#wwx is brooding but he doesn't know it

[winepresswrath]

Could you elaborate on what the yanli-jc wwx conspiracy is?

They are just generally in cahoots re: making sure he's safe and bringing him home, sometimes in defiance of their parents or society or just the likely fact of his death. The first time Wei Wuxian runs away Jiang Cheng wants to follow him because he's worried he'll get hurt. Jiang Fengmian says no, and when Jiang Cheng sneaks out in defiance of his father's wishes with his little rucksack in hand, Yanli is waiting at the gates to support him and tell him to bring Wei Wuxian home safe, implicitly siding with him against their dad in the matter of whether Wei Wuxian might be in real trouble and if so, whether Jiang Cheng's help might be valuable.

The second time is during the sunshot campaign while Wei Wuxian is missing- she comes in when he's brooding over Wei Wuxian's sword and tells him how grown up he is, fusses over him a bit and asks him to bring him back. Jiang Cheng fervently agrees, and looks actively relieved and pleased she's asking this of him- it's blatantly obvious he was going to do it anyway, but her support and faith mean a lot to him which I think is significant because he's usually so worried about failure and he knows Wei Wuxian has been thrown in the burial mounds and is almost certainly dead, but he's not actually frightened he'll fail her, he's just glad they're on the same page. He gets extra support this round because Lan Wangji is also refusing to believe Wei Wuxian is dead and taking joint missions to Yiling with Jiang Cheng and his own turn at sword brooding.

Breaking the pattern, in CQL she was originally going to go with him to talk to Wei Wuxian after he takes the Wens to the burial mounds but he kind of sneaks off without her when he sees her with Zixuan and then doesn't manage to bring Wei Wuxian home to her; she has a sad prophetic dream about it. The conspiracy is broken!

Until! They conspire to bring Yanli to Yiling so Wei Wuxian can see her wedding clothes. I personally think it's implied by the response to Zixuan's request for Wei Wuxian to be allowed at Jin Ling's hundred days ceremony that they were in on that together- either way they're both playing their part, because everyone from the Lan to the JIn know Jiang Cheng would happily take Wei Wuxian back and Yanli misses him. Whether they planned it or just moped really obviously is debatable buy money is on them being in on it together with Zixuan and maybe even Lan Wangji.

And then of course there's Nightless City, where Jiang Cheng notably does not try to get to Wei Wuxian but Yanli does, and then he finds him and loses him all over again so he can have a much more prolonged and less emotionally supportive round of refusing to believe Wei Wuxian is dead.

Bonus Round: The only time Yanli sends Wei Wuxian after Jiang Cheng it's when he's been captured by the Wen because he was already on top of the send Wei Wuxian home safe to Jiejie agenda.

#annnnd basically all of this is a cql exclusive! in the book there's no roadtrip we don't see yanli and JC interact during sunshot and she's #not there for the fall of lotus pier. and zixuan just writes a letter to wwx inviting him to the ceremony #whereas in the show you explicitly see him tell his dad that yanli #producer of heirs and legitimate grandsons #just has one teensie little thing that would make her happy #and lwj backs him up and writes the letter himself #i forget who says he can rejoin the jiang immediately if he gives up the amulet i think it's jgy and obviously a trap #but it's taken for granted that everyone from lxc to jgs knows jc will take him back if he's allowed to. womp womp also you get the shot of #JC and Yanli waiting for WWX together with Jin Ling when they get the news of Zixuan's death which is just. they wanted to introduce him to #jin ling together ;___________________; we three!!!

[stiltonbasket]

Thinking about QinSu!WWX AU and also thinking about how everyday being everyday may well just overpower whatever contraceptives wangxian are using and so WWX ends up singlehandedly popping out a brood so large they need to add more and more rooms to the jingshi. I bed those Lan healers are in a terror for WWX's life. Random Lan Healer sobbing after WWX delivers the third set of twins: HGJ, Wei Qianbei, please stop having babies....

Accidental babies are pretty rare in cultivating families because most women and trans/nb folks who have periods can "freeze" their menstrual cycles to limit fertility, and barrier contraception methods such as condoms do exist, plus talisman spellwork to make them more effective. Most unexpected pregnancies are due to improper use of contraception: Wei Wuxian is new to Qin Su's body and doesn't know the difference between the "herbal teas" she was taking and actual birth control (or the cultivation techniques she used - she didn't think to leave a guide for him, since she and JGY were both celibate after their marriage), while Lan Wangji knows nothing about birth control in general because he always expected to be with WWX in his original body. He didn't retain much information from health class. 😔

This is why A-Yu is Wangxian's only unplanned child! Lan Wangji made sure to take family planning courses after Xiao-Yu was born - seeing Wei Wuxian give birth was Not Fun and he was determined that any future children should be planned and wanted by WWX before they were conceived. 😓

#asks #qin su!wwx #wwx have a-Lan and chun bao after xiao yu #the same as in tmaaf pretty much #he had an Uncomplicated Birth with xiao yu and as some of you know #even medically normal births are nothing to sneeze at #lwj is Very Aware of what a serious business it is

[poorlittleyaoyao]

It's honestly really sad because young JC really is kind of a sweetie under all the scowls and eyerolling and then Life Happens. Honestly it might be that JC is very practical and always thinking ahead and considering the consequences of his and others actions, but he's still just heir to an intact sect, so he can politely ask NMJ about the blood trail JGY is leaving out the door. If JGY found out or yeah, JC ran into him and expressed concern for him...CANON DIVERGENCE

He IS a sweetie! He believes that things can be good, and then they just AREN'T, and now I am veering way too close to my "Jiang Cheng is an AU of Hotspur from Henry IV, Part 1" feelings that have a target audience of, like, four people.

But this made me consider... you know who he's like in-universe at this point? And who offers us a glimpse of what awaits him? NIE MINGJUE.

Because NMJ isn't actually thrilled with his own decision! He does what he believes was The Righteous Thing To Do, but it's still not sitting well with him. He physically distances himself from MY after deciding to banish him, stops engaging, and shuts his eyes so he doesn't see MY leave. When NHS comes charging in to demand an explanation, he's tense and closed-off. His response is some of the harshest (if not the harshest) behavior we see him display towards NHS in CQL continuity. And when JC tries to engage him as a fellow member of the gentry:

MY stabbing that one douchebag vs. WWX by all appearances going rogue and threatening the entire cultivation world aren't on the same scale at all, but NMJ banishing MY is still NOT UNLIKE what JC is eventually going to go through with WWX. He doesn't want his brother to live in exile on a corpse mountain, but it's what he feels is The Righteous Thing To Do even though it hurts--because it's not just about him, it's about the precedent he's setting (and the external pressures he's under), and he knows he wouldn't excuse his loved one's actions from anyone else. It sucks! He doesn't like it! Don't ask him about it! He's going to sit in a chair and brood about it and maybe break some dishes now!

(I do feel that NMJ would have been harsher on WWX were he in JC's position, while JC would have been more forgiving of MY since he extends a LOT of grace to WWX up till Nightless City 2.0. But they've grown up shaped by very different sets of experiences and values, so that tracks.)

[foularcadebanana]

I'm Sorry for Hurting You

I’ve merged the Day 15 Prompt ‘Golden and Day 16 Prompt ‘Bundle’ together again today. It took me so long to write this one after the last fic, but I'm back on track now.

Summary: Wei Wuxian wakes up early in the morning to receive Jin Ling and the rest of the juniors into the Cloud Recesses.

Wei Wuxian woke up at five in the fucking morning as were the rules of Cloud Recesses. As much as he loved spending time with Lan Zhan, he hated spending it with him in the Cloud Recesses. It was like his own personal hell, still. His hatred for all of the rules here still remained after two decades.

Lan Zhan usually let Wei Wuxian sleep until late, but today Wei Wuxian himself had woken up early. He could not sleep for too long due to his excitement because today was the day all of the juniors were due to arrive in the Cloud Recesses. Jin Ling and Ouyang Zizhen would be arriving to attend the famous Gusu Lan lectures that would be starting a few days later.

Lan Sizhui, Lan Jingyi and Ouyang Zizhen had gone to Koi Tower to visit Jin Ling for a few days before the lectures began, and they had gone on a night hunt last night, one which they were all due to arrive from this morning. Wei Wuxian could not wait to receive them all, especially his nephew. He hadn’t met Jin Ling since the Guanyin Temple incident.

He had heard from Lan Zhan and Sizhui that Jin Ling had stayed at Lotus Pier for a few months before he had gone to Koi Tower with Jiang Cheng to take his rightful place as a Sect Leader. Jin Ling seemed to have been given his rightful position by the elders, but Wei Wuxian had no doubt that Jiang Cheng had used his skills of ‘light persuasion’ to get Jin Ling the seat to his throne.

As Wei Wuxian sat on the roof above his room, he was met with the sight of the sun rising slowly from the horizon. His eyes immediately widened, jaw dropping slightly as the golden rays of the sun began to spread across the stretch of land that lay beyond the Cloud Recesses. Wei Wuxian kept his eyes on the sun as it rose higher, casting shadows of trees all around him as the sun rays finally hit him.

Before Wei Wuxian could register the beautiful scene before him, he felt a familiar presence next to him. Lan Zhan.

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan said, sitting down next to Wei Wuxian.

“Lan Zhan. It’s beautiful, isn’t it? The sun?” Wei Wuxian asked, turning to look at Lan Zhan. The golden rays fell on Lan Zhan at an angle that made him look ethereal and forever young.

Lan Zhan blinked at the sun and then faced Wei Wuxian. “It is,” he agreed.

“So are you.” The words fell out of Wei Wuxian’s mouth before he could stop himself. He saw Lan Zhan’s eyes widen fractionally, but before he could begin to panic, Lan Zhan held his hand. Wei Wuxian forgot how to breathe. Was breathing even essential for him right now?

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan said, and Wei Wuxian could not stop staring into his eyes which looked golden because of the sun. He could not stop thinking about the warm hand holding his, or about Lan Zhan’s beautiful skin and his soft, pink lips. “You are more beautiful than the sun.”

Wei Wuxian blinked, trying to let Lan Zhan’s words sink in. Lan Zhan thought Wei Wuxian was more beautiful than the sun?

“Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian said, leaning in slowly towards the man he loved so much. But before he could be granted his kiss, he was interrupted by a clearing of the throat. Several clearings of the throat, actually.

Wei Wuxian turned to the voices and discovered that he was facing the four juniors. They had arrived already! How had Wei Wuxian missed this? He jumped from the roof and landed right in front of Jin Ling. Jin Ling had been looking at Wei Wuxian with nothing short of disgust on his face and he was now looking at him with a bit of irritation.

At least it wasn’t anger, nothing Wei Wuxian couldn’t handle. Lan Sizhui stood next to him with a soft smile on his face, like the dedicated son that he was, and next to him stood Lan Jingyi with a grin on his face. On Jin Ling’s other side stood Ouyang Zizhen, who waved at Wei Wuxian enthusiastically. Wei Wuxian waved back at him.

“Ah, here is my favourite nephew!” Wei Wuxian exclaimed, putting his arm over Jin Ling’s shoulder. “How have you been, my dearest Jin Ling?”

“Get off me!” Jin Ling responded. “I’m your only nephew by the way, and I’m fine. If I was really your favourite then you wouldn’t have run away from me at the Temple and you would have come to visit me at Koi Tower at least.”

“Well, you see Jin Ling, I was actually— I mean I had to go because— I was sure you had a lot on your plate so I wanted to give you some time to get adjusted with your new Sect Leader duties,” Wei Wuxian tried to make up a reason. But from the expressions on Jin Ling’s face, he continued to remain unconvinced. “Anyway, I missed you, kiddo.”

“Right,” Jin Ling stared at Wei Wuxian unblinkingly, “and don’t call me kiddo. I have a name. Also, here. Jiujiu packed some spicy food and said to give it to you cause he knows how much you hate the food here, and because you refuse to visit Lotus Pier.” Jin Ling gave Wei Wuxian a packed bundle and Wei Wuxian could feel its warmth on his hands even through all of the packaging. He could feel the warmth spread all the way to his chest.

“You met Jiang Cheng before you came here?” he asked, directing the question to Jin Ling but looking at all of the juniors.

They all nodded their heads as Jin Ling spoke up. “Yeah! I wrote to him telling him about when I would be coming here, and he said to go meet him in Lotus Pier before that. I wasn’t expecting the surprise visit from these guys, so I went home to Yunmeng with them. Jiujiu had like a whole bunch of things packed for me. He said I could share it with all of my friends.”

Jin Ling finished his short rant with a satisfied smirk on his face. Wei Wuxian swallowed his emotions as he looked at the bundle in his hands. “And your jiujiu said to give me this?”

“Well, not exactly,” Jin Ling said, sheepishly grinning. “But that’s what he meant! He said: Here is some food from our kitchens, I told them to make it extra spicy. So, if ‘someone’ is done with his travelling and happens to be in Gusu, and if he feels like having some of Yunmeng’s food, tell him I asked the cooks to prepare his favourites.”

Wei Wuxian’s heart caught in his throat. “My favourites?” He couldn’t think or speak. Jiang Cheng had asked the cooks to prepare his favourite dishes with his preferred level of spice. Did this mean…?

It felt a lot like Jiang Cheng was offering him an olive branch. Wei Wuxian wanted to accept it so badly, it was unreal.

“Yes, did you not hear me the first time? Also, what is wrong with you?” Jin Ling asked, grumpily. “I don’t care if you don’t want to visit me, but why would you not visit Jiujiu, especially after everything that happened at the temple. Do you know how much Jiujiu is hurting because of you?”

Wei Wuxian blinked in surprise. “Jiang Cheng wants me to— to come back to Lotus Pier? He’s hurting? Because of me?”

It seemed as though even when Wei Wuxian wasn’t present in Jiang Cheng’s life, he still gave him grief and pain, and he still hurt him.

“What do you think this is?” Jin Ling asked, pointing to the bundle of food. “He wants you back. If you hurt my jiujiu this time, though, I’m never forgiving you.”

Wei Wuxian had difficulty speaking as tears welled up in his eyes. “I— I…”

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan said from besides him, and Wei Wuxian felt a gentle yet firm hand fall on his shoulder. He noticed that Jin Ling wasn’t speaking anymore, he was simply glaring at Lan Zhan.

Wei Wuxian pushed past the knot in his throat to speak to Jin Ling. “I would never hurt Jiang Cheng again. I wouldn’t— I need to go. I have to go.” The food was burning a hole in his hands despite only being slightly warm. Wei Wuxian turned to Lan Zhan. “Lan Zhan, I’ll write to you, okay. But right now, I need to— Jiang Cheng is hurting. I have to go.”

With those words, Wei Wuxian sprinted away from the juniors, determined to reach Lotus Pier as fast as he could so that he could apologise to his didi for not understanding him and for taking so long to meet him. Wei Wuxian would also promise never to hurt him again for as long as he lived, and this time, he would keep his promise.

READ ON AO3

#foularcadebanana #Yesimawriter on ao3 #untamed fall fest #untamed fall fest 2020 #the untamed fanfic #the untamed #mdzs fanfic #mdzs #wei wuxian #lan wanji #lan wangji x wei wuxian #jin ling #grumpy jin ling #jl is done with wwx and jc's shit #mentions of jc #the juniors #are there too #wwx is brooding but he doesn't know it

[crossdressingdeath]

Not to be that person, but I just wanted to point out a very popular western hero is actually Percy Jackson, who does choose to be the hero. Probably not entirely for heroic choices but like, in the third book he literally says "The Prophecy will be about me" because he doesn't want Nico, who is like idk eleven maybe, to have to be the hero. (I think it was also because of his guilt since Bianca, Nico's sister, died and he kind of promised to protect her or something? Idk it's been a while but the whole "I choose the Prophecy" is stuck in my mind.) Frodo, from Lord of the Rings, also chooses to carry the Ring and carry it to Mordor. And the others of the Fellowship choose to follow him, each for their own reason yeah but it's their own choice and they can leave the Fellowship whenever they want. I'd say Harry Potter also kind of chooses to go after the things? Except for that scar thing maybe, and even that was more of a coincidence since it could've been Neville instead too? Voldemort just made it Harry because he thought it would be him.

But yeah, reducing Jiang Cheng to the simplest tropes and characterizations is pretty much the thing a big part of the fandom does. Tbh I feel he more into the "brooding mysterious love interest" from some love triangle, but even then he's the most boring version because he's not mysterious at all. And he's just brooding the entire time, if you can even call it that.

Thank you for reminding me of how powerful the moment Percy chooses the prophecy specifically to save Nico from it is, it’s very good, Riordan is an excellent author and that scene is a great example of his skill.

And yeah, a lot of Western heroes do choose their paths? It’s a massive over-generalization to say they’re all forced into it, if only because “Western heroes” is a massive group and the chances of all of them being forced to become heroes and no authors recognising the power of a character choosing to become the hero despite knowing how dangerous it will be is hovering somewhere around zero. Free will and shit is a common theme in Western literature (can’t speak to Eastern literature, don’t know enough about it), and part of that is choosing your path.

Alright, that’s enough pretending I know how literature works... JC really is the platonic equivalent of the Obvious Wrong Choice of a love triangle, huh? The bad boy who’s no good for our lead but who they’re just drawn to for whatever reason to contrast with the kind and caring Right Choice who may be distant or cold at first but genuinely loves them. Except only in the flashbacks, because by the start of the present day arc WWX has kind of already made his choice; he makes it on Dafan Mountain when he chooses to go to Gusu with LWJ and seek his protection from JC instead of putting his faith in his “brother’s” love for him. He doesn’t realise the choice will be permanent yet, but he has very much made it. But in the flashbacks JC has big One Side Of Love Triangle (But Platonic) vibes and parts of the fanbase catch that and run with it, apparently missing the bit where he’s the wrong choice.

#mdzs #grapehate #anon #asks