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Yknow there's something so in character about how JC, JGY and WWX in the advice they give Jin Ling to deal with the bullying issue.

Jiang Cheng tells him to come to him and even if Jin Ling doesn't, the moment he gets a hint that someone is fucking around with his nephew, it's Zidian out for murder because only he can be mean to Jin Ling cause he's the only one he knows doesn't actually mean it.

Jin Guangyao suggests the same survival method he uses, don't act rashly or fight back immediately, you need to get better and stronger until you are standing higher than them and they aren't worth your time, so stay calm don't let it get to you.

And then Wei Wuxian strolls up, helps him beat em up and tells him to continue beating them up, until he's an adult and cannot be easily pardoned for breaking the rules.

And if that itself doesn't show you the whole foundation of how these three characters.

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time travel au where liu qingge and shen qingqiu (yuan) end up accidentally traveling a decade back in time before luo binghe was amitted to qing jing peak and before shen qingqiu had his qi deviation, but after their generation has risen to peak lords.

which means, shen yuan realizes quickly, as they're accosted by said peak lords, that he will have to face shen jiu.

as they're being cleared for demonic energy and the likes, mu qingfang of course instantly detects the poison without a cure eating away at shen yuan's meridians. liu qingge pulls a copy of the treatment plan out of his sleeve (shen yuan blushes a bit, did liu qingge always keep that on hand?), and just like in the current timeline, they agree to keep it under wraps.

shen jiu tries various times to get a moment alone with shen yuan, but he never quite manages because liu qingge is there, who is also... nice?? to him?? for some reason?? shen jiu gets a bit flustered at the solemn politeness and skitters off.

it comes out pretty quickly that shen yuan has "memory loss", and thus can't remember anything that's currently taking place in this time. shen yuan expects scorn, hatred and disdain from shen jiu, expects to be grabbed and interrogated, to arouse suspicion.

but shen jiu looks....... sad???

being transported here threw shen yuan's qi off-balance (even liu qingge had to sit down, which means it's bad), and his cultivation is already so unstable, so when the peak lords are all squabbling and arguing and threatening and raising their voice, he can feel his body shut down. he sees yue qingyuan start to move towards him, which, knowing the future yue qingyuan, he really isn't up for right now—but before the sect leader can get to him someone else is at his back, transferring him qi, holding him up gently by his shoulders, then coaxing him up, leading him outside

shen yuan's been fed qi by every peak lord at least once. he doesn't recognize this one. that means it can only be one person.

he looks up. it's shen jiu.

and it's bizarre, getting fussed over by the scum villain, having gentle hands run along his back, his hair, that clear, soothing voice calming him down. and somehow shen jiu knows exactly what to do?? somehow it works perfectly on him?? it's almost as if shen jiu has known him his whole—

oh.

bodies, like homes, hold memories, even if the original occupants are no longer there. it's the milestone marks on the doorpost that chart a child's growth, blurry photographs faded by time, scuffed floors from well-walked paths, and tiny holes in the walls where pictures once hung.

shen jiu takes him to the bamboo house, pours him tea, and asks, calmly, what he remembers from their childhood.

it's not his childhood, so shen yuan doesn't actually remember anything, but the body he's in does. the memories it holds are emotional rather than visual; he remembers being alone, scared, and hungry. he remembers anger, pain. a dark room. loud voices. he remembers his heart skipping a beat when heavy boots stomp his way. the sound of a whip.

he doesn't have to lie. the memories aren't his own, and they're from long ago, which means shen jiu has them too. and, he supposes, this is his only chance to find out what really happened.

but shen jiu doesn't say anything about it. he just nods and stares, intensely. then he asks shen yuan if he remembers yue qingyuan. shen yuan says no, he doesn't. the conversation takes a very strange turn after that. shen yuan can't help but feel a little queasy when shen jiu asks him if yue qingyuan has taken advantage of his memory loss.

"has he come into your home? has he brought you gifts, sweets? does he invite you for tea? did you accept?"

he has. shen yuan doesn't know why that would be a problem, the sect leader has been nothing but kind and helpful and patient. and generous, too.

when he says yes shen jiu looks furious.

liu qingge (his one) comes to pick him up, and his time with shen jiu is cut short. somewhere he's glad, cuddling into liu qingge's back as he holds him while they fly. he feels a little bad for yue qingyuan, knowing he's probably caused a big fight, but it doesn't sit right with him. he wishes he knew what happened.

.

liu qingge, meanwhile, is having the time of his life fighting himself. it's good practice!

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Okay, you need to make sure you play this game at some point. Maybe not today or anything, because you’ll need about thirty minutes and a serious willingness to understand how it works, but - it’s so worth it. It’s basically an answer to our occasional frustration - why do assholes always come out on top? - and the beautiful thing about it is that not only does it explain how that happens, but also how we can change it.

“In the short run, the game defines the players. But in the long run, it’s us players who define the game.”

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I dont think lbh ever really tried to kill lqg during the 5 years of corpse-zun...but i think it would be hilarious if, because liu qingge is an anomoly who was never meant to fight lbh, who admittedly isnt on binghe's level but hes still pidw's war god.....

Lbh just is incapable of killing lqg. Like some sort of video game glitch, like when you take an item out of its designated area when youre not supposed to and the game cant quite do what you want to, everytime binghe tries to kill lqg some sort of looney tunes-shit happens that save lqg last minute. Like the worlds game engine can let them fight, and Lqg will never be able to beat lbh in a fight, but everytime lbh tries to actually kill the man, he starts falling into xianxia manholes and xianxia anvils start falling a la the beam falling during the skinner incident

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Hotel California on Guzheng by Moyun.

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Sins of the fathers pt6 / On AO3

Jin Guangshan took a second to look up from the papers on his desk when the door opened, but smiled warmly when he saw that Jin Ling was there. 

“Come in, my boy,” Jin Guangshan said. ”And close the door behind you, won't you?”

Jin Ling quickly obeyed and walked up to the desk, trying not to gawk at the unfamiliar room. It was rare for his grandfather to use his office, and rarer still for him to allow anyone inside. Jin Guangyao was a frequent visitor, Jin Ling had noticed, but aside from that, the only people ever called to the sect leader's office were disciples who had gotten themselves in trouble. 

“You have asked to see me, zongzhu?” Jin Ling asked with a polite bow. 

“Zongzhu? Since when are you so distant, Rulan?” Jin Guangshan protested, looking so sincerely wounded Jin ling almost believed it.

“I only meant to be respectful, grandfather,” Jin Ling said with another bow. “You always say youngsters should be more respectful of their elders.”

“It is only the two of us, there's no need for that,” Jin Guangshan assured him, his tone too warm to be trusted. “Sit down, my boy, and let's take a moment to talk. It has been a long while since we've had a chat, hasn't it?”

Jin Ling nodded as he sat. It had been a while since he'd spent time alone with his grandfather, that much was true. They used to have a good enough relationship, but being forced to marry a stranger had helped Jin Ling see what sort of a man his grandfather was, and now his company was repulsive. Of course if Jin Guangshan had demanded that they spend time together since that falling out, Jin Ling could not have easily refused in spite of his disgust. However his grandfather had shown little interest in him since the wedding. 

Until that morning. 

“Is there anything in particular you want to talk about, grandfather?” Jin Ling asked, as if he couldn't guess why he was there. 

“With so much going on in your life these days, I wouldn't know where to start,” Jin Guangshan replied with a huff, sounding so much like the man he was in Jin Ling's better memories. “Your marital life, perhaps? But maybe that is not the right topic. We've had some disagreement regarding that, haven't we?”

He chuckled, as if Jin Ling’s rage and despair had been some amusing little incident, something they could now all laugh about. Maybe he even sincerely believed that. Or at least, as much as he was capable of any sincerity.

“I understand that grandfather had his reasons for doing the things he did,” Jin Ling flatly said, clenching his fists over his knees, where the desk would hide them. “It was not my place to judge your decision.”

“No, it was not,” his grandfather sharply agreed, before quickly softening again. “But I think my decision was not so unpleasant to you in the end. You get along well with that wife of yours, don't you?” 

“We are making the best of things,” Jin Ling said. 

An understatement, really. 

Wen Yuan’s lessons were going tolerably well. It was a surprise, as Jin Ling had half expected his husband would complain to his mother about his temper after the first lesson, and that would have been the end of that experiment. Instead, Wen Yuan had apparently expressed gratitude to his mother-in-law for organising this, and promised her to work hard to be worthy of the praises he’d received from Jin Ling.

The following lessons had still been tense, but by the middle of the second week they’d found a balance and things were… not bad. Wen Yuan knew to ignore Jin Ling’s outbursts most of the time. And Jin Ling was starting to accept that his husband was genuine when he thanked him or complimented something he did. They weren’t friends or anything, and maybe they’d never be, but at least they could get along, and that was more than Jin Ling had dared to hope since the moment his engagement was revealed to him.

“It must not be easy for you,” Jin Guangshan lamented. “Considering his father’s reputation, and that cold temper he's shown so far… I do hope your wife has not used his knowledge of his father’s methods to make you feel uneasy inside your own home?”

So that was the reason for this meeting, Jin Ling realised. He was grateful for his mother’s warnings, which had given him time to prepare something to say.

“Wen Yuan never mentions his old life,” Jin Ling replied. “He is very dedicated to learning the ways of the Jin sect and making them his, like a good wife should.”

That remark earned him a frustrated glare from his grandfather. Jin Ling knew it was a source of tension in his grandparents’ marriage that his grandmother still preferred to use the cultivation path that she’d learned from her parents, even after a lifetime in Lanling. Everyone knew that. It ought to make it harder for Jin Guangshan to openly complain that Wen Yuan wasn’t using demonic cultivation.

“It is a wife's duty to mould herself to the new family’s expectations,” Jin Guangshan agreed. “But a good husband should also show interest in his wife. If that Wei boy doesn't talk about his family, it might be because you do not inspire enough trust in him yet. If so, it is regrettable. I would have thought you had taken after your father.”

Jin Ling lowered his gaze, his eyes burning with rageful tears he couldn't afford to spill. 

He really wished people would stop only comparing him to his father when they wished to insult his temper. When his father did it, it was usually because he found Jin Ling too quick to anger, or too unsociable. When his grandfather said it, he meant that Jin Ling was weak for not realising rules and morality only applied to lesser people. Jin Zixuan was a well loved man, why couldn't anyone ever see his qualities in his eldest son?

“I'm doing my best, grandfather,” he said between clenched teeth. 

“Then maybe your best needs to be better, boy. Do you understand what I mean?” 

Jin Ling understood too well, but shook his head. 

“Grandfather will have to be more clear. I only want to please you, of course. But I can only do that if I know what you want from me. Does grandfather have certain expectations regarding my marriage to Wen Yuan, maybe? Grandfather should have said so from the start, then, instead of expecting me to guess things.”

As soon as he said that, Jin Ling regretted it. His grandfather tolerated few things, and insolence least of all.

“You know, it is up to me to choose my heir,” Jin Guangshan casually remarked. “Tradition would prefer it be my son, or my eldest grandson, but I could pick someone else. I have other grandsons after all, and a nephew who has a child of his own. If these options appear better for the future of my sect, I will not hesitate to make tough decisions.”

Jin Ling clenched his fists. He didn't care about being sect leader, it was a stupid job, full of dealing with stupid people. But that didn't mean he didn't recognise a threat directed at him, at his family, and that pissed him off. 

If it had been anyone else talking to him like that, Jin Ling would have let his anger explode. Or else he'd have laughed in their face, because in what world were Jin Zixun and Jin Chan better options than him to someday lead the sect? They were just stupid bullies and… 

And so was Jin Guangshan. So maybe they were better candidates, from his point of view. They were all pawns to him anyway. Jin Ling knew it too well, after going from favourite grandchild to someone who could be sacrificed to an unpleasant match. Nobody in this family mattered when compared to his grandfather and his ambitions. And still Jin Ling had been lucky, because Wen Yuan was a good person. If he hadn't been, would Jin Guangshan have cared to protect his grandson from a demonic cultivator? Or would he have allowed his new spouse to torment him, as long as he could get his hands on someone who could help him in that war against the Nie he wanted?

Jin Ling smiled.

“Of course, Jin zongzhu should be free to decide the future of his sect,” he said, imitating the placid tone Jin Guangyao used on very unpleasant people. “It makes sense. What does this have to do with our conversation, though?”

“Nothing at all,” Jin Guangshan pleasantly agreed. “It was just a thought that crossed my mind. Well, boy, I fear I'm already running out of time to talk to you. I have other business to attend, so you may go. But do think about what I've said, regarding your wife and gaining his trust. Otherwise he might find someone else to confide in, and we wouldn't want that, would we?”

Again, Jin Ling just smiled, the only safe answer against that man he'd grown to hate. He then bowed politely and left the room as quickly as politeness allowed. Once outside, he slowly walked away, willing himself to look calm under the watchful gaze of his grandfather's disciples, knowing any of them could betray him if he didn't hide how much that meeting upset him. 

More than once, he'd heard his uncle Jiang call the Jin sect a nest of vipers. Jin Ling disagreed. He didn't believe even animals would turn so viciously on their own kind.

It felt like an eternity before Jin Ling finally reached his home, the only place where nobody could spy on him. As soon as he closed the door behind him, Jin Ling let out a frustrated cry, and kicked the wall. 

“Is something wrong?” Wen Yuan asked, running to the door. 

On top of being angry, Jin Ling was immediately overcome with shame. He hadn't thought his husband would be home, since Wen Yuan usually spent mornings with his in-laws. It was one thing for Jin Ling to let his anger explode like that, and quite another to let anyone see it. Jin Ling opened his mouth to apologise, only to realise there was something more urgent to discuss. 

“Wen Yuan, has anyone approached you to befriend you since you’ve arrived in Carp Tower?” Jin Ling asked

The odd question puzzled his husband, but Wen Yuan soon shook his head. 

“No, no one except your siblings. Others find me… unsettling, I think.”

“Good, perfect even!” Jin Ling exclaimed at this confirmation his grandfather hadn't already started other schemes against his husband. “The less friends you make here, the better.”

Wen Yuan threw him a wounded look, but Jin Ling was too distracted to see it.

“Is that an order, husband?” Wen Yuan stiffly asked.

“You know, it just might be,” Jin Ling pondered. “It’s better for everyone that way.”

After all, there was nobody trustworthy in the entire sect. Which wasn’t to say there wasn’t anyone nice. Lanling Jin was a large sect, and not everyone in it was as awful as Jin Chan. In fact, most disciples were probably pleasant to chat with, charming even. But it didn’t matter how nice they were, because this was a sect where bullies were in charge, and they knew how to make nice people do awful things.

“Are you worried that I’ll betray you if I get close to others, husband?” Wen Yuan asked, his tone so icy that at last Jin Ling had to notice it.

“It’s not like that!” Jin Ling exclaimed. “I don’t care if you sleep with someone!” he winced, realising that probably sounded worse. “No, I do care! I just… don’t care who you… what you… I just care…”

He bit his lip to silence himself, expecting his husband to get angrier, but Wen Yuan only looked at him curiously.

“Are you trying to say you’re not ordering this out of jealousy?” he helpfully suggested.

“Yes, that’s what I meant!” Jin Ling agreed, relieved that his husband was getting used to his manners. “If it were just about making friends, you could be friendly with anyone, it’d be fine.”

“I see. Then why is it you don’t want me to have friends?”

“Only within our sect!” Jin Ling protested. “You shouldn’t have friends within our sect. Or within sects that are too closely linked to ours either, I guess,” he added after a moment of reflection. “If you happen to meet Jiang disciples and you hit it off, it’s fine. Or Lans, I guess, even though I can’t imagine why anyone would be friends with them.”

Of course the closest thing that Jin Ling had to a friend his own age was a Lan, Lan Jingyi, but that acquaintance only proved that the Lans were annoying. Lan Jingyi and him argued every time they met, and only sometimes hung out together because nobody else would put up with them.

“Any other sects I’m allowed to be friendly with?” Wen Yuan asked, smiling.

Jin Ling considered it, and shrugged.

“Just about anyone who doesn't lick my grandfather's boots. Well, maybe avoid the Nie, we’re not on good terms with them. But I doubt any Nie disciple would want to talk to you. They’re… they’re not very happy that you’ve entered our sect. For obvious reasons.”

Wen Yuan frowned at first, as if this remark too had hurt him, but his expression quickly shifted into something that was nearly a smile.

“You mean Wei zonghzu,” Wen Yuan said, sounding almost amused by the effort needed to decipher what Jin Ling meant.

“Him, yes. And he’s also why you need to be careful around Jin disciples. I probably shouldn’t tell you…”

Jin Ling bit his lip, but one look at Wen Yuan's handsome, honest face was enough to convince him. Wen Yuan not only deserved to know what was going on, but he also needed to. Anyway, hadn't his grandfather told him there should be trust in a married couple? 

“The thing is, Jin zongzhu is very interested in demonic cultivation,” Jin Ling explained. “He thinks it’d be the best way to protect ourselves from our enemies. And he also thinks that you can use demonic cultivation, but you’re withholding it from us.”

“But I’m not,” Wen Yuan protested, offended. “I’ve never learned!’

“I know,” Jin Ling replied. “I'm pretty sure it would have left marks on you, on your qi. I’d probably have noticed it from the moment we had our first lessons. But my grandfather is… when he’s decided that something is a certain way, nobody can convince him otherwise. And he thinks that you’re refusing to share your knowledge with us.”

“I'm not,” Wen Yuan insisted. “You can tell him that, I really have nothing to share on that topic.”

Strangely enough, it was a relief to hear that. Jin Ling couldn't deny that he'd been worried concerning the possibility of demonic cultivation. It was easy to say he would have noticed it immediately, but in truth considering Wei Wuxian's skill, he may well have come up with ways to hide the effect of his heretical paths on the body and mind. Of course there was the possibility that Wen Yuan was just lying, but Jin Ling didn't think that was the case. His husband hid many things, but so far none of the few words he'd said had ever been lies.

“Whether you know your father's craft or not, I'd encourage you to keep it secret,” Jin Ling advised. “Don't tell anyone, not even me, or my siblings, or even my mother. We've all lied to my grandfather before, but it's easier for everyone if we don't have to.”

Wen Yuan shot him a curious look, and shook his head. 

“I appreciate that, husband. But I am not lying. I really don't know anything at all. Wei zongzhu was always very firm on that, he’d scold me terribly if I showed too much interest in his methods. He knows too well how dangerous it is. He... he didn't want that for me.”

“Don't let anyone know that either,” Jin Ling said after a moment of reflection. “If my grandfather knows you can never fulfil the purpose he has in mind for you, he might try to get rid of you. It's better to keep an air of mystery about this.”

Wen Yuan tilted his head to the side. 

“I thought… Don't you also want to be rid of me?”

The question took Jin Ling by surprise. Not so long ago, he would have agreed that this marriage was the very worst thing that had ever happened to him. He wasn't so sure about that anymore. Wen Yuan was not unpleasant to have around, and their daily lessons were... nice. There was nothing particularly romantic about their marriage, but there was nothing awful either.

“You're not the worst spouse grandfather could have found for me,” Jin Ling replied. “If you were gone, I might just end up with someone worse, if my grandfather thinks it's his interest. He might try to marry me to Nie Huaisang for all I know! Do you know how annoying he can be when he's unhappy? Or… Or to one of Yao zongzhu's kids, and they're all duller than dirt, I've never heard them say something that wasn't boring. Or he'd find me someone ugly, which is just as bad as being boring. Anyway, I'm used to you now. It'd be a bother, having to deal with someone new, especially when they wouldn't be as good as you. And… And I wouldn't enjoy regaining my freedom, if it meant you had to suffer for it! Which you would. Grandfather is… not a kind man.”

Jin Ling blushed, all too aware that he was saying things in the worst possible way, once again. And yet Wen Yuan didn't take offence. If anything, he looked a little pleased by his husband's rambles. Truly, Jin Ling did not understand his husband in the least.

“I am grateful that my husband feels this way,” Wen Yuan said, fighting a smile. “I will try hard to be worthy of the praise.”

Without thinking, Jin Ling nodded.

He couldn't say it, because it would sound wrong and mean again if he tried to express it, but at that moment he actually felt very happy with the husband fate had chosen for him, that odd boy who had just enough patience to unravel the mess of words that often spilled out of his mouth.

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“I want to take someone back to the Cloud Recesses… take him back and hide him. But he is not willing.”

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Words nobody says

Nobody says "He's your bodyguard, Chief. It comes with a degree of risk." Nobody dares. Nobody says "He's a child, what were you thinking?" Nobody has to. Mei Changsu can say all that, and worse, to himself, for hours and he has been. Long after the arrow is out, and the bloody cloths cleared away, and the patient in some sort of sleep, he is sat at Feiliu's bedside, unmoving, unthinking. He could almost wish he had never relearnt how to hope.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/57792685

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Scenario where PIDW Bingge had something like the fucked up baby dimension from Fire Emblem: Fates for handling his kids.

For those who haven't played enough Fire Emblem games: in Fates you can hook up various characters who will, once they've bonded sufficiently, get married and have children. Because there is a dangerous war on and nobody has time for childcare, these babies get sent to various pocket dimensions where time moves differently, where they are raised by servants. They then reappear in the story as adults (mostly) who are also just like, barely younger than their own parents. This is of course hilariously fucked up, for even more reasons than what a simple overview can convey, and it's also just kind of shrugged off by the narrative despite the many, many bewildering implications involved.

So I'm imagining Airplane stealing this whole concept and sitting down to write about Bingge sending all of his children away in order to protect them from his enemies or whatever other excuse, creating special nursery dimensions with Xin Mo only to not really spend any time with his offspring at all, resulting in a lot of them growing up extra fast and reentering the story as adults at wildly unpredictable intervals (i.e. whenever Airplane feels like it without having to remember the timelines involved because *waves hand* time passes differently in the different dimensions too). For the daughters, this just gets them married off into alliances (if they're even mentioned at all, because Airplane doesn't want to write incest and there's basically only one reason female characters get mentioned in this story), but for the sons, this usually has them showing up as upstart challengers to their father's throne. With a conclusion, generally, of them getting their asses kicked and then being sent back to their pocket dimensions with their tails between their legs (Binghe killing his own kids would be too reprehensible, after all). Sometimes (rarely) they become loyal generals. One or two have died to fuel revenge arcs. The protagonist halo extends only limited benefits to his kids.

Anyway, Shen Yuan of course reads all of this and absolutely hates it. What do you mean Binghe doesn't even raise his own kids?! What do you mean even their mothers don't?! Shen Yuan understands that Luo Binghe is an important guy with important things to do, but handling it this way makes it impossible to even consistently visit his children on their birthdays! They'd be having birthdays every day because they're all on freaking Narnia time! And of course his sons keep growing up and trying to overthrow him, surely Binghe himself should appreciate that under these conditions, his children are going to see the servants raising them as parents more than some distant emperor they've never met...? Not to mention, if time moves quickly in these dimensions, theoretically Binghe could just stay there with his kids himself and not have to worry too much about things changing in his realm, because only a few months would pass there! He could have it both -- spend plenty of time with his kids and not worry about neglecting his responsibilities! So why doesn't he do that?!

The answer (never actually provided by Airplane) is that Bingge doesn't really feel a strong connection to his children, and because of his reverence for his adoptive mother, he thinks that giving them peaceful lives with simple people to raise and love them is the kindest thing he can do for them. If he could have had an idyllic childhood with his mother in a place where nothing could harm him, he would have never sought power at all.

But of course, Binghe's kids aren't thinking "oh gosh yeah my humble childhood in a magic dimension was much better than starving on the streets!" because that wasn't ever going to be their fate in the first place. Instead they all develop varying complexes about being sent away by their impossibly remote father and his giant harem.

Possible fic ideas involving this setup:

-Bingyuan where Shen Yuan transmigrates into the intended tutor of one Luo Binghe's most troublesome sons. SY arrives in the baby dimension and immediately bonds with the little Luo, gets really mad about the whole situation all over again, and when Bingge shows up for a rare visit, rips him a new asshole about it. Romcom shenanigans ensue.

-Scenario where SV's Shen Qingqiu and Luo Binghe decide they're ready to adopt, and SQQ figures out a back door into PIDW Binghe's baby dimensions and just sort of, ehm, borrows some of the children he knows had really bad times in the novel (not all of the idyllic upbringings worked out, there were instances of the dimensions being attacked and the servants there being killed and etc). Bingge eventually finds out. Dramatics ensue.

-When PIDW Binghe tries to summon a Shen Yuan of his own to the PIDW world using Xin Mo, it accidentally creates some stability issues with the baby dimensions. Shen Yuan get teleported in and out of these dimensions instead, bonding with the kids there to various degrees, only to be swept away every time Bingge tries to use Xin Mo to find him again. A handful of years later, a bunch of new Heavenly Demon scions emerge as adults with the Luo family's Shizun Complex in full swing, right around the same time that Bingge finally captures Shen Yuan. Hijinks ensue.

[nillegible]

Threefold

(For @ladyteldra, who shoved me into this unexpected rabbit hole, but then stuffed it full of content to make me happy)

No one had noticed during the war, as wars were rather distracting. But it was hard not to notice when they got home.

What was left of home; it was still a work in progress.

At first Jiang Yanli excused it away as the magic of Lotus Pier going awry because of what it had been through, but by the second week of reconstruction she tracked down a copy of the Entail from one of the surviving caches.

It shouldn’t have mattered.

Jiang Cheng was the chosen Sect Heir, their Father had made that clear when Jiang Cheng turned fifteen, and Lotus Pier should know that.

(Except Lotus Pier would have felt Mother, then Father, then Jiang Cheng lose their cores here. It might have thought… Perhaps that would explain why…)

When she gently probes Wei Wuxian for his thoughts on their misbehaving inheritance, his face goes stricken and over the next week he dives into the scrolls himself, more thoroughly than she had.

Jiang Yanli had not meant to distract Wei Wuxian from his own self-loathing and his eerie ghost-brides, but that is what it amounts to, in the end.

“Do you think,” Wei Wuxian says finally, over dinner, eyes red and wild like he’s been drinking (clearly distinct, to her, from the red and wild from raising ghosts), “That when Wen Zhuliu. When he – that it broke what marks you as heir?”

Jinag Cheng stiffens at the reminder, and frowns at their brother. “Would that…? But BSSR fixed it.”

“What if it’s not the same core as before?” asks Wei Wuxian, vehemently. “Doesn’t it” he waves a hand towards their surroundings, “feel like it did when we were younger? Before you came of age?”

That’s exactly what it was, Jiang Yanli realizes. The magic of Lotus Pier felt familiar for all it was acting slantwise; it was exactly how it had been before the heir had been named.

“What does that mean, then?” asks Jiang Cheng, standing up. “I’m not the heir, then?”

“You shouldn’t be the heir,” Wei Wuxian says. “You should be the Sect Leader.”

“You’re saying the Lotus Pier doesn’t want me,” says Jiang Cheng. Jiang Yanli lays a hand on Jiang Cheng’s elbow.

Before she can speak a word, Wei Wuxian says, voice final, “No. I’m saying I think the Lotus Pier thinks you died.”

Their ravaged, gutted home is recovering steadily, with new disciples, new responsibilities, new buildings.

Their new Sect Leader and his right hand aren’t doing so well.

“If it thinks you’ll do better, then fine! Be the sect leader!” Jiang Cheng had yelled at Wei Wuxian one day, terrifying Wei Wuxian who insisted he didn’t have the right nor did he want to, and setting off quite a row (“Oh, so Lotus Pier just isn’t good enough for you, huh? Where DO you want to go then?”). Naturally, that escalated into a more physical fight, and when punches were landed and brothers elbowed in the gut and flipped onto their backs, swords were drawn (“You still won’t use your sword? What if I run you through with mine? Pick up your sword, goddamn you!”) which came to a screeching, horrific halt when Suibian unsheathed for an incensed Jiang Cheng.

Wei Wuxian had a lot to explain.

Jiang Yanli doesn’t think Jiang Cheng will ever forgive Wei Wuxian for this, but she patches them both up as best she can, listens while each rants about the idiocy and foolishness of the other. She talks down one little brother from his stated plan to find Wen Qing and make her switch the cores back, and coaxes the other one to rest with promises that she wouldn’t let Jiang Cheng try something like that while he sleeps (“I promise, you can sleep now, A-Xian, I won’t let him.” “Oh but HE can, HE can decide for me-!”)

“Since we’ve decided not to keep secrets from family,” she tells them, after a week of indulging them both in their childishness, “you should both know. The Jiang family has, now, in the direct line me and Jiang Cheng. And then there��s Wei Wuxian, son of Wei Changze, who was a shu-son of Grandfather’s and, technically, broke the oath he made when he left the sect that he would not have children of his own.”

Their faces, when that finally sinks in, makes her giggle.

[“So you could be Sect Leader, since Lotus Pier would accept you. This explains so much about Mother.”

“I told you that Uncle Jiang wanted it to be you! But…yeah. It really does.”]

[“Wait, so the Waterborne Abyss tried to grab you in Gusu… do you think that it wanted…”

(That particular conversation ended abruptly when the plank Jiang Cheng was standing on crumbles, dumping him into the river below.)]

[“Without Uncle Jiang’s mark on Jiang Cheng showing Lotus Pier who the heir is, I think it’s confused about who to pick,” Wei Wuxian tells them, after more time with scrolls and an unexpected visit to Meishan Yu and Gusu Lan sects. “Should it go with strength, or primogeniture? Dad was older than Uncle Jiang, but Shijie’s older than me. And I don’t have a core – but mine’s not gone, it’s still-”

Wei Wuxian shuts himself up before Jiang Cheng can, that time.]

For some reason, the issue seems to weigh more greatly on her and A-Xian than A-Cheng. Perhaps because even though Lotus Pier had not yet acknowledged Jiang Cheng as Sect Leader, the Jiang Sect had. And Sect-Leaderly duties did not wait on the convenience of an ancient dwelling and what may or may not dwell beneath the watery foundations.

Which is why it’s surprising when it’s Jiang Cheng who finds them the solution.

“Are you sure?” she has to ask him.

“Honestly, I always imagined that when I’m Sect Leader, Wei Wuxian would busy-body his way into doing half my work anyway. The only difference is that you can stay here at Lotus Pier and help instead of marrying out.” The sect leader of a clan could not, after all, marry out.

“You should thank me for getting the engagement called off, then!” says Wei Wuxian. “Can you imagine? If we went through with this, then we’d all be engaged to the peacock.”

“A-Xian,” she chides, and her brother looks at her sheepishly. The grin is more naturally like himself, and not like he’s forcing himself to act like he once did.

“Is that okay with you, A-Jie?” asks Jiang Cheng.

“Yes,” she tells them. She had wanted a husband, children, a family of her own. But asked to make this choice; her sect or herself, her brothers or a family that one day might be. She knew her answer. “When shall we do it?”

In the aftermath, very little changes.

The bemused Jiang disciples are told to address both Young Mistress Jiang and Wei-shixiong as Sect Leader also, which takes them some getting used to, but they adapt soon enough.

The civilians from Yunmeng think it’s splendid, and take great pride in their three Sect Leaders.

The other sects receive a letter informing them that Jiang Yanli, Jiang Wanyin, and Wei Wuxian were ‘…henceforth by mutual agreement, to be recognized as one entity, encompassing legal and spiritual dimensions alike. As leaders of the Jiang sect, they will jointly bear the responsibilities and obligations attached to this esteemed position.’ Naturally this brings about some interested speculation in their allied sects.

[“Are you alright, Wangji? Do not worry, there is no need for you and Xichen to do likewise, it is an old ritual meant to rejoin the branches of a Clan that are at risk of a schism, without the messy business of pruning one side to disallow heirs, or line adoption."]

[“How utterly absurd. That girl, and the Ghost Flute, to be acknowledged as Sect Leader Jiang, when little Jiang Cheng can barely fill the role himself? What is the world coming to. Fetch us some wine, boy.”]

[“No that is not a euphemism for them deciding to have an incestuous polyamorous marriage, Huaisang! It probably has to do with that thing they don’t talk about; though why the Wen were not eaten when they stepped foot in Lotus Pier we’ll never know.”]

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you know i have never heard a convincing arguement as to why AO3 should not moderate the content that is posted to their website and i think a lot of the arguement against moderation on AO3 boils down to, terminally online people thinks community moderation is the same as government censorship and personally sending the cops to someone’s house to arrest them irl/

[nillegible]

More favourite tropes:

“Unfortunately, [thing that would ordinarily be described in much stronger terms than ‘unfortunate’].”  

“Fortunately, [thing that is in no way fortunate].”  

“Unfortunately, [thing that would be fortunate in nearly any circumstance except the particular circumstance at hand].“  

“Fortunately, [very minor benefit that absolutely does not offset the considerable drawbacks of whatever just happened].“  

“Unfortunately, [the exact, word-for-word thing that somebody just expressed that they hope won’t happen].“  

“Fortunately, [complete non sequitur].”

[nillegible]

Tagged by @blondejaneblonde, thank you!

3 Ships You Like: Hmm, 3Zun, YQY/LQG/SQQ, and most recently Jiang Ying/Qi Zhu. (I actually really enjoy platonic ships as much/more than romantic ones, though! Yan Yujin and Xiao Jingrui, or whatever Lin Chen Mei Changsu and Xiao Jingyan have going on!!!)

First Ship Ever: Unlikely anyone else has heard of these, but... Gwendal von Voltaire/Gunter von Kleist from Kyo Kara Maoh, and Shi Ryuuki/Li Koyu/Ran Shuuei from Saiunkoku Monogatri.

Last Song You Heard: ...do podcasts count? Dear Hank and John.

Favourite Children's Book: Too many!!! But... The Westing Game?

Currently Reading: I don't come up for air between books, but just finished "Your Scandals are Way Cuter Than You."

Currently watching: Hyouka, for the third time.

Currently consuming: Just had dinner; dal and rice, boring!

Currently craving: A feel good story with a gently wrenching hurt comfort.

Tagging (Only if you'd like to! Sorry to bother you otherwise) @vandrell, @myakkoh, @marsdiogenes, @marbleglove, @ibijau, @ladyteldra, @mega-mathi.

9 Fandom Peeps to Get to Know Better

Tagged by @the-marron, thanks for the tag🎉😊

3 Ships You Like: there are so many options but of the top of my head right now LawLu, AlbeCale and of course WeiLan

First Ship Ever: Probably NaruSasu, I started out in the depths of DeviantArt and it only went up from there

Last Song You Heard: Ride from Twenty One Pilots - I had this gigantic Twenty One Pilot Phase when I was fifteen and I've started listening to some of the songs again, they're still pretty good

Favourite Children Book: Bartimäus with Eragon being a close second - I guess I just love both the sarcastic asshole with a heart of gold AND the earnest guy just trying his best trope

Currently Reading: Homo Deus (for over a year now, so not sure if it counts as current) and Trash of the Count's Family (more of a rerereading)

Currently watching: i just finished watching the One Piece Live Action (which I totally like a normal amount) and I'm at loose ends right now

Currently consuming: nothing yet, but about to get myself some chocolate milk :D

Currently craving: Hot shower and a better sleep schedule - and only one of these is actually doable

Tagging, if you would like to join the game

@emptysurface @asexualzoro @jasontoddiefor @weaselle @blondejaneblonde @captainkirkk

[nillegible]

Thanks for tagging me! I've been working on Ghost!Lan Wangji, sporadically, here's JWY and LWJ in the Ghosts' realm...

“Aw cutie, I’d take you if you wanted,” the white-haired ghost says, turning to Jiang Wanyin. “A week in my bed if I win, a week in yours if you do.” “No,” repeats Lan Wangji, resting a hand on Jiang Wanyin’s shoulder while he sputters for an answer. “Yeah, hell no,” he manages, finally. “Brat. If you break my silly disciple’s heart I’ll have to beat you up again,” says someone else ducking into the room from a small door in the back. He looks a little older than the first ghost, though he only has a single streak of white in his hair. He looks at Jiang Wanyin, coldly. “Be careful where you speak of hell, idiot boy.” “Old monster, my A-Xu would be there too, of course!” whines the white-haired ghost. His tone changes as he looks back at them. “The person that you’re looking for,” he says, thoughtfully. “He must be very important to you. This Zhen Yan will offer to help you find your person if you answer a simple question.” “Yes?” The white-haired ghost taps his closed fan to his cheek, looking somehow both coquettish and terrifying. “Are you looking for your zhiji… or his?” Jiang Wanyin can’t answer. Can’t make himself open his mouth to say mine, not when he knows Lan Wangji would echo it. He blinks when there’s only silence from the man at his side. When the silence stretches longer, Jiang Wanyin fills it. “His?” he asks. But Zhen Yan does not meet his eyes, he’s watching Lan Wangji with a strange smile on his face. Jiang Wanyin elbows him, quickly, and that just makes Zhen Yan laugh. “Ah, White-robed-gongzi, that is the wrong answer. Cute-gongzi,” he says, leaning forward a little, “Nice try. I hope you both find the person you’re looking for. Be careful not to let strangers in at the wedding.”

I'm tagging @ibijau, @marbleglove @vandrell @marsdiogenes, @mega-mathi and @ladyteldra Once again, no pressure, see you!

(Mya and Pearl, I have... been off tumblr so long I don't remember how to tag you!!!)

WIP Snip!

I was tagged by @tavina-writes 💜 I actually have more WIPs that are *not* for exchanges than I normally do? Wild

This WIP is titled "removing the mask" and it is a TGCF AU inspired by season 2 of the donghua where LQQ decides not to remove XL's mask (only here he does)

"Xie Lian isn't going to ascend again," Lang Qianqiu said darkly. "He's dead." The laughter of the other officials cut off immediately, and the silence that followed was heavy. "Dead?" Ling Wen asked, always seeking to make sure her records were the most complete. "Your Highness is sure the Crown Prince of Xianle is dead?" "Of course I'm sure," Lang Qianqiu bit out. "I killed him myself!" "You--!" That was General Nan Yang, Lang Qianqiu thought. He'd not made trouble with the martial god of the southwest in the years since he'd ascended. He knew there was little chance that the general had flaunted the rules of the heavens to help his former prince get revenge on Yong'an. But he'd kept his distance, not willing to make friends with a god from Xianle. "How dare you??"

Tagging @nemainofthewater, @kasasagi-eye (i still need to do the other one you tagged me in oops), @blondejaneblonde, @ilthit, and anyone else who wants to! (no pressure of course!)

[nillegible]

Do ya'll ever think about how every character in MDZS is living in a radically different genre of story?

Cause yeah, sure Wei Wuxian is living in a danmei fantasy novel with strong romantic comedy elements, but if you slide over a bit Lan Wangji is living a serious and heady drama about regret, loss, yearning, the passage of time, and ultimately atonement.

Scooch on over to Xichen and your in a straight up Greek tragedy, right down to the parable about hubris and trust. Jin Guangyao is living meanwhile in a political dark fantasy al'la Game of Thrones, Nie Huaisang is in a Gothic moody Monte Cristo-esque reflection on revenge and deception, and while Lan Sizhuhi and Jin Ling are living in two VERY different YA fantasy books ('magic boarding school/secret orphan of destiny' and 'Steven Universe style coming of age/discovering all your family are some flavor of evil and magic' respectively).

Everyone connected to Yi City is living inside a dark psychological thriller/horror flick, except for Xue Yang who is in a Found Family/Enemies to Lover fic right up until he isn't.

Jiang Cheng's entire life has been one long soap opera, and it is showing no signs of stopping anytime soon.

[nillegible]

(Part 7 of Stay, the MY time travel fic. Well, Chronologically follows Part 3, But you can read them any which way! Read the others using: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7)

“I can take a hint, you know,” says Qin Su a few days later. “I’m not going to keep chasing you if you’re not interested, you didn’t have to tell my father to interfere.”

“I. I did not do such a thing, Qin-guniang,” says Meng Yao.

She glares at him as if to divine how truthful he was being. An interesting precaution but ultimately futile. She wouldn’t ever be able to see through him if he chose to deceive her. “I suppose I’ll believe you,” she says. “Meng-shidi should know that I had the most uncomfortable discussion with my father today. Since it’s your fault – regardless of what you told anyone – you owe me!”

“This Meng Yao has little to offer, but is yours to command regardless,” he says, sweetly.

“Then call me Su-shjie. If you’re part of my sect, you should act like it.”

“Alright, shijie,” says Meng Yao with a smile, hoping that she’ll accept it.

“Better,” she says approvingly. Then, lighter, “It is hard to stay angry, Meng-shidi’spractically weaponized those dimples.” It startles a genuine laugh out of him. She really was the loveliest person; proof that Jin Guangshan’s seed was not all rotten.

“This Meng Yao will find Su-shijie to continue our conversation later? I’m to help demonstrate muffling talismans for the junior disciples today.”

“Of course, go on! I’ll see you later!” The last is a promise, she obviously intends to see it through.

It hurts a little less when he nods and agrees, before hurrying to the class he was meant to help with. They could be friends, this time.

This time, Meng Yao wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

(This time, he wouldn’t hurt her.)

---

If everyone else is also strangely kind to him for a few weeks after, then Meng Yao doesn’t really notice, nor make the connection, until he’s following Su-shijie and two of her friends on a trip to the market. He’s being used mostly to hold packages; the girls had picked up quite a lot of novels; more than fit into the few qiankun bags they had brought with them.

“Apologies to Meng-shidi, we didn’t think we’d be stopping here,” they’d said, or something along those lines, at four different places already.

Aside from the packages, he was only occasionally consulted over the appearance or worth of some small trinkets – one of the youngest disciples had recently received a sword, and they wished to give her gifts for the occasion – but as Meng Yao’s being treated to snacks as an apology for every hour the trip extends, he barely minds. He is free for the day and it’s almost fun.

Li Feilong finds a green ribbon, almost exactly of a shade to match with official Nie robes. Huaisang would like that, he thinks, just as she says, “Oh, doesn’t this look lovely?” holding it out. She wraps it around her wrist to observe the colour.

“Feilong-shimei’s partiality is showing again,” ribs Qin Su, eyeing the other wares, and picking a midnight-blue one for herself.

“Shijie,” Li Feilong huffs, before releasing the ribbon, saying under her breath, “But he is handsome, I don’t know how he’s only ranked seventh on that blasted list.”

“We’ve all heard it before, Feilong-shijie,” laughs Lin Biao. “Well, I suppose Meng-shidi hasn’t.”

“Meng-shidi!” says, Li Feilong suddenly, whirling towards him. “You used to be Sect Leader Nie’s deputy, were you not? Come, tell me if this colour truly matches his robes,” she says, and Meng Yao steps closer even though he’s sure it is close enough.

“It would be hard to tell them apart,” he says. “Though such a light silk would be more Nie-gongzi’s style than Nie-zongzhu’s. He doesn’t know if it’s because Nie Mingjue’s cultivation was so advanced that he could not tell the weight of his robes, but his silks were heavy.

“That doesn’t matter, thanks, shidi! Auntie, may I have three lengths of this, please?”

“Three lengths, Shimei?”

“Hush, Shijie. I’ll wear it to the hunt on Phoenix mountain, next season! I can edge my cuffs with it, to match.”

The three women pick out other ribbons as well, a pretty pale periwinkle, a few yellows and roses, and some Qin-sect blues. Meng Yao finds his eyes being drawn to the green ribbon again and again. He can’t really believe that he thought that, so what if Huaisang would like it? There was no shortage of green silk in Qinghe, and Meng Yao is no longer... no longer beholden to him.

Some habits were clearly hard to break, that is all, and ‘Huaisang would like that,’ is a decade long habit, that led to him buying multiple pretty things for him. Fans yes, for birthdays, but he’d spoiled him with other things, too.

Meng Yao had always treated him like a child, and somehow missed what was right in front of his face.

It doesn’t stop Meng Yao from buying a length of it before they leave, as well as some colours of thread to go with it. He slips it all into his sleeve, and pretends not to notice the curious looks that he gets form his three companions.

“Shall we return then?” he asks.

“Just a few boxes of tanghulu for mother, and then we can go,” Qin Su decides, and they nod, trailing after her.

On the way back, Qin Su asks, voice mild enough that he’s instantly on guard, “Will Yao-shidi be wearing a green ribbon to the hunt as well?”

Wait, what? When on earth had he given her that impression?

“This shidi will of course be in Sect colours,” he says, while he frantically tries to pick out how this misunderstanding had come about. “The ribbon is for a gift.”

“Oh, of course,” says Qin Su.

“At least agree with me that Nie-zongzhu should be ranked higher, Meng-shidi,” says Li Feilong, from behind them. Meng Yao had assumed they were not listening, and when he quickly glances behind them, Lin Biao is elbowing her, trying to shut her up.

Oh?

Too startled by the byplay and its potential implications, he demurs politely, “I have no opinion on the matter, Feilong-shijie.” Then he smirks, “But I do know why the ranking is in the order that it is!”

Lin Biao gasps, and bounds closer. “You know who makes the rankings?” Conversation neatly diverted, Meng Yao spends the rest of the walk back coyly refusing to reveal his source – not that a drunk Huaisang in the future, confessing to ranking Jin Zixuan above Wei Wuxian just to see Wei Wuxian’s face, and putting his brother seventh because he had to be somewhere is much of a source – and the three ladies graciously allow for the change in topic.

If he returns to his room and skips dinner that night, well, he had been treated to a lot of snacks that afternoon. And it gives him time to try to figure out how exactly he’d convinced Sect Leader Qin that he was a cutsleeve. (He pretends that this is pressing enough that he doesn’t need to think about the green ribbon he’d bought so impulsively, and shoves it beneath his simple sewing kit.)

---

Meng Yao very very cautiously observes his disciple-siblings over the course of the next few weeks, but except for two offhand comments – quickly shushed – no one comments on his supposed inclination for cutting his sleeve. He’s a little bemused but after some thought and delicate probing, he works out the evidence for their “deduction”. In addition to his unexpected rejection of Qin Su, there was the matter of his apparent fear of Jin Guangshan; who was well known for his intolerance for such “deviancy” within his sect.

It's so absurdly sensible a conclusion to draw from the limited evidence available that Meng Yao has no defence to offer. Surely it made more sense than Meng Yao having returned from the future.

And most importantly: no one cared. They were trying to be kind.

If he didn't know better he would think he had developed a second golden core; so warm is the feeling that fills him up and settles in.

[nillegible]

I have never thought about them as comfort characters before, but that is such a good way to put it. Mine are (again, in no particular order):

1. Liu Qingge - who is so very perfect, I am aware the fanon interpretations of him vary a lot, but in all my fave fic the authors do him just right.

2. Jin Guangyao - I have a soft spot for redemption stories? And tragedies. And complex characters with difficult siblings. JGY is just such a great character, and he’s usually written so well.

3. Jiang Wanyin - Heart of Tofu!!!

4. Percy Weasley. - I have no idea why I imprinted so hard on Percy... he’s just doing his best!

5. Xiao Jingyan - who is also just so perfect and tragic and wonderful.

And having laid them all out here, I believe I have a type, and that seems to be sibling issues (taking their martial siblings into account).

Thank you for the tag! Tagging: @myakkoh, @ibijau, @mega-mathi, @marbleglove, @marsdiogenes

Sorry if you’ve done this already, I haven’t been on tumblr much recently!

got tagged by @suspiciouspopsicle in a thing to post 5 comfort characters and then tag 5 people in no particular order.

Cloud Strife, oldie but goodie

Kim Dokja

Shang Qinghua

Jin Guangyao

Sailor Moon, another Ur fandom friend

Ok tag time! @lacertae-dreamscape @cicaklah @leatherbookmark @scribeprotra @blondejaneblonde