upon his daughter, just as Nie Mingjue’s father doted on Lan Xichen, so why would he not offer the same choice to his child that Nie Huangyin gave to A-Huan?
“Father would break the engagement if I asked, but Jin-furen is mother’s best friend,” Jiang Yanli weeps, in answer to Nie Mingjue’s unspoken question. “It would make things so difficult between them if Jin-furen ever knew I felt this way. And A-Xian and A-Cheng already hate the idea of me marrying into Lanling, Nie-zongzhu. It would be so much worse for them both if they found out I was afraid.”
“It is better out now, than ten years from now, when you are wedded into that house and bound there by a husband and children,” Nie Mingjue says somberly. “Jin Zixuan is not a bad sort, but if he can look upon a maiden who spends her days tending to her family and teaching in orphanages and finding apprenticeships for street children, and call such a girl unworthy because of her looks and low cultivation—then he is not worthy of any wife, let alone one like you, and I pray he will come to recognize it without some great tragedy to bring him to his senses.”
“But—”
“If A-Huan were to lose her cultivation, I would still count myself as the luckiest man in the world to be her husband,” he declares. “And if she were not beautiful, that would be nothing to me. Whatever the strength of her golden core, and whatever she looks like—her heart has nothing to do with either her face or her jindan, and I love her for that above all things.”
Jiang Yanli’s jaw drops open, and she stares up at Nie Mingjue in open disbelief. Xichen is far too drunk to register what he just said, and Wen Qing seems to have stuffed bits of cloth into her ears to keep herself from listening to anything Jiang-guniang would not have confided while sober—but the word love still burns on his lips like the hot filling from Lan Xichen’s sweet bean cakes, flooding through every inch of his body until he can think of nothing else, and he spends a good two minutes in a kind of stricken trance before wondering if saying such a thing before Maiden Jiang might have hurt her feelings.
“It didn’t,” she says softly—because apparently, Nie Mingjue said that last aloud. “I think I see now, Nie-zongzhu.”
Nie Mingjue opens his mouth to ask what she means, but a small purple blur interrupts him before he can get the words out. The blur skids around the nearest corner, screeching in indignation at the sight of Yanli’s tearstained face, and then it turns upon Nie Mingjue and demands an explanation.
“What did you say to my Shijie?” Wei Wuxian cries. “Shijie, did he bully you?”
“Silly A-Xian,” Jiang-guniang smiles, ruffling Wei Wuxian’s hair. “Nobody bullied me, but Nie-zongzhu made me feel much better.”
“By making you cry?” Wei Wuxian says doubtfully. “Should I get Suibian?”
“A-Xian, no!” Jiang Yanli is giggling now, kissing her brother all over his puffy cheeks. “Come on, let’s go back.”
Wei Wuxian drags her off down the hallway, casting suspicious glances over his shoulder, and Wen Qing charges herself with the duty of escorting Luo Qingyang and Maiden Qin back to their own quarters. However, she declares in no uncertain terms that managing three drunk girls is beyond her, and that leaves only Nie Mingjue to look after Lan Xichen.
“Your uncle’s going to kill me if he finds us,” he whimpers, as he struggles up a flight of stairs with his betrothed yawning in his arms. “And then A-Sang will spend the rest of his life on birds and fans, and never catch up with his lessons in time to attend your clan lectures.”
“Shufu likes you,” Xichen assures him, patting the tip of his nose. “He would never do such a thing.”
“He would if he thought I’d been improper towards you,” Nie Mingjue groans. “A-Huan, have you had anything to eat after you started drinking?”
“Mm, A-Su brought snacks. And Wen Qing kept slipping headache medicine into my wine.”
Nie Mingjue sighs in relief and hugs her a little tighter. “Good. Will you try to drink a little water after we get back to your room?”
Xichen nods drowsily, nearly stopping Nie Mingjue’s heart as she nuzzles against his shoulder, but he manages to get her up to her bedroom in one piece and helps her get into bed, making sure she lies on her side to prevent choking in the morning. He also puts a few pieces of rice candy on her nightstand since he always carries a handful in his pocket for Huaisang, and fetches a glass of water for her to drink when she wakes.
Lan Huan is fast asleep by then, breathing quietly in her nest of blankets with her hand tucked under her cheek, and Nie Mingjue makes it as far as the door before remembering that she is still too drunk to be left alone.
But she doesn’t have a maidservant, Nie Mingjue thinks desperately, staring wildly out of the room as if one might climb out of the nearest cupboard. And Wangji didn’t come along this time, and I can’t wake Lan Qiren—
Oh, no.
Oh, this is very bad.
Anything could happen to Lan Xichen with so much alcohol in her blood, and she might even stop breathing during the night and smother. But there is no one to fetch except for Lan-xiansheng, and that means Nie Mingjue will have to stay with her until she wakes. And given the fact that Lan Qiren will be looking for his niece by mao hour tomorrow, while Lan Xichen will probably sleep a shichen longer than usual—
Nie Mingjue sinks down beside the bed and puts his head in his hands.
Well, that settles it, he despairs, pulling the thick blankets away from Xichen’s face. Lan Qiren is definitely going to kill me.
But he would be lying if he said that the sight of Xichen’s peaceful face was unworthy of death by uncle-in-law, so Nie Mingjue accepts his demise with grace and starts planning his funeral instead.
___
When Lan Xichen opens her eyes, the first thing she notices is the dull pain in her head.
The second thing she notices (after gulping down the water and candy on the nightstand) is that someone seems to have left a heap of something dark near her bed; probably a bag, or a pile of clothes, though she can’t see well enough to tell what it could be.
And the last thing is that her uncle is sitting on a chair by the door, tapping his foot loudly enough to make her head pound.
“Shufu,” she croaks, struggling upright with the aid of one of her pillows. “What are you—”
“Disciples of the Lan clan must not consume alcohol,” he says, strangely calm despite the enormity of her transgression. Her clothes still smell like Baling mead, sweet and spicy and fruity all at once, and she nearly dies of shame at the thought of how shocked Shufu must have been when he found her. “They must not go out of doors after haishi. And they must never share chambers with any member of the opposite sex to whom they are not married, unless they are a relative.”
Lan Xichen freezes. “What?”
“Should I not be asking you that?” her uncle reminds her. “What is Nie-zongzhu doing in your bedchamber?”
Thunderstruck, Lan Xichen stumbles out of bed and stares at the dark heap on the floor, which yawns at her touch and stretches like a cat before springing up in horror.
“Lan-xiansheng, it’s not what it looks like!” Nie Mingjue cries, making Lan Xichen shrivel at the memory of how shamefully she must have behaved last night. “I only wanted to make sure Xichen was safe, I would never—”
“And you did not think of waking me?” Lan Qiren lifts his eyebrows at them. “Even if you wanted to ensure that my niece was well, how could you risk being seen leaving her rooms in the morning? My own quarters are just on the other side of the hall.”
Mingjue ducks his head in shame, and Lan Xichen suddenly wants nothing more than the comfort of his hand in hers. “I didn’t want her to get in trouble, xiansheng,” he mumbles. “She only came out last night for someone else’s sake, and I couldn’t have borne to see her unhappy just for that.”
“You are a sect leader, Nie Mingjue. Don’t look down when you speak to me,” Shufu scolds. “As it is, I am glad that you did not leave her. But as her uncle, I must order you to go now before the breakfast bell, lest you ruin both of your reputations at once and force her to marry before she is ready.”
Mingjue takes the hint and flees, leaving Xichen and her uncle alone. Shufu says nothing more for a while, merely studying the ceiling as if the laws of the Lan sect were inscribed there, and then he clears his throat and points to the stack of parchment on her desk.
“Copy each precept you broke, a hundred times each. The tenth, eighteenth, and seventy-first laws. Go.”
And then, after a moment’s lull:
“I think he will be a good father someday, A-Huan,” Lan Qiren reflects. “Your little ones will want for nothing, what with how he cares for you and how much he coddles Huaisang. I could not have found you a better husband if I chose for you myself.”
Lan Xichen drops her paintbrush.
“Shufu!”
#nielan#the untamed#mo dao zu shi#chancellor of the morning sun#nielan arranged marriage au#my fic#long time no update#it's been 84 years
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How would you describe your version of the Jiangs?
See, this gets tricky, because I often write my fics in close-person perspective and that means I write them as how the POV character perceives them to be rather than how they really are. So a fic written in the POV of Jiang Cheng will have a very different Jiang sect than a fic written from Wei Wuxian or a third person’s POV - even though their actions wouldn’t be in any way different.
That being said, my version of Jiang Fengmian and Madame Yu (excluding Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli because that would take forever):
Jiang Fengmian is a calm, introverted, laid back person who tends to go with the flow. He hates confrontation and drama, and just wants to be happy, which is reflected in his preference to surround himself with happy people who similarly believe in not letting things bother them. He rarely pursues anything too aggressively because he thinks that’s just setting yourself up for disappointment, and tends to deal with difficult situations by looking for a solution where everyone will leave him alone/continue to play nice, without really thinking too much in the long term or too deeply about questions of right and wrong. If someone starts an argument with him or is annoying him, he will leave rather than engage; if someone does something that only harms him tangentially, he will ignore it in the hopes that it will go away by itself. He is a private person who does not generally share his emotions.
He does not have a happy marriage - he likes his wife a great deal, actually, but their communication styles are so utterly different that he honestly thinks she hates him, even when she’s trying to show affection, because he does not understand that anger/scolding can show care. His own methods of showing affection are often rejected by her (because she in turn doesn’t understand him), and he believes this means that she does not love him. He believes he was in love with either Cangse Sanren or Wei Changze or possibly both, he’s not entirely sure himself, and he regrets their deaths more than anything else in his life - except maybe the realization that his wife does love him, always has, and that he only figured it out right before their deaths.
He is, objectively, a bad father. He favors Wei Wuxian and neglects Jiang Cheng, and lets Jiang Yanli bear most of the emotional burden from that. He does not think of himself as a bad father - he doesn’t really think of himself as a father much at all. He doesn’t see anything wrong with what he is doing because he treats his children like adult friends, so he thinks it’s fine to spend time with the people whose personalities he likes (Wei Wuxian) and less time with those he doesn’t (Jiang Cheng). He is, unknowingly, rather misogynistic, and assumes that Jiang Yanli, who fits his image of a proper woman, is fulfilled by caring for her brothers and not burdened by it; ironically, the women he actually appreciates most are the ones who break his expectations.
Madame Yu, Yu Ziyuan, is a lonely, highly introverted woman with an extremely strong sense of pride. Her personality is cold and standoffish, coming off as disdainful, and she doesn’t have any mode other than fully engaged and intense about everything. She does not suffer fools gladly, and has a truly nasty turn of phrase that does more damage than she realizes. She is extremely aware of etiquette and class divisions, and is especially angered by disrespect. She was an excellent cultivator in her youth and is an excellent trainer for the Jiang sect, remaining highly respected by her peers, although less so now that she no longer goes out on night hunts; she did not want to stop, but felt she had no choice once she became a mother. She is resentful of the fact that her husband does not involve her more in sect politics, and believes she would do a better job if given the chance, but she would never lower herself to ask because it would risk being rejected. She misses her home very much, in part because she was last truly happy there, but she’s also extremely proud of being part of the significantly stronger Jiang sect.
She expresses affection through worry (often manifesting as scolding) and through acts of service, such as by trying her best to improve the sect’s reputation or make people stronger. As a result of her own experiences, she believes people need to be toughed up to deal with the cruel realities of the world. She is in love with her husband, who she believes does not love her - she interprets his gifts as trying to buy off her anger, which only makes it worse, his acts of service as condescension, and when he says sweet words to her she is convinced that he is only trying to use her as a ill-fitting substitute for the person he really loves, which also makes her angry. This is in large part because he persists in treating her like she is a soft woman who likes pretty things for the sake of being pretty, which she is not - she is highly practical and likes to look good because she knows it’s another weapon, not because being pretty is fun. Her best friend - who became Madame Jin - has an equally unhappy marriage, which she thinks should give her a cynical view of marriage, but in fact she’s still secretly a romantic at heart.
She is, in many ways, a bad mother. While she loves her children, she also sees them as key to her position as mistress of the Lotus Pier, and anything that challenges that position is disrespect to her - a sore spot. She does not understand how Jiang Yanli seems to be happy with what she is given, a domesticity almost to the extent of acting like a servant, but since it seems like Jiang Yanli likes it, she tries not to interfere. The fact that Jiang Fengmian won’t quash the rumors about Wei Wuxian makes her anxious that he is, in fact, planning on disowning Jiang Cheng in favor of Wei Wuxian, and she hates the fact that Jiang Fengmian prefers Wei Wuxian. She gets this anxiety and anger out by trying to make Jiang Cheng do better in the hope that if he is truly exceptional, the way Wei Wuxian is, Jiang Fengmian will finally like him - and maybe also her. She is aware to some extent that what she is doing is futile and hurting Jiang Cheng, but she cannot seem to stop herself.
She does not hate Wei Wuxian himself, nor does she mean him any harm - if only her husband were not so partial to him, she would be very pleased with how he’s done as head disciple. She makes sure he has the best possible training and wants to cultivate him to be as strong and smart as possible, in large part because she thinks of him as her son’s future right hand. The main thing that bothers her is that he leads her son in trouble - the issue being lead. If Jiang Cheng were leading Wei Wuxian into trouble, she wouldn’t mind it, but she foresees that it will be a problem in the future; she doesn’t want her son to be a hollow sect leader who is a puppet for Wei Wuxian.
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In another installment of things I should absolutely not be adding to my already large collection of unfinished google docs, I once more have absolutely no self control, so about that post on wedding planner!WWX.....
Set in the same verse as this. Very on brand of me to start writing a sequel for a fic I have yet to finish. Post-canon, post-reconciliation, and WQ is alive because I say so.
---
In retrospect, Jiang Cheng probably should have predicted this.
Jiang Cheng has grown up with Wei Wuxian. He knows exactly the level of ridiculousness his brother can reach. Nearly all of his childhood was dedicated to learning this exact fact. Compounded with that is how fully Wei Wuxian always throws himself into any project that catches his brother’s attention. For a long time, that had been a-jie’s wedding.
All those late nights he and Wei Wuxian had spent planning together, mapping out detailed seating charts, and designing elaborate challenges for the groom. Wei Wuxian, practically delirious with childish excitement, had proposed and demanded in equal measure extravagance after extravagance because their sister only deserved the very best in the world.
Even still, Jiang Cheng can’t say that he had expected exactly... this.
Three days after Jiang Cheng and Wen Qing tell their family about their betrothal, Wei Wuxian bursts into Jiang Cheng’s office mid-morning, his hair still uncombed and sticking out in multiple directions. His arms are full of scrolls, which he proceeds to unceremoniously dump across Jiang Cheng’s desk.
Wei Wuxian ignores Jiang Cheng’s indignant squawking and speaks rapidly, all of his words running together, and practically vibrating on his feet with a frenzy that brings Jiang Cheng abruptly back to their childhood, laying on the floor of their shared room with scrolls strewn all around them and listening while Wei Wuxian raves enthusiastically about his latest idea for a challenge.
Lan Wangji stands at the doorway, alternating between looking worried that Wei Wuxian might asphyxiate with how fast he is speaking and giving Jiang Cheng a look that says this is under no uncertain terms completely Jiang Cheng’s fault as usual.
(In the three years since his brother married Lan Wangji, Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji have formed an extremely respectful and productive relationship of tolerating each other’s presence for the exact minimum duration it takes to make Wei Wuxian happy. It is still too long for either of them.)
“The Mao and Guo sects are still feuding so they need to be seated as far apart as possible,” Wei Wuxian is saying, barely pausing for breath as he flits from topic to topic with a speed that leaves Jiang Cheng feeling faintly dizzy. “Fan shushu says he will share his recipe for Qing-jie’s xi bing. The head of the lotus harvesters will arrange to have water lilies transported from the southern borders. I have some designs for the invitations that you and Qing-jie can take a look at. And – Oh!”
Wei Wuxian’s eyes light up suddenly with an unholy fervor that has never, ever boded well for Jiang Cheng, and then Wei Wuxian turns, calls I have to go! over his shoulder, and leaves as quickly as he came. Lan Wangji makes sure to shoot Jiang Cheng one final accusatory glare before following after his husband because Wei Wuxian couldn’t have married someone that wasn’t a huge petty bitch.
Jiang Cheng sits, shocked still, his desk looking like a storm had blown by, and stares at the empty space where his brother was just standing.
He may have slightly miscalculated.
---
A month later, Jiang Cheng contemplates taking Wen Qing and running away to a deserted mountain. (Who says Wei Wuxian is the only one allowed to do that anyway? At least his mountain won’t be prone to murder.)
He won’t of course. He is the Jiang sect leader, and since his birth, his wedding has always been expected to have the pomp and circumstance befitting that of a leader of a great sect. He would never run out on that responsibility no matter how fucking crazy Wei Wuxian is driving him.
But Jiang Cheng does think about it, very wistfully.
He even brings it up half-seriously with Wen Qing one morning after a disciple comes to inform him that Wei Wuxian had had his schedule completely cleared without Jiang Cheng’s knowledge or permission. Jiang Cheng is now expected to meet his brother at the gate in a quarter shichen’s time for who knows what because his brother is as obnoxiously forthcoming as he has always been.
Wen Qing laughs at him because she is terrible, and he has clearly made a huge mistake.
She also presses a light kiss to his cheek and promises to threaten Wei Wuxian with needles later if he doesn’t sit the fuck down and rest before leaving to have tea with Luo Qingyang because she’s also pretty fantastic, and Jiang Cheng has made the best decision of his life.
Even if it means standing in the middle of the tailor shop while Wei Wuxian darts around him like a deranged bird, dangling various fabric samples in front of Jiang Cheng, frowning for some obscure reason he doesn’t deign to tell Jiang Cheng because who cares what Jiang Cheng thinks about his own wedding, tossing the piece of fabric onto the growing no pile, and then picking up yet another.
On the eleventh turn of this, Jiang Cheng feels a sharp throb against his temple and takes a deep slow breath, then another, and another, so he doesn’t scream, or strangle his brother with the fabrics.
“You do realize that this is my fucking wedding?” Jiang Cheng growls with frustration.
“Of course,” Wei Wuxian says immediately, nodding in a way that feels like he’s actually taking Jiang Cheng seriously even as he picks up yet another fabric sample. Jiang Cheng bites his tongue to keep himself from shouting and glares.
Wei Wuxian continues before Jiang Cheng can speak (yell), moving to hold the fabric against Jiang Cheng’s face, “But you’re my little brother.”
Jiang Cheng blinks, opens his mouth and then closes it. His throat feels suddenly inexplicably tight. An embarrassing warmth expands rapidly beneath his rib cage, and he thinks he might actually choke on it.
He looks at the fabric instead of his brother’s face because he will not cry. The red silk is a shade lighter than Wei Wuxian’s customary color and of exceptionally high quality. (That Wei Wuxian has been choosing from the most expensive of silks has not escaped Jiang Cheng’s attention. He has been trying and failing to not have feelings about this.) The patterning is beautiful, the soft, gentle swirls reminiscent of the lakes surrounding Yunmeng.
It isn’t something Jiang Cheng would have chosen on his first glance through. It is, he realizes with a swoop in his stomach, something a-jie might have picked out.
Jiang Cheng has, until now, avoided thinking too hard about all the empty spaces at his wedding, still riding the steady wonder that fills him every time he looks at the comb tucked neatly against Wen Qing’s hair. And after these last few years of having his brother beside him again, of their misshapen family relearning to fit together with all its new pieces, it is almost, almost, unfamiliar to feel that old aching loss rise within him.
He wonders how much of Wei Wuxian’s frenzied insanity is because he is feeling it too.
After all, Jiang Cheng remembers the months of spreading himself thin between sect obligations and wedding preparations, of tracking down the finest fabrics and jewelry that Jiang and Jin gold could buy in between meetings and conferences, of trying and trying and trying to make up for an absence that creased the edges of a-jie’s eyes in sorrow, even when she stood, radiant in red and gold on her wedding day.
“Jiang Cheng?” Wei Wuxian asks, his voice and gaze softening with concern.
Jiang Cheng swallows several times, his eyes prickling along with his nose, and he stares at the spot above Wei Wuxian’s head. You don’t have to do this, he wants to say. You don’t need to do this. “It isn’t atrocious I guess,” is what comes out.
Even in his periphery, he can see Wei Wuxian’s eyes crinkle with a familiar fondness. His brother nods and lays the fabric gently down on what Jiang Cheng supposes is now the yes pile.
“As expected of Jiang zongzhu,” Wei Wuxian says in a teasing tone that he only uses when he wants to piss off Jiang Cheng.
“Shut up,” Jiang Cheng says swiftly, without any heat. Then, adds, “Yiling Laozu.”
Wei Wuxian laughs and shoves him. “Fuck off,” he says, but he’s smiling as he turns and picks up the next sample, and Jiang Cheng feels his own lips curve in an answering smile.
Okay, he thinks. Okay. He can do this.
He can let his brother have this. Maybe they can both have this.
#陈情令#the untamed#mdzs#jiang cheng#wei wuxian#yunmeng shuangjie#!mine#!fic#*iywdas#god knows when we'll see the rest of this but hey i'm working on things hurrah!
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DH prompt, maybe: after seeing the fire festival, I kinda wanna see the first time LWJ ever managed to fluster WWX? I imagine WWX (and all of their mutual friends) would be absolutely gobsmacked about it after three centuries. Thank you so much for everything you do for us—DH is the absolute highlight of my day and never fails to make me smile. Smugji is a blessing on this Earth XD
Extra 12: Prize | previous parts here
“A-Cheng, A-Xian, good luck!” Jiang Yanli calls from where she’s standing with the rest of the spectators. “And be careful!”
Wei Wuxian waves back at her enthusiastically with his sword aloft, jumping up and down amidst the line-up of competitors in today’s tournament. A red competitor’s headband is tied across his forehead, the ends draping down the length of his back, and he’s swapped out his usual loose, flowing robes for a more form-fitted ones in black and red. He likes these robes, likes the way they look on him, and how easily he can move around in them.
Beside him, Jiang Cheng is also waving at his sister, albeit in a more dignified manner, inching as far away from Wei Wuxian as possible.
“Can you calm down?” he hisses, barely restraining the urge to kick him. “I’m embarrassed just standing next to you.”
“Heh, don’t be so prudish, Jiang Cheng, you’re not even sixty thousand,” Wei Wuxian says. “You’re acting as old as Lan-laotouzi.”
He dances away from Jiang Cheng’s attempted swipe at his head with a laugh, only for a pair of hands to grab him by the shoulders.
“Oops, sorry,” he says, turning around to see who it is. “I didn’t mean to—oh, hey Lan Zhan.”
Lan Wangji looks down at him, bemused, his hands still on Wei Wuxian’s shoulders so he has to crane his neck to look at him over his shoulder.
He’s dressed in white, as always, with a white headband, but like Wei Wuxian has swapped his usual flowing robes for ones that allow more freedom of movement. The shortened hem shows off his unfairly long legs, and the sleeveless outer robe his muscular torso and arms, which suddenly reminds Wei Wuxian of their current position. He twists himself around to face Lan Wangji, breaking free of the hold on his shoulders at the same time, and beams at him.
“Hi, Lan Zhan!” he says. “Ready to lose?”
Jiang Cheng snorts under his breath, but Lan Wangji only raises an eyebrow.
“You believe you’ll win?” He sounds almost curious.
Hah! Little does he know, Wei Wuxian is the best at these games. Undisputed champion in Qing Qiu and Lotus Pier. He grins.
“Wanna bet?” he asks, and waggles eyebrows suggestively. “Loser has to grant the winner one wish.”
Lan Wangji considers this for a moment, expression thoughtful.
“What sort of wish?” he asks.
Wei Wuxian grins confidently. “Anything! As long as it’s within the loser’s power to grant, of course. Don’t worry, I won’t ask you for anything that goes against the laws of the Nine Heavens.”
“Alright,” Lan Wangji agrees finally.
To his credit, Lan Wangji doesn’t look concerned in the slightest. That will change really soon, Wei Wuxian thinks smugly. Once they get into the arena, he won’t know what hit him. He raises his sword in both hands and bows with exaggerated formality.
“Then please go easy on me, Lan-er-dianxia,” he says.
--
When the gong sounds, all twelve competitors fly up and position themselves on top of the pillars of ice dotting the arena. Wei Wuxian winks at Jiang Cheng from where he’s perched on top of one of the shorter pillars as they draw their swords and wait for the signal to begin. He looks around for Lan Wangji and spots him close by, Bichen’s blade glinting in the sunlight.
Typical Lan Zhan to choose the tallest vantage point. All the better to look down on us from on high.
Not that it matters. Wei Wuxian has a way to deal with him. He might as well start thinking about what embarrassing thing he can get Lan Wangji to do after this is over.
“Rules are simple,” the referee is saying. “Remove the headband from your fellow competitors’ heads. You may use swords, talismans, and spells, as long as it does not endanger the lives of your fellow competitors. You must remain in human form throughout the competition. The last one with their headband still on will be declared the winner.”
Easy. He rolls out his shoulders and neck and bounces a few times on the balls of his feet to loosen up his joints.
As soon as the gong sounds again, he whips out an amplification talisman and torches the pillars surrounding him, melting them enough so that the competitors perched on top of them come crashing down as they crumble. Wei Wuxian darts forward while they get their bearings and undoes their headbands quickly on his way past them. He grins, three headbands in his grasp.
Across the other side of the arena, Jiang Cheng is plucking the headband from another competitor whose lower body has been completely frozen onto the pillar to prevent them from moving. He looks over at Wei Wuxian and raises Sandu in challenge.
With his fire trick used, Wei Wuxian starts jumping between pillars, quick and sure-footed. He trades parries and punches, dodges the occasional fireball—because of course the other competitors would follow suit and favour fire in an arena of ice—all the while keeping an eye out for Lan Wangji. He doesn’t want to knock him out too early in the competition.
Half an incense stick’s worth of time later, there’s just him, Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji left in the arena. He has four headbands, five including his own, Jiang Cheng three, and Lan Wangji four. The ice pillars around them are in various states of collapse, making their footing rather precarious, but they pay it little mind as they size each other up from different corners of the arena.
“Hey Lan Zhan,” he calls, waving his collection of headbands in the air and flashing him a cheeky grin. “Remember our bet! You better prepare yourself, cos I’m not gonna let you off that easy!”
“You talk too much,” Jiang Cheng snorts, and takes into the air.
“Says you!” Wei Wuxian draws a quick sigil in the air and fires it in his direction; it catches Jiang Cheng’s ankle, wrapping around it like a piece of string. “Gotcha!”
He yanks on his end of the spell and the talisman amplifies the force, sending Jiang Cheng crashing into the arena below with an undignified shout. The string shortens as he reels it in like a fishing line while he hops forward to meet it halfway, grinning down at a dishevelled Jiang Cheng covered in snow.
“Thank you,” he says glibly, reaching down and plucking the purple headband from around his head. Jiang Cheng grins.
“No,” he says. “Thank you.”
He grabs hold of Wei Wuxian’s outstretched hand, holding him in place just as a flash of blue skims the side of his head. A moment later, his own red headband flutters down past his nose, piling around his neck. Jiang Cheng releases him with a whoop and flops back on the ground with a satisfied grunt. Wei Wuxian is frozen in place, staring at neat cut through the side of his headband.
What the fuck just happened?
He nearly jumps out of his skin when a pair of hands appear on either side of his head. He whips around to see Lan Wangji standing much too close for comfort, his fingers brushing Wei Wuxian’s neck.
“Wha-What are you doing?” he asks, voice oddly high-pitched, heart racing. His skin feels like it’s on fire where Lan Wangji’s fingers have made contact, and the heat spreads to his ears and neck.
Lan Wangji lifts the headband carefully from around his neck and holds it up in front of him, an strange, unsettling glint in his amber eyes.
“I win,” he says calmly.
Wei Wuxian forces himself to laugh, but it comes out louder than he’d intended, and a lot more hysterical. He hears Jiang Cheng snort; Lan Wangji’s lips twitch.
“Congratulations!” Wei Wuxian says. “Well done! Haha, yes, uh—I can’t believe you and Jiang Cheng teamed up against me—”
He breaks off with a breathy squeak when Lan Wangji steps even closer and he can feel the heat radiating from his body. It may be just his imagination, or a trick of the light, or maybe Wei Wuxian’s vision growing fuzzy around the edges, but Lan Wangji’s eyes have darkened to almost a molten gold as he holds his gaze. It’s suddenly really, really hard to breathe.
He squeezes his eyes shut as Lan Wangji leans in—his body doesn’t seem to be able to do move at all, did Lan Wangji use a freezing spell on him?—and he braces himself for—for something. Except...there’s nothing more than a light tug on his scalp, and then his hair comes tumbling over his shoulders.
“What...?”
He opens his eyes to see a familiar length of red ribbon in Lan Wangji’s hand, along with the red headband, and a look of immense satisfaction in Lan Wangji’s eyes.
“My prize,” he tells him. “As promised.”
And then he turns on his heel and flies out of the arena, leaving Wei Wuxian standing there, flummoxed and speechless, as Jiang Cheng wheezes with laughter on the ground.
// buy me a ko-fi //
#mdzs#wangxian#double happiness verse#雙喜臨門#my writing#fox prince!wwx#dragon!lwj#the first appearance of our beloved Smugji#WWX has neat little tricks up his sleeve#but LWJ is just a powerhouse#and he bulldozes through everything#also this is like the scene in Pillow Book when they're competing in the Bi Niao Tribe#Bi Yi* Niao#except they're just competing because#idk if there's another prize#WWX should know better than to bet with Smugji lbr#hey nonny nonny#asks
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(hi nonny, it took me a while to write this ask meme request but here it is! chengning + #15: first meeting. i hope you see this lol)
Follow Your Arrow: Jiang Cheng / Wen Ning
(Cloud Recesses Era, G, 1.5k, No Warnings Apply, read on AO3)
Jiang Cheng and Wen Ning accidentally go to the same spot in the Cloud Recesses to practice archery.
* * *
Wen Ning strings his bow and aims at the waterfall, where a chunk of rock is falling down the cascade, bouncing in and out of the foamy rush of water.
He straightens up. Pulls back a bit more. Lifts his fingers—
An arrow that is not Wen Ning’s zips across the stream. Wen Ning jerks out of posture, and his own arrow goes straight into the ground. The rock he would’ve been aiming at plops in the water with a giant splash, untouched by Wen Ning and...whoever that other arrow came from.
He turns to see a boy standing a few paces down the water’s bank. He wears a scowl that darkens the white robes marking him as a guest disciple of the Cloud Recesses. A single side bang hangs over his defined cheekbones and just reaches his chin. He bears his weight a bit unevenly, as if his leg is injured.
Jiang Cheng, the clan heir whose knee was slashed by the water ghouls at Caiyi Town yesterday. Wen Qing had hopped into his boat to treat his injury. It's one of the last things Wen Ning can remember from yesterday, before the ghouls seized him and his mind went blank.
Although he's familiar with Wei Wuxian already, Wen Ning hasn't talked to Jiang Cheng yet.
Wen Qing has warned him not to talk to disciples from the other clans. But it’s been so lonely for Wen Ning here, waiting around in the corners of the Cloud Recesses, isolated for being too young to attend classes. He can't even see the other disciples, never mind talk to them. Although he doesn't mind quiet time by himself, he’s been itching to fill the space left by Wen Qing’s frequent disappearances. He's used to always having his sister by his side, and now she keeps slipping away to search for some unnamed item.
Wei Wuxian’s bright laugh, gentle nudges, and sheer determination to include Wen Ning has filled some of that empty space. But by scratching the itch for company, the longing has only grown more persistent.
From what Wen Ning has seen, Jiang Cheng isn’t nearly as friendly as Wei Wuxian, preferring to smack away an outstretched hand whereas Wei Wuxian would grab it and tug its owner away on an adventure.
But a shared interest in archery has already helped Wen Ning grow close to Wei Wuxian. Maybe it could work with his shidi too.
Hopeful for a new friend, Wen Ning smiles meekly and waves at Jiang Cheng. He snaps his hand down right away, because Jiang Cheng’s only response is to narrow his eyes sourly, square his shoulders, and string his bow again to aim at the waterfall.
Oh. He's definitely not here to make friends.
Wen Ning turns back to the waterfall, the bow sulking as he strings it. Another rock falls down the cascade, but he can’t focus on it or steady his hands. Not now, with someone right next to him, shooting at the same target and likely shooting him angry glares, too.
Another arrow whirs past Wen Ning. It misses the falling rock.
Wen Ning looks out of corner of his eyes at Jiang Cheng, who huffs and grumbles to himself, pulling a third arrow out of the quiver.
“J-Jiang-gongzi?”
Jiang Cheng draws the bow tighter, its taut string matching the tension in his face. “What?”
“Am I...in your way?” Wen Ning thinks he was here first, but he wouldn’t be surprised if he hadn’t noticed another person practicing nearby.
Jiang Cheng’s expression softens a bit, but his voice does not. “You will be if you keep trying so hard to let me know you’re here.” He strings his bow with brusque motions—pompous, even. Doing exactly what he told Wen Ning not to—making a show of his archery practice to ensure Wen Ning notices his presence.
He shoots and misses, again. Scowls and huffs, again. This time, his eyes meet Wen Ning’s for a moment, then dart away as if Wen Ning said his shot was bad, despite the fact that Wen Ning barely had time to react to the shot, and even if he did, he’d never insult someone’s archery skills.
A faint flush spreads across Jiang Cheng’s cheeks as he prepares to release another arrow. This one also looks like it's lined up to miss, due to his uneven posture from his injured leg.
“Jiang-gongzi?”
Jiang Cheng whips around to face Wen Ning. His sharp glare is like an arrow of its own, and it does not miss.
Well, this is intimidating.
Wen Ning hesitates, then steels himself and hurries over to Jiang Cheng. “Jiang-gongzi…”
Up close, he’s even more intimidating. Not because of his angular jaw or arrogant frown, but because of a bashful glimmer in his eyes that is very out of place with the rest of his behavior, and Wen Ning is not sure how he feels about that.
“What do you want?” Jiang Cheng says.
Wen Ning looks down at the ground to keep himself from trying to decipher Jiang Cheng's expression, unsure of what lies behind the irritation Jiang Cheng voices so openly. “I…I’m not that great at archery, but...I can help you.”
“With what?” Jiang Cheng's scowl deepens. “I don’t need help.”
“Your leg is injured.” Wen Ning’s words are slow and hesitant. He gestures down at Jiang Cheng’s knee. “It’s affecting your stance.”
Jiang Cheng immediately balances his weight, only to wince at the pressure he’s placed on his bad leg. “I’m not injured.”
“I’ve been sick very often," Wen Ning says gently, "and I had to learn how to adjust my posture to compensate for it.” He finally meets Jiang Cheng’s gaze, a smile tugging at his lips but not quite forming. “I can show you how.”
Jiang Cheng stares at the bow in Wen Ning’s hand. “I don’t need help." He lifts his chin toward the waterfall. "Let’s compete if you’re so crafty. I challenge you.”
Wen Ning takes a step back, his lips parted. “Ch-Challenge?”
“You’ve got the guts to try to fix my stance, but not to compete against me?”
“Well...” Wen Ning clutches his bow with both hands and rubs his thumbs on the leather grip. “I j-just...I get too nervous in competitions."
Jiang Cheng sets his jaw. “Then do it now. If you can compete against just me, you won’t be so nervous other times.”
“But...but...”
Jiang Cheng raises his eyebrows, a little twitch that’s somehow aggressive and meek at the same time. “What? Is there a problem with that?”
“Well, if you’re going to help me stop feeling nervous about competing," Wen Ning says, "then why can’t I help you with your posture first?”
Jiang Cheng looks stumped for a moment, then shakes his head. “I don’t need it,” he says flatly.
Wen Ning thinks back to how he’s seen Wei Wuxian prod at Jiang Cheng with nothing but words and a taunting cross of his arms. Wen Ning crosses his own arms, stands up a little taller, and says, “If you don’t let me help, then I won’t compete against you.”
With a scoff, Jiang Cheng draws his shoulders up and clenches his fists. “Fine. Just do it quick.” After a few moments, he strings his bow and holds his aim steady at the waterfall.
...That was easy.
After backing up to examine Jiang Cheng’s stance from different angles, Wen Ning slowly approaches him. He presses down on Jiang Cheng’s elbow, lowering the angle of his arm holding the arrow. Then he wraps his other hand around Jiang Cheng’s body to grip the underside of his outstretched arm.
As he adjusts Jiang Cheng’s posture, tugging him into the correct stance and sinking his fingers further into white robes, Wen Ning becomes embarrassingly aware of how broad Jiang Cheng’s shoulders are. His whole torso, actually. It would probably feel nice to hug him from behind.
Heat spreads across Wen Ning’s cheeks. He wrestles the thought away, grateful that Jiang Cheng can’t see his face right now.
“Okay,” Wen Ning says, though it comes out more like a choked sound, and pulls away to let Jiang Cheng shoot.
The arrow hits a rock in the waterfall head-on, shattering it.
Jiang Cheng grins, then immediately suppresses the smile and gives a dignified nod. “Not bad.” He lowers his bow and looks toward Wen Ning, not quite meeting his eyes. “...Thanks.”
A hum vibrates happily in Wen Ning’s chest, and he nods back.
“Now are you going to compete?” As soon as Jiang Cheng’s voice rises with that combative tone again, he glares at Wen Ning with the same mixture of sharpness and shyness as earlier, like a sword that doesn't want to swing.
“I’ll do my best, Jiang-gongzi,” Wen Ning says cheerfully and heads back to his spot on the stream’s bank, for once excited for a competition rather than sick with anxiousness.
Maybe archery is a good way to get close to someone after all. Although...for a moment, that had been a little too close.
Wen Ning wouldn’t mind doing it again sometime.
* * *
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this story, you can be a supportive sibling like Jiang Yanli by visiting me on AO3!
I’m still taking art/writing requests from this ask meme if anyone wants to indulge me 👀
#mdzs fanfiction#the untamed fanfiction#mdzsnet#chengning#wen ning#jiang cheng#mdzs fanfic#the untamed fanfic#cql fanfic#mdzs#the untamed#cql#ningcheng#jiang wanyin#wen qionglin#emilu fics#emilu creations
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Here’s the scanned version of the character study of Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian. I posted the process gif earlier this week, which can be seen here.
When I posted the gif, I postulated the challenge to see if you can find all the visual references/symbols for each of these characters (answers are below the cut in the image description). Bonus points for spotting what is present in this still that is missing from the process gif.
This is the second study I’ve done in this style; I did Jiang Cheng first, because I really like doing watercolors of Lotus Pier (links for the final scan and process gif).
Watercolor and gouache on 7x10″ watercolor paper. Image description is below the cut.
Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian are standing in the foreground of the image (to the left and right sides respectively, facing toward each other). They are painted in ink and left uncolored except for specific highlights (hair ribbons, Lan Wangji’s forehead ribbon, the tassel on Chenqing). Both are playing their instruments.
The background is framed by the wooden framing of the bridge from episode 35 (when Lan Wangji ends up carrying Wei Wuxian). Some of Wei Wuxian’s talismans are stuck to the cross bars on the right; a paperman stands on the left-most post. One of the grass butterflies and Bichen lean against the left post. Two bunnies sit at the bottom center of the bridge, and a golden core is at the center top. The bunny lantern Wei Wuxian painted (episode 7) floats to the right of center above the bridge.
The landscape painted in the background behind the bridge is one of the waterfalls in Cloud Recess.
(If you’ve read this far, I’m impressed. The thing I forgot to paint in the WIP process gif was the grass butterfly that Lan Wangji purchased for A-Yuan).
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A Problematic Pet
Sangchengmonth2020 (on ao3)
Day 19: Demonic Cultivation
Nie Huaisang knew listening to Wei Wuxian had been a bad idea, a terrible idea even, the worst thing he could possibly do. And yet he did it anyway which was why he was now running as fast as he could through Cloud Recesses after curfew, clutching in his hands a dead bird that just wouldn’t shut up. He was breaking so many rules; he wondered which one Lan Qiren would be most upset over: the running or the minor case of demonic cultivation.
Either way, if he got caught now, he would be dead; Lan Qiren would bypass expulsion and go straight to murder. That would be annoying; he’d actually planned to pass all his tests this year.
Finally, he got to Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng’s room thankfully without being spotted and knocked against the door as quietly and as urgently as possible.
Jiang Cheng opened up rubbing the sleep from his eyes with only his inner robes on, hair ruffled, face scrunched up in annoyance. He looked adorable, but Nie Huaisang was so distressed he couldn’t enjoy the sight properly.
Unfortunately, the dead bird took precedence.
Nie Huaisang barreled past him, Jiang Cheng who was too asleep to put up any resistance stifled a yawn as he closed the door. So Adorable.
Nie Huaisang woke Wei Wuxian up with a well-placed jab to the side.
“Excellent news,” Nie Huaisang announced to a startled Wei Wuxian, his voice high-pitched and garnished with a pinch of hysteria, “You know your theories about demonic cultivation? They work.” Nie Huaisang thrust the squawking bird in front of Wei Wuxian’s face. The bird which, up until earlier, had been unmoving and dead. Wei Wuxian’s bleary eyes widened.
Behind him, Jiang Cheng face-planted onto the bed and groaned into his pillow.
Despite Jiang Cheng’s best efforts, none of them got anymore sleep. They spend the whole night desperately trying to make the dead bird slightly more dead with no success.
The sleep deprivation made paying attention to the morning lessons more challenging than usual. What little energy they had left was used to remain upright and keep their eyes open, and not to pay attention to Lan Qiren’s lecture on what might have been the symbolism of flowers in poetry or the history of battle tactics throughout the ages; Nie Huaisang wasn’t sure.
The not-dead bird was in a cage hidden under Nie Huaisang’s robes, covered with enough talismans to mask its resentful energy. It had refused to leave Nie Huaisang’s side, creating quite the racket when they’d tried to leave it hidden underneath Wei Wuxian’s bed.
Nie Huaisang hadn’t had the heart to force it to stay all alone (even though Wei Wuxian had said Nie Huaisang theoretically could force it to because the bird was under his control. That had led to him giving Wei Wuxian a very long lecture on consent; Wei Wuxian had looked appropriately chastised by the end).
Nie Huaisang heard a small chirp and froze, his eyes widening. Jiang Cheng discreetly and Wei Wuxian and not-so-discreetly looked over to Nie Huaisang, their eyes equally wide.
Lan Wangji turned towards them, face unmoving but eyes narrowed and filled with suspicion.
There was a slightly louder chirp, and all three of them started coughing loudly. Lan Qiren glared down at them, silently ordering them to choke quietly. Lan Wangji looked even more suspicious.
Wei Wuxian faked an extra loud and painful-sounding cough, practically throwing himself in Lan Wangji’s lap, thoroughly distracting Lan Wangji.
The bird went unnoticed.
After class, Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang were bird-sitting by a stream while Wei Wuxian was in his room frantically trying to find a way to reverse Nie Huaisang’s little problem.
The still-not-completely-dead bird was cradled in Jiang Cheng’s hand. Jiang Cheng looked so soft as he gently stroked the bird’s ruffled that, for the first time in his life, Nie Huaisang felt envious of a dead bird.
Which went to show just how low he’d sunk.
Nie Huaisang didn’t bother holding in his groan as he hid his face in his hands, blocking himself from the rest of the world. Maybe the problem would go away if he could no longer see it.
Jiang Cheng, used to Nie Huaisang dramatics by now, didn’t react.
“Da-ge’s going to kill me,” Nie Huaisang moaned. As if the Nie techniques weren’t dangerous enough, now Nie Huaisang was resurrecting the dead.
“Not if Lan Qiren gets to you first,” Jiang Cheng replied.
Nie Huaisang groaned even louder.
“Why did you do it anyway?” Jiang Cheng asked.
“Because I’m stupid, and Wei Wuxian had said it would be easier than regular cultivation,” Nie Huaisang said, “Honestly I’m surprised it actually worked.”
“You know, if you want, I could help you with regular cultivation,” Jiang Cheng said, and Nie Huaisang finally stopped hiding, looking up to see Jiang Cheng blushing and refusing to make eye contact.
The thought of more training didn’t sound like fun, but it would mean spending time with Jiang Cheng and watching him workout.
If it got too boring, Nie Huaisang could always trip and fall into Jiang Cheng’s chest (accidentally, of course).
“I’d like that,” Nie Huaisang replied, and Jiang Cheng’s blush climbed even higher, covering his entire face.
After Jiang Cheng finally got control of his blush (a shame really, Nie Huaisang was already missing the red colour), Jiang Chenga asked, “What are you going to name it?”
“I can’t name it!” Nie Huaisang sputtered. Naming it meant he’d have to keep it, and Da-ge would definitely have some objections about that.
A while later, Wei Wuxian came speedily walking towards them (it wasn’t running but it was close) with a stack of papers in his grip and a solution.
Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang looked at each other guiltily.
“We can’t get rid of it,” Jiang Cheng said.
“Let me introduce you to Jujube.” Nie Huaisang said bringing the bird over to Wei Wuxian
“You named it!?” Wei Wuxian screeched.
#sangchengmonth2020#sangchengber#sangcheng#jiang cheng#nie huaisang#the untamed#mdzs#jiang wanyin#demonic cultivator nie huaisang#if asked Nie Huaisang will say it was a complete accident and all Wei Wuxian's fault#Jiang Cheng just wants to go to sleep#crack#the dead bird didn't ask for any of this#Demonic Cultivation
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for the 5 times meme! wei wuxian, losing things
i looked at this prompt and thought “oh i could go so angsty with this” and then tried to find as much fluff potential as possible 😂 thank you so, so much for sending this in, i adored writing it! i added a plus one time he finds something!
give me a character, and a situation, and I’ll write you 5 ficlets on 5 times that situation occurred
#1) Lotus Pods
“See, this is how you take the seeds out.” Jiang Cheng sat on the bank of the river and Wei Wuxian crouched at his side. Wei Wuxian wasn’t quite sure what to think of his new brother’s often surprising temper, but he had decided that he very much liked having a brother anyway. “Now you try.”
Wei Wuxian looked down at the lotus pod in his own hands. He carefully tried to pluck out a seed as Jiang Cheng had shown him, but it slipped to fall on the ground.
“It’s okay, you can have some of mine,” Jiang Cheng said, holding out a seed.
Wei Wuxian cupped his hand and Jiang Cheng carefully put the seed in it. He ate it with a smile. It was still odd (and wonderful!) to be able to eat food even when he wasn’t hungry. “Thanks!”
“Hmph,” Jiang Cheng said, which meant ‘you’re very welcome’ Wei Wuxian was pretty sure. “Go pick more pods, I’ll get the seeds and we can bring them to shijie.”
“Okay!” He scrambled up, being careful not to knock over the basket they brought. Taking off his shoes and rolling up his pants, he splashed into the water. He began picking pods, but dropped them after just a moment as he called, “I see a frog!”
“Really? Where?” Jiang Cheng left the shore and carefully waded his way.
“Shh, right in front of me, behind some leaves,” Wei Wuxian whispered. “Should I catch it?”
“Bet you can’t,” Jiang Cheng challenged.
Glancing over his shoulder he saw the other boy was smiling. Grinning back, Wei Wuxian called, “I bet I can catch more frogs than you can!” before diving into the lotuses, the pods he’d already picked floating forgotten (and later lost) in the water.
#2) A Drawing
Wei Wuxian dug around his spare clothes, tossing them to the side.
“Aren’t you supposed to be packing?” Nie Huaisang asked, appearing to lean against the doorway.
“He is,” Jiang Cheng, the traitor, said from his side of the room.
“I will, I will, I just need to find something first!” Wei Wuxian said, looking around.
“What’re you looking for?” Nie Huaisang moved closer, ignoring the way Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes.
“It’s nothing really!” Wei Wuxian said but not loud enough to cover Jiang Cheng.
“A picture for ‘Lan Zhan’.” The name was said in Jiang Cheng’s rude (in Wei Wuxian’s opinion) imitation of Wei Wuxian’s voice. He didn’t sound like that!
Nie Huaisang gave a little laugh. “Oh really? And why would an esteemed Jade of Lan want that?”
“No reason,” Wei Wuxian said quickly. It was a drawing of some of the rabbits from the cave. That way Lan Wangji could have a reminder of them and of the promises the two of them made together. Wei Wuxian remembered the way Lan Wangji smiled at the lantern art.
“Of course.” Nie Huaisang was covering a smile with their fan. “Did it fall behind the bed?”
Wei Wuxian stopped digging through his clothes and tugged the bed a little way from the wall. Sure enough, the paper had slipped behind. He pulled it out triumphantly, before carefully holding it so neither Nie Huaisang nor Jiang Cheng could see what was on it. They wouldn’t understand.
“You’re welcome,” Nie Huaisang said, and then looked from one brother to the other. “Any other way I can be of help?”
“No, you’ve done enough damage,” Jiang Cheng grumbled. “Though I guess now he will pack.”
“I need to give this to Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian hurried out of the room.
Nie Huaisang’s laughter and Jiang Cheng’s cursing could be heard from behind him as Wei Wuxian navigated the Cloud Recesses one more time. He hoped Lan Wangji would smile again.
#3) Chenqing
“You lost your spiritual tool,” Wen Qing asked flatly.
“I wouldn’t say lost it...” Wei Wuxian tried to persuade. He was washing a-Yuan’s clothes at the moment and Wen Qing had appeared to drop her own and Granny’s on the pile for him to clean as well. “I just don’t have it right now.”
“Can’t you feel it?” Wen Qing asked.
Wei Wuxian didn’t really like talking about his connection to Chenqing (and it would only make her worry), so he joked instead. “I think the blood pool ate it!”
“The blood pool didn’t eat it.” She settled on a rock near him.
Wei Wuxian was glad to see her taking even a little bit of a break. Wen Qing had been using so much of her energy healing all the Wens. None of them had been in good shape. “Maybe Uncle planted it?” he offered next
“No.” She hadn’t laughed, but the tension in her face lessened.
“It would grow and make cursed fruit,” Wei Wuxian chatted on, turning to focus on some dirt that was packed into the knees of a-Yuan’s pants. “Then we can have cursed fruit wine and sell it at a high price!”
“Who would want to buy cursed wine?” She took the wet clothes when he passed them to her and set them on a different nearby rock to dry.
“Someone who has already had too much regular wine?” he mused.
“Alright, but how do we sell it to a vendor?”
Wei Wuxian thought that over. “We’ll just have to open an inn. Be our own vendor.” Finally, she gave a little snort of laughter. He turned away to hide his own smile.
“I see. I’ll inform Uncle of the plans.” Wen Qing stood then, stretching. “Get some rest after you finish here.”
“Only if you do the same!”
“We’re both going to die of exhaustion,” she declared with a sigh as she wandered away.
#4) a-Yuan
“A-Yuan!” Why did he always have to run off when Wei Wuxian was trying to buy potatoes? Had Wen Qing trained him to do this to prevent him from bringing potatoes home? If so, it was a very clever tactic.
Wei Wuxian moved through the crowd, swallowing down the hope that once more Lan Wangji would appear and save the day. That was something that would only happen once in their lives.
“A-Yuan!” He came around the corner to find a-Yuan was playing with two kids who seemed to be close to him in age. They were all playing with little grass butterflies, which was probably what attracted a-Yuan away from Wei Wuxian in the first place.
A young woman who was nearby spotted him and came over. “Are you his dad?”
Wei Wuxian nodded because the truth was too complicated and there was something that longed for her simple question to be that truth.
She smiled. “Oh good, I was worried where he might have come from when my girls got his attention. Sorry, they gave you a scare.”
“As long as he’s safe,” Wei Wuxian smiled back. “We don’t live in town, so he doesn’t get to play much with other kids.”
“Ah, I wondered why you didn’t look familiar,” she said. “He’s been very good and gentle. He’s a very sweet kid.”
“Yes, he is. Thank you,” Wei Wuxian felt something calm in his heart. A-Yuan’s smile... that was why they had done all of this. This was what made all their hardships worth it, seeing a-Yuan grow and learn and be happy.
Now if only he could teach the kid to stop wandering away...
#5) A Teacup
Wei Wuxian stared at the table and frowned, hands on his hips. He had wanted to surprise Lan Wangji by putting together a meal for them to share (and making sure it wasn’t spicy at all). Lan Wangji had been so busy with his new duties and Wei Wuxian knew how much his husband could use a break. A quiet evening together would be the perfect surprise.
But one of the teacups was missing. Wei Wuxian crouched and looked to see if it had rolled under the table and then looked under all the other furniture in the room. The little white cup was nowhere to be seen.
He could take out their second set, but he had already put food in this one. It would be silly to mess more dishes just for things to be “perfect.” Sighing, Wei Wuxian took out just a cup from the other set and placed it.
Lan Wangji didn’t comment on it when they sat together to eat, serving each other with the ease of ever-growing familiarity. His husband did smile, as if having a private joke, at the black teacup among the rest of the white dishes.
Ah.
Wei Wuxian hid his own smile as he drank from the cup itself. The parallel was pretty funny, now that he thought of it.
+1) A Home
The early fall evening held the hint of coming chill, a crispness that was refreshing after the summer. Wei Wuxian breathed in deeply as he tended to the lotuses he and Lan Wangji had coaxed into growing among the rest of the garden.
The Cloud Recesses were quiet around him but for Lan Wangji’s playing, which wrapped out from the open Jingshi door. But Wei Wuxian remembered the sound of his little Lan students’ soft laughter, the sounds that were always coming from the communal kitchen during the day, and the sound of practice swords striking or music being perfected. The Cloud Recesses were rarely as quiet as their rules would imply.
Wei Wuxian leaned back on his heels to turn his gaze down toward the buildings that the Jingshi was set apart from. What filled him was contentment. He didn’t feel trapped, as his teen self would have pictured. He was older now, had been through a lot more and sometimes the quiet was nice. Soothing. Other times, it was fun to try and figure out how to flex those Lan rules. Kept his mind sharp!
Wei Wuxian was apprehensive to think of this as home. He had lost too many homes before. But as the years passed and he found himself with a place he would always be welcome... where kids laughed, where he got to be with his husband, where he got to see their son and nephew often, where Wen Ning has his own little space within walking distance... It was becoming harder and harder to resist the truth.
He’d found another home. Maybe this time, he’d get to keep it.
#wangxian#wei wuxian#jiang cheng#lan wangji#wen qing#jiang sibs#lan yuan#nhs also appears!#my fic#a answers#i hope you enjoy :D#okay this was a great break from nanowrimo#should i have taken a break? who knows!#a talks#i have stared at so many words these last weeks i hope i didn't miss horrible spelling issues
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