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fincalinde · 1 year

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lwj, for the meme?

Not the Lan bro I was expecting but here goes!

a song that reminds me of them

This doesn't remind me of him because I wouldn't want to ruin it for myself, but I can imagine a sad montage of interregnum LWJ set to I Am Stretched On Your Grave. Anyway, my proper answer is Frostrósir by Eivør. It's in Faroese, which I do not speak, but I pinched something from here:

Each sigh from a lonely soul Every word that was formed without sound Now seems like a frostbitten affair Dressed in the guise of lifeless flowers

what they smell like

We have an answer to this in canon and it's sandalwood, so I don't have much to add.

an otp

I mean, it is the central point of the novel. But even aside from that, LWJ is consistently only ever interested in WWX. I'm not saying he shouldn't be interpreted as gay, but I am saying that even if he is gay it's secondary to his actual sexual identity which is Weiyingsexual. I'm not treading any new ground here.

Personally I don't find Wangxian interesting, but I at least believe they love each other and are compatible in the sense that they are both selfish in slightly different ways that mesh well for their own private universe. Not so great for others in their orbit, but part of that is authorial fiat so I try to be fair about what I hold against them.

I don't think CQL successfully executed the changes it made to Wangxian in having them click and partner up from the beginning, but I do think it was necessary to at least attempt to rebalance the relationship. In MDZS, WWX genuinely does not reciprocate LWJ's feelings in his first life beyond a very deeply buried and not particularly inevitable spark. His first life is really centred on his relationships with JC and JYL and they are the tragic 'romance' (in the traditional sense). LWJ only gets upgraded during the second life. Kind of awkward to do your sweeping romance if it isn't a romance in the 35+ episodes of flashbacks, so I don't blame them for trying. And I do like the Colin Firth vibes WYB brought to his LWJ.

a notp

Aside from not finding the idea of LWJ with anyone else convincing, let me take the opportunity to pettily sideswipe at Chengxian and shoving LWJ in to make it what? Wangchengxian? Is that what it's called? Either way, nooooooo thank you. You can't get much more fraternal than WWX and JC's idiot bickering, and even if they weren't such classic stupid boys together, JC and LWJ loathe one another with the kind of loathing that does not give way to a rendition of I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face. (Incidentally, in the original stage version Eliza walks out on Higgins never to return, and it is awesome.)

favorite platonic/familial relationships

Obviously it's his relationship with LXC (and by extension LQR?). Just absolutely fascinating. Their rapport is very sweet, as is LXC's protectiveness and gentle trolling. LWJ is not a particularly good didi, but LXC both doesn't notice and doesn't mind.

Actually, someone once made a meme for me in relation to this, let me dust it off and drag it out:

More seriously, though he was also raised with harsh discipline, in comparative terms LWJ is the spoilt baby of the family. As is often the result when we encounter morally rigid characters in MDZS, he is also in many respects hypocritical. Clearly I have a lot of negative things to say about him as a brother to LXC, but I'm not interested in demonising him and what's really interesting about it is that by and large this uneven dynamic works for the Twin Jades. Right up until it doesn't.

When LXC really needs LWJ to come through for him, he just doesn't. I'm not even talking about LWJ's behaviour leading up to and during the Temple, which is objectionable in the sense that he refuses to give JGY the benefit of the doubt that LXC extends to WWX. No, I'm talking about the fact that he bods off for literal months after LXC has just been through the worst experience of his life and lost his closest friend and partner. And I don't want to hear it about LXC being the elder and having a responsibility to take care of LWJ. LWJ owes consideration to his big brother and clan leader, even if that consideration might take a different form.

Here's a thought experiment. After WWX's first death, when LWJ has been whipped 33 times by the discipline whip and dragged himself to rescue LSZ and branded himself in drunken grief, can you imagine LXC bodding off for three months without a word to have picnics with JGY? It's inconceivable isn't it.

I didn't intend for this section to become a hit piece on LWJ and he obviously does love his brother, but in terms of actions it is somewhat of a one way street. The fact that LXC has no other expectations doesn't protect LWJ from my croc-hatted judgement face.

a headcanon that is popular in the fandom but that i disagree with

Righteous LWJ. Oh, please. In MDZS, righteousness goes hand in hand with hypocrisy, and though I doubt MXTX the human being intended LWJ to be read as thoroughly selfish, the (translation of) the text she wrote is a depiction of a profoundly selfish man. And that's not a bad thing, because his selfishness coupled with the occasions when he is genuinely altruistic makes him more interesting than if he really were a moralising ice cube with a ribbon tied around it.

the position they sleep in

Official Lan Position, and postcanon I probably don't want to know.

a crossover au i’d love to see them in

I'm going to be lazy and suggest X-Men AU again just because his secondary power would definitely be organic diamond form like Emma Frost. I don't think he'd also be a telepath, but the idea of that is funny because he could read WWX's mind and know for certain that WWX isn't (currently) into him. But as a serious answer, organic diamond form as a secondary power and then primary power the same as Alison Blaire. I see no reason why his mutant name wouldn't be Dazzler too.

my favorite outfit they’ve ever worn

I think he only has like one outfit. I'm sorry, I'm not cool enough to be able to distinguish between different varieties of plain white robes. In CQL I prefer first life LWJ because they put that massive ornament on second life LWJ's head to make him look older and taller but actually they created an unfortunate perspective effect where he just looks even shorter.

#ask #crashorpie #roquen meta #me when i'm discussing lwj: CRITICAL DIDI FAILURE #me when i'm writing fic from lxc's perspective: precious tragic didi i would die for him

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symphonyofsilence · 6 months

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I am ready for the conversation about WWX crushing on JGY. Please elaborate 👉👈

I'M GLAD YOU ASKED!

Finally the day has come! Here we go!

First of all, this flirting here as JGY has a guqin string to WWX's throat! WWX My man may be discovering new kinks! The chemistry is off the charts! LWJ & LXC wished they could flirt like this!

"I think it's best if Young Master Wei stops right there. It's nothing if your flute's broken, but if your tongue or your fingers went missing, it'd be such a shame."

Wei WuXian immediately put his hand away, agreeing, "You make so much sense."

The person, "May I request your company?"

Wei WuXian nodded, "You're too polite,Sect Leader Jin."

Jin GuangYao smiled, "It's my pleasure."

Wei WuXian, "LianFang-Zun, you hid quite a big land deed in the secret chamber of Fragrant Palace, right beside my manuscripts. Don't you remember?"

Jin GuangYao, "Oh, that would be my fault. I should've put them separately."

Wei WuXian, "Right now, we won't be able to run from your grasp no matter what, so could you perhaps tell me just what a creature is being suppressed in this Guanyin Temple, LianFang-Zun, and quench my curiosity a bit?"

Jin GuangYao smiled, "Quenching your curiosity doesn't come at a low price. Young Master Wei, are you sure you'd like to try?"

Wei WuXian, "Oh. On second thought, then, nevermind."

(This whole interaction is even fruitier in the live-action)

He smiled, "Because that's what kind of a person you are. At best, you're the untamed hero; at worst, you offend people wherever you go. Unless all those whom you've offended lived their lives safely, as soon as something happened to them or someone did something to them, the first person they suspect would be you and the first person they seek revenge on would also you. And this is something you have no control over." Somehow, Wei WuXian smiled, "What should I do? For some reason, I think make a lot of sense."

Nothing like accepting and understanding your favorite homme Fatale's choice of bringing your downfall 'cause he just makes so much sense what you gonna do!😊 🤷🏻‍♀️

The way JGY is described:

Wei WuXian, on the other hand, carefully observed the chief cultivator of all sects.

Jin GuangYao was born with quite an advantageous face. His skin was fair, and he had a vermillion mark embellished on his forehead. His pupils were distinct against the whites of the eyes, appearing lively but not frivolous. His features appeared rather clean, attractive yet also ingenious. The shadow of a smile that always perched by the corners of his lips, and his brows, revealed at once his clever character. Such a face was enough to earn the love of women, but still wouldn't evoke the vigilance or aversion of men; the elderly would think of him as sweet, while the young would think of him as amicable. Even if one didn't like him, they definitely wouldn't hate him either, which was why his face was "advantageous". Although his figure was a bit small, his calm demeanor was more than enough to make up for it. Donning a cap made of black gauze, he wore the LanlingJin Sect's formal uniform, a blooming Sparks Amidst Snow crest over the front of his round-collared robe. With a nine-ringed belt at his waist, liuhe boots at his feet, and a right hand pressing down on the hilt of the sword hung by his side, he let out a powerful aura of inviolability.

Like LWJ is described in one paragraph ending with "mourning clothes" and JGY is described for a whole page with WWX going on and on about how you get some sort of feeling looking at him...EVERYONE! man and woman, young and old catch some sort of feeling basking in JGY's charm & beauty. (But he's being nonchalant about it...'cause ofc he doesn't have a crush...)

The unnecessary shade WWX throws at poor QS:

At this point, with a woman dressed in lavish robes by his arm, Jin GuangYao stepped into the room. Although the woman seemed rather dignified, a trace of innocence was blended into her expression. Even her graceful features appeared somewhat childlike. This was the official wife of Jin GuangYao, the mistress of Carp Tower-Qin Su.

descendents of prominent clans. Qin Su as the beloved daughter of Qin CangYe. Her personality was naive, but she had lived a comfortable life and was taught excellent manners.

Fortunately, although Qin Su had always seemed innocently ignorant since a young age, even to the point of being somewhat dense, she didn't trust Jin GuangYao anymore. She stared blankly at Jin GuangYao

I can't remember, and searched & couldn't find who it was that pointed out that the situation with NMJ had escalated so bad that the only way left for Jiggy was to murder him, and yet at the slightest, most desperate, most basic attempt at de-escalation that JGY shows WWX is BLOWN AWAY! Like: JGY: "Sry, Da-ge. My bad." WWX:

JGY is just trying to live another day without getting murdered by Da-ge and WWX is like Jin Guangyao is a master manipulator.

Jin GuangYao sighed, "HuaiSang is used to being spoiled, but he can't be Qinghe's idle Second Young Master for his whole life. One day he'll realize that you're doing this for him, Brother, just like how I realized that you're doing this for me."

Wei WuXian, Bravo, bravo. I wouldn't be able to say such words even if given two lifetimes, but Jin GuangYao can adjust his tone so that it doesn't sound strange at all. It even sounds a bit pleasing to the ears.

WWX taking a moment in the middle of QS's intense breakdown, crying, screaming, throwing up, pulling at her hair to remind us that Jin Guangyao is serving:

He was her husband. As of right now, under the candlelight, he looked as calm and as picturesque as ever.

Like...not now king .QS is having a moment here. Keep it in your pants for now. the last person who was horny for JGY is not yet done having her breakdown so you can walk in like that Theresa May meme and say that you'll take it from here!

What he most sees of Jin Guangyao is through Da-ge's eyes. Which are very horny eyes to look at JGY with. And it SHOWS.

The boy's figure was on the smaller side. He had fair skin and dark brows, precisely those favor-gaining features of Jin GuangYao.

When asshole Nie soldiers trash talk MY:

A flame of anger sprout within Nie MingJue's heart, burning all the way into Wei WuXian.

Wearing a gauze gap, he was almost beyond recognition. As handsome as ever, his cleverness was the same, yet his air was calmer that it had ever been.

The whole Wen Yao scene speaks for itself.

His chemistry with Xue Yang was unrivaled and JGY reminds WWX of Xue Yang:

recalling a certain someone as he watched how Jin GuangYao smiled and batted his eyes even as he fought. He whispered, "He really is the same as Xue Yang."

He admires JGY:

In these types of games, the head of all cultivators, LianFang-Zun, who was currently the most successful of all, was of course the most popular character. Although his family background was a bit disgraceful, the fact that he later climbed to such a rank was precisely why people respected him. During the Sunshot Campaign, he skillfully worked undercover for the QishanWen Sect, deceiving all of the Wen Sect's people to a point that a tremendous amount of information were disclosed, yet they knew nothing. After the Sunshot Campaign, with flattery, wit, and countless other methods, he finally became the Chief Cultivator, fully deserving of the title. Such a life could even be considered a legend. If he was playing, he'd also want to try being Jin GuangYao.

It wasn't difficult to understand why Lan XiChen defended this person. To be honest, even Wei WuXian himself didn't have a terrible opinion of the person they were suspicious of. Perhaps because of his background, he had always treated others with kindness and humility. He was the type of person who never offended anyone, the type who could make everyone around him feel comfortable talking to him, let alone ZeWu-Jun, who had been friends with him for years.

Jiang Cheng smirked, "Don't carry your sword, then. It doesn't matter. But don't provoke Jin ZiXuan from now on. He's Jin Guangshan's only son, after all. The future leader of the LanlingJin Sect will be him. If you beat him up, what should I, the sect leader, do? Beat him up with you? Or punish you?" Wei WuXian, "Isn't Jin GuangYao here now? Jin GuangYao seems so much better than him."

Jin Ling quickly tugged at the back hems of Jin GuangYao's robe. Jin GuangYao seemed as though he had been born to resolve conflicts,

Jin GuangYao could remember the name, title, age, and appearance of a person after just one encounter. Even after a few years, he'd be able to greet them without any fault, often carrying out solicitous conversations as well. If he had seen someone more than twice, he'd remember all of their likes and dislikes, therefore able to cater to their needs.

"With Jin Ling's temper, he offends other people whenever he opens his mouth, he pokes at the hornet's nest whenever he raises his hand. Your sect's JingYi calls him Young Mistress-well, he's right. The many times before this, if it weren't for how we protected him, he'd have no lives left. Jiang Cheng isn't at all someone who knows how to teach children. Jin GuangYao, on the other hand..."

(Now he's just going around attributing random capabilities such as the ability to raise a fully functional child to a man he's met only a handful of times 13 years ago as though he fully believes there's nothing he can't do.)

thinking, When Jin GuangYao saw the strange paperman and saw Suibian being unsheathed, he must've guessed who I was right there. And so he quickly made up a series of lies, causing Qin Su to take her own life, and then purposely force me to the cabinet with Suibian inside so that I could unsheath my sword and reveal my identity. Scary, scary. Who could've known that his reaction was so fast and his lies so flawless?

When Jin GuangYao lied, it really was unashamed and full of vigor! As others heard this, of course they'd think that Mo XuanYu had slandered LianFang-Zun and caused Madam Jin to take her own life since he held hatred toward him. Even Wei WuXian couldn't think of anything to say in refutation. What could he say? How he saw Nie MingJue's head? How he snuck into the secret room? The name of the person whom Qin Su saw before she died? The odd letter that could easily be argued as fictitious and fabricated? Such refutation would only make him look even more suspicious!

Under the shock and the terror, he spoke as though his words flew, fearing that Nie MingJue might start chopping before he could even finish his explanation. Despite this, his explanation still had clear logic. Every sentence was highlighting how horrible the others were, how poor he himself was.

Immediately after it were Jin ZiXuan's murals. Usually, in order to signify their absolute power, sect leaders would purposely lessen the number of murals for cultivators of their own generation or perhaps switch to an inferior artist, so that they wouldn't be outshone. To these acts, everyone gave silent approval, showing their understanding. However, Jin ZiXuan had four murals as well, unbelievably standing on equal footing as Jin GuangYao. The handsome man in the paintings displayed both pride and vigor.

Jin GuangYao didn't let her down either. Even though he held the important position of Chief Cultivator, his behavior was drastically different from his father's. He never took in any concubines, much less had a relationship with any other woman. This was indeed something that many wives of sect leaders envied.

He kins JGY:

And so, the waves of criticism began:

"Who knew this person could be so ungrateful and immoral!"

In the past few years, the words 'ungrateful' and 'immoral' were almost tied to Wei WuXian. At first, he even thought that they were criticizing him again. He only realized afterwards that even though it was the same people using the same words, the object of their criticism had already changed. He felt a bit not used to it.

Wei WuXian felt that things were rather comical, If they're rumors, why the hurry to believe them? If they're secrets, why would you come to know them?

These rumors didn't happen in just the one day. However, in the past, when Jin Guangyao was popular, they were suppressed quite well. Almost nobody took them seriously. Yet, tonight, all of the rumors seemed to have become absolute truths, forming the rocks and bricks of Jin GuangYao's supposedly-committed crimes, proving his lack of morality.

Wei WuXian immediately felt a bit speechless. The last time others praised him like this was during the Sunshot Campaign more than ten years ago. Although somebody finally inherited his position as being the enemy of the entire cultivation world, Wei WuXian didn't feel happiness at such an end, much less any warmth from finally being accepted by everyone.

He only doubted in silence, Back then, could it have been just like today? A group of people gathered up in a place, began a secret discussion, cursed everything, and finally decided to have a siege on Burial Mound?

But there was no use in saying all that. Nobody knew with more clarity than Wei WuXian that nobody would care and nobody would believe him. Anything related to Jin GuangYao would be given the most malicious conjectures and passed through the mouths of the crowd

They're narrative parallels, similar in every way, even in their relationship with twin jades and it's very sexy of them!

The crush thing aside, (I wasn't entirely serious about it. Just saying that if you wanna read it that way, the things are there. But he does admire JGY & the chemistry is certainly there) He barely even registers JGY as an antagonist in his story (he even resignedly admits that he would have sooner or later angered someone and got killed anyway even if JGY did nothing). He even confronts NHS, who brought him back to life about what he did to Meng Shi's body. We've seen how WWX treats the other antagonists of his story, the way he tortures Wen Chao & Wang Lingjiao, and other Wens to death, the way he raises dead Wens to kill their kin, the way he doesn't even remember Jin Zixun's name, or take SMS seriously. But what JGY gets is respect, both in general and in that he was a worthy player in their game (that wasn't even THEIR game), and understanding & sympathy.

#mdzs #cql #the untamed #jin guangyao #wei wuxian #asks

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ninjakk · 2 years

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Hi! I really like your Metas about MDZS. I want to hear your opinion about this one in particular. When LXC was revealing all that happened at Nightless City, after the "Get lost!" scene, it mentioned that WWX's eyes reddened. I'm quite at a loss on how to interpret this. Was he mad or overwhelmed with emotion that he was about cry? Actually curious of your thoughts on WWX's feelings fluctuating since JGY started mentioning LWJ's pining.

Hi Anon,

Thank you for the ask! I'm glad to hear you're enjoying my meta 🥰

I'll answer your questions in chronological order as it appears in chapter 99, or it might get a little confusing for everyone ☺️

During the scene you are referring to, WWX was as you said, overwhelmed with quite complex emotions. As we know, WWXs emotions were already extremely raw before he even went near Guanyin Temple that night. WWX had just had a huge misunderstanding with LWJ not that long ago. He was absolutely heartbroken, assuming LWJ did not return his feelings and thought he had taken advantage of him while apparently still drunk.

After WWX was caught at the temple alone without LWJ, LXC and JGY were perplexed as to why LWJ is not with him. Ironically, it was JGYs words that sparked a tiny bit of hope within WWXs heart. Obviously I don't think this was JGYs intention, it was more of a way to manipulate WWX by distracting him enough to lower his guard and simultaneously cause him distress. As we know, JGY is a master at using words as a weapon. But I can't help think JGY was also just being a bit nosey and wanted WWX to spill the tea as well 🤣

Jin GuangYao, “Of course not. I just had to comment. HanGuang- Jun spent so many years in yearning, and even today he hasn’t gotten his happy ending yet. Not only does Sect Leader Lan have a good reason to feel impatient, even an outsider can’t bear watching it.” Wei WuXian whirled around, “What yearning? What happy ending?” Hearing this, both Jin GuangYao and Lan XiChen seemed surprised. They examined his expression carefully, as though trying to see if he was purposely pretending to be oblivious. Wei WuXian’s heart suddenly began to pound, like something that had been dead for more than half the night suddenly bursted alive in his chest again. He forced himself to be calm, “What do you mean?

Although WWX was being held hostage, hearing JGYs words instantly made his heart pound - probably from a mixture of excitement, anxiety and worry. WWX was anxious and excited to find out if LWJ felt the same way about him. He wants nothing more than to hear this finally confirmed! But he is probably also feeling a little worried at how LWJ must be feeling right now, if his feelings are indeed returned. After all, WWX brushed off their romp as nothing more than 'guys helping each other out' because he thought LWJ had just sobered up (he sobered up long before) and regretted the situation. He's so desperate to know the truth, his mind is probably frantic at that moment, full of strong emotions.

Hearing that LWJ might actually return his feelings, he pressed LXC to the point he got uncharacteristically angry. WWX was in quite a lot of emotional distress while LXC had his infamous rant. Which I have to say although rather harsh, was only because LXC cares for his younger brother very deeply.

When we arrived, you sat blankly on a rock within the cave. Holding your hand, WangJi was giving you spiritual energy. He kept on whispering to you. But throughout the whole time, you repeated the same two words at him. “Get lost!” Wei WuXian’s throat was dry. His eyes were red as well. He couldn’t say a single thing.

WWX eyes reddened because he was so upset, in so much emotional pain, he was indeed holding back tears. He's just realised how deeply LWJ loves him. He's just found out LWJ saved him and went against his own sect to try and protect him. He's just been told that after all of that, he said nothing more to LWJ than 'get lost'. Obviously WWX was catatonic and wasn't even really aware what was going on, or what he was saying at the time. I've covered this in a previous post, in case anyone wants to read more into the scene - so I won't go into it too much.

WWX has also just found out that he is the indirect cause of the discipline whip scars on LWJ's back. And finally, the thought of all the pain he has inadvertently caused LWJ (both physically and mentally) over the span of both his lives, is too much for him to bear. Not to mention the pain he must be feeling from trying to recall events that have caused him deeply rooted trauma. So it's no wonder poor WWX is close to crying - something which he very rarely does usually.

It's an incredibly emotional chapter and there are lots of feelings flooding to the surface. But at least we know LWJ and WWX do indeed get their happy ending together at last 💞

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #wangxian #mdzs wei wuxian #mdzs lan wangji #mdzs wwx #mdzs lwj #mdzs novel #ask anon #answered asks #JGY wanted WWX to spill the tea 💁🏻‍♂️

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gloriousmonsters · 2 years

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Do you have any XueYao thoughts or headcanons? I'm interested in this ship and plan to write for it but it's a rarepair so i don't have much existing content or meta to wrok with

To start off, I think a particularly fascinating aspect of the XueYao dynamic is JGY's patronage of him at the Jin sect initially, especially wrt JGY giving him his courtesy name--this is a pretty interesting post about that.

Even though I love the relationship, I actually haven't focused on the XueYao leg of the murder trio nearly as much as I have SuYao or even SuXue, so I haven't got a ton to offer 😅 but I'll try! (also, disclaimer: these are my thoughts pertaining to a more ambiguous/intense friendship type of relationship, since I'm aro af and tend to write them as having a not particularly 'romantic' relationship.)

My thoughts are mainly... I think that while Jin Guangyao didn't offer the same unconditional kindness that Xiao Xingchen did, unknowingly, and didn't offer Xue Yang that chance to simply be a person without any strings attached, Jin Guangyao was the first person to show Xue Yang consideration and friendship, and that counts for a lot.

Like (going off the book, I honestly don't remember the CQL arc of things early on as well) JGY is mentioned as personally recommending him, JGY signs him up for the Jin sect as a guest disciple, JGY gives him his courtesy name... and, most importantly, JGY just. Treats him nicely! He doesn't act like Xue Yang is trash or less than human, and while I think he has a healthy respect for Xue Yang's knife happiness, he's not really afraid of him either. He thinks he's funny and has almost indulgent-older-sibling vibes toward him in the Villainous Friends extra (buying him dumplings and giving him the Yiling Laozu's notes when he's frustrated). And while Xue Yang, still beholden to his bad bitch reputation, doesn't let it show too much, I think that means a lot to him. He's not stupid enough to trust it (at least at first...) but he just might cut a guy's tongue out if he calls JGY a whore's son. Hang out with him while he retrieves his dad from brothels. Participate gleefully when it's time to kill his dad, etc.

And, assuming that JGY and him parted ways, but JGY wasn't responsible for him winding up in a ditch... Xue Yang going back to him after Yi City was, largely, to get back the access to the materials and resources he used to have, but I imagine that part of him was also desperate to see the first friend he'd had, the one he knew was not going to judge him for anything he'd done, after things had gone so spectacularly wrong in Yi City.

On JGY's end... I think he just likes Xue Yang; finds him funny and enjoys verbally sparring with him; feels fond and protective of him. I think the fact that they began working together again later in canon speaks to that affection and feeling of responsibility--working with Xue Yang again is a risk, another thing to keep secret, and it's not like Xue Yang is in any position to blackmail him or otherwise hold leverage over him. I personally see their relationship as being less defined by the benefactor/benefactee dynamic in later canon, with JGY treating Xue Yang more like simply a friend and Xue Yang assigning a little bit more stability to their relationship, and therefore allowing it to grow more important to him. And on an essential level, Xue Yang is one of the only two people JGY discloses significant amounts of his secrets to.

I think both of them are a bit bemused by the choices the other makes (if JGY wants sympathy for his success-in-society goals, he needs to go talk to SMS) but generally respect them. JGY accepts at a certain point (when Xue Yang takes off to kill the Chang in the book, possibly, which is now making me wonder if he indicated to JGY that he was going to do this and whether JGY tried to talk him out of it at all--or, more realistically, was like 'okay but remember, don't wear the sparks and snow and NO witnesses') that he's not going to elevate XY in society, and XY accepts that while it's fun to needle JGY about it sometimes he's Not going to go apeshit because apparently he genuinely likes party planning. Weirdo (affectionate).

Oh, and this has nothing to do with headcanons but the moment in the donghua where NMJ just tries to behead Xue Yang on the spot and JGY hangs off his arm like a maiden trying to save her lover from the executioner lives in my head rent free.

#this is not much or coherent but... i tried lol #xueyao #replies #anonymous

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yuziyuanapologist · 3 years

Text

all my rage

the chengsu (jiang cheng/qin su) agenda - 1.7k - canon divergence from episode 40.

mild content warnings for canon typical discussion of qin su’s parentage + jin rusong’s death. (sometimes im a jgy apologist but not in this fic.)

[AO3 link!]

It’s late into the evening of the banquet when Qin Su appears at the door to Jiang Cheng's guest rooms, tears streaming down her face, her sobs interrupting the breaths she takes, and her hand half raised from when she had knocked.

"Jin-furen," he greets, brow furrowed with concern - her proper title not a common thing from his lips, and from the way she flinches at it, it's an address that he now regrets. "Qin Su, what's - what's wrong?"

She opens her mouth to reply, but it's drowned out by renewed tears, a hand to her chest as she gasps, other hand against the door frame to steady herself.

He falters for a second, unsure - but it's all he can do, to stand aside, and allow her entry into his rooms. He shuts the door behind her; it’s perhaps improper, but it's not something that he cares about at this moment.

“Qin Su -” he moves forward, a hand to her shoulder. “Would you - would you like to sit?” He gestures to the table, and tries to encourage her forward without pushing. He’s still - still - not good at comforting, but she needs it, so he grits his teeth and walks with her across the room.

She gives a shaky exhale as she sinks to a kneeling position. Her shoulders still tremble as she rests her forearms on the table, hands folded together, as if playing at composure. Jiang Cheng sits beside her, watching closely, carefully, desperate to give her anything that she needs, however ill-equipped he is for it.

"Jiang-Zongzhu," she whispers, her eyes shut tight, tears still escaping. "Jiang Cheng, I-" She shakes her head, once, again, again. "I can't - it's shameful, I -"

She sobs once more, and never has Jiang Cheng felt helplessness like this - or not - not now.

He puts a gentle (is it gentle? He hopes so. He lost that touch a while ago, if he ever had it) hand on her forearm, and his thumb soothes circles through her thin sleeves, a trick he learnt from - from - whatever.

"Qin Su, what can I do?"

"Nothing - oh, nothing! There is nothing that can be done, except to -" She lets out a frustrated sound akin to a growl, a scream, a cry. And, at the tail of the sound, as it quiets to a breath, she speaks.

"I received a letter," she says. Another quivering breath, and she continues. "A letter which revealed the truth of my parentage."

Jiang Cheng stops his words before they can escape; he does not need to interrupt. If left the space to continue, she will - he knows this. He knows her.

"He-" it's spat out, a strangled sound. Furious, and Jiang Cheng understands that feeling better than anyone. "I am a child of assault," she spits.

"I'm sor-" Isn't that what he's supposed to say? But she cuts him off.

"I am a child," she continues, teeth gritted. "Of Jin Guangshan."

Of - of - what?

"And he knew!" it's more of a wail, now. "A-Yao knew, since before the wedding. But he thought it better to keep quiet, because it was - after A-S-" She doesn’t seem able to say the name - understandable. Sometimes Jiang Cheng struggles with the same thing. With others, too.

He still has his hand in her arm, but now she takes it in one hand, then both, gripping it tight enough to hurt, tight enough for him to feel the ring of Zidian making imprints in her soft skin.

They had both loved A-Song. A friend for A-Ling, and a sweet boy, with his dimpled smile and eyes filled with wonder. He had been so joyful, listening intently to every word his mother cooed to him in the cradle, and he had laughed with delight when Jiang Cheng lifted him high into the air, something that A-Ling had been too big for by then.

It had always been strange how distant Jin Guangyao had seemed to keep himself from his own son. Jiang Cheng had written it off as the panic of fatherhood, and understood it, having felt almost the same way when - but - but this is -

"Jiang Cheng," Qin Su says, her words now deliberate and emotionless, as if it’s the only way she can force them out. "He killed my son." As soon as she has spoken, she gasps, and lets the despair take her again.

"He - how-" Words fail him. Anger is familiar, yes, but with his hands held so tightly in hers, his concentration is on Zidian, on not letting it spark out the rage it knows he feels.

"He set it up!" she cries. "He set it up so that - in case A-Song was -"

Her voice tails off, and her tears come silent now, mouth open in grief that she can't express - grief that she has never been able to express.

He's not very well going to be any help with that. Instead, he lifts his other hand, covering hers and his with it, and channels his anger to his voice.

"I'll kill him."

He's not saying it as he once did, half in jest, more frustration than rage - no, this is cold, hard, the steel edge of his lightning anger. He knows he can say nothing to ease her pain, and he knows that she doesn't want to hear anything else. This, though, this he can say.

"Or I will," she forces out, voice cracked and broken and yet fierce.

His right hand is numb from her grip, but in some soothing way it helps. The absence of feeling there is a distraction, a grounding force, because if he could stand and leave, he'd do it, he'd go straight to the Fragrance Hall and he'd -

There's a knock at the door. A familiar, soft, fucking patronising tap, and a horribly familiar voice calling through.

"Jiang-Zongzhu," It's oozing politeness, dripping saccharine syrup and burning into Jiang Cheng's ears. "Do you know where A-Su is?"

Qin Su's grip on his hands tightens yet more for a second, and then, with a sharp inhale - loosens. She extracts her hands from his grip, forcing herself into a cool and measured manner, and pushes herself to stand, wiping her sleeves beneath her eyes. All of this before Jiang Cheng has even been able to speak. Without Qin Su's hands on his own, they've curled into fists that he can barely relax.

"Why would I?" he calls in response to Jin Guangyao, attempting the offhand gruffness that he's perfected these years, but it falls short.

Qin Su shakes her head, and takes a step towards the door, wobbling only a little. Inside her sleeves, her hands, too, are curled into fists.

In this moment, he's somewhat afraid of her. And then - all at once - his mouth is curling into a prideful smirk at her power, anticipation for what will come, and he stands, following behind her to the door.

"Give me a minute," he calls roughly to Jin Guangyao. Make him wait.

Just before Qin Su can put a hand on the door to open it, he takes her arm with his left hand. "Trust me," he murmurs at her look of alarm, and lifts his right hand to hers, fingers curling round her wrist.

He's never done this before, but he shuts his eyes, and whispers to the lightning anger.

Slowly at first, then with a smooth speed, Zidian slithers across to her wrist, making itself at home against her delicate skin, the ring winding itself around her middle finger, and sealing itself. It looks as though it belongs there - Jiang Cheng almost can't bear to let go, not least for the strange calm he feels without the static flickering on the edges of his consciousness.

She gives him a sort of smile, a tear left unshed at the corner of her eye, marring the perfect picture of callous anger. He nods once, swallows, and lifts a thumb to brush away the tear.

She slides the door open, and Jin Guangyao is there, all smiles, all relief to see her. All that and sticky sweet falsehood, and at the edge of it, a calculating glint in his eye.

"A-Su," he says, "I've-"

Jiang Cheng hears the crackling before he does, sees the flash of purple before Jin Guangyao has a chance to react.

He's felt Zidian's sting himself only once before, and it was only the laughable mistake of letting a young Jin Ling play with the weapon, a mild hit compared to some.

This - this is full force and heavy, throwing Jin Guangyao back across the courtyard, into the decorative pond in front of the opposite building. This is what he deserves.

"A-Su-" he struggles to stand.

She whips him again, and this time he stays down, blood dribbling from his mouth as he looks at her with wide, frightened eyes.

She's beautiful like this. Fearsome, proud, her slight stature almost unnoticeable with the amount of rage that she holds inside. Jiang Cheng could watch for - forever.

Jin Guangyao croaks from the pond he’s slumped in. "Please, A-Su, let me -"

Once more, and he's unconscious.

The commotion is stirring people from the surrounding buildings now, running footsteps and voices audible, and though Qin Su’s face is etched with a cool, triumphant smile, Jiang Cheng knows to act.

"Qin Su," he urges. "Quick. Give me Zidian back, say it was me."

Her eyes flicker with defiance, but she climbs down from it, her breathing quickening. "I -"

He takes her hand in his before she can argue, and summons Zidian back.

"Jiang Cheng-" The beginnings of panic are showing in her eyes as she glances to where the sounds of crowds are coming from - but at least the satisfaction shows no signs of giving way to regret.

"We'll work it out," he says, and then swallows all his past down to continue. "Come back to Lotus Pier with me. You'll be safe there."

She meets his gaze, and he hopes it holds all the truth that's in his heart, all his intentions.

Letting go of her wrist, he lets Zidian crackle once, twice, between his fingers, and searches her eyes for the answer.

A moment later, she gives it, a gentling of her eyes, a sadness to her smile, and she nods. Whispers "thank you," and lifts her hand to press a brief touch of palm to cheek.

He nods, trying not to let his breathing stutter, and turns back towards Jin Guangyao’s unconscious form, moving to stand in front of her as the crowds rush into the courtyard.

Behind his back, he moves his left hand. A second later, she takes it.

#jiang cheng? falling in love with woman who can injure him? its more likely than you think #the untamed #the untamed fic #cql fic #mine #fic*

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captain-apostrophe · 3 years

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I saw that no one chose [2]Shakespeare for your prompt fics. I admit I have gone overboard (because I love Shakespeare), so you can do whatever you want. Choose one, pick whichever sparks joy or completely ignore this. Here goes

1. Richard ii - A III. 2 let us sit upon the ground (jgy having a breakdown before the Guanyin temple scene)

- A IV. 1 Alack, why am I sent for to a king, deposition scene (JC convinces WWX to surrender himself instead of WQ+WN and a trial at Jinlintai ensues)

- A V. 5 I have been studying how I may compare/This prison where I live unto the world (WWX in the burial mounds)

2. Jin Ling as Hamlet (because his uncle murdered his father, see)

-A III. 1 Good my lord,/How does your honor for this many a day? (...) Oh, woe is me,/T' have seen what I have seen, see what I see! (WWX as Yílíng Laozu tries to push LWJ away)

3. Much Ado About Nothing (JC/Beatrice + Huaisang/Benedick - A III. 2-3 either one of the trick scenes)

4. Romeo and Juliet A III. 2 Give me my Romeo; and, when he shall die,/Take him and cut him out in little stars,/And he will make the face of heaven so fine/That all the world will be in love with night/And pay no worship to the garish sun. (XY & XXC)

5. A Midsummer Night's Dream - based on this Sam Rockwell scene from the 1999 film https://youtu.be/1TiNAYpVVr4 (some kind of reincarnation au vibes, where XY and XXC are amateur actors, and playing the suicide scene knocks something loose in his head)

- A III. 2 “Puppet”? Why so?—Ay, that way goes the game. fight scene (the juniors idk who the smallest in height is, but Jin Ling does seem to have a similar fiery temper; a night-hunt gone wrong maybe because of some interfering spirits)

6. Titus Andronicus - A II. 4; A III. 1; A V. 3 An if your Highness knew my heart, you were.—/My lord the Emperor, resolve me this (XXC discovers SL's mutilated body before it's turned into a fierce corpse and he kinda snaps)

7. MacBeth - A III. 4 banquet scene (jgy sees the ghost of NMJ)

-A V. 1 away damned spot (LXC in seclusion)

8. The Taming of the Shrew (instead of throwing him in the Burial Mounds, WC takes WWX with him and psychologically torments him with the same tactics as Petruchio; plot-twist: instead of being tamed, WWX kills him, because I hate TTOTS)

9. Othello A III. 3 (Othello/NMJ; Desdemona/LXC ; Iago/JGY; Cassio/NZH)

- A V. 2 It is the cause, it is the cause, my soul. - Oh, the more angel she,/And you the blacker devil!(...) I have another weapon in this chamber, - Oh, Desdemona! Desdemona! dead! Oh! Oh! (...) Soft you, a word or two before you go.-I kissed thee ere I killed thee. No way but this,/Killing myself, to die upon a kiss. (to DESDEMONA) I kissed you before I killed you. Now, killing myself, I’m dying while I kiss you again. Kisses DESDEMONA, dies (established relationship; JC realizes what NHS did at Guanyin temple and all the scheming before and is driven to murder)

10. Tom Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead "Two ELIZABETHANS passing the time in a place without any visible character.bThey are well dressed—hats, cloaks, sticks and all. Each of them has a large leather money bag. GUILDENSTERN’s bag is nearly empty. ROSENCRANTZ’s bag is nearly full. The reason being: they are betting on the toss of a coin. (...) It would have been nice to have unicorns."+" Do you ever think of yourself as actually dead, lying in a box with a lid on it? (...) Eternity is a terrible thought. I mean, Where’s it going to end?" (JGY and XY in the afterlife, but they don't know it)

-"We could play at questions. (...) Yet he sent for us. And we did come." (JGY +NHS)

Now that's what I call a prompt! It was fun to have so many to choose from and to look at the different parallels you drew. I might be doing another, but this was the one that really caught my eye. Hope you like it!

(also on ao3 if you prefer to read there)

[gen; Lan Xichen; references to Macbeth; guilt and sleepwalking and blood]

- Spot -

In his sleep, Xichen walked.

There was nobody to see it, secluded as he was, and he himself was not aware. He only knew that he was tired every day, as tired as if he'd risen from his bed and paced back and forth for hours on end. The weariness felt fitting, though. He didn't deserve to sleep well.

He tried not to think about it. He spent a lot of his time now trying not to think about things; sometimes he succeeded.

Each night he went to bed at the prescribed time and lay staring into the darkness. Despite his weariness he always struggled to fall asleep - and the sleeplessness seemed to perpetuate itself. The longer he lay there, unsleeping, the less likely sleep became. Sometimes he didn't sleep until the room was turning grey with the approach of dawn, and sometimes he didn't sleep at all.

But when he did sleep there was no rest in it, and this was why: he would rise without waking and walk circles around the boundary of the home that had become a prison.

"Yet here," he mumbled, on one such night, words slurred and changing from dull to desperate and back again. "A spot!"

He wrung his hands together. He paced. If one were to look they might notice, as the months of his seclusion turned to years, the wearing of a path around the boundaries of the rooms: from door to bed, from bed to desk, from desk to door and around again. And again. And again.

"Hell is murky - out, damned spot! Who would have thought a man would have so much blood in him?"

He held up his hands as though to stare at them, though of course he saw nothing - or if he dreamed, perhaps in the dream he saw the stain of the guilt that lay upon them. Certainly the image of it haunted his waking hours. He was supposed to be spending this time in meditation, this seclusion, but each time he closed his eyes he saw his sworn-brother again and felt the hot spray of blood over his hands.

"No more of that," the sleepwalker told himself, soothing. "No more of - oh, but here's the smell of the blood, still! What perfume could sweeten this? Will these hands never be clean?"

His distressed cry rang out like a bird's call through the night. There was nobody to hear it. The elders of his sect slept easily with the weight of their decisions.

"Wash your hands," he said. His tone was gentle, as if he spoke to another, one he wished more kindness on than he would in waking choose to offer to himself. "Wash them and put on a clean robe. Look not so pale. He's buried! He cannot come out from his grave! Wash your hands."

There was no water in the wash-bowl but he knelt at it anyway and, as if enacting some elaborate mime, scrubbed at his hands. Come morning the skin would be red and raw - but there was nobody to notice how his hands troubled him now, and he did his best not to wonder why.

It didn't matter. What did he need his hands for? Let them ache. Let the skin crack and the joints swell. All his hands were good for any more were a weight when they sat folded in his lap, when he stared at nothing and feigned serenity.

"To bed now," he told himself then, rising with freshly-aching hands and eyes still unseeing. "Come, come, come - what's done cannot be undone. Dawn approaches. To bed."

And on the next night, and the one that followed, and on and on, he would rise to repeat the performance: pacing, scrubbing, muttering. Murmuring in distress but providing, too, the consolation that there was nobody else to offer.

Perhaps one day he would believe that he deserved forgiveness.

#prompt fill #fic-iversary prompts #the untamed #fanfic #lan xichen #as lady macbeth #cap' writes

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ibijau · 3 years

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you know what would be deliciously fucked up? sangxuan with past sangyao, where nhs is both rebounding and getting revenge after his relationship with jgy ended poorly and messily... by getting with jgy’s brother! and poor jzx has no idea!

fhkdsjhdjsjks

ok, I’m still touch and go about writing at the moment, but also this!!! thiiiiiiiis!!!

I’d say it’d have to be set in CQL?

nhs and MY have been fooling around, nothing serious, nothing official, because they’re both worried how nmj would react to this (MY doesn’t want to be accused of seducing the young master, nhs doesn’t want to be accused of corrupting the help). nhs is taking it a bit more seriously than MY, though he’d deny it if asked. MY knows full well that young lords can fool around and then abandon their lovers to public condemnation, so he always keeps a certain emotional distance.

Then they go to Gusu

Then MY meets lxc, and there’s a spark going off. MY didn’t believe in love at first glance, he barely believes in love at all, but lxc makes him rethink his whole worldview with just one brush of fingers. Suddenly everything has change and MY, practical and down to earth and hyper aware of his position, knows at once that he will never love anyone except lxc.

And nhs is right there when this happens. He knows lxc, he knows MY, he sees the way they look at each other and he absolutely hates it. Up until then, he’d entertained the notion that MY was just coy about his feelings, that they were just waiting for the right time to court each other. But it was never the case, and he can’t even be openly mad about it, because they did, in fact, discuss the fact that this thing between them isn’t serious, that there’s not to be any feelings involved and they’re both free to stop if they meet someone.

nhs can’t be mad, but he can be petty.

And even as a young, brainless little lord, he knows how to strike where it hurts.

He knows that the other Nie disciples are for sure going to report on his behaviour (they’ve done so the previous years), and that nmj will complain to his faithful second-in-command about his brother’s antics.

So nhs sets out to seduce jzx, because why would he cry over losing some unwanted copy when he can have the real deal?

Maybe MY doesn’t care, and is even glad that nhs found someone else to play with. Or perhaps he feels the insult as it is intended, and this flirtation seals jzx’s future fate, because MY doesn’t take insults well

#sangyao #sangxuan #mdzs #jau rants #Anonymous

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plan-d-to-i · 3 years

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ngl i hate xiancheng i hate xuexiao and i hate xiyao, if someone shipped JFM with YZY i'd hate it too. i just don't like ships where a person is abused and used by another what's wrong with that? denying it is like denying JC XY and JGY are horrible people who did so much damage and didn't even spare the people they supposedly "loved" (according to shippers) from their abuse, there's nothing wrong with pointing out what's literally there on the book and idk why it would be a controversial take

Very valid reasons. Ships are such a subjective, personal thing you don't really even need to give a reason to hate them. Personally there are a lot of criteria I use to rank how insufferable a ship in the mdzs fandom is to me. Like are they trying to shove their ship down fandom's throat as canon? Have they already made me hate their toxic bae w 9000 metas based on their hopes and dreams that have no connection to reality, or canon but that they argue is the one truth. What are the fics like- are they just taking this horrible character, not forcing any growth or change, and basically writing a fic where they're grossly abusive but the fic author repeatedly 'clarifies' how everyone around them actually loves it and approves 🤢? Is there anything in canon in terms of the characters themselves that supports this venture. And how annoying do I find the characters involved. At this point personally, I really can't read anything feat. jiang cheng without dry heaving.

But then again mdzs just didn't spark any strong ships for me. WangXian captured my full focus (& it's canon- at least in the novel *shade to cql onlies*). When people maintain their characterization at least Xue Yang & JGY are interesting from a psychological standpoint. They're outsiders in that society. nature vs nurture. For better or for worse they're actually intelligent. They also formed complicated bonds w other characters. jc is literally the embodiment of 'go king give us nothing'.

#I think I've also been v lucky to not come across that many JGY/XY hardcore stans so I don't have that many negative associations #whereas jc stans are a dime a dozen #I could see how that might differ for others #Xue Yang #mdzs #Jin Guangyao #jiang cheng

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mxdberries · 4 years

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I can't stop thinking of fem!LXC being a pretty tall lady, elegant and kind and with what LXC's himbo behavior, being too oblivious at how she drives her sworn brothers up a wall trying not to just fuck her when she teases them on accident. JGY is at perfect height to have a faceful of soft tiddies when she goes in for a hug. Mingjue's been holding back since they're fifteen and his resolve is hanging by a thread. Also imagine the two of them totally noticing the other's struggle and hating it.

O///O Xichen-jie I would describe her as very pretty, head empty, tiddy soft & warm, big heart.

Most men are actually intimidated by her, like not only is she well versed in the six arts, she's tall! Considering how most men are now with tall women, it might be the only hindrance in offers for her hand in ancient China. But not for her boys. She's got such a sweet smile, it makes her phoenix eyes look like crescent moons when she's really happy, she tilts her head when she smiles and her hair falls away from her long neck, drawing the eye. Her laughs are never hidden by her sleeves. Like all she needs to do is give you a look and you'll be tripping over yourself to help her even if she doesn't need it. She looks delicate & alluring as she plays her flute but could also probably bench press you. And that's hot.

Childhood friends to lovers is such a good trope; the sweet innocent loving gestures shifting to 'Oh no s/he's hot' & being awkward as they try to deal with the change, and then when they're together it's just so easy (except if they fight it's also too easy to hurt bc they know so much about you), so Nie Mingjue half in love fem!LXC since they were young is so good. When they're together at Cloud Recesses it's very formal, but in Qinghe, they're more casual. LXC even took off her boots once and laid her bare feet on NMJ's lap, who nearly combusted from seeing her pale pink toes, like little pearls. He used to give her a pass for being a pacifist since she's a woman 🙄 but she quickly changed that after trouncing him half a dozen times, NMJ drinks respect women juice. Their spars get intense, her robe damaged around the shoulders and he gets distracted by her arm muscles flex as LXC swings her blade cause she rarely takes off, and he loses even worse than usual. It's hard to be so restrained.

But being Jin Guangyao wouldn't be so bad either. Rescuing & hiding a vulnerable naive beauty. Claiming it's safer to sleep together in case someone tries to take her in the night, LXC cuddles so JGY wakes up to soft tiddies in his face and his lower half hard. Touching her face, dolling her up under the pretense of needing a disguise, almost kissing after putting on lip color LXC very trusting with her eyes closed.

Now when the boys finally meet, sparks fly, they know of each other through LXC and they know the other has pulled some moves. The only thing holding them back from beating the shit out of each other is LXC's bright smile as she says "I'm so happy we can all be here together. My dearest friends."

#reallygrossmdzsthoughts #mdzs #not gross #jin guangyao #lan xichen #nie mingjue #3zun #nielan #xiyao #cis swap #mo dao zu shi #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #anonymous #ask #mxdberrieswrites

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englishbunnyrocks · 3 years

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this starts feeling like you're the one sending asks instead of me :'D but hey, i don't complain! this has been super exciting so far ^^ oh i haven't really read that many mdzs fics bc i didn't want to let them affect my own writing! hopefully i finish my big project soon and then i can just dive right in. but i've read a few xicheng ones and then my friend writes these amazing fics which i'll recommend to you when this month is over and i can reveal myself ^^ (1/2)

(2/2) that song is my favorite out of the instrumentals on the ost too! it just makes me super emotional ;; from the others i love jc and lxc's songs and then jgy's song! it gives me energy tbh :'D and oh, hmm. i think i could see my sword having some nice feather or wing details (shuoyue has those on the hilt) and i really like the white as a color! the name... maybe something related to wings or flying too? how about you? and a question: your favorite outfit in the drama? ^^ - 🌙

Sorry, I didn’t mean to switch places, I just wanted to spark a conversation, haha. Oh, that sounds so interesting, you’re a writer!! Once we are out of December (and of course once the story’s done) I’d love to read it! 😊 I’ll be waiting for the recommendation! Oooh, those are nice choices too! And Parting at Qinghe, of course. But I always find myself crying at that one :’) White is powerful and pure, a nice choice! I’d like a sword with Moon detail, and maybe some rich dark blue or a light pearl pink. I really love pink! 😅 Gosh, my favourite? The Nie robe that Xichen is wearing. You know the one. The pattern looks amazing on him, the colours too. I call it “crocodile sweater” to my friends because it’s just so exotic?? Chef’s kiss, I love it. Which one is your favourite?

I hope you’re having a nice day! ❤️

#Anonymous #mdzsnetcc

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sleepymarmot · 4 years

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There were a couple of posts discussing how JGY could have genuinely thought killing NMJ would be only doing a favor for NHS -- but re-reading the flashback in the book, I find myself feeling the same way! Mental illness is no excuse for being abusive towards your family -- and NMJ is, both in words and in action! Let me quote at length:

One day, the moment he returned to the main hall of the Unclean Realm, he saw about a dozen folding fans, all lined in gold, flattened out one next to the other in front of Nie HuaiSang, who was touching them tenderly, mumbling as he compared the inscriptions written on each one. Immediately, veins protruded from Nie MingJue’s forehead, “Nie HuaiSang!”

Nie HuaiSang fell at once.

He really did fall to his knees from the terror. He only staggered up after he finished kneeling, “B-b-b-brother.”

Nie MingJue, “Where is your saber?”

Nie HuaiSang cowered, “In… in my room. No, in the school grounds. No, let me… think…”

Wei WuXian could feel that Nie MingJue almost wanted to hack him dead right there, “You bring a dozen fans with you wherever you go, yet you don’t even know where your own saber is?!”

Nie HuaiSang hurried, “I’ll go find it right now!”

Nie MingJue, “There’s no need! Even if you find it you won’t get anything out of it. Go burn all of these!”

All of the color drained out of Nie HuaiSang’s face. He rushed to pull all of the fans into his arms, pleading, “No, Brother! All of these were given to me!”

Nie MingJue slammed his palm onto a table, causing it to crack, “Who did? Tell them to scurry out here right now!”

Someone spoke, “I did.”

Jin GuangYao walked in from outside the hall. Nie HuaiSang looked as though he saw a knight in shining armor, beaming, “Brother, you’re here!”

In reality, it wasn’t that Jin GuangYao could calm Nie MingJue’s anger, but that since Jin GuangYao came, all of Nie MingJue’s anger would be directed at him alone, having no time to scold others. Thus, there was nothing wrong with saying that he was Nie HuaiSang’s knight in shining armor. Nie HuaiSang was absolutely delighted. He greeted Jin GuangYao again and again as he grabbed the fans in haste. Seeing how his younger brother reacted, Nie MingJue was so outraged that he almost found it amusing. He turned to Jin GuangYao, “Don’t send him those useless things!”

In a hurry, Nie HuaiSang dropped a few fans on the ground. Jin GuangYao picked them up for him and put them into his arms, “HuaiSang’s hobbies are quite elegant. He’s dedicated to art and calligraphy, and has no propensity for mischief. How can you say that they’re useless?”

Nie HuaiSang nodded as fast as he could, “Yes, Brother is right!”

Nie MingJue, “But sect leaders have no need for such things.”

Nie HuaiSang, “I’m not going to be a sect leader, though. You can be it, Brother. I’m not doing it!”

As his brother’s glance swept over, he shut his mouth at once. Nie MingJue turned to Jin GuangYao, “What did you come here for?”

Jin GuangYao, “Our second brother said that he gave you a guqin.”

The guqin was given when Lan XiChen was here to play Sound of Lucidity for Nie MingJue, in order to help him calm his temper. Jin GuangYao continued, “Brother, in the past few days, the GusuLan Sect is at a critical point in its reestablishment of the Cloud Recesses and you refuse to let him come, which was why he taught me Sound of Lucidity. I assume that even though I’m not as skilled as our second brother, I’d still be able to help calm you to a certain extent, Brother.”

Nie MingJue, “Just take care your own things.”

Nie HuaiSang, however, was rather interested, “Brother, what song? Can I listen? Let me tell you, the limited edition that you gave me last time…”

Nie MingJue shouted, “Go back to your room!”

Nie HuaiSang fled at once, not to his room, however, but to the living room for the presents that Jin GuangYao had brought him. With a few interruptions, Nie MingJue’s fury had mostly died. He turned around to look at Jin GuangYao, whose face seemed quite tired, robes of Sparks Amidst Snow covered in dust. He probably came here directly from Carp Tower. After a pause, Nie MingJue spoke, “Sit.”

Jin GuangYao nodded lightly and sat as he had been told, “Brother, if you’re concerned for HuaiSang, softer words would do no harm. Why this?”

Nie MingJue, “Even when a blade’s at his neck he’s still like this. Looks like he’ll always be a good-for-nothing.”

Jin GuangYao, “It isn’t that HuaiSang is a good-for-nothing, but that his heart lies somewhere else.”

Nie MingJue, “Well you’ve really discerned where his heart lies, haven’t you?”

Jin GuangYao smiled, “Of course. Isn’t that what I’m the best at? The only person whom I can’t discern is you, Brother.”

He knew of people’s likes and dislikes so that he could find suitable solutions; he loved running errands and could do twice the work with half the effort. Thus, Jin GuangYao could be said to be quite a talent at analyzing others’ interests. Nie MingJue was the only person whom Jin GuangYao couldn’t probe out any useful information about. Wei WuXian saw this already, back then when Meng Yao was working under Nie MingJue. Women, liquor, riches—he touched none; art, calligraphy, antiques—a pile of ink and mud; the finest green tea leaves and dregs from a roadside booth—there was no difference. Meng Yao tried everything he could think of yet still couldn’t find if he was interested in anything beside training his saberwork and killing Wen-dogs. He really was a wall made of iron, impenetrable by even the sharpest blades. Hearing that his tone was one of self-mock, Nie MingJue wasn’t as disgusted as he would’ve been, “Don’t help him build such a conduct.”

(Chapter 49)

To sum up: NHS, an adult man by then, is absolutely terrified of NMJ. NMJ yells at him, frightens him by hitting furniture, threatens to destroy his belongings, disparages him both to his face and behind his back, and is tempted to use physical violence against him. NMJ’s personal interests align with his duties, and so he pushes them on NHS, while hypocritically refusing to respect NHS’s own interests.

Next scene. Note that by this time, JGY has started to play Clarity for NMJ, and according to WWX, it was working as intended, calming him. This scene follows the confrontation where NMJ kicks JGY down the stairs and insults him, sealing his fate.

Remember the scene in Fatal Journey where NMJ breaks NHS’s brush? Well, they toned it down in adaptation. A lot.

Nie MingJue was on the school ground, teaching and supervising Nie HuaiSang’s saberwork in person. He didn’t acknowledge Jin GuangYao, so he stood at the edge of the field, waiting with respect. Since Nie HuaiSang was quite uninterested and the sun was bright, he was rather half-hearted, complaining that he was tired after just a few moves. He beamed as he got ready to go to Jin GuangYao and see what presents he brought this time. In the past, Nie MingJue would only frown at such things, but today he was angered, “Nie HuaiSang, do you want this strike to land on your head?! Get back here!”

If only Nie HuaiSang were like Wei WuXian and could feel how great Nie MingJue’s rage was, he wouldn’t grin in such a bold way. He protested, “Brother, the time is up. It’s time to rest!”

Nie MingJue, “You rested just thirty minutes ago. Keep on going, until you learn it.”

Nie HuaiSang was still giddy, “I won’t be able to learn it anyways. I’m done for the day!”

He often said this, but today Nie MingJue’s reaction was entirely different from his past reaction. He shouted, “A pig would’ve learnt this by now, so why haven’t you?!”

Never expecting Nie MingJue to burst out so suddenly, Nie HuaiSang’s face was blank with shock as he shrunk toward Jin GuangYao. Seeing the two together, Nie MingJue was even more provoked, “It’s been one year already and you still haven’t learnt this one set of saber techniques. You stand on the field for just thirty minutes and you’re complaining that you’re tired. You don’t have to excel, but you can’t even protect yourself! How did the QingheNie Sect produce such a good-for-nothing! The both of you should be tied up and beaten once every day. Carry out all those things in his room!”

The last sentence was spoken to the disciples standing by the side of the field. Seeing that they had gone, Nie HuaiSang felt as though he was on pins and needles. A moment later, the row of disciples really did bring out all the fans, paintings, porcelain from his room. Nie MingJue had always threatened to burn his room, but he had never actually burned them. This time, though, he was serious. Nie HuaiSang panicked. He threw himself over, “Brother! You can’t burn them!”

Noticing that the situation wasn’t good, Jin GuangYao also spoke, “Brother, don’t act on impulse.”

Yet, Nie MingJue’s saber had already striked. All of the delicate objects piled at the center of the field erupted in roaring flames. Nie HuaiSang wailed and plunged into the fire to save them. Jin GuangYao hurried to pull him back, “HuaiSang, be careful!”

With a sweep of Nie MingJue’s hand, the two blanc de chine antiques shattered into pieces in his palms. The scrolls and paintings had already turned into dust in a split second. Nie HuaiSang could only watch blankly as the much loved items that he had gathered throughout the years vanish into ashes. Jin GuangYao grabbed his hands to examine them, “Are they burnt?”

He turned to a few disciples, “Please prepare some medicine first.”

The disciples answered and left. Nie HuaiSang stood at the same place, his entire body trembling as he looked over at Nie MingJue, pupil encircled by veins. Seeing that his expression wasn’t right, Jin GuangYao put his arm around his shoulders and whispered, “HuaiSang, how are you feeling? Stop watching. Go back to your room and have some rest.”

Nie HuaiSang’s eyes brimmed red. He didn’t even make a sound. Jin GuangYao added, “It’s alright even if the things are gone. Next time I can find you more…”

Nie MingJue interrupted, his words like ice, “I’ll burn them each time he brings them back into this sect.”

Anger and hatred suddenly flashed across Nie HuaiSang’s face. He threw his saber onto the ground and yelled, “Then burn them!!!”

Jin GuangYao quickly stopped him, “HuaiSang! Your brother is still angry. Don’t…”

Nie HuaiSang roared at Nie MingJue, “Saber, saber, saber! Who the fuck wants to practice the damn thing?! So what if I want to be a good-for-nothing?! Whoever that wants to can be the sect leader! I can’t learn it means I can’t learn it and I don’t like it means I don’t like it! What’s the use of forcing me?!”

(Chapter 49)

He kicked his saber off to the side and ran out of the field. Jin GuangYao shouted from behind him, “HuaiSang! HuaiSang!”

Just as he was about to chase over, Nie MingJue ordered in a cold voice, “Stop!”

Jin GuangYao stopped in his tracks and turned around. Holding in his anger, Nie MingJue glared at him, “You still dare come?”

Jin GuangYao answered in a low voice, “I came to acknowledge my mistake.”

Wei WuXian, What a face—it’s even thicker than mine.

Nie MingJue, “Have you ever acknowledged your mistakes?”

Just as Jin GuangYao was about to speak, the disciples who had gone to bring medicine came back, “Sect Leader, LianFang-Zun, Young Master has locked the door and won’t let anyone inside.”

Nie MingJue, “Let me see how long he can lock himself up for. How dare he defy me?!”

Jin GuangYao spoke to the disciple with a kind countenance, “Thank you. Give me the medicine. I’ll take it to him afterwards.”

He took the bottle of medicine. After everyone had left, Nie MingJue turned to him, “Just what are you here for?”

Jin GuangYao, “Brother, have you forgotten? Today is when I play the guqin for you.”

Nie MingJue gave him a straightforward answer, “There’s no room for discussion as to Xue Yang’s matter. You don’t need to flatter me. It’s not working at all.”

Jin GuangYao, “First, I’m not flattering you. Second, if it’s not working, Brother, then why would you care if I’m flattering you or not?”

Nie MingJue was silent.

Jin GuangYao, “Brother, these days you’ve been stricter and stricter towards HuaiSang. Is it the saber spirit…?”

After a pause, he continued, “Does HuaiSang still not know about the saber spirit?”

Nie MingJue, “Why would I tell him so soon?”

Jin GuangYao sighed, “HuaiSang is used to being spoiled, but he can’t be Qinghe’s idle Second Young Master for his whole life. One day he’ll realize that you’re doing this for him, Brother, just like how I realized that you’re doing this for me.”

(Chapter 50)

You know what? After seeing this scene, I’d be inclined to do something drastic to NMJ, even without extenuating circumstances such as “he threatens my life and political standing”, “he kicked me down the stairs”, or “he called me a slur”. If NMJ couldn’t control himself even under the effects of the real Song of Clarity, maybe it’s a good thing JGY killed him before he could completely black out and raise his saber against NHS himself instead of his treasured personal belongings.

(Edit: Upon rereading this post I feel the need to clarify that I don't condone violence against mentally ill people, or think this justifies JGY's actions. But from a consequentialist point of view, maybe the canon version of events where NMJ is murdered by the man he already mistrusts and hates is less painful than the hypothetical timeline where he strikes down his beloved brother in anger and has to live the rest of his (short -- regardless of JGY's involvement) life with it.)

#the untamed #blah blah blah

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spearpointtranslations · 4 years

Link

Hello, I have not posted anything in ages but here is a thing I made in February 2019 and am now sharing in February 2020 (Lmao).

Good thing I made this on youtube because I lost my 8tracks password and also 8tracks is dead.

There’s forty songs so I am too lazy to pull out some lyrics from each one, but just read the titles, recognize some songs...

A good chunk of them are memes and also my music taste is stuck in 2013.

Numb - Linkin Park

Losing My Religion - R.E.M.

Honest - The Neighbourhood

Exit Wounds - The Script

Tainted Love - Soft Cell

For a Pessimist, I'm Pretty Optimistic - Paramore

The Enemy - Andrew Belle

By the Throat - CHVRCHES

To Love and Loathe - Yellow Red Sparks

Battlefield - Jordan Sparks

On/Off - Snow Patrol

Wrecking Ball - Miley Cyrus

Hurricane - 30 Seconds to Mars

I Gave You All - Mumford & Sons

Rolling in the Deep - Adele

Missile - IMAX

Miss Missing You - Fall Out Boy

Missing Persons 1 & 2 - OneRepublic

How to Save a Life - The Fray

Total Eclipse of the Heart - Bonnie Tyler

Best Laid Plans - James Blunt

Battle for the Sun - Placebo

Antebellum - Vienna Teng

Selfish Son - Bloc Party

Poison & Wine - The Civil Wars

Day Old Hate - City & Colour

Bad Blood - Bastille

Thread - Now, Now

Don’t Lie - Vampire Weekend

Reflections - MisterWives

Brothers on a Hotel Bed - Death Cab For Cutie

Fourth of July - Fall Out Boy

Lungs - CHVRCHES

Hallelujah - Rufus Wainwright

Broken Strings - James Morrison & Nelly Furtado

Kill - Sufjan Stevens

Roman Candle - Elliot Smith

Pieces - Andrew Belle

No One's Here To Sleep - Naughty Boy ft. Bastille

Smile - Mikky Ekko

#nieyao #mdzs #nie mingjue #jin guangyao #mdzs fanmix

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omgkatsudonplease · 5 years

Note

I love your YP LWJ ficlets, and I’m stunned that JYL is the one who gave MXY the ritual. Now the question is if JGY is still the villain in this or is it someone we don’t expect. I would love to see the meeting in Yunmeng post YP conversion if it’s changed. Thank you.

Apologies, I forgot to add this to my previous ask. 恭喜发财!

thank you!! as for jgy ;3c it’s mostly a canon divergence; all of these characters have the same base personalities as before, but some of them have shifted and changed because circumstances around them have changed… probably the most noticeable is lan xichen and nie mingjue (and lan xichen and jiang cheng) suddenly switching roles ahaha

but ofc not everyone changes, so,,,

Wei Wuxian looks up at the magnificent tea-house in Caiyi Town, apprehension curling in his gut as he looks back down on the scrap of paper that had been delivered to him by a raven this morning. Meet me, Lan Wangji had written in his careful script, followed by the location where he stands now.

Strange of Lan Wangji to pick a tea-house in Caiyi, but Wei Wuxian isn’t going to turn down the opportunity for a meal and the chance to see Lan Wangji again. Throughout the years it’d been him visiting Lan Wangji at the Cloud Recesses, where he’d been tucked into his rooms with no other visitors or anyone else wanting to check on him, but even the most homebody of cultivators might still go stir-crazy sometimes.

Lan Wangji never spoke much during those meetings. Wei Wuxian would usually do the talking for both of them, over tea and small games of weiqi. Lan Wangji would always soundly beat him for the first couple rounds, only to be defeated by Wei Wuxian in the last game. Wei Wuxian suspects those victories are usually Lan Wangji letting him win, but he says nothing about it.

He’s gotten a lot calmer in the years since he recovered his core. He’s not quite sure why.

He enters the tea-house, and is escorted upstairs to a private room. Lan Wangji is already waiting for him, tea set and weiqi laid out ready to go. Wei Wuxian smiles brightly, taking a seat across from him.

“So, Lan Zhan, maybe this time I’ll finally beat you.”

“Unlikely,” replies Lan Wangji, already pouring them both cups of tea. Wei Wuxian laughs at that, tapping the table in thanks as he receives his cup.

“No need to crush my hopes and dreams out the gate like this, Lan Zhan,” he teases, placing the first black piece onto the board. One corner of Lan Wangji’s lips twitch slightly upwards, before he places down a white one on his side.

The game is relatively quiet, companionable. Lan Wangji’s gaze is brooding, contemplative; Wei Wuxian could almost pretend that they were teenagers again, spending an afternoon in Caiyi playing weiqi together. Of course, when he was younger he would never have had any patience for the game, preferring instead to load his arms with sweets and Emperor’s Smile and drift his afternoon away in a boat down the town’s many canals. But the thought still persists.

(Maybe if he pretends hard enough, Lan Wangji would still be clad in white. Still a jade of the Gusu Lan sect, revered and respected by all. But pretenses have to drop at some point.)

“How have you been?” he asks. “It’s been a while since I last visited you. You never come to Yunmeng. I’d almost have thought you didn’t care about me.”

Lan Wangji’s fingers tremble slightly, but he says nothing, only places down another piece.

“How’s your… path been going for you? I’m worried about you, you know. Walking the one-plank bridge like this, without the support you’ve been used to all your life – it must be lonely.”

Even when he was considered unapproachable and pure, Hanguang-jun had never been truly lonely. He had his brother, his uncle, the entire sect holding him on a pedestal of lofty expectations. But now? Wei Wuxian surveys Lan Wangji as he places his piece, trying to capture a small cadre of white ones.

Lan Wangji in turn captures him quite quickly.

“Come to Yunmeng with me,” suggests Wei Wuxian, though he has some idea what the answer will be.

And sure enough: “No,” replies Lan Wangji, though his hands are still shaking with something barely suppressed.

“Why not? We can hunt pheasants, chase after pretty girls, drink wine – surely now that you’re the black sheep of your clan you won’t mind breaking some more rules?”

“Liquor is prohibited,” mumbles Lan Wangji, though Wei Wuxian suspects he’s still reciting Lan sect rules for the old familiarity of them. He’s already broken so many other ones.

“We don’t have to,” he says. “We could do the other things without the wine. Please, Lan Zhan? You look like you could use a break.”

“I am on break,” says Lan Wangji, capturing even more of his pieces.

“What are you like when you’re not on break? What do you even study now, now that you’re walking the demonic path?” Wei Wuxian examines his face closely, as if hoping he’d be able to detect any signs of what Lan Wangji might be up to in the flicker of his topaz eyes. “Do you look for new and exciting ways to raise the dead? I mean, it’s all the same in the end, right? A dead person comes back to life. Big whoop.”

Lan Wangji’s eyes flash ruby. His knuckles turn white against his teacup.

Wei Wuxian grins. “Come on, Lan Zhan. What have you been up to? You can tell me.”

Lan Wangji remains silent, though his fingers tremble as they place another piece. Wei Wuxian sighs, and captures some of his pieces.

“You know, I never thought it could be possible, given how it’s so forbidden to the rest of us, but I can’t believe you managed to make demonic cultivation boring. That’s got to be a new feat.”

At that, the weiqi board goes flying, along with the pieces themselves. They rain across the floor, scattering everywhere in all directions. Wei Wuxian barely has time to look up before Lan Wangji is upon him, his lips pressed tight against Wei Wuxian’s.

Now this is something Wei Wuxian understands a little better.

Lan Wangji had not kissed him again since the hunt at Baifeng Mountain, but since then Wei Wuxian had not thought of kissing anyone else but him. Desire clouds his mind, makes him throw the last vestiges of restraint out the window as he wraps his arms around Lan Wangji’s shoulders. In turn, Lan Wangji pins him hard against the ground, opening his mouth almost like a demand.

“Lan Zhan, when did you learn how to kiss like this?” Wei Wuxian wonders, when they break apart. “And at Baifeng Mountain, too – did you practice with someone?”

“No,” says Lan Wangji, chasing Wei Wuxian’s lips with soft, chaste pecks. “Only you.”

“I’ll let you in on a little secret,” says Wei Wuxian, pressing their foreheads together. “Same here. You stole my first kiss, Lan Zhan. Please return it.”

Lan Wangji exhales, his mouth twitching into a half-smile before he leans in and does just that. Wei Wuxian’s hands move through the folds of Lan Wangji’s black robes, tugging insistently at his belt. In turn, Lan Wangji makes short work of Wei Wuxian’s Yunmeng robes as well, fingers deftly undoing laces and ties until Wei Wuxian can shrug out of his clothes and place Lan Wangji’s hands on his already heated skin.

“Wei Ying,” chokes out Lan Wangji, his eyes unexpectedly shining with tears. Wei Wuxian raises an eyebrow at him.

“What’s wrong, Lan Zhan?” he asks. “Don’t you want this?”

Lan Wangji swallows, nods. He wipes his eyes briefly with his sleeve, before shrugging out of his robes as well and bringing Wei Wuxian’s body close to his. Wei Wuxian gasps at the first spark of skin on skin, arching into Lan Wangji’s touch with a soft moan.

Wei Wuxian had grown up with many different ideas of how his first time would’ve been like. When he was younger, of course, it had always been with some beautiful girl whose name he’d never know, whose face keeps changing depending on the season. After Baifeng Mountain, though, it had invariably been Lan Wangji, but even then he’d have expected a bed at the very least. Not like this: amidst a sea of black-and-white weiqi tiles, and Lan Wangji’s guqin-calloused fingers working him open until he’s certain he could not go any further.

“Lan Zhan, please,” he begs. “Stop teasing me and just get to it already.”

Lan Wangji freezes, a shadow briefly flickering over his face. His eyes flash red – Wei Wuxian shivers – and then he’s thrusting forward, breaching Wei Wuxian in a dizzying mix of pleasure and pain.

He had always expected Lan Wangji to be gentle, too. Perhaps it came from the regal grace he exhibited even as Hanguang-jun, or maybe his alleged prudishness. But this is so much better than he could have ever imagined. Lan Wangji fucks him with a desperation Wei Wuxian can feel in every thrust, as if the world will end if he stops – and Wei Wuxian is certain, when Lan Wangji’s cock brushes against that spot his fingers kept teasing earlier, that it might if he does.

Soon, his remaining cogent thoughts fall by the wayside. The room fills with nothing more than the sound of skin against skin and Wei Wuxian’s breathless moans.

He’s not sure how long he lasts, or how long Lan Wangji lasts. It could have been minutes, or hours for all he knows. But when Lan Wangji does come, it is with a soft gasp of Wei Wuxian’s name, followed by a half-choked sob. Wei Wuxian, in turn, comes with his fingers fisted in Lan Wangji’s hair, fingers tangling in the faded Gusu Lan ribbon still tying his hair back.

Lan Wangji kisses his forehead before he goes to find a cloth to clean them both. Wei Wuxian lies for a moment longer on the makeshift bed of his own clothes, his heart still rabbiting furiously in his chest.

“Is this why you brought me here?” he teases, as Lan Wangji cleans his abdomen and thighs with remarkable gentleness. The other cultivator’s eyes narrow, but he says nothing more, only pops a soft peck onto Wei Wuxian’s shoulder before placing the first of his undergarments over it.

When they are both decently clothed again, Wei Wuxian laughs as he examines the mess the rest of the room has suffered. “We should probably pick up the tiles,” he laments. Lan Wangji hums, kneeling down to do just that.

The tea has long since gone cold, but Wei Wuxian’s heart is the warmest it’s felt in ages.

#yiling patriarch lwj au #魔道祖师 #mo dao zu shi #mdzs #lily's dabbles #red envelope ficlets #ask #ladylilyanne #naughty #this is like at least 30% influenced by suspiciouspopsicle's a day in series #i just love that entire series ok

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grandmasterofwangxiancultivation · 5 years

Text

MDZS ch.98

NEW CHAPTER PRESENTING US ALL WITH A SPECIMEN OF WWX CAUSING TROUBLE BECAUSE HIS HEART IS IN TURMOIL.

Babe I love you, but you're too reckless, and what if something bad happens?!?! Scratch that, something bad is gonna happen, he is going to the temple alone, SOMEONE CALL LWJ NOW

EDIT:

Inside the Guanyin Temple was full of both people and candlelight. Half were monks, and the other half were cultivators wearing robes of Sparks Amidst Snow.

(is this the description of trouble-)

[...] But what gave Wei WuXian the shock wasn’t the barrier. It wasn’t the cultivators and fake monks either. Instead, it was the white-robed person standing in the center of the courtyard.

Lan XiChen.

Somewhere along the line I started to forget that this novel has a real, catching plot buried under all those wangxian's chapters. Like, right. There is a bad guy, jgy, who'll hopefully get his ass kicked straight to hell, and there is an even worse character, xue yang, whom I hope will die in the worst way known to a writer.

now

WHY IS LXC STANDING AMIDST THOSE PPL AS IF HE WAS PART OF THEM? THAT'S NOT IT, RIGHT? IT'S BECAUSE HE'S STILL TRYING TO UNDERSTAND BY HIMSELF WHETHER HE CAN TRUST THAT HUMAN TRASH JGY, RIGHT? R I G H T?

EDIT 2:

Wei WuXian observed for a while before turning to Wen Ning, his voice low, “Go back to the inn immediately. Bring HanGuang-Jun here as fast as possible!”

i’m crossed. do i praise wwx for cleverly sending wn to call lwj or do i-

that was fun. ahahah no, because, great, GREAT. NO, REALLY, THAT'S GREAT WWX, NOW YOU ARE ALONE IN THE ENEMY'S TERRITORY. Countdown to lwj's arrival starts now, with my increasing anxiety.

EDIT 3: a do- no. oh god no pls.

Almost petrified, he held back the urge to get the hell out of there, trembling as he hugged the sculpture on the roof tightly. Listening as the barks moved closer and closer, his chest was filled with fear, involuntarily chanting is his heart, Help me, Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, help me!

(NOT A DOG, NOT RN, WWX BABE RESIST, OKAY?

Ajdhskxud he is CALLING FOR LWJ in his heart, I can't, i can't jzyskshxmshskzsjhs

also, bet that’s not just a dog, LET’S BET-)

Amid the barks sounded the clear voice of a young man, who scolded, “Fairy, shut up! Do you want to wake up everyone living on this street in the middle of the night?!”

Jin Ling!

Lan XiChen’s expression changed. Most of the LanlingJin Sect’s cultivators knew their young master’s voice.

(Shit.

SHIT JIN LING. I'm battling between being extremely happy to being right and seeing jl and terrified that something may happen to him, if jgy's men just look at him wrong I'LL THROW MY PHONE AT THEM SO THAT I WON'T HAVE TO READ WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.

Wwx surely will protect him, or do anything in his power to achieve that if the time comes, but at what cost djxhsjyzis HELP)

They exchanged a look with one another and nocked arrows on their bows.

(E X C U S E M E !!!!!!!!!! WHAT THE FREAKING FUCKING HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE EVEN DOING)

EDIT 4: OMG TENSION IS KILLING ME

EDIT 5: OKAY, maybe jl is going away. Good job, Fairy!

EDIT 6: SHIT HE IS CLIMBING THE WALL NOW? GET THOSE ARROWS THE HELL AWAY FROM MY BABY OMG OMG THIS IS NOT HAPPENING

EDIT 7:

Under the emergency, Wei WuXian leaped up the wall and casted something out, at the same time shouting, “Run, Jin Ling!”

What he flung out was the bamboo flute he’d been carrying with him ever since he was reborn. It blocked the brutal attack, and the arrow’s aim was off. The flute burst into pieces as well. Jin Ling’s figure disappeared at the end of the wall. He should’ve run away already. But because of this, Wei WuXian’s hiding spot was revealed. Hundreds of arrows flew at the speed of a rainstorm, shooting the sculpture Wei WuXian hid himself behind into a porcupine.

IN THE SPAN OF A FEW SENTENCES ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE AND MY HEART STARTED SPRINTING FORWARD like,

I live for wwx shielding jl from everything and everyone, but now HE IS IN DANGER TOO.

AND I'M CRYING FOR HIS FLUTE

AND THOSE ARROWS BETTER NOT REACH HIM OMG I'M DYING, THIS IS IT-

EDIT 8: JGY APPEARED AND THE FIRST THING HE DOES IS THREATENING WWX? HE IS DONE FOR. I'M KILLING HIM.

EDIT 9:

Wei WuXian nodded, “You’re too polite, Sect Leader Jin.”

Jin GuangYao smiled, “It’s my pleasure.”

Are they going out for tea? What the hell. This is chilling me to the bones.

EDIT 10: SHIT

The doors of the Guanyin Temple were wide open already. As expected, Jin Ling wasn’t able to run away. With a few monks pointing their swords at him, Jin Ling looked at them, and was still the first to say something, although after some hesitation, “Uncle.”

Jin GuangYao, “Hello, A-Ling.”

HE HAS TO TOUCH JL. JUST TOUCH HIM, HE JUST HAS TO TRY IT IN FRONT OF MY EYES.

I'll end him. I sWeAr To GoD-

#grandmaster of demonic cultivation #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #the grandmaster of demonic cultivation #the founder of evil magic #the founder of diabolism #mdzs novel #mdzs fangirling mode #mdzs ch.98 #mdzs translation spoilers

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tanoraqui · 4 years

Text

[Part 1] [Part 2]

[now all on AO3!]

As Nie Huaisang pulls his horse to a halt, as he clumsily dismounts and begs his san-ge to speak with him in private and they walk off to the side of the road together, Nie Huaisang’s eyes down and his fan covering most his face in embarrassment, he thinks very quickly, and decides faster. He’d promised himself he would do that, next time something like this happened

Here is some of what he thinks:

if the lifeblood of Qishan was power and the heart of Qinghe is strength, then the vital spark of Lanling is appearance. Nie Huaisang has always admired this, even yearned for it - imagine being born to a sect in which it was okay to just sit around and look pretty! Sure, they go a bit overboard with gilt, but who wouldn’t, if they had the money? QingheNie has a fortress in the mountains; LanlingJin has a golden tower overlooking one of the biggest ports in the empire, trade and art and culture all within reach

Conversely, they also thrive on secrets - the dark side of golden, glittering appearance. They’re not so different from QishanWen like that, because information is power. That’s why gossip is a thing

Nie Huaisang has no particular reason to distrust Jin Guangyao, personally. He’s always been very kind to Nie Huaisang, bringing him lovely new fans and paints and a beautiful finch one time. Da-ge doesn’t trust him, for reason of some things JGY did in the war, but da-ge has such high standards for conduct that it’s a miracle he trusts anyone after the Sunshot Campaign. (And it’d help if he told NHS anything about those alleged untrustworthy “things”...) Wen Qing doesn’t trust him, but in fairness, it was her side that he betrayed. That could sour anyone. Even putting aside the possibility that she’s deliberately sowing discord for some devilish Wen reason.

Admittedly, anything that Nie Huaisang says to him will almost certainly get back to Jin Guangshan, unless it’s of a truly personal nature - and perhaps even then. Secrets and gossip and power, after all, and it doesn’t take a genius to see that Jin Guangyao is desperate to please his father

even if the old bastard doesn’t deserve it an inch

So the question is, what is Nie Huaisang comfortable having known, and to whom? What does he want to appear as, to whom? And what is he willing to risk coming to light?

He thinks very fast, and soon as they’re well-out of earshot of his disciple-assistants and newly acquired Wen grandmother, he flings himself into Jin Guangyao’s arms, wailing.

(it’s a little difficult, because Jin Guangyao is one of the few men Nie Huaisang knows who’s shorter than he is.)

“San-ge, it’s not my fault! It’s all gone wrong! I just wanted to get out of saber practice, but then Wen Qing told da-ge something completely different, and then she made be get a baby, and - ”

The whole story comes out, in stops and starts mixed with helpless, hapless sobs. Nie Huaisang downplays Wen Qing’s successes with his brother, or at least mostly ignores them. He mentions A-Yuan’s nightmares only so far as they inconvenience himself, doesn’t comment on the Wens’ state of life at all, and generally exaggerates every terrible and bewildering situation he’s found himself in since he first happened to glance at Jiang Yanli at Phoenix Mountain

He figures Jin Guangyao probably sees through at least 20% of it, but that’s okay - that’s only deep enough to pierce the outer layer of overdramatics, which are mostly embellishments of the truth anyway, and maybe judge that Nie Huaisang has a soft heart for a cute kid

it’s a very cute kid, okay. NHS saw Nie Mingjue sneaking A-Yuan a piece of candy once. No one is safe

he doesn’t tell Jin Guangyao that

Nearly an hour later, Jin Guangyao peels Nie Huaisang gently off of his (now quite tear-damp) shoulder and smiles at him. It’s gentle, sympathetic, and the only thing it seems to be hiding is a laugh

Nie Huaisang is 99% sure of this assessment. Fortunately, he’s free to let his relief show, along with some healthy trepidation

“I won’t tell da-ge,” Jin Guangyao says, and there’s barely any humor to be seen dancing in his eyes. It’s really impressive, now that Nie Huaisang is learning what to look for.

“Really?” Nie Huaisang sniffles. “I just- He tries so hard, you know. I don’t want to disappoint him, not really.”

it really is all about using the truth. if it wasn’t so stressful, it’d be an incredible high

“Of course not.” Jin Guangyao squeezes him gently by the shoulders. “What is a san-ge for, if not to look out for his littlest brother?”

Nie Huaisang could definitely make a crack about his height smiles shakily and flings his arms around JGY’s shoulders again. “Oh, thank you! Thank you for your help!”

Jin Guangyao hugs him back gently and efficiently, then starts to tug him back to the waiting horses and by-now-dismounted companions. “Go on, get your A-Yuan’s granny back to Nie Sect and get yourself a good night’s sleep. I’ll make sure they’re both marked correctly as requisitioned for labor in Qinghe”

Nie Huaisang thanks him several more times, wiping away his tears like someone who just remembered that he’s not supposed to appear so weak in public. Jin Guangyao waves goodbye as he mounts his sword and flies away, and Nie Huaisang waves back, and then he and his assistants and his newly acquired A-Yuan’s Granny ride home

[they’re never going to be relevant again but I want you all to know that in my mind, these two dumb bastards are brothers with rhyming names, like, Xi Ping and Xi Ying or something. RIP Xi Ping and Xi Ying and their eardrums after NMJ reams them out for helping NHS do something stupid again]

And then...

they actually have peace for several months.

Oh, the cold war between Jing and Jiang - or more accurately, between Jin and Wei Wuxian - is still brewing like fine tea, and Nie Huaisang finds himself paying more attention than usual to the gossip about it, because Wens come up as often as not. They're the prime example of the destructive power of the Stygian Tiger Seal, after all. And NHS has four of them living in his house, now

the gossip spikes deliciously when Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan get engaged, though it somehow neither eases nor increases the tension in either side

{the timeline is rubbish anyway, so it’s whatever’s convenient for this fic, thank you very much}

Nie Sect’s physicians are too proud to let Wen Qing take over their infirmary wholesale, but they don’t hesitate to consult with her on pretty much everything. Wen Ning turns out to be pretty fun to play checkers with, whether he lets Nie Huaisang win or gets invested enough to actually put up a good fight. Despite Granny’s addition to the orphan-caring staff, A-Yuan still slips away most days and follows Nie Huaisang around like a particularly persistent curse-construct. On the plus side, he’s learning how to be patient enough that the bolder birds will sit on him as readily as on Nie Huaisang himself, and he painted an entirely acceptable butterfly the other day.

Oh, and the veins in Nie Mingjue’s neck are only visible when he shouts, now, and enough time has passed that he’s forgotten about Nie Huaisang’s earlier, rash promise to practice saber for an extra half hour each day. Or maybe he’s just resigned to the fact that such promises never last. This is truly the best timeline!

And then the worst happens, out of the blue yet in retrospect inevitable: Nie Mingjue has a severe qi deviation

He’s coming back from a meeting in Lanling, which wasn’t so much a discussion conference as Jin Guangshan calling a handful of sect leaders together to bitch about the Wei Wuxian and the Tiger Seal again. Wen Qing is in the infirmary, setting a young disciple’s broken leg. Nie Huaisang is in his bedroom, trying to write an ode to snowflakes that, read aloud, is a single tone off from a recitation of curse words for the entire poem. They both hear the shouting from the main courtyard

Wen Qing has a doctor’s reflexes; she leaves the leg to an assistant and arrives in the courtyard in time to watch Nie Mingjue collapse out of the air. The disciples who accompanied him to Lanling are there to catch him, ease him down gently, but Baxia clatters to the ground

Nie Huaisang sees it from his window. By the time he gets there, his brother is laid out flat and Wen Qing and the Chief Physician are snapping clipped phrases at each other as they assess his status, in the mode of emergency responders everywhere

the Chief Physician doesn’t like Wen Qing, doesn’t like Wens, but he can respect her medical talents. Both sentiments are mutual - Wen Qing has a much more comprehensive skillset, but if there’s anything Nie healers know, it’s how to handle qi deviation

qi deviations are difficult and dangerous to treat - the spiritual energy starts cascading through a cultivator’s body, untamed and harmful, and adding soothing energy may help but it may make it worse, or even cause the chaos to spread to the would-be healer

{I actually have no idea how any of this works, and will henceforth be making up my own worldbuilding}

Nie Mingjue’s eyes have rolled back in his head, bleeding, and he shakes like a leaf in the wind, incongruous to the warrior who led attacks on the Nightless City itself. Who held his brother like a guarding stone wall at their father’s funeral. Nie Huaisang cannot breathe

they get him stabilized enough to move up to the infirmary. Someone eases up their grip on Nie Huaisang’s body so he could follow (he won’t remember until later that he was being held back)

It takes four hours to stabilize him fully (unlucky). His golden core tries to collapse three times, his heart stops twice, and his fucking saber tries to attack them once, seemingly of its own initiative. Several other healers join in as needed, even Wen Ning - he’s always been good at getting seizing patients to still. Wen Qing rates it below the 39-hour golden core transfer with Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng, in terms of worst surgeries of her life, but above nearly everything else, including the emergency liver transfer where the girl turned out to have all her organs on the opposite side and a side order of demon-induced pneumonia

Nie Huaisang has been sitting in the corridor outside, on the floor. Someone's put a cloak on him. He looks up when they exit, forgetting how to breath again.

“He’s unconscious,” says the Chief Physician, who is probably some sort of distant uncle/cousin. “But he should wake. He will wake,” he corrects.

Wen Qing takes a deep breath. “We need to talk somewhere private.”

By the time Nie Huaisang has at least gotten to see his brother, get proof that he’s still breathing, the First Disciple has joined them as well (I mean, that position is sure as hell not held by NHS). Her name is Han Xiaoshi and she’s built in the same mold as the sect leader: tall, broad, wields her saber like a third hand. She leans against the closed door of the Chief Physician’s office while the Chief Physician - let’s say Nie Fengji - gives a slightly less brief explanation of the sect leader’s current state.

(it’s not good. he’s in a semi-medically induced coma. he is bleeding neither blood nor spiritual energy. he...should wake, in his own time, if they continue to carefully feed his healing energy)

(if he wakes within three days, he will be fine. for now)

Nie Huaisang’s blood pounds hot and panicked in his ears; an unthinking fan covers his face.

they all turn to Wen Qing, who wanted privacy.

Wen Qing soothes hands over her skirt, still blood-flecked, and lifts her chin calmly. Addresses the First Disciple more than anyone. “Before I begin, would you please put a guard each on my bedroom and the apothecary, and my brother’s room as well?”

“What? Why?” asks Nie Huaisang, bewildered. Han Xiaoshi echoes more sternly

She smiles thinly. “I’d rather not be accused of trying to assassinate Chifeng-zun.”

Nie Huaisang’s blood turns cold

“Keep talking,” says Han Xiaoshi

Here’s what Wen Qing explains: there’s an herb grown on the same volcanic slopes into which the Nightless City is set, a grass that absorbs so much yin energy from the volcano that it carries it over into anyone who consumes the stalks, offsetting the natural balance of their spiritual energy. A closely guarded inner clan secret. It can allow for rare, advanced cultivation techniques (including demonic ones)...or it can spark a fatal qi deviation the next time the user tries to do anything spiritually strenuous. Like flying from Carp Tower to the Unclean Realm

“It’s almost impossible to detect in the blood,” she finishes. “But I recognize the pattern of its effects.” Her hands are clasped loosely in front of her. “I wouldn’t be surprised to find some planted in a place that draws suspicion to A-Ning or myself.”

“Who else would know about it?” Nie Huaisang demands, trembling even as the ice is settles into his veins

“Someone who was close to Wen Ruohan,” she says calmly

they all know who she means

(oh, how she wants to tremble, too, too aware of every sword in the room that could be turned against her. Aware of A-Yuan and Granny and Wen Ning, her brother in the corridor just outside, and how it still hasn’t been a year since Wen blood ran in the flagstones of this castle. But Wen Qing has never been one to shake)

“There’s something else I should say,” she admits, to Nie Huaisang more than anyone. “I don’t actually know much about qi deviation - I’ve had a crash course, obviously, and I’m not a fool, but I’m mostly been treating it as a blood pressure problem - ”

“Obviously,” the Chief Physician scoffs

“ - but my Uncle Six is a true expert. Wen Zhichen - he was friends with your aunt, Huaisang-gongzi; your older sister, Fengji-shifu [the previous Chief Physician, killed in battle in the fifth month of the Sunshot Campaign]. If anyone can wake Nie-zongzhi, it’s him - ”

she could have said this earlier, could have said it weeks ago, or even from the start - but she had Wen Ning to think of before anyone else, and then A-Yuan who was too young to have accumulated crimes even as a Wen...

Wen Qing had once noted that the second son of Nie had likely never felt fear, true fear, in his life. That’s not true anymore. His brother is unconscious in the next room over and it’s not sure if he’ll ever wake. And it’s consequences catching up with him again, for real this time, this maybe-first time - was it the Wens, villainous duplicitous Wens that he brought into their home himself? Was it someone else, equally traitorous, suspicion roused to a killing intent by something Huaisang did himself?

People do a lot things when they’re feel fear deep down to their souls. They scrape and bow; they make bargains they shouldn’t, accept costs they can’t. They bend or they break

Nie Huaisang is a fop by preference, but it turns out that he breaks like a Nie

He shoves Wen Qing against the wall, hand on her throat. “Tell me this isn’t a trick. Tell me this isn’t some fucking ploy to get more Wen-dogs into my home, so you can finish killing my brother.” He shakes her, drops the fan to put his hand on the saber he's terrible with (it still hums eagerly for blood.) “Tell me.”

“I am,” she gasps

There is a tableau. Then Nie Huaisang drops her and strides for the door. “Shijie, put guards on her rooms, her brother’s, and Granny’s,” he snaps to Han Xiaoshi. “Don’t let anyone enter. Gather the Wens all in the third guest bedroom and keep them there - make sure A-Yuan has some paints to keep him quiet. And I’ll need your two fastest - no, those with the best strength and endurance in flight - ”

“Nephew - ” says the Chief Physician, and “Young Master,” says the First Disciple, a little impressed and a medium dubious

the closest Nie Huaisang has ever gotten to this commanding before was the early days of the Sunshot Campaign when there were no battle lines to hide behind yet, when he sometimes followed Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji as they tore across the country and directed the clean-up of their wake

“The best strength and endurance,” he repeats over them. The fan stays on the floor. “We’re flying to Qishan - we’ll be back with an extra expert for you in a couple days, Uncle. In the meantime, you can have Wen Qing if you need her, but otherwise they all stay in the third guest room.”

It takes a full day to fly to the Wen settlement in Qishan, at Nie Huaisang’s best pace. Starting already late in the afternoon, full of anger and terrified panic in equal measure, it’s beyond late by the time they near - and all but the anger has simmered away. Nie Huaisang lets them settle near the nearest halfway decent city instead, forces himself to lay on the ground and try to sleep, and sends one of his disciples out to buy the nicest fan they can find. He left so fast, he forgot to pick one up again

When they land in the filthy little town just after dawn, he stumbles off his sword more than lands (he is genuinely tired, at least) and runs to hammer on the door of the supervisory office, all terror and panic. “Jin-guniang! Jin-guniang! Help, help! It’s me, Nie Huaisang! I need - ”

“What?!” The captain yanks the door open (she sleeps above the office) and he very much does fall into her arms

“Ah, you have to help me!” He’s disheveled with flight and weepy with tears. “Wen Qing poisoned my brother and now he won’t wake up, so I have to find her sixth uncle - ”

“What - Nie Huaisang, what? Is she threatening - that Wen-bitch - ”

“No, no, we beat up her brother until she said - please! He’s the best at qi deviation, even Uncle Physician admitted it - ”

make sure to have Wen Ning beaten up just enough to look good, he notes in a small, back corner of his mind. in case there are spies in the castle. I’d have spies, if I could

“Okay, okay!” Jin Qixian ushers him into the office, half-holding him up. “Let me check the list of residences - sit down, Huaisang-gongxi, someone will brew tea...”

[five minutes later...]

“A different camp?” Nie Huaisang cries, fluttering his new fan in dismay

“They needed a healer...” Jin Qixian says apologetically. “But you just wait here, I’ll send someone - ”

“No, no,” Nie Huaisang gets to his feet, shaking his head. Happy to let the exhaustion of a 10-hour flight and 4 hours fitful sleep in the woods show, and the desperate helplessness that’s really not hard to fake. “I have to- Da-ge is counting on me - ”

He waves off all her attempted reassurances, bullheaded with anxiety, and accepts an officially sealed note of authority with babbling gratitude, and...

[about an hour and a half later...]

the other town the remnants of the Wen sect and soldiers have been relegated to is more of a city, really - cramped and filthy, where the other one was merely destitute and filthy. Families living all in one room or worse, and it’s okay because they’re only home to sleep; the fields are already filled with everyone old enough to work. They probably do need healers, because there’s not enough attention being paid to waste management. But -

“What do you mean, he’s gone?” Nie Huaisang demands more sharply than he’d intended

Focus, A-Sang. It’s Nie Mingjue’s voice in his head, always, as though this was just another hated saber practice

“I’m sorry, Young Master Nie,” says the disciple in charge of this place - Jin Guangchao, another stray cousin. does everyone in that family spread seed like a watering can? “There was an incident a few days ago - ”

“He’s dead?” Nie Huaisang wails, sinking to ground

“No!” Jin Guangchao looks a little disgusted at his helplessness, but bends down to pull him up anyway. “Jin Zixun came around on an inspection and that one you wanted, he was impudent. Jin Zixun ordered him sent to the work camp at Qiongqi Pass.”

mother of fucking fucker [meaning Jin Zixun; meaning the whole situation]. the man probably made eye contact and that overbearing asshole -

“That’s so far away!” Nie Huaisang whined, staying limp, crying into his fan

“Nie-shixiong, it is on the way - ” one of his disciples offers uncertainly (poor bastards - he’s really yanking them around. They’re not sure if they’re helping a con or offering real support)

“We’ll get him back to Chifeng-zun, and get Chifeng-zun back on his feet,” says the other, slipping her arm under his and pulling him to his own feet. “Come on, you’ll see”

(whether it’s for the con or not, Nie Huaisang appreciates it. They’ve never been this genuinely nice to him before)

there’s a conversation in the air halfway to Qiongqi Pass. It goes like this:

“Nie-shixiong, we have to rest. You have to rest.”

[gritted teeth] “I’m fine.”

“You’re going to fall off your sword.” (Liu Lifang, the older woman)

“Then you’ll carry me, won’t you? We’ll already have Wen Zhichen - we’ll double up.”

“Your, uh, dramatics - ” (Zhao Huandi, younger, male - there aren’t a lot of Nies, in Nie. There’s a lot of guest cultivators. There’s a lot of turnover.)

“Will be just as good, if not better, when I’m fainting from spiritual exhaustion.” [slightly bitter, mostly factual] “Don’t worry, I won’t deviate - I don’t use my saber enough for that.” [definitely exhausted] “We don’t stop.”

The work camp at Qiongqi Pass has all the bully-filled charm of Jin Qixian’s town and all the overworked labor je-ne-sais-quoi of the other one, and it’s started raining so there’s a really nice note of despair. If Nie Huaisang had any room left in his brain, he would mourn the beauty of the frescos being destroyed, grand and glorious works of art even if their glory was that of the Wens

he slides off Liu Lifang’s sword in the middle of the densest group of workers, cups his hands around his mouth and shouts, “Hey! Wen Qing’s Sixth Uncle, Wen Zhichen of DafanWen! Nie Sect requisitions you!”

the prisoner-workers all shrink away; an inspector hurries over. “Hey, who are you - ”

“You will respect Second Master Nie Huaisang,” snaps Zhao Huandi, hand on his saber while Nie Huaisang starts to cry on cue for the third time that day, and god, either they’re really getting it or he’s just blessed with a sect full of perfect straight men.

“Please,” Nie Huaisang begs, leaning on his disciple and waving the letter from Jin Qixian. “I need a healer - that healer, it’s my brother, he’s been poisoned - ”

they’re real tears of exhaustion. maybe he should have let them talk him into a rest

(Da-ge will be fine, he knows, he insists to himself and the world. He was stable 24 hours ago and Nie Huaisang left him with the most competent people he knows)

the inspector has no idea what to do with him and neither does the Chief Inspector, really, when he rides up. That’s perfect - it means their half-hearted objections are easy to push past

they’re still shit at actually helping, because they don’t know a single person in this goddamned work-prison, and all the Wens just shy away, or pick up a pickaxe and try to keep working if anyone comes too near. The inspectors seem to regard this as ideal

Nie Huaisang honestly doesn’t care right now, but he does notice

Finally Nie Huaisang has wailed loudly enough up and down the valley that one prisoner hesitantly steps forward and admits to being the Dafan Wens’ Sixth Uncle. He has Wen Ning’s ears and Granny’s eyes and the same needle callouses as Wen Qing, so Nie Huaisang calls it a day

except they still have to fly back to the Unclean Realm, a flight of six hours unburdened

Nie Huaisang’s groan is entirely genuine

Wen Qing has taken to pacing by the time the Chief Physician comes to fetch her, personally, from the third guest bedroom. Night has come and gone and come again; A-Yuan and Granny are both asleep in the bed and Wen Ning is lying beside them, though she can tell he’s only pretending to sleep to make her feel better. What a good boy.

Sixth Uncle is sitting by Nie Mingjue’s bed in the infirmary, eating soup. There’s a couple Nie disciples in the room as well, one sending a slight stream of energy into Nie Mingjue and one simply watching the Wen, a hand on his saber hilt

(no one’s told her if they’ve searched her or anyone else’s rooms, yet; if they found anything)

“Keep sitting and eating!” snaps Nie Fengji, the Chief Physician, before Sixth Uncle can leap up at the sight of Wen Qing. “I need you talking qi balance, not falling over again.” He mutters under his breath, “People can’t even work if you let them get so weak - can’t trust a Jin to do anything with care.”

She sinks to her knees to hug her uncle instead - and notices a cot that’s been brought in to sit beside Nie Mingjue’s, its occupant also as still and wan as the grave.

“Huaisang!” She springs to her feet. “He didn’t - ”

“Exhaustion. The boy overworked his golden core and passed out.” Nie Fengji pushes her back with a roll of his eyes. “Bullheaded as their father, the both of them.”

He rolls up his sleeves and nudges the attending physician out of the way, to take over easing calming energy into Nie Mingjue without a single quiver in the stream. “Now, you two prove to me why I should trust any sort of Wen.”

To be continued...but Part 4 really will be the last, so, that’s p good actually. By my standards of mis-estimation of how long a piece of writing will be. And it’ll definitely be a short one! Unlike this Part 3, which is...*checks* 4.5k WTF.

#mdzs #the untamed #nie huaisang #wen qing #jin guangyao #a bunch of OCs who i named by mashing together random syllables and i'm not checking if any of them are real names bc it's 3am #ALSO wildly made up as i went: how to address anyone with any sort of title #just went with my gut #so like...apologies if i wildly messed up

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