#that was all in my past life my fucking ass wei wuxian

[theelast-straw]

10 BL Boys I Want Carnally

10 BL Boys That Make Me Feel Things™

(not sexual, not romantic but a secret third thing)

okay so I wasn't exactly tagged in this but I saw several people doing this and I'll take just about any excuse to scream about my favorite characters so I'm just going to very sneakily join in on this trend 👀

there is absolutely no ranking to these bc I couldn't rank them if I wanted to

(also I changed the name a little bc my ace ass is literally physically incapable of wanting anyone carnally but I still have lots of thoughts lmao)

1) Tharn (The Sign)

I mean. is literally anyone surprised that this is where we're starting?

he's the nicest person out there. he can kick your ass if he wants to. he lost his parents at a young age and is absolutely convinced that everyone he loves is doomed to die and he keeps seeing visions of people dying and he's told again and again that those he has wronged in a past life - which he doesn't even remember - are still out to get him and yet he has so much kindness left for the world??

also he can be such a little shit and knows exactly how to tease Phaya back I love him so goddamn much.

(also that mole-)

2) Kim (Kinnporsche)

was he also on my characters I'd hit with my car list? maybe. and what about it.

I love him so much. he's such a badass but he's such a loser. famous singer who falls for a fan he was supposed to be investigating but is too emotionally constipated to admit it. badass son of a mafia family who can kick ass but only if he wants to. who does it like him honestly

(it also helps that he's played by just about the prettiest man alive)

3) Babe (Pit Babe)

did I start watching this show ironically? yes. is every mention of alphas and mpreg and that mama/papa thing hitting me like a brick and causing me 9000 psychic damage every single time? also yes. did I absolutely fall in love with the show and just about every character in it? you bet your fucking ass I did.

but I especially love Babe. he's just so babygirl. special alpha man who has to act tough and strong but just wants to be babied by his dumbass loser (affectionate) alpha boyfriend. like, he's actually so goddamn soft?? I love him.

4) Guy (Bake Me Please)

I think we all knew this was coming. I was literally gushing about him for half of the episodes. Guy my beloved. that show did not deserve you.

he spends the entire show supporting his crush's every decision and trying to make sure he's okay literally how could you not love this man

(yes he was a petty bitch for like 5 minutes there but he immediately apologized for it the next episode. properly. unlike certain other people-)

5) Sprite (Twins)

he's so himbo coded. himbo of all himbos. the himboest. not a brain cell in that head. he's my little dumbass I love him.

he deserves so much better than what he's being put through. someone please just love and support him for who he is. and also take him away from that family

(please talk to your boyfriend tho I am begging)

6) Wei Wuxian (The Untamed)

MY BELOVED. I could write essays about him. he's such a great character I love him so fucking much. if you ever had to bear witness to me talking about him.. I am so sorry.

sassy emo bitch with a flute and a tragic backstory who's seen as evil by just about everyone but only ever had the best intentions. absolute fucking dumbass. kicks ass. always smiling despite the circumstances. loves his siblings so damn much. doomed by the narrative. what more could you possibly ask for

7) Zhou Zishu (Word of Honor)

I'm trying so damn hard to keep this list to one character per show and it really took me a while to decide if I wanted to include him or Wen Kexing but ultimately it was Zhou Zishu for me

just.. god. him. assassin sect leader just trying to retire who keeps getting dragged into the biggest bullshit but doesn't really mind bc the bullshit comes with a mysterious pretty man. also that whole god damn nail thing. I have so many thoughts and feelings about that but this post would get too long if I got started on those-

(also actually pulling the "I'm literally dying" card to get out of chores is so fucking valid of him. more characters should do that)

8) Milk (Choco Milk Shake)

he is quite fucking literally a reincarnated cat, of course I love him. I could list reasons for why I love him but it would be the exact same reasons just about every cat person on earth lists for why they love cats so. but here's a quick summary, just in case:

petty. dramatic. knocks over glasses. silently loves you so fucking much.

9) Tew (My Dear Gangster Oppa)

I really did not expect to love him this much? greenest of green flags (except for the plot line we shall not talk about). can and will kill people and is fine with it (seriously it is so refreshing to see a mafia character not having a huge moral dilemma about being in the mafia). both a badass mafia man and a gamer guy who doesn't know how to talk to people and is absolutely whipped for his gamer bf.

also scars make a person just about 110x more attractive I don't make the rules. even if the scars are weird and yellow, it's the thought that counts.

10) Tian (A Tale of Thousand Stars)

I? love him??

I just love how he sets out to do something for someone he didn't even know because he feels like this person deserves that much at least and how he ends up genuinely loving and caring for those kids and the village and this inner conflict he's having the entire time but hiding oh so well and how he actually calls out his parents on their rich people bs and-

tagging everyone who reads this far and wants to do it. seriously. I mean it. if you want to do this, please go ahead and say I tagged you. I love reading everyone's thoughts.

#this list is just me going “i love him sm” ten times in a row lmao #apparently my type is just pretty man who is secretly a loser nerd #the sign the series #kinnporsche #pit babe the series #bake me please the series #twins the series #the untamed #word of honor #choco milk shake #my dear gangster oppa #a tale of thousand stars #thai bl #kbl #danmei

[rosethornewrites]

T & G reading since 2/2

Finished

Teen:

You've Been Hit By (A Smooth Criminal), by stiltonbasket

In which Wei Wuxian is under an enchantment, and Lan Wangji is a faerie trapped in the unwitting thrall of a vampire.

Fairness, by snowberryrose

In which Wen Qing gets drunk

Or: Wei WuXian is more observant than he’s credited

Divergence from episode 29

be honest with me now, by sassybluee (5th in a series)

Sometimes, even though they are married, Lan Wangji feels as though he doesn’t know Wei Ying at all.

Su She Eats his Heart Out, by KizuKatana (3 chapters, locked)

The (bitter) third party pov of the epic college romance between Wei Ying and Lan Zhan, as told from the pettiest NPC to ever exist.

- - - - -

A new student transferred into the university in their second year, and Su She was gleeful to see how much Lan Zhan was irritated by him from the very first day that the student (Wei something) showed up late for class with a ratty hoodie pulled up over his head and proceeded to sleep through lecture. Finally, someone else would be the butt of everyone’s jokes as they watched Wei Ying constantly try and fail to get Lan Zhan’s attention. When midterm grades came out, Su She was expecting the guy to be humiliated.

That was… not what happened.

Worse still, Lan Zhan was now actually turning his head to look at the guy when he spoke. And... wait, was Lan Zhan… putting his hand on the guy’s ass?!

No. Su She does not accept this.

Est-il Impossible D'echapper, by Comfect (4th in a series)

Jiang Cheng finds someone else who's been touched by death, and finds out some important information.

Title from Shakespeare (when he was writing in French), as always.

Content warning for canonical threat to the life of a child (the child does not die in this fic and will not die in this series)

In Which Jiang Cheng Ruins Everything, by AshurbanipalJones (10th in a series)

Wen Qing felt like all her internal organs were about to explode. Was this what Qi deviation felt like?

“Fuck you,” she said, and stormed past him.

Behind her, she sensed rather than heard Hanguang Jun following. Then his voice, low and cool and even, “You, Jiang Wanyin, are a fucking moron.”

Ridiculousness, by snowberryrose

In which Nie HuaiSang concocts a story

You Were More Than Just A Short Time (and i´ve got a lot to live without), by razzleberryicedtea

After the battle at Bu Ye Tian Lan Wangji felt like he couldn´t breathe.

There was a heavy weight on his chest and his lungs constricted every time he gasped for air, feeling a sharp pain in his body that was entirely unrelated to the punishment of thirty-three lashes, which the elders had agreed upon.

(Wei Wuxian is dead but Lan Wangji is not. He has to keep going somehow, especially with being a father now.)

Saviour of the Universe, by sami (part of 2 series, 3 chapters)

"Good morning, James," Jordan greets the young man who brought her patient. "And good morning, Catp'n Flint. James, I hope your mothers are well?"

General:

chancellor of the morning sun, by stiltonbasket (11 chapters)

The disgraced Madam Lan gives birth to a daughter first, not a son.

The Lan sect has never had a woman for a sect leader after Lan Yi, and does not wish to have one again.

Lan Wangji refuses to claim his sister's birthright.

These three facts have shaped Lan Xichen's life, for as long as she can remember.

No Time For Leisure, by nirejseki

Protecting and taking care of Lan Qiren is serious business.

As far as his cousin, Lan Yueheng, is concerned, everyone should get a chance.

My Pet Rabbit Found His Husband at the Library, Or: How One Mischievous Rabbit Got Lan Zhan a Boyfriend, by katje

Lan Zhan had thought today would be like any other day working at the library. He had been working at this branch for nearly three years as the Youth Services Librarian, and he had his routine down to an art. From planning programs to culling books and replacing them with books more children would enjoy to holding animal therapy sessions with his Flemish Giant rabbit Tofu, he was as set in his routine as one could be working with the general public.

Little did he know, however, his peace would soon be disrupted by none other than Tofu himself, who was usually a model employee.

OR

Lan Zhan is just trying to do his job, but his pet rabbit has other ideas - namely, finding himself and his baba a husband.

The Trouble With Politics: a Treatise on Jiang Sect Deputies Gone Rogue by Sect Leader Wei Wuxian, by stiltonbasket (20 chapters)

Jin Zixuan dies. A siege is called at the Nightless City. A bodyguard flees from the Jinlintai, and journeys to the Burial Mounds to fulfill a life debt to the Ghost General.

Lan Wangji just wants to woo Wei Wuxian in peace, and figure out if Jiang-zongzhu's ex-deputy will ever stop trying to chaperone them.

(Or, the one where Yu Zhenhong stands by his da-shixiong, and becomes the head disciple of the rising Yiling Wei sect.)

Unfinished

Teen:

I've Heard of Second Chances, but This Is Ridiculous, by velvet_green

One of Wei Wuxian’s experimental talisman arrays sends himself, his husband and his brother to that mythical land of long ago – the Gusu Lan lectures of their youth.

Wei Wuxian is amused. Lan Wangji is silent. Jiang Cheng is angry.

And their younger versions are mostly just very, very confused.

Instead, by apathyinreverie (locked)

Wei Ying is found by someone other than Wen Chao after the Core transfer.

Or, the one where Wei Ying is never thrown into the Burial Mounds, never invents demonic cultivation. He still manages to become the lynchpin of the Sunshot Campaign anyway.

Your Shelter, by cosmicmilktea

“There is no need for sorry,” Lan-gege had told him, what seemed like such a long time ago, “Robes can be cleaned.”

But a soiled robe in Lotus Pier means lashes on his back and a night of kneeling in the ancestral hall, even if Jiang Cheng and all the other disciples also came back with mud and reeds painting their robes. A soiled robe means hearing baba and mama's names spoken in malice and ridicule. It means a gentle chiding from shijie as she pats his head and offers him a bowl of warm soup, which only made him miss the warmth of Xian-gege's safe embrace.

His back hurts, and his knees ache from kneeling so long. Beneath his robes, Lan-gege's ribbon presses close to his heart, and it reminds him how he had felt so safe with the two men. How baba and mama had also made him feel safe even without the shelter of gilded walls and roofs. He longs to be that safe again, the longing building and building in the too-small confines of his chest until Wei Ying can not hold it in any longer.

He runs.

General:

Lies and Truth, by parodismal (locked)

What happen if Lan Wangji decided to actually check Qiongqi Path after Wei Wuxian leave?

....

It leads to a domino effect towards a new Chief Cultivator

Is it a better?

Or worse?

一寸光阴一寸金, 寸金难买寸光阴, by orphan_account (likely abandoned)

His eyes fluttered closed, his body went limp and the next thing he knew-

Pain flared on his cheek and his ass hit the ground.

He blinked, eyes dazed and mind numbed from shock. He cradled his bruised cheek, eyes taking in Wei Wuxian, furious and indignant and-

Young.

Wei Wuxian was young, he was wearing Gusu robes-

Everyone was young.

Jin Zixuan was young, he was alive-

He’s travelled back in time.

[Jin Zixuan Time Travel Fix-It]

the sea meets the moon-blanched land, by rkivees

“I'm sorry, Lan Zhan.”

“This is in no way Wei Ying's fault.” He shook his head, eyes focused on Wei Wuxian's face when he said it.

“I could've helped you earlier.”

“You were worried about the ones who could not protect themselves.” His voice was deep and sober, “Like the promise we made 10 years ago.”

or, wei wuxian leaves lotus pier right after their classes in cloud recesses and that's when he finds himself

#the untamed #mo dao zu shi #mdzs #cql #chen qing ling #untamed fanfiction

[amedetoiles]

but you see, there is a graveyard in my mouth, filled with words that have died on my lips (x)

#the untamed #mdzs #fytheuntamed #jiang cheng #wei wuxian #陈情令 #!mine #!gifs #yunmeng shuangjie #that was all in my past life my fucking ass wei wuxian #i have nothing i wanted to say to him mY ASS JIANG WANYIN #i'm so glad nobody is pining across the courtyard #i'm so glad there's no yearning here at all #nobody misses each other #nope nope nope #everyone's very very glad to go their separate ways #truly #i've never see two happier people in my life #gOD #they're so fucking stupid #>:||||||| #anyway hi hello i was rewatching the last few episodes again and i really love this quote lol sorry #but the way jiang cheng looks down always kills me #:((((( #he's so sad? #they're so sad? #seriously can you morons just get it the fuck together and go fucking hug each other #jin ling thinks you're both stupid and he is smart and right and valid and the best boy #please get your shit together

[drwcn]

follow up to [post] exploring the crack au if lwj was a girl 

〒▽〒 ps im not trying to erase canon lwj representation, not at all, wangxian is mm in all my other fics, this is just stupid fun

in a ceteris paribus situation aka all other things staying equal: 

1) Lan Wangji 100% still has a resting bitch face, which probably would get her a couple of “Lan-er-guniang 美若天仙 (beautiful as an immortal/goddess) but would benefit from smiling more” comments but nobody is that desperate to die yet so, she’s spared. But damn... imagine the sheer number of thirsty boys who’d try to secure a marriage with LWJ. None of them is good enough for Wangji as far as Lan Xichen is concerned. Okay - maybe in Lan Xichen’s opinion, Nie Mingjue is good enough, but he couldn’t be less interested. I see her as I see Huaisang, Xichen please. 

2) Everything interaction between Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian in Wei Wuxian’s first life is now 500% more scandalous. 

Exhibit A) Their first meeting at the gates; Jiang Cheng immediately felt his spidey senses tingling.  —“You’d sooner have immortals flying out of your ass than get with someone like her. The second jade of Gusu? The pearl in old man Lan’s eyes? C’mon.”  —“Shut up, A-Cheng.” —“Uh-huh.”  —“Also, she’s not that pretty. Her brother Zewu-jun is much better. There’s a reason he’s ranked first.” WWX is still a disaster bi.  — “LMAO, you? Zewu-jun? Please.” 

Exhibit B) Just because LWJ is a girl does not mean WWX grew more brain cells. 

WWX, straight up to Lan Qiren’s face, “Lan-meimei and I - we’re zhiji.” (he means it like we’re kindred spirits, peas of a pod, etc)  LWJ: *does not deny* Lan Xichen: ⚆_⚆ Lan Qiren: ಠ╭╮ಠ

Exhibit C) Lan Wangji getting drunk the first time. Wei Wuxian knew he crossed a line the minute he invited Lan-er-guniang for a drink. Really, WWX, even for you, this is inappropriate. When Lan Wangji fell face first onto the table, Wei Wuxian knew, he fucked up. “Hey....hey...Lan....Lan...-er-guniang,” He poked her. “Don’t...don’t sleep here! You can’t sleep here! If your Uncle finds out or if Jiang-shushu finds out...they’ll skin me alive and then...and then they’ll make me marry you! I don’t want to marry you; you don’t talk and I’m too young!” 

WWX, being a dipshit, “Hey Lan Zhan, call me Wei-gege.”  LWJ, drunk as fuck, “Wei..gege.”  WWX *((( heart )))* ??? 

Exhibit D) The Cold Pond. Okay, so I don’t think Zewu-jun would sabotage his sister’s virtue by sending a stupid teenage boy her way while she’s bathing, but doesn’t mean Su She is above all that. Wei “I didn’t see anything I swear!” Wuxian. Lan “I will gouge out your eyes.” Wangji. Somehow they still end up in the cave. Maybe WWX got in the water after LWJ got out and got sucked into the vortex and LWJ heard the commotion, turned around, saw WWX had disappeared. “Wei Ying?!” A panicked LWJ jumps back into the pond, “Stop fooling around, come out!” 

Jiang Cheng and Wen Qing 👀👀 when LWJ and WWX fall out of the cave together. Also the fact that Lan-er-guniang and Wei-gongzi went missing, together, for two days. Who knows what could’ve happened. I mean anything really. I mean... that’s gotta stir the pot a little were it not for the Yin Iron stealing everyone’s attention away from this bit of juicy scandal. 

Oh the whole story... so much to work with, so little time. 

3) Because Lan Wangji is a girl, now suddenly there’s a high ranking member of the Lan Clan who can host the girls at Cloud Recesses. I mean, Mianmian, Jiang Yanli, Wen Qing, Lan Wangji - SISTERLY FRIENDSHIP. Other than Mianmian, none of the girls are really talkers which suits Lan Wangji perfectly. Even Mianmian’s chatter is endearing.

4) Lan Wangji is absolutely still a powerhouse during the Sunshot Campaign. The inherent aesthetics of fem!lwj telling the Wen goons to “kneel” - no one will deprive me of this.  Also she will still cut off your arm if you cross her - Xue Yang and Jin Guangyao ya better watch out still. 

I am TORN between two options: Lan Wangji tol and kickass or Lan Wangji smol and kickass. On one hand, the aesthetics of willowy elf-like LWJ, on the other hand, 5′2′’ of whoop ass who can and will throw an unconscious wwx over her shoulder firewoman-style and toll him to safety.  

And amongst other things: 

A) Lan Wangji still becomes Chief Cultivator, because excuse me who else is left to clean up this mess? Jiang “Short-fuse” Wanyin? Nie “I won’t do what I’m not intended to do” Huaisang? Jin “13 year-old” Ling? Or Sect Leader Yao?  Technically, being a woman means that she was never Lan Xichen’s heir, but at the end of it, it’s not like Gusu Lan is left with a lot of choices.  Just the poetic justice of Gusu Lan pleading for Lan Wangji to come back when she fully intends to 隐居山野 (retreat into the mountains) with the resurrected WWX.

Lan Wangji being Chief Cultivator would echo Lan Yi’s tenure and rectify the fact that Gusu Lan’s only female head of family “failed”. Lan Yi had to face a mountain of prejudice because she was woman; someone has to say “up yours” to that. A woman as not only the sect master of Gusu Lan but the Chief Cultivator? Love that for Gusu Lans. (⌐■_■) ☞ ☞

B) Because of ~ sexism ~ I wonder if Lan Wangji would get titled “Hanguang” at all even after the Sunshot Campaign. Even Lan Yi, the SL Lan of her time didn’t have a title. Chances are LWJ won’t either. (Note: Violet Spider is not a title, it’s a moniker). So — say after the way Lan Wangji is still just “Lan-er-guniang”, and she does not obtain the title “Han Guang” until after she leaves Cloud Recesses and become rogue. (srsly how did they come up with these titles in canon, did gusu lan just look at 21 year old lwj and be like yah he’s lord light bearer *cue trevor noah stand up joke* why do you call yourself “great” britain? isn’t that a bit presumptuous? shouldn’t you go around doing good things and then let other people come to the conclusion: oh britain look how great you are? same logic with lwj.) 

Lan Wangji, a Jade of Gusu or a nameless rogue, still goes where trouble is, helping those who need it. After laying low for a year or two to heal, Lan Wangji began night hunting. Donned neck to ankle in white silk and tulle, and a weimao (wide brimmed veil hat) obscuring her face, she became known to the people as Hanguang Sanren, the lightbearing wanderer. Gusu’s highest power probably has some idea who she is - or at least they can guess - but the vast majority of people don’t. 

C) Lan Sizhui raised by rogue Lan Wangji as his mum would be different. Still cultured, respectful, but definitely with an air of keeping others at arm’s length. 

For instance, grown-up Sizhui running interference and saving a cohort of gentry disciples on joint hunts.

Jingyi: 这人谁呀？Who is this guy? Zizhen: 多谢兄台搭救之恩，小可看您眼生，敢问兄台尊姓大名，何门何派，改日当登门拜访. Many thanks for saving us. I don’t believe we’ve met, pray tell what is your name and sect, so we may visit at a later time to thank you for tonight. Sizhui: 在下无门无姓 ，单名思追 。举手之劳不足挂齿 ，怎敢劳烦各位名门子弟答谢。My name is Sizhui, belonging to no family and to no sect. As for tonight - I only did what anyone would; it bears no mentioning and requires no thanks. Jin Ling: 你这人，看你工力不凡，想和你交个朋友，可你怎么遮遮掩掩的。Hey you, we see you’re a talented cultivator and want to make your acquaintance. Why are you so dodge-y? Zizhen：金陵 — Jing Ling - Sizhui: 若是有缘，还会相见。告辞。If it’s fated, we will meet again. Farewell.  

Later:  Jingyi: 思。追。 思追谁？Si. Zhui. To recollect and long for whom?  Sizhui: 母亲的一位故人. Someone from Mother’s past.  Jingyi: 你父亲？...Your father?  Sizhui: 我不知。I don’t know. 

I thought about how cute it would be if sizhui and jin ling knew each other but guys...Jiang Cheng literally thinks he killed Sizhui’s biological father. Like he literally thinks he orphaned Sizhui before Sizhui is even born. And Lan Wangji would never accept anything from Jiang Wanyin, not that it would stop Jiang Wanyin from trying. 

A package of books here, a new robe for Sizhui there. Lan Wangji doesn’t know how Jiang Cheng keeps finding her. She and Sizhui are nomadic.  

D) The inevitable conversation after wwx is revived. 

You know what would be funnier than Jiang Cheng thinking Sizhui is a wangxian baby is if Lan Qiren thinks Sizhui is a wangxian baby. 

#cql #the untamed #wangxian #lan wangji #wei wuxian #lmao what is this #cql ficlet #corie fics #lwj fic #f!lwj

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed, Episode 27, part two

(masterpost) (pinboard) 

Warning! Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Follow Your Own My Path

Now that the party's over, it's time for the fun part of Lan Qiren's evening: yelling at Lan Wangji. 

The first time I saw thise scene I wondered why Lan Qiren's house suddenly had such tacky decor, but on rewatching I realize they’re still in Lanling, and these are his guest quarters. The Jins apparently go in for stick-on floor tile and wall-mounted floorboard heaters, or at least I assume that’s what’s hiding behind that hideous grate.

Anyway, Lan Qiren starts off sort of reasonable, saying that he didn't punish Lan Wangji for breaking into the library, because he wanted to give him the freedom to decide for himself that he should...think the same way as Lan Qiren. 

Unfortunately, Lan Qiren has always shut down Lan Wangji's attempts to question, argue, or even discuss ideas. So for the past few years, Lan Wangji has had only two people to talk to about life’s mysteries. His brother, whose answer to most things is a gentle "fuck if I know." And his best friend, sexy demonic cultivator Wei Wuxian. Yet Lan Qiren has the nerve to be surprised that Lan Wangji's world view isn't precisely the same as his own.

After listing off Lan Wangji's offenses, Lan Qiren decides to directly compare Lan Wangji with his father and Wei Wuxian with his mother, which is pretty dumb of Lan Qiren. First of all, insulting anyone's mother is risky. Second of all, Lan Wangji's experience of his mother was very positive; her absence was what caused him pain. 

Third of all, as a filial son, he kind of has to defend her when Lan Qiren talks shit about her. I mean, as a filial son in Wuxia/Xianxia fantasy, where the children of villains are frequently torn between being goodness and duty--the duty to be villains like their parents. Lan Qiren needs to watch more Wuxia dramas and he'll understand the tactical error he's making.

(more after the cut!)

Lan Qiren follows up this little back-and-forth with a coughing fit, which doesn't work the way he expects it to. Lan Wangji has figured out his moves and is not falling for it this time.

Look at Lan Wangji refusing to be manipulated by Lan Qiren's fake-ass little health crisis! I'm so proud of him.  If you let yourself get so righteously enraged that you have a coughing fit, that's your own problem, my dude.

Lan Qiren sees Lan Wangji's lack of response, and changes tack and speaks from his heart. But it's the same message as before. Lan Wangji takes his leave and Lan Qiren gets teary eyed and even closes his eyes, Lan Xichen-style. 

Lan Qiren's pain is genuine, but being genuinely hurt by your child choosing his own path is just part of parenting, so this is his problem to deal with, not Lan Wangji's. Both of my parents were sad when I stopped going to church in my early 20′s, but only one of them spent the next 30 years trying to make ME feel bad about it. (stage whisper: Mom)

Settle for Me, Baby

Next we have heterosexual shenanigans. Having lost Mianmian’s companionship and help, Jin Zixuan finally plucks up his courage to go talk to Jiang Yanli. She plans to leave to go to the burial mounds with Jiang Cheng, to talk some sense into Wei Wuxian, or something. Jin Zixuan begs her not to go, for her own safety, and asks her to stay and let him take care of her. 

She agrees, setting aside her previous rule of "we three must always stay together." None of the things that are going to happen from this point onward are Jiang Yanli's fault except getting stabbed in the heart because of running around an active battlefield but if she had gone to the burial grounds, things might have turned out slightly better.

On the flip side, the Burial Mounds have a pretty bad reputation, and might come under attack from other clans at any time; she is choosing safety, not just choosing romance. And it's fine for her to choose either, or both, over her brothers; a woman's life isn't worth less than a man's, despite what fiction, society, and laws tell us. Jiang Yanli’s got a duty to her clan that involves getting married and producing offspring, and she's running out of time to make a good choice. 

We know this because a nearby production assistant tree is dropping petals in front of the camera, like we're in a Yasujirō Ozu film. Jiang Cheng is watching from afar, as shown by a super-long-focus camera shot that does terrifying things to his bone structure (google “focal length face distortion” if you are curious). He sees that he will probably have to cut Wei Wuxian loose in order to ensure his sister's future.

Soul Baking

Over in the Burial Mounds, Wei Wuxian is hanging out with Wen Ning, who has to be kept covered in a cool place, kind of like a sourdough starter, while he works on repairing his spiritual cognition.  He is wrapped in parchment paper and his face is covered in a lattice just like a nice apple pie. I’m hungry, is what I’m saying. 

This plotline has a lot of good angst in it, and appears to be all about the morality of having zombie friends and being a necromancer and stuff, but really it's a bog-standard coma-patient plot, in which everyone says "he can't hear you" and "unplug him" while one person who loves the patient refuses to let go. They even have a “turn off the machine!” moment in the next episode, when his talismans get removed. 

Wen Qing comes to visit, bringing a sweet potato for Wei Wuxian and engaging in some cute friend-flirting before going to encourage her comatose brother. Wen Qing is relaxed and light with Wei Wuxian in a way she isn’t with really anyone else in her life. On the flip side, she knows Wei Wuxian’s vulnerabilities in a way that no-one else does. I love their friendship. 

Wei Wuxian goes outside to have the iconic radish-planting interaction with A-Yuan. First, though, he has this little moment of being pleased at the general makerspace vibe he and the Wens have created in this shitty environment. 

Wei Wuxian is so good at grabbing crumbs of joy wherever they land, and living fully in any good moments that come his way. 

Then he acts adorable and immature while playing with A-Yuan, showing us that he's still the same person he has always been, despite everything. 

Including still thinking he's too good for manual labor, until Wen Qing threatens him with getting fingerbanged.

Jiang Cheng in the Hizzy

Jiang Cheng heads into the burial mounds, leaving his disciples and their horses behind. When he comes back, the horses will be gone.  Apparently Yiling horses are extra tasty, because nobody seems to ride them more than once.

The disciples can't get past the wards and are worried about him going in alone because it might be dangerous. But Jiang Cheng 1. can take down wards with no problem 2. isn't afraid of Wei Wuxian 3. ain't afraid of no ghost(s).

When he walks into the main settlement area, Wei Wuxian acts happy to see him,

 Wen Qing doesn’t, 

and things just get hideously tense and complicated. 

Wang Zhuocheng is really good in this moment, conveying all Jian Cheng’s hurt and disappointment through an uncharacteristic series of microexpressions. 

Wei Wuxian is talking like things are still fine, saying he will sneak back to Lotus Pier to visit, but I'm pretty sure he doesn't actually believe that.

A-Yuan comes to break up the tension, grabbing onto Jiang Cheng and getting yelled at. 

This doesn't bother A-Yuan one bit, which leads me to believe that his crying at Lan Wangji later is a shameless ploy to get toys and/or a second dad.

Jiang Cheng visibly relaxes, seeing that there aren't any strong cultivators there, but he also betrays his arrogance, feeling that these people aren't worth being concerned about. Wei Wuxian chides him for this, speaking up for the value of the common people, and Jiang Cheng doesn't push it, but changes the topic to Wen Ning. 

Wei Wuxian actually asks why he wants to know about Wen Ning, because Wei Wuxian has brass balls.

Here, Jiang Cheng is on morally firmer ground, because the whole corpse-raising thing is really super questionable.  Wei Wuxian and Wen Qing both know that they have to let him see what’s up, and that it isn't going to go well.

Wen QIng confronts Jiang Cheng and he gives her SUCH a nasty look, which is fair, I guess. She's basically stolen his sect brother, and is letting him become an enemy to all the clans, in order to save her own brother. 

I like this little moment where Wei Wuxian steps from Jiang Cheng’s side to Wen Qing’s side. 

Wen Qing tells them "No arguing when you're inside,” which is hilarious considering it's the Yunmeng bros she's talking to. As she watches them retreating into the cave, we see how powerless she really is now.

Inside the cave, Wei Wuxian makes a big show of keeping Jiang Cheng from stepping on his talismans. 

Isn't paper expensive? Why are these talismans so enormous? Anyway, I think this is a little theater on WWX's part to put Jiang Cheng at ease, giving him an opportunity to yell about a trivial housekeeping problem, because he knows Jiang Cheng isn't going to like what's in the next room.

Jiang Cheng starts off pretty reasonable, asking calmly about the whole resurrection thing, and asking why li’l milquetoast Wen Ning is such a murder machine now. Wei Wuxian explains and says he’s working to bring his consciousness back. 

Jiang Cheng gets pissed at this, because he sees it as more of Wei Wuxian’s unrealistic dreaming--despite years of evidence that Wei Wuxian’s unusual ideas generally do pan out, including the Yin Tiger Seal. 

The conversation turns to the missing piece of Yin metal, and the episode ends with Wei Wuxian asking if Jiang Cheng believes the rumor about Wei Wuxian stealing it. He pretty much already knows the answer to this question. 

#the untamed #the untamed gifs #wei wuxian #jiang cheng #restless rewatch the untamed #my gifs #canary3d-original

[i-love-bennett]

Brothers-defenders. My thoughts again

I think I miss the fanfiction where they defend each other in post-canon and in pre-canon. I want a fanfiction where everyone is afraid of Jiang Cheng because he's evil and damn scary, but then they found out that I still have to be afraid of Wei Wuxian... He's worse than Jiang Cheng

Do you want a real gloomy person who will really break your mind? Subscribe. After everything he went through in his second life, he won't hide his dark black jokes. On the contrary, the kid is his hobby.

He's a walking example of post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and guilt syndrome, but he doesn't have them.

"Dead?" Yeah, bitch. I'm dead, I've done shit. I'm the best at it. And you know what? I can destroy your tenth generation if you don't shut up."

I just want to say that after his death, something changed in him, and NOW I FELT IT.... Is it just gone?

The guy who really died and came back? Does he see how things have changed? He was literally torn from his mortal past... In the present. 

My headcanon , but I think Wei Wuxian remembers everything that happened in hell. Which exactly reflected on his soul and character. He's fucking dead. A person cannot respond in kind.

That's why I was so outraged when it ended like this. I don't mind his quiet peaceful life in the fucking garden. I just wanted them not to deprive the highlight of the asshole that appeared in it.

He was influenced by the darkness. He was influenced by the war. A person cannot change.

He knows ALL THIS. Therefore, he should be the most enlightened and wise there. He could have become a walking meme "The Prom Queen fucked everyone in the mouth." But for some reason it turned out to be a pity 

Just think about how he was able to manipulate people. He remembers and knew how to torture. He knows how to kill. Wei Wuxian is literally not afraid to threaten. You will snatch it from me only from my dead hands. Wei Wuxian is definitely a sarcastic bastard who has learned to fuck the whole world in his mouth.

Bottom line - I like the energy of the big brother defender. The man who survived this shit. A man who knows he's guilty. A man who, damn it, can't forget about his psychological problems so easily.

If they tell him that he is guilty, then we will simply answer - YES, I DID IT. I'M BUYING A FUCKING CARROT AND I'M GOING TO KILL YOU WITH IT. WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO TO ME, YOU BASTARD? FOR CARROTS? COME ON, MY BROTHER SANDU SHENGSHOU, HE'LL SHOVE A SWORD UP YOUR ASS IF I DON'T DO IT FIRST.

He's crazy. That's why I love him so much.

I still think there was definitely cannibalism, eating disorder, but... I would prefer to leave the discussion of such sores for later.

I also want to say that he is so handsome and beaten up that I don't want to lose him An understanding and predatory look, like a tiger, and not like a frightened anime deer in the forehead.  The face of a tired man. The body of a man who's been through shit. Actions, appearance and behavior... That's why I don't read or watch film adaptations. In the end, everything is perfect in my head because I'm fucking sexy smart.

#yunmeng shuangjie #mo dao zu shi #the untamed #yunmeng siblings #wei ying #mdzs #yunmeng bros #jiang cheng #wei wuxian

[plan-d-to-i]

hey plan! as i continued my scrolling through twitter (thinking that there might be some accurate representation of the rotted grape, but *sigh* can still find any) i found this post instead and can i ask your opinion of this?

i just felt so mad reading this. them thinking that jc wanted to "protect" wwx is so dumb?? like didn't jc want wwx to let him go back to the sect because he didn't want to deal with the wens who he OWES HIS LIFE TO?? and then these clowns saying wwx pUbLiCly hUmiLiaTed jc like didn't jc humiliated himself because orchestrated the death of his saviors?? MAKE IT MAKE SENSE GRAPE LOVERS because without wwx wn & wq's combined help, your UwU sAd bAbY gRaPe would be coreless and probably DEAD (sorry if it got long because of my rant here but i truly do want to hear your opinion on this)

and i present this art i found on twitter where wwx calls out jc for being a homophobe https://twitter.com/farisaki/status/1445458768322445325?t=mWTeCTAE3HMmwtfZ9ZbiDg&s=19

haha I'm sorry to say but your first mistake was continuing to scroll through twitter. -2/10 do not recommend

Like far be it from me to dampen the enthusiasm of this person trying to reinvent the wheel w their groundbreaking think piece, but wtf are they talking about. Honestly I remember some other beacon of wisdom saying: "how come WWX was so dumb and didn't just kidnap a random Wen soldier and make WQ use their core for the transfer?"- like they didn't grasp that the whole thing hinged on the willing participation of the donor. Same here.

Wei Wuxian knew jiang cheng's character very well. At worst he's always seen the jiangs through rose tinted lenses. So while WWX would know very well jc wouldn't actively help him save the Wens since nothing in their past half lifetime of knowing each other had ever shown jc to give two fucks about helping people, he probably only didn't imagine jc would leave him with no option to help them other than defection. AND MAKE NO MISTAKE, jc didn't bring any compromise to the table that included saving the Wens other than for WWX to cut ties with the Clan. jc doesn't help the Wens because he DOESN'T WANT TO not because he can't. WWX makes it clear that the reason he's defecting isn't because he wants to but because he doesn't want to involve YunmengJiang and jc agrees. "“Jiang Cheng’s tone was indifferent, “Then let’s arrange for a duel.” jc's "compromise" was I'll destroy Wen Ning for you, and turn in the rest of the Wens- that jc in his own words called “the old, the weak, the women, and the children.”- to their death or you're out on your ass and WWX understood him.

“Jiang Cheng, “You burn this corpse right now and return to them all these leftovers of the Wen Sect. That’s the only way to make the subject die!” As he spoke, he raised his sword again, preparing to attack.”

“However, Wei WuXian clenched his wrist, “Are you joking?! If we return Wen Qing and the others to them, they’d meet nothing but a dead end!”

Jiang Cheng, “I doubt you’ll even return all of them. Why do you care what kind of end they meet? A dead end it is, then—what does it have to do with you?!”

Lmao- "I NEVER see this take. That WWX acted like a rogue agent" yes you absurd, classist, intellectual dead zone, bc it's a ridiculous take that the story does not intend any reader with a modicum of understanding or empathy to take. The author thought surely people will GET why it's nifty of WWX to want to save these innocent, vulnerable people: these nice siblings that helped them, this sweet Granny, this cute toddler etc. jc himself doesn't disagree that they owe the Wens a debt!

“Wei WuXian finally lost his temper, “Jiang Cheng! What- What do you think you’re talking about?! Take it back—don’t make me give you a thrashing! Don’t forget. Who was the one that helped us burn Uncle Jiang’s and Madam Yu’s corpses? Who returned to us the ashes that are in Lotus Pier right now? And who took us in when we were chased after by Wen Chao?!”

Jiang Cheng, “I’m the one who fucking wants to give you a thrashing! Yes, they helped us before, but why in the world don’t you understand that right now any remnant of the Wen Sect is a target of criticism!”

These people are somehow more self absorbed than jc. So pathetically selfish they can't even stand altruism and heroism in a fucking fantasy novel.

#mdzs #answers #Wei Wuxian #canon jiang cheng

[iamwestiec]

June 17: Chengxian 💜🖤💕

childhood friends to lovers/QPPs, ace Jiang Cheng, bi & aro Wei Wuxian, modern AU

(A/N: If you're wondering about a certain other someone, he will have a wonderful, full life of his own in Suzhou in this AU but is not in this story. 💙 There are some brief mentions of offscreen ace-antagonism, not by anyone we know.)

Read on ao3

Jiang Cheng had been Wei Ying's best friend in the whole world for his entire life.

Okay. Well, not quite his entire life, but certainly since Wei Ying’s parents moved to California when he was little little, which was about as far back as Wei Ying could remember anyway. Wei Ying’s baba and Jiang Cheng’s baba had grown up in Wuhan together and been best friends when they were kids, so naturally, when Wei Ying’s family moved into the same neighborhood as the Jiangs, it made perfect sense for Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng to become best friends too.

It was Jiang Cheng who had taught Wei Ying that he didn't have to be afraid of dogs, by introducing him to Princess, Jasmine, and Lil' Love. Lil' Love lived up to her name, coming and quietly sitting in all her fluffy glory on Wei Ying’s lap every time he went over to play.

It was also Jiang Cheng who Wei Ying got drunk with for the first time. They snuck booze from the cabinet where Wei Ying’s parents kept it and laughed at the faces each other made with every shot until they stopped tasting the harsh burn, and then laughing more just because.

(Wei Ying’s mom had not laughed, not at the time, when the two teens had been sick as anything the next morning, but instead made them a gloriously greasy late breakfast and gave them lots of advice about proper hydration.

Then she told Jiang Cheng’s mom and let her scold them.)

It was Jiang Cheng who came out first, their first semester in college, when he told Wei Ying he didn't think he wanted to have sex with anyone, ever, and asked if Wei Ying thought that meant no one would ever want to date him. Wei Ying hugged him tight and told him he didn't know about everyone out there, but he knew Jiang Cheng was the best guy in the world and would be an awesome boyfriend, and he'd fight anyone who said differently.

Jiang Cheng found a group on campus for third culture LBGT kids, and Wei Ying went with him, as a supportive ally.

Which was how Wei Ying figured out that he was not just a supportive ally.

In listening to the others talk about orientation and identity and attraction and cultural expectations, Wei Ying realized that what he'd always assumed was normal—finding all kinds of people physically attractive, regardless of their gender—was actually his bisexuality. So that was kind of cool.

"So yeah, now we can be queer together!" Wei Ying said, when he excitedly shared his newfound realization with Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng snorted. "Yeah, 'all' and 'nothing,'" he joked.

It was Jiang Cheng who'd helped him practice what to say to his parents when he wanted to change his major at the end of sophomore year, and Jiang Cheng who reminded him to eat and sleep and "take a fucking break, Wei Ying," those next couple semesters when he took way too many hours so he wouldn't have to rack up a whole extra year's worth of student loans to finish his new degree plan.

It was Jiang Cheng who graduated first, on a gorgeous blue-skyed sunny day in May, and Jiang Cheng who suggested Wei Ying keep living with him at his new apartment, so he wouldn't have to try to find a one-semester lease until he finished in December.

(They renewed the lease together every time.)

Jiang Cheng ribbed him playfully each time Wei Ying met someone new, but he was always there each times things fizzled out after a few months for reasons that never quite made sense to Wei Ying.

Jiang Cheng occasionally dated too, and Wei Ying was glad he never did have to fight anybody—though he did drive Jiang Cheng to the emergency room the time he came home with split knuckles from punching a guy who, "seemed to think I didn't know my own mind about certain things."

But dating sucked for everybody, right? It wasn't like Wei Ying or Jiang Cheng were in any hurry to settle down and do the whole spouse and kids thing or whatever. Wei Ying tried to imagine it and just... couldn't, though the image of Jiang Cheng with a baby was admittedly pretty cute.

~

It was not Jiang Cheng, but Jiang Yanli, a few months after she proposed to her girlfriend and they started planning their wedding, who Wei Ying finally asked, "Yanli-jie, how does a person decide someone else is their person?"

Jiang Yanli looked across the room to where Jiang Cheng was showing her soon-to-be-wife how to put side spin on a billiards ball and smiled. "I think you just know," she said. "You meet someone and you get to know them, spend time together, then one day you realize you love them and want to build the rest of your life with them."

Wei Ying wrinkled his nose. "I dunno if it works that way for me. Just some random person? I've never met anyone I can imagine wanting to live with all the time. Well, besides—huh..." he cut off suddenly and darted a look over at Jiang Yanli, who just calmly sipped her drink.

"Have you ever told him that?" she asked, after a moment where Wei Ying reassessed his entire life and dating history. "I think he might appreciate hearing it."

"I... huh. Yanli-jie, you're kinda blowing my mind here," he complained.

"I gathered," she said wryly, before fixing him with a smile that made all the hair on the back of his neck stand up. "Of course, I trust," she told him, "that I do not need to explain to you of all people how very dearly I hold my didi's happiness and well-being."

He swallowed and raised three fingers in the salute he'd used ever since the summer that—hah—he and Jiang Cheng had decided as kids that they would make their own oath of brotherhood like the heroes of their favorite show. "I, Wei Ying, swear to you that I would kick my own ass before I did anything to hurt him."

Jiang Yanli leaned over to knock her shoulder against his and nodded. "That's what I thought."

~

Turned out, dating Jiang Cheng didn't suck at all.

It felt easy in a way Wei Ying’s past dates never had, less like trying to keep up with a game whose rules everybody knew except him, more like... well, like spending time with his best friend in the whole world, but on purpose. There was also a tension in the back of Wei Ying’s mind that seemed to have lifted, though he couldn't quite pinpoint what it was that had gone.

It was Jiang Cheng who helped him figure it out.

"I think it's that now I'm able to count on this. On us," he said, when Wei Ying brought it up. "Before, whenever you went out with someone new, I wondered if this would be the time you'd find someone to fall in love with and leave me behind."

"Aww, Chengcheng! I would never!"

Jiang Cheng huffed and rolled his eyes, but his cheeks were pink. "Well, I know that now," he said, a pleased little smile breaking through his attempts at a scowl.

"As long as you're sure—" Wei Ying began, still getting used to thinking about himself with the word "aromantic." Still a so very sure that Jiang Cheng deserved to be fallen in love with.

"Hey!" Jiang Cheng cut him off. "None of that. I know you. And I know you don't see it this way, but I personally think it's pretty damn romantic that you choose to love me, on purpose."

"I simply have exquisite taste in life partners," Wei Ying sniffed, embarassed the way he always got when Jiang Cheng declared something he'd done "romantic."

"You do," Jiang Cheng agreed. "Someone told me a long time ago I was the best guy in the world and would make an awesome boyfriend, and that he would fight anyone who said differently."

Wei Ying laughed. "That's you and your sister I've promised to kick my own ass if I ever break your heart, then. Guess I'll just have to keep you forever."

"Damn right, you will," Jiang Cheng agreed, grinning smug and happy and breathtakingly beautiful. Wei Ying leaned across the couch to give him a sweet, closed-mouth kiss—the kind Jiang Cheng had shyly admitted he actually did like, a lot—and smiled too, at how lucky he'd gotten to be with his best friend in the whole world for his entire life.

🖤💜

Today's (extremely long!) thread was inspired by this WONDERFUL art of ace Jiang Cheng and bi & aro Wei Ying! Go give Midori some love on Twitter!

I spent a nonzero amount of time googling to double check when various terms and flags came into vogue, so if you're wondering, WWX & JC were in college in the early 2000s, before the ace and aro flags were designed. By the time they get themselves figured out, they can get their cute wristbands.

...which, yes, means these dingdongs spent about a solid decade living together before realizing that was what they wanted to do forever. 😉

This also means Jiang Yanli and her unnamed wife here are getting married between when California started recognizing same-sex marriages in 2008 and the Obergefell v. Hodges ruling in 2015! THIS SHIT'S RECENT!!!

Happy Pride, thank you for reading, check out more LGBTQIA+ sweetness on my #PrideMonthSnippets Masterpost!

#PrideMonthSnippets #chengxian #westie writes #mdzs #the untamed #asexual pride #aromantic pride #asexual jiang cheng #bisexual wei wuxian #aromantic wei wuxian #queerplatonic relationship #queer relationships #love has a lot of shapes

[meltingheartsandcores]

This is just something that came from a different story I’m writing, so, it’s just a one shot. And it’s not really editted (sorry). 

 This is A/B/O, with Omega wwx and Alpha lwj, but honestly it doesn’t really show up much, like it’s not a focal point of the story for the most part, it’s just kind of, there. There’s minor NieLan, and past wangxian with hopeful future wangxian (hopeful future IMO), and it’s modern non cultivation!

 Other than that, enjoy? And if you have questions feel free to hop into my inbox.

It had been years.

Five, to be exact.

Wei Wuxian wouldn't lie and say Lan Wangji never entered his mind, he did almost constantly. But he had long accepted he would never see the Alpha again. Lan Qiren had made it rather clear he was to never contact Lan Wangji again.

That hadn't been a pleasant conversation. Well. Argument.

For once Wei Wuxian was glad he was no longer in contact with the Jiangs, even if it wasn’t for long, he'd hate for them to have been involved. He's not entirely sure who's side Madam Yu would've been on, but he hoped she would've been on his. Although, if she was, he's not entirely confident Lan Qiren would still be walking around. Lan Qiren might be a hard ass, but he had nothing on Madam Yu.

He should write Nie Huaisang. See how the Jiang's are doing.

"Are you alright?"

Wei Wuxian blinks, brought back to the present, silently filing the idea to write Nie Huaisang for later, and looks up at Lan Xichen. Who he had just run into. Literally.

Wei Wuxian ignores the hand and stands on his own, "Perfectly. Just distracted. Sorry to bother you." Wei Wuxian says, nodding and turning, deciding he could get A-Yuan's candy later, after the milk. He had made it a few steps before Lan Xichen grabbed his arm. Wei Wuxian tenses, snapping around with a glare on his face before he registers that Lan Xichen isn't going to attack him. Not physically at least. So he lets the glare fall. "Sorry."

Lan Xichen drops his hand, "No, I should not have grabbed you. I apologize." An apology from a Lan. Maybe he died.

A-Yuan would be heartbroken. A-Yu probably doesn't know what Death is and probably wouldn't understand for a few years.

Lan Xichen was talking. Wei Wuxian should be listening, not thinking of his death. Lan Xichen smiles, as he normally does, "You were not listening."

"Sorry. My brain drifts, it pissed your uncle off to end, remember?" Wei Wuxian says, shrugging.

Lan Xichen nods, "Uncle seemed to anger easily around you, yes. I was wondering if you had the time, we could talk. Perhaps over tea?"

He can't ask for alcohol instead. For one, Lans don't drink. For two, he has to pick A-Yu and A-Yuan up in half an hour.

"I have a half hour, I guess we could finish up shopping and go to the Starbucks down the block." Lan Xichen's eyes tighten at the mention of Starbucks, which makes Wei Wuxian remember the heavily disturbed and deer-in-headlight look Lan Wangji had when Wei Wuxian dragged him there. Repeatedly.

Lan Wangji never seemed to get used to Starbucks.

None of the Lans seem to like it either.

Lan Xichen nods though, so Wei Wuxian does a U-turn to grab the candy he promised A-Yuan and then made a bee-line for the two other things he was missing. He loses Lan Xichen at some point, but when he gets to the check out, Lan Xichen is waiting by the door with a bag.

Wei Wuxian smiles at the Cashier, Mingyu, who seemed slightly concerned for him. But Wei Wuxian waves off the concern, even when Mingyu decides to ask, "Is he a friend or should I call security?"

Wei Wuxian considers this, Lan Xichen isn't a friend, but security isn't necessary. Wei Wuxian grins when he comes to a response, that's both honest and fun, "He's Daiyu's uncle." Wei Wuxian informs, finishing with his payment and taking his items. "See you in a week Mingyu!" Wei Wuxian calls as the other man is clearly trying to figure out how he hasn't met this uncle until now.

"A friend?" Lan Xichen asks as they walk down the road.

"Eh, more I'm a regular." Wei Wuxian shrugs. He only talks to Mingyu when he buys groceries. Not much other reason to talk to the teenager.

Especially since he tends to remind Wei Wuxian that, uh, he is only twenty-two.

That's not something he particularly likes to remember. Especially when he's on his way to pick up his kids. He looks older enough that none of the other parents comment on him being A-Yu and A-Yuan's brother, and none of them comment on the utter shame of having a child at seventeen. And presumably fourteen if A-Yuan was actually birthed from him. As he so often jokes, especially after A-Yuan learnt where babies came from.

A-Yuan thinks it's funny.

Wen Qing thinks it's stupid.

But it's meant to entertain the eight year old so it's not a problem.

"So you live around here." Lan Xichen comments, more to himself than to Wei Wuxian, and Wei Wuxian has to mentally curse himself. For five years, no Lan has known where he lived. No one from that life knew where he was except Nie Huaisang. And for all he can be a coward, Wei Wuxian knows he wouldn't have given away his location to anyone.

But he just confirmed to Lan Xichen that he lived in this town.

Fuck.

"What're you doing here?" Wei Wuxian asks, opening the door for Lan Xichen and gesturing for the man to enter the Starbucks. Lan Xichen gives him a tight smile and enters, clearly not liking being inside the store.

Tough. Wei Wuxian doesn't want to be having this conversation, neither of them get to be comfortable. Wei Wuxian follows Lan Xichen in, walking up to the register and ordering a drink with a smile before turning to Lan Xichen for his order. Which he gives with a tense smile. The barista nods, repeats the order back and then Lan Xichen pays, because this was his idea and Wei Wuxian would much rather be at home right now.

They amble over to a table to wait for their drinks to be made. Well. Lan Xichen got his at the till since it was just a Green Tea, but they have to wait for Wei Wuxian's. Might as well get this chat over with.

"The Nie have a lakehouse a mile out of town." Oh right. Oh fuck. "Mingjue and I are having a little vacation." Lan Xichen says in response to his earlier question.

"And you came to get some groceries."

"Just a little. Mingjue will be back for the rest." Lan Xichen winces when he sips at his tea, clearly not liking it. He sets his cup aside, "You know, Huaisang seemed very against us going to this partical vacation house."

Oh for fucks sake. "Huaisang's specialty isn't subtly." Wei Wuxian says with a shrug, then stands and gets his drink when the barista calls out his name.

Lan Xichen waits for him to sit back down. "No, it isn't. Might I ask, why Huaisang knows where you are when no one else does?"

"I don't like the Jin. I don't want to burden the Jiang. The Lan want nothing to do with me." Wei Wuxian shrugs, "Nie Huaisang is the only friend I have left." Outside of the friends he now lives with. Wei Wuxian sips at his flat white.

Lan Xichen's brows twitch in a furrow before smoothing out, "What do you mean we want nothing to do with you.

Wei Wuxian raises an eyebrow, "Was there a part of Lan Qiren's order that was unclear?"

Wei Wuxian's response only seems to confuse him further. "I believe, there has been some miscommunication." Lan Xichen suggests politely.

"Not really." Wei Wuxian refutes. "Lan Qiren told me to get the fuck out and never contact any of you again. Not much room for miscommunication."

"He said what?" Lan Xichen asks, sounding light and a little confused. But Wei Wuxian had spent enough time around Lan Wangji, and hence Lan Xichen since Lan Xichen was Lan Wangji's favoured company, to know he was getting very pissed off.

Huh.

Wei Wuxian shrugs, too little too late, in his opinion. It's been five years. "It was shortly after I left the Jiang, I went to stay with Lan- Wangji." Wei Wuxian catches himself before using the familiar address. Lan Xichen seemed to catch the slip up too. "Just for the night. The departure went a little more explosively than I meant for it to, I came to spend the night. Lan Qiren told me to leave and never return, that Lan Wangji wanted nothing more to do with me. Not to contact anyone in the family. Obviously I argued, but I had already argued with Madam Yu and Uncle Jiang that night, so, he won. I left. And then a week later he sent me two hundred thousand Yuan." That wasn't a pleasant night to remember. It wasn't a pleasant week. He found out he was pregnant, then the Wen shit happened, and he was moving across the country with Wen Ning and his family. Wei Wuxian shrugs again, drinking his flat white.

Lan Xichen's brow furrows slowly, and he shakes his head, "I'm sorry, Uncle told us nothing about this. All Wangji and I have known is that you left the Jiang and disappeared. Wangji certainly didn't say anything about not wanting your company anymore." Lan Xichen seemed offended at the very idea.

Oh.

Huh.

Lan Wangji doesn't hate him.

Oh fuck.

Lan Wangji doesn't hate him.

But he probably will. When he tells him about A-Yu.

Fuck.

"Is everything okay?" Lan Xichen asks, making clear that Wei Wuxian's panic is clear on his face.

"Um." Wei Wuxian swallows, twisting the paper cup in his hands, "In theory. If, uh, when I left, I had been uh," No. Nope. He can't think of a good way to say this. He checks the time. "Uh, do you have twenty minutes?"

"I'm supposed to meet with Mingjue in ten."

"Great. Uh. Meet me at the park with the giant octopus sculpture in fifteen, bring Da ge, I need to drop my groceries off at my house." Wei Wuxian doesn't wait for Lan Xichen to agree, picking up his groceries and hurrying out.

When he gets home, he dumps the groceries on the counter, giving Wen Qing a quick, "Lan Xichen's in town and he's metting A-Yu and A-Yuan, see you in fiften minutes. Thanks bye!" before running back out, not responding to her shout of 'what' that followed.

When he gets to the octopus sculpture, he doesn't have to wait long fo Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue to show up, thankfully. He bounces over to them, the nervous energy coursing through him a little too much to keep still. "Hi Dage."

"Wuxian." Nie Mingjue greets, as if Wei Wuxian hasn't been off the grid for five years and was still popping into his house every other weekend to do weird shit with Nie Huaisang.

Nice to know somethings don't change.

"What is it you wanted to show us?" Lan Xichen asks politely.

"Um, this way." Wei Wuxian takes them to the school, which was only a few minutes away.

"A school." Nie Mingjue deadpans.

Wei Wuxian looks at the other parents waiting, a few of them looking back at the group with furrowed brows. One of the mothers makes a very harsh 'come here' gesture, so Wei Wuxian turns to Nie Mingjue and Lan Xichen, "Uh, I'll be right back. Don't move." He was clearly confusing the pair, but they nod so he rushes off to Mrs. Yang.

"Is that Daiyu's father? Other father?" Mrs. Yang demands, almost glaring at Lan Xichen.

"It's his older brother." Wei Wuxian corrects with a tight smile. "Please don't go yell at him."

"Oh, his family decides it's okay for you to raise a child for five years on your own, and I shouldn't yell?" Mrs. Yang demands, already gearing up to go.

"Uh, I'm, about to tell him Daiyu exists."

Mrs. Yang blinks, clearly taken aback. "Wei Wuxian." Wei Wuxian flinches at her tone, oh no. He's in trouble. "Did you not tell the Alpha family you were pregnant?"

"In my defence," because he needed one if he wanted to survive, "their uncle had already told me their family wanted nothing to do with me before he found out I had gotten pregnant. I don't think that opinion would've been changed in my favour. Given we were seventeen, and unmated."

Mrs. Yang hmphs, but nods. "Fine. But if he seems anything less than overjoyed, I'll be having words."

"Yes Mrs. Yang. Thank you." Wei Wuxian says, nodding. He meant it. Mrs. Yang was one of the more supportive parents. Like Granny Wen she had more or less started treating him like family.

It probably helped that her eldest was only two years younger than Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian smiles and then hurries back to Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue as the elder grades started to be let out.

"I'm sorry, do you babysit?" Lan Xichen asks, clearly very confused. Nie Mingjue doesn't seem to be much better.

"Uh. Sometimes." Wei Wuxian shrugs, "Not today." His answer only served further confusion, but he wasn't paying much attention to the pair. Instead to his incoming missile.

"Xian-gege!" Wen Yuan yells, and Wei Wuxian picks up the eight-year old as the boy had launched himself at Wei Wuxian.

"A-Yuan! My, I think you've grown!"

Wen Yuan pouts, "You saw me this morning gege! I haven't grown at all!"

Wei Wuxian shakes his head, "Hmm, nope! You've grown a full inch! I know it."

"No! A-Yuan hasn't grown at all!" Wen Yuan counters, pouting more deeply. Ah, not in the mood to be teased today. Okay.

"Ah, ah yes. A-Yuan is correct." Wei Wuxian agrees, and puts A-Yuan down. "A-Yuan, this is Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue. They're old friends." Wei Wuxian introduces.

Wen Yuan was half through a bored wave when he actually looked at Nie Mingjue and his eyes utterly lit up. "You're so tall!"

Nie Mingjue barely blinked, very used to this reaction, but he seemed delighted at A-Yuan's very prescence. "Yes." Seeing as A-Yuan was practically vibrating, Wei Wuxian gently encourages him, and really that was all that was necessary before A-Yuan was attached to Nie Mingjue's leg and asking a million questions a minute.

Nie Mingjue seemed amused, and politely answered every question he caught.

With A-Yuan distracted, Wei Wuxian looks around the schoolyard for his other charge. Normally Daiyu would be attached to his leg by now. He finally spots her hiding by a tree, or, behind a tree. Her eyes widen when they meet his, and he waves her over. She hesitates, but eventually decides to come over. She walks, and then runs the last little bit, entirely hiding behind Wei Wuxian's legs, peeking a little to look at Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue.

Lan Xichen had frozen.

As expected, given Daiyu's golden eyes.

"Daiyu, this is Nie Mingjue and Lan Xichen. Lan Xichen is your Bobo." Daiyu seemed very doubtful of that, making almost the exact same expression Lan Wangji did when Wei Wuxian had tried to convince him necromancy was a perfectly viable career path. Wei Wuxian would like to be offended. "I'm telling the truth."

"I thought Baba's family didn't want anything to do with us." Daiyu counters, doubt clear.

Ai. Who told her that? They didn't but still. "Who told you that?"

"Qing-jie."

...Ok. Wei Wuxian wasn't going to yell at Wen Qing for telling Daiyu that. Even if he wanted to. He was going to call her a liar.

"Well, she's wrong." Wei Wuxian crouches, turning to pick Daiyu up before standing straight. "It's complicated, and something I'll talk to you about in private. But Lan Xichen hasn't been able to be around until now."

Daiyu narrows her eyes but shrugs, "Fine." She didn't sound fine. But Wei Wuxian was not about to argue with a five year old. Not in public.

"Ok. Lan Xichen, Nie Mingjue, this is Wei Daiyu."

"Hi."

"Hello."

Daiyu looks at Wei Wuxian before responding, "Hello."

Well. This was awkward. And Lan Xichen looked like he was about to faint. "Why don't we go to the park?" A-Yuan seemed all for that idea. A-Yu looked like she'd rather not but when Wei Wuxian put her down she ran with A-Yuan toward the park. Wei Wuxian lead the adults in following after them.

While the kids played at the Octopus park, Wei Wuxian and Lan Xichen sat down at a bench, as Wen Yuan had dragged Nie Mingjue into their game.

"You were pregnant."

Wei Wuxian nods. "Lan Qiren didn't know. I, didn't know, until a week after that argument." Wei Wuxian shrugs, "I took Lan Qiren's words to heart, and didn't contact Lan Zhan about her."

"But you told Huaisang." Lan Xichen states.

Wei Wuxian blinks, "Huaisang doesn't know. I only talk to Huaisang for updates on the Jiang." And other things, but, mostly the Jiang. Once or twice Lan Wangji, but not all that often. He probably wouldn't take it well if Nie Huaisang sent back that Lan Wangji had gotten married.

"You, didn't tell anyone?"

"Nope. You're the first person outside of this town that knows." Wei Wuxian shrugs, and Lan Xichen just, stops. Wei Wuxian worries he's broken him, but soon enough Lan Xichen shakes his head.

"I can't- Apologies, this is a lot to process."

"How do you think Lan Zhan will react?" He's expecting anger. That's what some of the other omegan parents tell him to expect, whenever he considers sending Lan Wangji a message about Daiyu. No Alpha ever takes a pup being kept from them well. That's what they always say.

Lan Xichen's eyes widen, then he winces slightly, "I imagine, you are the not the one to worry about Wangji's reaction." Eh? "I'm sure he'll be happy. Saddened to have missed her first few years, but happy none the less."

Wei Wuxian opens and closes his mouth, trying to figure how to phrase his question before giving up and just asking, "Is he with anyone?"

Lan Xichen blinks and turns to look at Wei Wuxian, confused for a moment before understand dawns and he shakes his head slightly, "No. Uncle has tried for arrangements, but Wangji refuses them all. but I'm certain if you contact him, he'll be happy to see you." (Lan Xichen does not mention that he's rather confident Lan Wangji will immediately run to Wei Wuxian's side and help in raising Daiyu if Wei Wuxian even hints that that is what he wants. That seems a little much for right now.)

Wei Wuxian nods, not entirely believing that, but not willing to argue. "Now I just have to get Daiyu to come around." He did not expect his daughter to be the stickler here. Then again, Wen Qing had made her opinion on Lan Qiren years ago and wasn't quiet about it.

"She's aware of what Uncle said?" Lan Xichen asks.

Wei Wuxian shakes his head, "Uh, my friend, Wen Qing, yeah, that Wen Qing, I'm living with her family, long story, anyways, Wen Qing knows, and she holds very unfavourable opinions about it and she's not quiet about them. So, even if Daiyu doesn't know the full story, Wen Qing has given her enough to go on that she's formed her own, unfavourable opinion." Wei Wuxian shrugs, he couldn't really argue against it. Up until half an hour ago, he was rather confident the Lan's hated him and wanted nothing to do with him.

Now he has to explain a five year misunderstanding to his daughter.

Fun.

“I have to tell Wangji what you just told me.” Lan Xichen states, clearly not looking forward to that conversation.

Wei Wuxian shrugs, “It’s Lan Zhan, he’ll make a displeased face and not talk for a week.” It wasn’t that big of deal. Lan Wangji doesn’t do grudges, not really. At least, he didn’t five years ago.

Lan Xichen’s face was pure pity, which Wei Wuxian didn’t understand but it was gone before Wei Wuxian could formulate a question. “Do you want us around or shall we leave you alone?”

Oh. Wei Wuxian hadn’t considered that. “Um, maybe leave us alone for tomorrow? I guess I can give you my number and, if A-Yu is agreeable you guys can hang around. If it won’t mess up your vacation.” Because, who wants to spend their vacation with their little brother’s ex and daughter?

“That would be wonderful.” Lan Xichen says, pulling out his own phone and letting Wei Wuxian type in his number. Wei Wuxian then texts himself so he’d have the number on his phone too. “We should be getting back, I believe Mingjue wanted to stop by the butcher and they close at five.”

“Yes, they do. Because he needs to eat supper and spend time with his kids.” He kne Changpu, he was nice. Stodgy, but nice.

Lan Xichen nods and stands up, walking over to the playing trio and speaking quietly to Mingjue, he bids goodbye to the children, before the pair start walking away, they wave goodbye to Wei Wuxian, which he returns, and then they disappear.

Then, Daiyu runs up to him, “A-Niang, does that mean A-Die doesn’t hate us? Will he come live with us? Will we see Xi-bo a lot? Are they going to live with us? Like Granny and Uncle Four?”

Fuck.

Upon returning to the cabin, Lan Xichen’s day wasn’t going any better. Nie Mingjue was cooking supper, so Lan Xichen was alone with the decision to call Lan Wangji about Wei Wuxian. Obviously, he would. How much to say though?

Wangji, as it turns out, would make that decision for him.

After exchanging greetings, Lan Xichen barely got out, “So I ran into Wei Wuxian today in the city near where Mingjue and I are vacationing.” Before the call was dropped. Lan Xichen blinked, staring at his phone where it said ‘Call Ended’, meaning Wangji hung up on him. Lan Wangji hung up without a word. Without letting Lan Xichen finish. He was never so rude. He normally at least made a sound to indicate a goodbye. Nie Mingjue laughed at him when Lan Xichen explained why he was so flabbergasted.

Lan Wangji showed up the next morning.

#Wei Wuxian #Lan Xichen #Nie Mingjue #A/B/O #wwx #lxc #nmj #cql #mdzs #Modern Au #my writing #my fics #Wei Daiyu #I forget the characters for her name but I have them written somewhere #She’s like #my Wangxian go to child for any fics Im writing where they have a child aside from lzs #I haven’t posted in forever #I don’t remember how I used to tag these #Five Year Misunderstanding

[red-talisman]

An unbetaed snippet of post-CQL canon Yunmeng reconciliation, which is mostly extremely morbid and blunt conversation after beating each other hard enough that they’re too tired for their usual conflicting modes of emotional avoidance.

EDIT: now edited and posted on AO3. :D

CW for past suicidal ideation. Part of my “let WWX express some of his cynical humor and creepiness more often” and “let WWX find out about JC’s own sacrifice goddamnit” agendas.

___________________

Jiang Cheng stares blankly into the trees, their trunks slowly disappearing in the deepening darkness of twilight. Wei Wuxian’s back is warm against his and heaving for breath just as heavily. He thinks his ankle might be broken, but Wei Wuxian is probably worse off.

“You’re an asshole,” Wei Wuxian says thickly.

“Hypocrite,” Jiang Cheng mutters without heat, and Wei Wuxian manages a snort between his gasps.

“Yeah.” After a moment, he adds, with an echo of the old Yiling Laozu in his voice, “You know that if you ever do something like that again, I’ll probably find a way to do something worse than I did before.”

“If I do what, save your life by pulling the same fucking sacrificial shit that you do?”

“I swear to every god out there that I will bring you back as a fierce corpse and kill you myself,” Wei Wuxian says in a pleasant, albeit still somewhat breathless, tone. “I will dismember your carcass and make Jin Guangyao look like a fucking amateur.”

“Good thing Mo Xuanyu’s core isn’t worth shit, then,” Jiang Cheng replies. All of his attention is focused on the feeling of his brother’s bones and muscles moving against his own spine.

“You’re an asshole.”

“Yeah.”

There’s a pause. Somewhere distant Jiang Cheng hears the panicked yells of what’s probably the juniors they left behind a few li back. Then Wei Wuxian sighs. “We’re really fucked up.”

Jiang Cheng takes his time considering and discarding several possible responses. His ankle hurts like a bitch; Mo Xuanyu’s core may not be worth shit, but damn if his asshole genius brother hasn’t figured out how to make the most of it anyway. He finally settles on a tired, “Yeah.”

The silence stretches on long enough that Wei Wuxian goes on, more quietly, “You and Shijie are the only reason I didn’t die in the Burial Mounds. The Wens grabbed me before I knew whether or not you’d even survived the core transfer.”

Jiang Cheng tilts his head just enough to glance briefly over his shoulder. “How did you survive the Burial Mounds?”

“Nope, no, I’m not putting that on you. Not even Lan Zhan knows. I can’t...I can’t do that.”

“Fine. Then tell me, is any of it going to come back and bite us in the ass at the worst possible moment?” he asks dryly.

Wei Wuxian snorts, humorless. “Nah. It’s all mine.”

“Would you tell me if it wasn’t?”

When Wei Wuxian hesitates for a few telling seconds, Jiang Cheng mutters, “You fucking asshole.”

“Yeah.” Wei Wuxian sighs again.

“You left me.”

“You didn’t need me.”

“Who the fuck said that?”

The knobs of Wei Wuxian’s spine are starting to press painfully into Jiang Cheng’s. Wei Wuxian snorts. “I was practically a fierce corpse myself when I dragged myself out of the Burial Mounds. Your position as sect leader was too precarious,” he says bluntly. “You were seventeen years old with no real family, a sister who was getting married off anyway, and an adopted brother who’d been controversial years before the war even happened and who was clearly half-mad and getting worse. And I...my mind never really left the Mounds, honestly.” He coughs, makes a wet sound, and spits. “If I stayed much longer I was going to end up dragging you back into Hell with me. I was a risk you couldn’t afford and I wasn’t going to destroy Yunmeng Jiang a second time.”

"Don’t pull that bullshit, Wei Wuxian.” Jiang Cheng is so, so tired. “Mother was wrong. You know Wen Chao was looking for any excuse. You’re as responsible for that as our shidi was for using a round kite.”

Wei Wuxian doesn’t respond. Jiang Cheng makes a mental note to beat that nonsense out of him in the future, when he can lift his arms again and his ankle isn’t most likely broken.

But Jiang Cheng remembers what it was like to try turning weapons, human and sword alike, into tools of peace. There are still whole weeks of the Sunshot Campaign that are just smears of sense-memory: the cacophony of screams and curses; the reek of mass funeral pyres and the soft ash drifting through the air like black, silent snow; the startling warmth of being suddenly drenched in blood after Sandu sliced open another living human. Half the time he’d come back to himself laughing hysterically, unable to see anything through the tears on his face, and as the war dragged on, the tears eventually dried up. It had taken months afterwards to settle into the mindset of rebuilding for Lotus Pier. (If he’s honest with himself, he never really did settle there. There's always a part of him still dragging itself through mud made by blood spilled on battlefields and churned up by soldiers' boots.)

“Jin Ling’s the only reason I never actually killed myself after you died,” Jiang Cheng says. “...Don’t you ever tell him that.”

“Wait, what?” Wei Wuxian snaps.

“You saying I would’ve died without a core - it was never about not having a core, you idiot, not really.” Not to say that hadn’t hurt, and Jiang Cheng really doesn’t know how he would’ve managed life as a commoner. But there were still worse things to lose than a core, which had also just lost and was about to lose yet again. “I had a few ideas on how to do it, depending on where I was and what was available when I decided I might as well get it over with.” He huffs a brief laugh and idly rubs his thumb over Sandu’s hilt. “I thought poison might be a good option, if a little heavy-handed on the metaphor.”

“I’d be laughing,” Wei Wuxian says flatly, “if you weren’t talking about killing my little brother.”

“Am I?”

“You never stopped.”

The silhouettes of the trees start to blur in Jiang Cheng’s eyes. “You left. You left, and everyone died, and somehow I was responsible for keeping our sister’s baby alive while the wolves tried to eat what remained of our sect from every direction. You left.”

“I never wanted to.”

“But you did.”

“Because I didn’t see any other way to keep you safe.”

“Because you chose strangers over family.”

“Because I didn’t see any other way to keep you safe,” Wei Wuxian hisses. Apparently they’re not so exhausted that they can’t get pissed after all. “I was hardly human anymore, Jiang Cheng. If I was going to die, then at least I’d die actually managing to save innocent people this time around and you would be safe from me.”

“I never wanted you to do that for me!”

“And I never wanted you to do that for me!”

The tension that had them both struggling to sit up straight suddenly breaks, and their backs collide again. Jiang Cheng grits his teeth against the urge to groan over the pain that ricochets through his chest and down his limbs. He hears a muffled yelp from behind him.

“You’re a damned fucking asshole and you’re my fucking brother and I hate you and don’t you ever assume you know what I need again, do you understand me,” snarls Jiang Cheng.

“You’re the damned fucking asshole and if you ever do that again then I will brand a reminder into your flesh right over the scar from the discipline whip,” Wei Wuxian snaps back, because he's never held back from fighting dirty if he thought it necessary.

“Fine!”

“Fine.”

They both stare into the dark forest, in opposite directions. It sounds like the juniors have finally picked up their tracks. Useless, the whole lot - Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian hadn't exactly been subtle in stepping aside for a private conversation that inevitably escalated, how could it take the kids this long?

"Those dumbasses had better not forget that we're on a night-hunt," he says.

"Like we did?" Wei Wuxian replies.

"You started it."

"Did not."

"No, I'm not doing this with you."

"Hey, you started this one."

"Shut the fuck up."

They fall silent again. A cold breeze picks up and Jiang Cheng feels Wei Wuxian shiver, pressing back just a little more firmly against Jiang Cheng for warmth, and he...leans back too. Just a little.

"I'm still fucking pissed at you," says Wei Wuxian.

"And I've got years' worth to pay you back for," says Jiang Cheng.

"Fine."

"Fine."

"Sect Leader Jiang!" they hear. "Senior Wei!"

"If you don't show up for the mid-autumn festival," Jiang Cheng suddenly says, "I'll come drag you out of the Cloud Recesses by the heels."

"But the dogs - "

"Don't be an idiot. Jin Ling's dog is the only one allowed in Lotus Pier, you know that."

Well, come to think of it, Wei Wuxian probably doesn't know that, but whatever, now he does. Wei Wuxian is terrifyingly silent, but before Jiang Cheng can say something that will inevitably bring them back to throwing fists, he hears a quiet, "Yeah, okay."

"Do you think they killed each other?" they hear Lan Jingyi asking loudly. "I mean, Sandu Shengshou versus the Yiling Patriarch - who would win?"

"Don't be an idiot," retorts Jin Ling, and Wei Wuxian's body briefly shakes with a laugh. "My uncle, obviously."

"They're both your uncle, idiot!"

Jiang Cheng just sighs and lets his head fall back against Wei Wuxian’s shoulder.

#jiang cheng #wei wuxian #yunmeng bros #yunmeng reconciliation #through inappropriate and blunt conversation #this is not Trauma-Informed (TM) #i just wanted to vent some of my own feelings about them both #jukebox fic #mdzs

[bloody-bee-tea]

Brotherhood - All Star Xicheng White Day 3

The prompts for the third day of All Star Xicheng White Day were Good Ending/Bad Ending/Normal and I really wanted to give Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen a good ending here. It's what they deserve.

Jiang Cheng isn’t actually sure what he’s doing with the letter he just wrote up, but he guesses now that he used up some paper and ink for it, he might as well send it off too.

He reads over it again, but there’s actually not that much to it. It’s just an invitation for Lan Xichen to come to Lotus Pier if he should find seclusion or the Cloud Recesses no longer to his taste. Jiang Cheng made sure to stress that it’s open ended, too, because he doesn’t want to pressure Lan Xichen.

Jiang Cheng would have loved to go into seclusion a number of times in his life—after Lotus Pier burned, after Jiang Yanli died, after Wei Wuxian died—but he didn’t have the luxury to do that. But Jiang Cheng also knows himself well enough to know that he would have gone mad if he stayed in seclusion for a longer period of time.

And he just wants to make sure that Lan Xichen knows that he has other options that are not seclusion or diving back into being a Sect Leader and so he sends the letter off.

Coming to Lotus Pier could be viewed as a vacation, or some well deserved time off for Lan Xichen, and Jiang Cheng hopes he will see it like that as well.

Jiang Cheng doesn’t mean to offend after all, and he hopes he didn’t make a mistake writing to Lan Xichen like this.

He doesn’t even know if Lan Xichen will get the letter, or if Lan Qiren and Lan Wangji will intercept it, and maybe if Jiang Cheng flies fast enough he can get it back.

“Stop that,” Jin Ling suddenly says and Jiang Cheng flinches.

“What?” he bites out, but he flushes slightly, because Jin Ling gives him a very judging look.

“You’re worrying over nothing. Lan Xichen will get the letter and he will not misunderstand because you were very clear in your words and now quit fretting over this,” Jin Ling tells him and Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes at him, though Jin Ling is right on all accounts.

“What do you know about this?” Jiang Cheng mutters, but he tries to put the letter out of his mind.

“I damn well know about your crush on Zewu-Jun,” Jin Ling gives back with a teasing smile.

“Language,” Jiang Cheng reminds him instead of touching on what Jin Ling just said, despite the fact that Jin Ling is right.

Jiang Cheng was never under any illusions that he managed to keep his feelings a secret from his own nephew, but the hope was always there.

“I will watch my language if you stop looking like that,” Jin Ling gives back and then turns his concentration back to the paper work in front of him.

Jiang Cheng tried his best to raise Jin Ling as the next Sect Leader, but being thrust into the position so suddenly and so early leaves Jin Ling at a severe disadvantage against the other Sect Leaders and so Jiang Cheng continues to coach him as best as he can.

“Careful, brat,” Jiang Cheng mutters, but he can’t help the fond feeling in his chest when Jin Ling just rolls his eyes at him.

Jiang Cheng curses the day he allowed Jin Ling to pick up on that habit, because it doesn’t feel that great to be at the receiving end of this, but if Jiang Cheng is being honest, it warms his heart to see that Jin Ling picked up anything from him at all.

~*~*~

Nothing happens for a year, and then almost two, and Jiang Cheng can’t say that he forgot about the letter he sent to Lan Xichen, but it moves into the background after a while.

It was an open ended invitation after all, and Lan Xichen is under no obligations to actually come through on that. It could be that he burned the letter the moment he got it and Jiang Cheng would never even know.

And it doesn’t matter anyway. If Lan Xichen is doing well in seclusion then that’s more than alright with Jiang Cheng and he doesn’t care at all if Lan Xichen got his invitation or what he thinks about it.

Maybe Jiang Cheng overstepped with his offer?

Jiang Cheng shakes his head and pushes those thoughts far away. It doesn’t matter. He sent the letter and everything else is no longer in his hands. He doesn’t care what Lan Xichen thinks about it.

At least that’s what Jiang Cheng keeps trying to tell himself most of the times, with various degrees of success.

Mostly he fails pretty spectacular at it, especially going by the numerous eyerolls he gets from his nephew.

It’s really a pain in the ass that he couldn’t keep his stupid crush on Lan Xichen a secret from Jin Ling, because he most definitely didn’t sign up to be judged by a kid.

Jiang Cheng can’t wait for Jin Ling to fall into love, just so he knows what it feels like to be judged at every corner.

~*~*~

By the time the third year mark comes and passes, Jiang Cheng manages to mostly not think of the letter anymore.

At least until a disciple announces Lan Xichen’s arrival at Lotus Pier to him.

Jiang Cheng’s heart starts to beat faster in his chest, but he tries to not let it show outwardly, before he makes himself presentable and then follows the disciple.

Lan Xichen looks bad, is Jiang Cheng’s first thought when he comes into view. He looks like he lost weight and his face is pale and pinched and Jiang Cheng wants to bundle him up and protect him from the world.

“Zewu-Jun,” Jiang Cheng greets him, opting not to go for Sect Leader, because he’s honestly not quite sure if Lan Xichen still is the acting Sect Leader.

“Sect Leader Jiang,” Lan Xichen softly gives back and bows to him, a letter clutched in his hand where usually his sword or flute would be.

Jiang Cheng can’t see either right now.

He wants to ask what brings Lan Xichen to Lotus Pier, without proper announcement at that, but he can guess when he recognizes the handwriting on the letter.

“Your letter said it’s an open ended invitation,” Lan Xichen says when he follows Jiang Cheng’s gaze. “I wanted to take you up on that, if you don’t mind,” he finishes weakly and Jiang Cheng frowns.

“Of course I don’t mind. I meant what I wrote there. I’m just wondering—” he trails off, because he can’t actually ask why it took Lan Xichen three years to follow his invitation. That would be rude, and Jiang Cheng is not about to spook Lan Xichen away before he even fully arrived.

“The three years—it wasn’t quite voluntary,” Lan Xichen mutters after a long pause and Jiang Cheng goes hot with anger.

Even Zidian sparks lightly on his hand.

“What do you mean, it wasn’t voluntary?” he demands to know and forces himself to soften again when Lan Xichen flinches under his gaze.

“It was—punishment, I guess,” Lan Xichen says with a small smile. “The elders decided that I had to repent for my crimes.”

“Your crimes,” Jiang Cheng presses out. “The crime of getting as thoroughly deceived as everyone else in the goddamn cultivation world?” he spits out and Lan Xichen presses his lips together. “I didn’t see your elders go into seclusion so it can’t be that.”

“It was for that, yes,” Lan Xichen tells him with a shrug. “Apparently I let myself be blinded beyond reason and I needed to reflect on my trust in people.”

“Bullshit,” Jiang Cheng immediately says and then scrubs a hand over his face. “So they put you into seclusion for three years?”

“Yes,” Lan Xichen nods. “I did a lot of thinking but—I don’t think it’s getting me anywhere, to be honest. I’m only moving in circles and I still don’t know where my fault lies,” he finally admits and Jiang Cheng lets out a short laugh.

“Of course it’s not getting you anywhere! It’s not your fucking fault and so no amount of thinking will ever make sense of that.”

Jiang Cheng is entirely unprepared for the hopeful and open look on Lan Xichen’s face as he says that, and Jiang Cheng bristles in defence.

“What?” he snaps out but Lan Xichen doesn’t seem to take offence at his tone.

“You don’t think it’s my fault?” he whispers and the sheer naked hope on Lan Xichen’s face is enough to break Jiang Cheng’s heart apart.

“Of course not! If they think it’s your fault then they should also think it’s Nie Mingjue’s fault, because he trusted him, too. And if they think that then we all have to be at fault, too, because none of us saw past his mask. Nie Huaisang is definitely at fault then as well, because he didn’t tell us what he knew.” Jiang Cheng takes a deep breath to calm himself down before he continues. “It’s just a load of bullshit. We all saw exactly what he wanted us to see and none of us were perceptive enough to notice what he was doing. It’s not your fault you decided to trust your own sworn brother. That brotherhood was supposed to build trust, not ruin it forever.”

Jiang Cheng is entirely unprepared to see tears in Lan Xichen’s eyes, and he doesn’t know what to do about that.

“Thank you,” Lan Xichen whispers, once he wiped those away, and Jiang Cheng pretends he didn’t see anything, because that seems like the safer option. “If it’s not too much of a bother I’d like to stay here for a while.”

“I already invited you in my letter, that hasn’t changed,” Jiang Cheng snaps out at him, because anger is always something he feels more comfortable with.

“And this one is very grateful for that,” Lan Xichen says with another low bow and Jiang Cheng waves over a disciple.

“Show Lan Xichen to his room. He will be joining me for dinner,” he says, though he throws a questioning look at Lan Xichen at the last part.

“Of course I will,” Lan Xichen immediately agrees and Jiang Cheng breathes a little bit easier when he sees how honestly pleased Lan Xichen seems with that.

Jiang Cheng just hopes his stay in Lotus Pier will do Lan Xichen some good.

~*~*~

Lan Xichen is flourishing at Lotus Pier and Jiang Cheng has many, many feelings about that.

Lan Xichen managed to stay idle for about two days after his arrival, before he asked to join in on training—though Jiang Cheng has still not seen Liebing anywhere since his arrival—and soon after that he took over some basic lessons for the smaller kids.

Jiang Cheng wanted to protest that, because this whole thing was so that Lan Xichen could heal, but then he didn’t say anything. He was not about to dictate what Lan Xichen needed to do to heal or come to terms with what happened, and so he gladly handed over that responsibility.

And it seemed to do Lan Xichen a lot of good, because barely two months passed before Lan Xichen could laugh like before and Jiang Cheng definitely felt a very dangerous feeling when he heard it for the first time.

But it’s been a long time since then and now hearing Lan Xichen laugh is as normal as hearing the water murmur and still Jiang Cheng is not getting used to it.

Having Lan Xichen stay in Lotus Pier is not helping his crush at all, and by now Jiang Cheng has to admit that his feelings go way beyond a simple crush. Still, he’s not going to say anything to Lan Xichen, because that would put expectations on Lan Xichen and Jiang Cheng doesn’t want that.

Lotus Pier is supposed to be a refuge for Lan Xichen. Not something he wants to avoid just because Jiang Cheng is not able to keep himself in check.

“You’ve been quiet lately,” Lan Xichen remarks that night during dinner and Jiang Cheng shrugs.

They usually take at least one meal together—never breakfast though, because Jiang Cheng isn’t quitebusy enough to get up at five—and it’s become something Jiang Cheng is definitely looking forward to.

“There’s a lot to do,” Jiang Cheng evasively says, and it’s not even a complete lie.

It’s harvest season and that means Jiang Cheng is being pretty damn busy all day long.

“That’s not it,” Lan Xichen immediately says. “You would complain if it was just that,” he very correctly says and Jiang Cheng kind of fears where this is going.

He doesn’t want Lan Xichen to figure out what he’s feeling for him; he is very content to keep spending time with Lan Xichen like that, without anything else happening ever.

“Why did you sent me that letter all those years ago?” Lan Xichen asks him suddenly and that, at least, is something Jiang Cheng can answer.

“Because I thought after some time, you could use a change of pace. Seclusion might be helpful for a while, to sort out your own thoughts, but I didn’t think it would be good in the long run. I wanted you to have options.”

“That was very thoughtful of you,” Lan Xichen says and there’s a dangerous tone to his voice. “It’s just as thoughtful of you to let me teach the kids and help with paperwork and having a meal with me every day,” Lan Xichen goes on and now Jiang Cheng is convinced that he’s teasing him.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Jiang Cheng snaps out.

“Nothing,” Lan Xichen says with a shrug, but there’s a small smile playing around his mouth. “I just think that if you’re grooming be to be the wife of this household you should at least make your intentions clear,” he then says and Jiang Cheng almost chokes on his tea.

“What the hell,” he splutters out once he can take a breath again, but Lan Xichen only keeps smiling at him.

“It’s been what, a year now? I would say you have courted me very thoroughly. It’s time to make an official move now,” Lan Xichen says as if nothing at all is wrong in the world and Jiang Cheng goes bright red in the face.

“I would never have said anything,” he defends himself, because he wants Lan Xichen to know that, even though his reaction doesn’t seem to be all that bad.

“I know,” Lan Xichen says with a nod. “That’s why I am saying something.”

“Oh,” Jiang Cheng says and his heart is beating very fast when Lan Xichen smiles at him.

“So, about that official courtship,” Lan Xichen says and puts his hand on the table, clearly waiting for Jiang Cheng to take it, which he does almost immediately. “I don’t think shufu will object, so maybe write to him instead of Lan Wangji first,” Lan Xichen advises him and Jiang Cheng doesn’t even know what his heart is doing anymore.

“You would want that?” he has to ask, because he simply needs to make sure that Lan Xichen really, truly feels that way.

“I warned him about receiving a letter with that content months ago,” Lan Xichen teases him. “He was very regretful when he told me nothing of the likes had reached him yet.”

“Goddamit, Xichen, now I started off this whole thing by disappointing him,” Jiang Cheng hisses and he has to admit that he feels better when Lan Xichen laughs softly at him.

“I wouldn’t say disappointed. You’re keeping him on his toes. He’s so excited, he writes me every other week asking where your proposal is.”

“I better should get to that then,” Jiang Cheng grumbles and moves to take his hand back, but Lan Xichen won’t let him.

“If you want that. If you want me,” Lan Xichen lowly says, and suddenly Jiang Cheng is hit by the realization that he still didn’t say anything to Lan Xichen.

“I love you,” he says and it’s almost not hard at all. “Of course I want you.”

He is rewarded for that by a blinding smile and just for that, Jiang Cheng vows to say it often.

“I love you, too,” Lan Xichen says and then leans over the table to brush a quick kiss over Jiang Cheng’s lips. “But you really should write shufu first. He’s about ready to make a trip over here, just to kick your ass,” Lan Xichen tells him and Jiang Cheng groans, before he narrows his eyes at Lan Xichen.

“You know what? Let him. I’d like to ask him for the privilege of marrying you in person,” Jiang Cheng decides and watches in fascination as Lan Xichen goes red at that.

“Oh,” he whispers, clearly taken off guard by that and it only cements Jiang Cheng’s decision.

“I want to do right by you. Simply asking for that in a letter can hardly count as that.”

“You are already doing right by me,” Lan Xichen softly tells him, but it doesn’t change Jiang Cheng’s mind.

“I’m glad to hear that,” he gives back and lifts their hands to press a kiss to the back of Lan Xichen’s.

It might have taken them a long time to get here, but Jiang Cheng thinks it’s still a very perfect end for the both of them.

Link to my ko-fi on the sidebar!

#bt writes #the untamed #mdzs #xicheng #post canon #healing #getting together #courtship #fluff #love confessions

[spockandawe]

Hi...how are you? Since you've read all 3 mxtx works, if you don't mind me asking,what do you think are the strengths of each of her novels' protagonists? Sorry if you've answered this question before....

I’m doing well, thank you! And ooooh, this is an interesting question, I’ve been thinking about it for a while.

I will say that I think the love interests are a lot easier to answer for this, because for all of them, they share a sense of determination and perseverance that carries them through a long separation, and they mostly vary in the ways their personalities express that determination, but the protagonists.......... HM. I’m actually having the most trouble with Shen Qingqiu, so let’s go in reverse order and see what I come out with, haha

Xie Lian! I think his greatest strength is that he made the conscious decision to be kind. It’s not that he’s unconsciously gentle, or that it’s something that he always expresses, no matter what, because we’ve seen him be mean with some characters, or to gently poke fun at other people and enjoy. He’s not kind at the expense of himself. But he saw what he was like when he was cruel, and he decided he didn’t like it, and decided to be different. It’s not the same as the idealism of his youth, with the question about the water in the desert, or thinking that he could save a country from a drought, or that he could protect his own kingdom. He has a very measured idea of his own capabilities and limits, and is invested in being kind within the bounds of what he knows he is capable of. He’s not going to mindlessly pour kindness into Qi Rong knowing that Qi Rong is totally down to bite the hand that feeds him, but he’s willing to take on the burden of blame for Lang Qianqiu’s family’s death, because the truth would hurt Lang Qianqiu more than the lie hurts Xie Lian.

Wei Wuxian! His sense of humor, for one, and casual ambition, for another. He goes through a lot of suffering, and his willingness to laugh at everything, including himself, carries him through a lot. It doesn’t deal with everything, but it lets him shrug off a lot of blows before something brings him to his knees. And that, paired with the casual ambition, is a powerful combination. I don’t know how he could have established demonic cultivation as a viable path without both of those characteristics. Maybe he could have clawed his way out of the burial mounds without that sense of humor, but I don’t know how far he could have gone through life after the sunshot campaign without that light, laughing approach to life to bolster him, despite all the trauma also weighing him down. And once he comes back to life, I think he walks a very interesting line of ‘lol TRAUMA’ and ‘oh, interesting weird-ass mystery to solve’ before he finally becomes comfortable with more fully leaning on Lan Wangji, and those two traits really help carry him through that time before he realizes he can trust Lan Wangji with anything.

Shen Qingqiu! Ah, this one was weirdly hard. I don’t want to say that his encyclopedic book knowledge is a STRENGTH, or his investment in that fictional universe. So I think I’m going to say... his ability to shrug trauma off. It’s not perfect, because he spends a section of the book semi-paralyzed with fear that Luo Binghe is going to torture and kill him (and manages to fuck up Luo Binghe extra hard in the course of events, ofc), but he also came into the universe with all that knowledge. And it took him like two minutes to go from ‘this is the guy who’s gonna rip my limbs off’ to ‘omg what a good child this is, I must care for him properly.’ Even when he has the penalty activated and visits the main universe, and experiences Bingge ripping his limb off, he comes back to the main world, and he’s like OnO for a very brief period, but stabilizes himself out fast and slides past the fear response to his Binghe and evens out again. Or that first sex scene, which.... yeah, I’d say that was traumatic. After he has a few minutes to recover, his main reaction is ‘wow, that was a thing that happened.’ It’s kind of a mixed bag, because he sorrrrrta is the one who initiates a lot of that post-abyss trauma he experieces, but he’s very good at slipping past the trauma and returning to a baseline state.

#spock replies #shen qingqiu #xie lian #wei wuxian #svsss #tgcf #mdzs #thanad-zid

[presumenothing]

we’re doing it to ourselves (or so the saying goes)

(AO3)

Jiang Cheng swears up a storm and a half when he shoves open the investigation room door the next morning to find someone already there.

The red ribbon hanging long down Wei Wuxian’s back blends in so seamlessly with the red thread strung all over the murderboard that it takes slamming his hand against the wall switch to shatter the sudden imagination of his brother’s photo up there with the rest of the clues, just another person they’d failed to save from this case.

Wei Wuxian gives a hiss of half-startled annoyance, blinking from the abrupt brightness, but it frankly serves him right for standing in the dark like a burglar with only the corridor emergency lights filtering in. Had he even been able to see anything? Even demonic cultivation doesn’t give you night vision, last he checked. “Good damn morning to you too, Jiang Cheng.”

“I’m not even going to ask how you got in here,” he replies, because at least half of what he knows about breaking into places he’d learned after Wei Wuxian taught himself how to one boring rainy day in high school. “Tell me all this has nothing to do with you.”

He doesn’t specify what this is, because there’s no need to. Wei Wuxian hasn’t moved from his frozen stance in front of the board of clues, crimson lines running between the serial murders like a bloody taunt, a web Jiang Cheng has stared at long enough over the past week that the afterimage feels burned into his eyelids.

There’s nothing of Wei Wuxian’s usual brash overconfidence in the answering shake of his head. “No. I meant it when I said I’d never go vigilante again, Jiang Cheng. And I haven’t. I’ll swear it again on anything you ask.”

In a different time, Wei Wuxian would already have sworn up and down that the heavens should strike him down right then if he’d lied, but maybe that’s exactly the problem – he had already been struck down once, in almost every way that mattered, and worst of all is how it makes Jiang Cheng more inclined to believe him now.

It’s still not quite enough, though. “Swear it on Jin Ling’s life.”

He doesn’t need to see Wei Wuxian’s expression to know he’s not happy about that. Which doesn’t matter, because neither of them are; the space Jin Ling occupies among them has been almost sacred especially after they’d nearly lost Yanli-jie, but it’s also exactly why Jiang Cheng is asking him to swear on this. He can’t accept anything less.

Wei Wuxian has to know that, too, because he doesn’t argue, only says, “I swear on Jin Ling’s life that I don’t have any direct involvement with this case.”

Jiang Cheng raises an eyebrow and pointedly does not look relieved. “‘Direct’?”

“Duh.” Wei Wuxian gestures, wide and too-careless, at the grotesque web on the wall. “You’ve got a copycat killer, and a surprisingly thorough one at that. I’d be surprised if the original Yiling Patriarch isn’t tied to this somehow.”

“Careful, they might not be able to see your ego from space,” Jiang Cheng bites right back, even though he’s been thinking the same for probably about as long as Lan Wangji has, for all that they hadn’t acknowledged it aloud until the day before yesterday. “How the hell did you even find out about this?”

“Wen Qing did most of the autopsies, didn’t she?” Wei Wuxian answers, pretty much as he’d been expecting. “And before you think about going to yell at her, she didn’t actually reveal any case details to me, just that you and Lan Zhan were investigating something that I might be interested in. Also that she might snap and add one or both of you to the body count if she has to mediate even one more argument between you two.”

How Wei Wuxian’s presence could possibly do anything except exacerbate that, Jiang Cheng has no idea, but it’s not like he can afford to alienate the best medical examiner they have across all the districts. (And he doesn’t want to, either; Wen Qing’s clear expertise had single-handedly silenced all of the brass who’d had issues with hiring a Wen, but there’s never any telling what might get them started up again.)

Still. “I wouldn’t call that mediating,” Jiang Cheng mutters.

Wei Wuxian laughs, because he still doesn’t have even half an ounce of self-preservation, even against someone who could and would immobilise people with just three well-placed needles. “Speaking of which, how much longer are you gonna lurk there, Lan Zhan? I thought the Gusu bureau had a rule against eavesdropping and all.”

Jiang Cheng gets a crick in his neck from how fast he turns, and sure enough – there’s Lan Wangji stepping out of shadows that had hidden him far too well for someone in so much white. (Even after having no choice but to work this case together with him Jiang Cheng still has absolutely no fucking idea how Lan Wangji keeps his clothes spotless even at crime scenes; he’s starting to suspect it’s some kind of cultivation-related trick designed specifically for this purpose.)

“Eavesdropping would require neither of you to be aware of my presence,” he says, like that isn’t just some bit of pedantry, and inclines his head. “Wei Ying. Jiang Wanyin.”

And that’s definitely intentional, putting his name last like Jiang Cheng cares what order Lan Wangji addresses people in. Which he really, really doesn’t, especially not before inhaling at least half the thermos of coffee that always resides in his backpack in avoidance of the acidic slop from the pantry machine.

Wei Wuxian smiles at Lan Wangji, because of course he does, but it’s strangely gratifying to note that he hasn’t put any effort in making it look convincing at all. “Well, Lan Zhan – do I need to swear my innocence in this case to you too?”

“Unnecessary. I believe you,” Lan Wangji says, bearing regal like he’s some monarch issuing a decree, and Jiang Cheng snorts. How easy for him to say that when Wei Wuxian hadn’t cost his bureau and family almost everything they’d been.

It doesn’t make the back of his throat taste any less bitter when Wei Wuxian’s expression warms a little at that, but at this point Jiang Cheng doesn’t think anything ever will. “Enough chitchat,” he snaps. “The paperwork?”

Lan Wangji retrieves a folder from his briefcase and slides it over to the centre of the table wordlessly, while Jiang Cheng crosses his arms and scowls at Wei Wuxian until it sinks through his stupidly thick skull that the paperwork is for him.

The answering groan, at least, is entirely sincere. “What the hell is that for? You know I hate paperwork, Jiang Cheng, I didn’t quit over it but I very well could have.”

Yes, he’s very aware of that, seeing as their weekly paperwork grudge-match marathons from before everything had gone to hell had been held in his office. “Just read and sign the damn thing, Wei Wuxian, it’s the only bloody reason I haven’t already arrested you for breaking into bureau offices ten minutes ago.”

And that has to be enough for Wei Wuxian to already know, because bureau policy hasn’t changed that much in the years since his defection except to get more annoyingly onerous, but still he looks surprised at the contents of the contract. “A civilian consultant?”

“You have a skillset that could be invaluable to resolving this case. It would be highly remiss not to bring you on board.” Lan Wangji still looks perfectly neutral, as far as Jiang Cheng can tell, but that’s more sarcasm-free words in a row than he’s ever heard from him since the start of this investigation. Possibly since their first acquaintance with each other.

“I wouldn’t call ‘being the prime suspect’ a skillset, exactly,” Wei Wuxian mutters, which is something Jiang Cheng can definitely agree with at least. Though the only reason this is possible at all is because there’d never been an official conviction in the original Yiling case, for a whole chaos of reasons including the public uproar in support of whoever had taken down Wen Ruohan and his cronies for good, and because they already had reasonable evidence to suggest Wei Wuxian’s non-involvement in this spate of murders.

The non-suspect in question is still flicking his way through the clauses of the contract, which Jiang Cheng would feel insulted by except he’d also gone through each and every one just as closely, taken his concerns to Yanli-jie who’d taken them to Jin Zixuan until they could be sure this arrangement wouldn’t jeopardise Wei Wuxian in any way.

He reaches the last page, and from the skip of his gaze Jiang Cheng knows instinctively what Wei Wuxian has to be looking at – the grid of signatures starting with his own and Lan Wangji’s as primary investigators of the case, dated clearly to two days before this conversation had even occurred, followed by Lan Xichen’s confirmation both as Lan Wangji’s superior and because Jiang Cheng can’t very well second his own recommendation even as the Yunmeng bureau chief, and finally a space for Wei Wuxian’s chickenscratch initials.

(It’s frankly mystifying, why someone who can draw talismans that flow like the finest art has never bothered with a more elegant signature, but it’s not a mystery Jiang Cheng cares to solve. Better that than the unmistakable signatures the Yiling Patriarch had left at his scenes, at any rate; even he has had nightmares about that.)

Jiang Cheng tosses him a pen, anything to break the sudden silence, and Wei Wuxian catches it without looking but of course doesn’t get right to signing, because that would be sensible. “What is this for, then? There are easier ways to keep an eye on me. Cheaper, too.”

“The forensic evidence is scant, and the culprit has done something to keep the victims’ souls beyond my ability to communicate with,” Lan Wangji answers without further prompting, which is probably more information than they should be giving out to a not-yet-contracted civilian but Jiang Cheng’s not the one with a stick up his ass about protocol in this room and anyway Wei Wuxian had already broken in here. “An alternative method might help.”

“Last I checked, no one likes the alternative when it means resurrecting th– ah,” Wei Wuxian cuts himself off with a flick of his gaze between them, and has the gall to look amused. “So the old coots are desperate enough by now that anything goes?”

“Not anything,” Jiang Cheng grates out, just to be clear. Wei Wuxian hadn’t been wrong; the investigation methods favoured by each bureau differ even just among the four major ones, but the dislike of the way Wei Wuxian had done things since somehow escaping being taken hostage by Wen Chao had been almost universal.

(There’d been a brief period when it seemed like things might work out after all, when Wei Wuxian had demonstrated how undeniably efficient demonic cultivation could be in comparison to their regular methods – even the Gusu musical techniques couldn’t beat speaking to the victim in the flesh, as it were. But then everything had gone to hell in a massive speeding handbasket and Wei Wuxian had been most of the one who’d sent it there.

Possibly Jiang Cheng is being monumentally idiotic in not assuming this time will turn out exactly the same way, but annoyingly enough Wei Wuxian is also correct in that they need this case solved, or everything might just go to chaos anyway.)

“I’m pretty much the definition of anything, I think,” Wei Wuxian retorts, which Jiang Cheng ignores like the obvious nonsense it is. “Don’t blame me if you lot regret this.”

“Pretty sure it’s already too late for that,” Jiang Cheng grumbles, swiping the thermos out from where he’d set his backpack down.

Lan Wangji can deal with filing that paperwork, if he’s just going to stand there in stoic satisfaction. Jiang Cheng needs his damn coffee.

#mdzs #mdzs fic #fanfiction #mine #long post #once again i blatantly plagiarise richard siken for a fic title #yes this was supposed to be the sort-of-pushing daisies au but things happened #/elaborate and unbothered shrug emoji

[drwcn]

《 Without Envy 》 storyboard 10 - concubine/sleeper agent!wwx & prince!lwj

Other snippets and storyboards can be found on [Master List]

Exactly 851 days - 2 years, 4 months and 11 days - after Wei Wuxian arrived at Gusu and began his mission as a sleeper agent, he was activated.

That chilly morning, he walked into the pastry shop - a front maintained by a decade-long Wen spy - a walk he'd done hundred of times on hundreds of mornings since he arrived. He breezed past the packaging counter, skipped through the faded cotton drapes, and rounded behind the back staircase to the room where Xue Yang always waited for him. Only this time, it was not just his candy-obsessed, murder-happy shidi, but a face he hadn't seen in many, many months. "...Shifu?" Wen Zhuliu's visit meant the end of his carefree days. It's time. That night, Wei Wuxian did not look at either Lan Wangji or Jiang Yanli when he bid "dianxia" and "Jiang-zhuzi" good night. He pretended to retire to bed early, after washing himself of his servant's exterior and donning his robes of night-black. He laid in the dark, waiting for time to pass, and reminded himself of his true purpose. He was never meant to care about these people; love these people. Jiang Yanli was not his doting foster sister; Lan Wangji was not his beloved wangye. I am Wei Wuxian of the great Qishan Wen. Nevernight is my home. I am a spy. Gusu is my enemy. Wei Wuxian kept his eyes closed, his breathing even, and his heartbeat slow. In the lonely quiet, he waited, and waited, and waited. Until the candlelight around the princely manor dimmed to nothing, until the night grew still and the moon shone bright and high in the dark, dark sky. Reaching under the floorboard beneath his bed, Wei Wuxian retrieved his life-long companion from its hiding place and released it from its sheath. "Hello, old friend." He whispered, stroking the blade edge. Suibian's steel glistened with cold malevolence in the stark, pale moonlight.

It would be another year before WWX's identity is discovered. During that time, he lived a double life. In the day, he was Lan Wangji's precious Wei Ying, and at night, he was the blade in Wen Ruohan's hand, stealing, killing and destroying on command. His assignments were not always murder; sometimes it required him to break into secure facilities and obtain copies of certain documents. He was never alone on these jobs; there was always someone convalescing with him from within. Slowly, he began to realize just how deep Wen Ruohan's spy network had infiltrated Gusu's foundation. In a way, it excited him, to know that the posturing and pretending would soon be over, that in the near future a quick war would sweep across the land and unite the two nations. In another way, it frightened him to the bones.

Wei Wuxian killed 37 individuals within the span of a year, 37 men and women of different ranks, status and stations. He did not always know why these people needed to die; in fact, he often didn't and preferred it that way. If he didn't know the motive, then he couldn't argue against the reason, and thus could go on believing that what Wen Ruohan did was ultimately for the betterment of everyone. The men of Gusu were weak - Wei Wuxian was always told - they were not fit to rule. The people of Gusu would be better served under a united empire. He repeated this statement to himself before every job, but over time, the mantra on his tongue began to lose its flavour.

In the meantime however, Lan Wangji and Jiang Yanli quickly formed a strong plan on how they wanted to live out the rest of their lives. Lan Wangji never quite enjoyed laying with women, but Jiang Yanli had just enough wickedness behind her demure exterior that things were... well, interesting. In any case, it was not long before she came to him all smiles and whispered the good news over luncheon .

"Truly?" Lan Wangji set down his chopsticks. "Hm uhm." Jiang Yanli dapped her mouth delicately. "Now, perhaps it's a good time to discuss how dianxia should go about winning A-Xian's affection. He's under the impression you've cast him aside on taishi's orders and has been giving him the cold shoulder." "I wasn't." Lan Wangji defended himself, distressed and slightly offended. "It's just, huangshu's been watching me like a hawk. I was afraid any further attempt to be closer to him would give my uncle reason to remove him from my household entirely." Jiang Yanli was sympathetic. "The summer hunt is in two week's time, and afterwards, since bixia always likes to finish the night on the river with fireworks, perhaps...." She let the sentence dangle, a knowing smile playing at her lips. Lan Wangji felt hope.

Unfortunately, a little hiccup happened before the hunt could take place. Jin Ziyan falsely believed that Wei Wuxian had fallen out of favour with Lan Wangji and was itching to show him his place. Poor Mo Xuanyu was caught in the middle. Jin Ziyan knew Wei Wuxian was an audacious one, but not so stupid that he could be easily goaded into committing a grave offence. Thus, Jin Ziyan planned to cause an incident in the garden whereby poor Mo Xuanyu would unwittingly "offend" him, and he would publicly announce a punishment that was harsher than necessary. He made sure that Jiang Yanli and Wei Wuxian were near by, as they usually took a mid-afternoon stroll after lunch. True to his predictions, Wei Wuxian could not stop himself for interfering on Mo Xuanyu's behalf. Then in their altercation, Jin Ziyan would fall into the pond, making it seem as though Wei Wuxian was the one who shoved him out of anger. Oh but a lowly servant shoving Hanguang-wang's deputy consort into the pond??! He was as good as dead. What's more, everything happened on the same afternoon that Lan Qiren was scheduled to visit Lan Wangji to discuss matters of court. If it was only Lan Wangji, Jin Ziyan knew Wei Wuxian would suffer little consequence, but taishi tolerated no insubordination or churlish behaviour of any kind.

Lan Qiren was incensed, livid, but he was not hasty to deal the punishment. Instead he turned to his nephew and asked, whilst fully knowing the answer, "Wangji, your household follows the regulations that govern all princely manors, does it not?" "It does, huangshu." "Then tell me what is the punishment reserved for a servant for daring to lay hands on a deputy consort and to cause physical harm to said consort?" "It....I - huangshu -" "What is the rule?" Lan Wangji knew very well that the punishment was death for any servant, maid or eunuch who dared to harm any member of the harem. But Wei Ying, his Wei Ying... "Wei Ying is very precious to Yanli and to Yunmeng-hou. As well..." Lan Wangji hesitated. "Yanli is with child again. It is still very early so we thought it best not to announce it lest we have a repeat of last time. It would not do to upset her at this time." Lan Qiren was extremely dissatisfied with his answer, but conceded for Jiang Yanli's sake. "I'm glad, Wangji, that you've found your way back to your proper companions. This Wei Wuxian clearly has been spoiled to the point of impropriety. His actions today are utterly unacceptable and cannot be allowed to go unpunished or else others would surely follow his example. Guards!" "Detain Wei Wuxian. Have him strung up on a post in the servants' courtyard and give him fifty lashes. No food nor drink. Sun or rain, he is not to be let down until dusk tomorrow." "Huangshu!" Lan Wangji's head buzzed, as though someone had struck him squarely in the temple. His chest felt tight, and his heart ached where it rebelled inside him. "Please -" "He has his life. That is mercy enough."

Wei Wuxian was stripped down to his trousers only and tied up to a post, his hands bound together above him and his bare feet never finding purchase on the ground no matter how he struggled. This fucking suck ass. Jin Ziyan you're a dead man. When all fifty lashes were dealt, even the guards were sweating through their robes. They left him dangling there in the blistering summer heat. A young maid dared to try and sneak him some water but was thwarted by an older momo. "What do you think you're doing, lassie? Did you not hear taishi, no food or drink until dusk tomorrow. Do you want lashes too? Go on! Go!" It rained hard all through the night, only easing up at dawn, but the aftermath of the storm left the air muggy and humid. Combined with the heat, it felt as though he was being steamed alive like a wheat bun. At some point during the second day, Wei Wuxian finally lost consciousness. He was not aware when Lan Wangji barged into the courtyard against Lan Qiren's explicit orders and cut him free.

Really tho, i just want this scene to happen (╹ڡ╹ ) "I'm sorry." Wei Wuxian blinked at Lan Wangji's hunched figure sitting at his bedside. "Whatever for? You saved me, dianxia." Lan Wangji, "But it was my attention that put you in such a position in the first place. Huangshu was looking for a reason to punish you since that day he saw us in my study." Wei Wuxian, "dianxia..." "I find you... lovely, Wei Ying," confessed Lan Wangji with a heavy sigh. His ears burned red not only with the embarrassment of a youth in love but with shame. "I wish for your company, even when you have no desire to be part of my harem. Now I know my mistake. I should have respected the boundaries. I should've known my attention on you would incite jealousy from the others, and as a servant, you have no means of protecting yourself. This is entirely my fault." Wei Wuxian's heart fluttered despite himself. He quickly shook his head. "No dianxia, please don't blame yourself -" Lan Wangji, "perhaps I should send you back to Jiang-fu; I'm sure Jiang-xiao-gongzi would be delighted to have your company back. You would be safe there." Jiang Wanyin had come to visit his sister the very next day after Wei Wuxian was sentenced to whipping. He was one of the most accomplishment young men of his generation, anticipated to be a great general. Nie Mingjue had thought highly of him and had expected great things from this youth. Though perhaps what the late feng-jun found truly commendable was Jiang Wanyin's complete lack of pretense and his short-fuse temper. That is to say, he did not hesitate to get in Lan Wangji's face. His sister would have chastised him, had she not been so preoccupied by her tears. Wei Wuxian, "Jiang...Jiang Cheng was here?" "He was, and he was very upset about your condition. He left many fine medicine and ointments for you." Lan Wangji sighed again. "I shall speak with Yanli. If she is amenable, then I shall make arrangements for you to go back to Jiang-fu. You would not have to put up with me any longer." Lan Wangji stood up. Wei Wuxian grasped his sleeve immediately. In that moment, he could not tell if his panic was derived from his worry that he would not be able to complete his assignment if Lan Wangji were to send him away or if he simply did not wish to part with the prince. "Dianxia - I - I don't want to leave. I - it's true I had once rejected you, but...would you think less of me if I said your attention … hasn't been unwanted for a while, that I have come to enjoy them." At Lan Wangji's widened eyes, Wei Wuxian continued quickly. "You need not give me anything, no elevation, no rank. I don't care about any of that. I am a man, I have no ability to give you children. Nor do I have any family who would benefit from your continued favour of me. I am an orphan, dianxia, I have no place to go. I just....don't send me away. Please let me stay! I'm not afraid of Jin Ziyan, or taishi, or anything!" Lan Wangji sat back down. His hand trembled when he laid it on top of Wei Wuxian's. "Wei Ying...?" Wei Wuxian smiled, still radiant despite his pale complexion. "Dianxia -" "Lan Zhan. No more dianxia, I only want to hear you call me by my name." Wei Wuxian flushed pink. The blush was real, as was the pleased little smile he tried to hide. "Lan Zhan, Wei Ying is yours, if you still want him." The worst part of that was that he meant it. Just the mere thought of being held by Lan Wangji, of being kissed by him, of... so many other wonderful possibilities, made Wei Wuxian want to hide his flaming face into his pillow. Lan Wangji smiled. Quietly, he lifted Wei Wuxian's hand and pressed a kiss to the inner side of his wrist. "Rest, I will be right here." Wei Wuxian felt his treacherous little heart soar: oh no … oh no no no no ….. (Xue Yang's voice in narration: and it was in this moment, that Wei Wuxian knew, he fucked up.) The cruellest thing Wei Wuxian ever did was give Lan Wangji hope knowing that one day he would take it all away.

#cql #the untamed #wangxian #without envy #corie fics #cql ficlet #i posted it and then immediately deleted it. I wanted to add some stuff

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed, Episode 01

(Masterpost) (Next Episode)

Warning: This is **FULL **of spoilers, not just for this episode but for the entire series. If you haven’t finished all 50 episodes, please don’t read it! 

Intro: 2020 continues to be much much too much while also being incredibly boring, and Im done with Shen Wei’s Lewks, so now I’m doing a deep meta dive into the Untamed. Let’s roll! 

Prologue: The Battle of Mordor

The Demise of our Protagonist

Unlike some other shows I won’t name, The Untamed kills its suicidal queer protagonist immediately, rather than waiting four seasons, so we know what we're in for. 

This is Wei Wuxian, who is about to yeet himself off of a cliff. He is having a bad day. 

Note: if mouth blood bothers you...C-Drama might not be your thing. 

Reasons for mouth blood: a sampler

Anyway...cliff time

Note: if (fictional) suicide bothers you...C-Drama might not be your thing. 

To be fair there are hardly any suicides in The Untamed. No more than ...five? As long as you don’t count the entire population of the Wen Corporate Headquarters in Yiling or those wall bandits in Qinghe or Madame Yu or all those Wens who supposedly threw themselves into the mud puddle or that Mo guy who broke his own neck. Plus watching Wei Wuxian’s cliff drop several more times from multiple angles. So, you know. Hardly Any Suicides. 

This is Lan Wangji, who is about to have his first losing encounter with physics. He is having a bad day.

In fact, if it is possible to have a worse day than the guy who is currently falling to his death, Lan Wangji is having that.

This is Jiang Cheng, who is feeling extra stabby from this camera angle. He is having a bad day.

Camera operator: why you gotta take it out on me? 

(Much, much more after the cut!)

The Amulet Situation

This is the Stygian Tiger Amulet. Yes, by all means, (Netflix) subtitles, let's use a 12-dollar word, “Stygian,” that every English speaker who is not a Shelley/Byron shipper will have to look up. Let’s not use a normal word like "deathly" or "corrupt" or you know... "Yin" which is clearly what they are saying on screen.

Why does this tiger amulet look like a chameleon crossed with a remora? Wei Wuxian can paint photorealistic bunnies on a flimsy lantern while sitting in a field having distracting teenage lust, but two months of meditating with super magic gets him a tiger that looks like a chameleon. And don’t try telling me this is a traditional-Chinese-art vibe because this jade tiger from frickin 1000 BCE is way more tigerish than Wei Wuxian’s attempt. 

Try harder next time, Wei Wuxian.

This is thousands of cultivators having a battle.  What do you mean, it looks like about 40-60 dudes?

 Any time someone in The Untamed refers to a number of people, it is like when you do your high school play and look off into the wings at nothing and say “Hark, A Ship Approaches!” and everyone’s parents nod indulgently.

Jin Clan Mountain Hunt:

*viewership nods indulgently*

This is Captain Blowhard, over on the right, courtesy name Clan Leader Yao. His job is to talk smack about Wei Wuxian and stick up for whoever is the biggest asshole in any given scene.  

He represents mainstream cultivation-world values so here he is shanking one of his allies to take the deadly amulet of evilness.

The Present Day

Spilling All That Yiling Laozu Tea

Down at the Exposition Tea Shop, the Lan juniors are chilling and listening to Tea Dude tell the story of Yiling Laozu. 

How did they get permission to take this field trip? “Principal Qiran, we want to go downtown to hang out with the local rabble and learn about your favorite person, Wei Wuxian.”

Waiting in the wings is the man with a fan and a plan, Nie Huaisan(g), who is paying tall loot to get these stories told.  

...Why? Is Mo Xuanyu having tea here and listening? Or is Wei Wuxian being summoned back by hearing all this smack being talked about him? *Shrug.*

Gank Your Soul

Drunk flag guy out here talking about spirits. Wikipedia tells me that In one school of Daoist thought, a human being has a collection of physical souls (魄 pò) and ethereal souls (魂 hún). Drunk flag guy is saying “hún ” at the moment. 

The many types of souls don’t translate well into English, where spiritual vocabulary has always been shackled connected to Christian beliefs, and is too limited for this context. So when the subtitles have conversations like “Is it a soul eater? No, no, it’s a spirit taker!” just roll with it. (Speaking of hún, if you have any interest in linguistics, do yourself a favor and go read all the wonderful meta @hunxi-guilai​)

The spirit-carrying flag looks a lot like Raava and Vaatu from Korra which...probably doesn’t mean anything.

The Demise of our Trill Host

Suicide #2 happens about 8 minutes in. 

Mo Xuanyu is that hippie roommate with the annoying wind chimes and bead curtains and blood spatter.

He is super mad at his terrible family and also at Jin Guangyao, who sent him home to his terrible family. I wonder if Fan Man Nie Huaisang influenced Jiggy’s decision-making there. Mo Xuanyu’s choice to die for revenge might be excessive, given how easy it actually is to murder the Mo family.

Being Alive Is Fine I Guess As Long As I Get To Fuck WIth People

Wei Wuxian starts his new life by splashing a little water on his face, which instantly makes his hair go from this

to this. 

He looks at his reflection and wishes he was dead, which--mood--but he gets over it as soon as he finds someone whose day he can fuck up.

And he is ALL in on being crazy. 

OP wishes she had the Wei Wuxian kind of crazy instead of the kind she actually has. 

Meanwhile, this is the sane Mo cousin:

This asshole is wearing one of the best fabrics in the whole show, incidentally. Asshole.

My favorite bit of Wei-Mo craziness is when Wei Wuxian does a meaningless 360 all the way around this dude before ducking in the opposite direction, which is like when I make 4 right turns around a whole block to avoid making a single left across traffic.

Perhaps I Do Miss One Thing In This Life

Wei Wuxian has pining thoughts about Lan Wangji, so he plays WangXian on a fucking blade of grass well enough for Sizhui to recognize it from his dad's guqin jams. 

Wei Wuxian is a better flautist than even Inspector Gadget BeatBoxing Flute Guy (Google it).

Our Many Many Spirit Lure Flags have Lured A Spirit, Oh Shit

Lan Clan has a Plan and Wei Wuxian is a Fan

Having one single lure flag stuck in Wen Ning’s torso caused spirits to basically eat him alive, so to catch one evil spirit, 6 disciples holding flags on the roof plus 8 more flags on the ground seems like a good amount. Wei Wuxian is like “yep, a single one of these will lure every spirit for five miles, carry on, younglings.”

Baxia Does the Heavy Lifting

Wei Wuxian is supposed to kill four people because of this curse situation, and in the course of the series they all die, and he kills exactly zero of them. The curse on Wei Wuxian’s arm should be called the scorekeeper curse. 

Baxia’s spirit pinballs around the Mo clan, rapidly killing three people on Mo Xuanyu’s list plus a couple extras for good measure.  Who's a good blade? Baxia is! Yess you are! Yes you are!

This here is the exact point in the show where your friend, who has listened to you squee about The Untamed for three months and finally agreed to watch it with you, will say “what the fuck am I watching?” and try to get up off the couch. Tackle them! 

This also the point where we all realize that the prosthetic and practical effects in this show were probably not made by the people who made the clothing, because the quality is...variable. The white eyeballs are pretty good, but the glove of death is ridiculous.

Camera operator: why you gotta take it out on me?

While Baxia goes to town on the Mo clan, the Lan Clan babies...watch? And tie up the various victims after they are already goners. 

Narrator: Her son is dead.

Meanwhile, 

Wei Wuxian, you motherfucker. You’ve been alive for like 7 hours and you’re already building a new zombie army. No wonder you don’t want them to call Lan Wangji.

Hanguang-Jun Cut It Up One Time

Lan Wangji shows up and very slowly kicks zombie ass with his guqin. If you are used to Hong Kong action speeds, you will find The Untamed very peaceful.

 All of the baby Lans fan squee up at Lan Wangji like he's the cultivation world's David Bowie and...they're not wrong. Jesus Fuck, he’s charismatic.

Lan Wangji is soft boi when he discovers this murderous sword full of dead-bastard energy, because it reminds him of his true love.

Like the talk about souls, the conversations about the nature of the murderous entity really don’t survive translation into English.

Servant: it’s a ghost! 

WWX: it’s not a ghost, it’s a spirit

Babies: It’s a spirit

LWJ: it’s not a spirit, it’s a [...] ghost

Our Protagonist gets the FOH

Wei Wuxian is soft boi when he sees Lan Wangji, but not so soft that he considers actually, like, sticking around. 

Wei Wuxian is also clueless boi, noting Lan Wangji’s white clothing and thinking, as in the past, that he looks like he’s dressed in mourning. The term he uses is 戴孝, which google tells me means the type of outfit worn by Jiang Yanli after Wen Ning rips her husband’s heart out someone who is in mourning. 

Actually, Wei Wuxian, you dumbass, he is in actual mourning, actually, for you. Dumbass. He probably packed away all of his blue outer robes 16 years ago and only takes them out occasionally to reminisce about that nice date you had on your mountain of corpses. 

On his way out the door Wei Wuxian manages to find a red ribbon for his beautiful hair, so things are looking up. 

Where to go next...hey I know, how about that one haunted mountain with the killer statue, you know, the one that all my executed friends and child came from? That’ll be fun and a great way to put the past behind me!

Episode 02 Restless Rewatch is here!

#fytheuntamed #the untamed spoilers #the untamed gifs #the untamed #restless rewatch the untamed #tw: blood #tw: suicide #chen qing ling #cql #c-drama #bl drama #canary3d-original #the untamed memes #my gifs

[leatherbookmarking]

this might be very villain apologist (or perhaps ‘not a boring person’) of me but the fact that Villains* do Bad Things is automatically much more interesting and meaningful when it’s a result of an event in life that traumatized/hurt in any way a character that might have been happy, rather than when it’s just something they were born with or the way they were raised.

i’m mostly talking about meng yao, and how there are people who insist he was manipulative from the start and his only goal in looking pitiful and eating unbuttered bread** was to gain nmj’s affection and CLIMB, CLIMB THAT SOCIAL LADDER!***, but ALSO i’m talking about xue yang, whose idea of the weight of his life/body vs others’ bodies/lives is often seen as ‘oh he’s a psychopath/sociopath/there’s Something Wrong With His Head’ rather than, yknow, a result of his incredibly traumatic childhood and his way of dealing with it

this has no bearing on people’s actual irl beliefs, although of course i do have the right to just... not want to chat with someone who thinks my little boy is hands down an evil piece of trash, but i always think it’s interesting how there’s this strong need to dehumanize those you (for the lack of a better word) find Bad™, while at the same time turning a blind eye to the fact they’ve been mistreated in the past. because, of course, if someone’s been hurt, then naturally it’s our instinct to feel bad for them. but when someone’s Bad™, Bad™ since birth, then there’s nothing we, or anyone, could have done to change that, so there’s no use feeling bad for them.

even in those cases people admit that something unpleasant happened, well, it was their choice to let it affect them, right? look at wei wuxian! he’s had bad things happen to him and he turned to actively harming himself instead of others, like a normal person! see, it’s possible to turn out okay****. meng yao, sure, people told him his mom’s a ho, but did he have to be so angry about it? he could have just settled for a life of being told his mom’s a ho*****, his boss was happy with his work, isn’t that enough? instead he chose being evil, therefore, he’s Bad™. sure, xue yang lost one finger as a young boy, but couldn’t he have taken revenge of equal degree******? instead, he chose being a murderous psycho. Bad™!

it’s all very obvious, but it’s interesting.

* actually antagonists, characters whose goal is opposed to the one of our beloved protagonist, but i assume “villain” is shorter. also, thank you zhu zanjin for your service

** i understand ‘plain unbuttered bread’ might be a figure of speech, but considering meng yao was eating actual bread, did they put butter on their flatbread ~back then~? i have a feeling they didn’t

*** which, by the way, would have been valid of him. i don’t know why so many people can spit on meng yao or su she for wanting to rise above his status in one sentence and then criticize the cultivation society for how they treated wwx or the wens from dafan. the thing about the right to live comfortably and with dignity is that it should go to everyone, including people you don’t like

**** as we all know the most correct way to deal with your past is to bottle it in yourself. the second most correct way is to hurt yourself. there is no third most correct way, but there’s a most wrong way, and that is to hurt others, because that makes you an asshole, really. fuck you.

***** in which everyone collectively forgets how much it hurt to be bullied/ostracized at school, to deal with unfair teachers/superiors, and generally how fun it feels to receive daily reminders of how powerless and worthless you are

****** you know, the way noble cultivators, who’s never had to worry about dying alone in a ditch, do. because if young master X says your fighting is shit and you challenge him to a duel, and he beats your ass, then it’s super fucking embarrassing, but he does not, technically, have the right to dismember you and leave your corpse to rot and be eaten by stray dogs.

#there are also the thoughts i have about the concept of 'meng yao enjoys causing people harm' but that's for another time maybe #shut up shrimp #i miss li zhe. i might rewatch another episode of mrh perhaps