#And now I'm thinking of him going all the way to Lotus Pier to try to talk Wuxian into coming to the Cloud Recesses

[guqin-and-flute]

I can't get over how much Xichen loves Wangji I just

[symphonyofsilence]

I love Wangxian as much as the next guy, but my unpopular MDZS opinion is that both LWJ & WWX after the resurrection were really shitty brothers. Both to their own brothers and to each other's.

Like...JC just threw himself in front of WWX & his boyfriend & Jiggy's sword & took a stab to the chest just narrowly missing his heart, & Wei Wuxian DIDN'T EVEN ASK HIM HOW HE IS! I'm sure JC didn't want him to thank him, but totally ignoring that & forgetting about it is... you know, not fine. even LXC was more worried about his wound. After the temple, when everyone was talking to everyone else, & WWX thanked JC for giving Chenqing back to him, he doesn't even wait until JC's answer is fully out before he immediately turns back to look at LWJ!

Even JL who wasn't talking to JC at that moment saw that JC had something to say! But WWX not only didn't give him a chance to talk, but didn't even have any interest in what he had to say, and wouldn't listen to him just like all the other times when JC tried to talk to him (Repeatedly reminding WWX of his promise & even asking why didn't you go back to Lotus Pier). As you try to do, after you brother has returned from the dead, after causing his own death, your sister's and your brother-in-law's. WWX doesn't think that that's an issue that they need to talk about. Because it's unpleasant for him. While he is not the one who's owed an explanation or an apology. He's not the one who gets to decide if they're having this conversation or not. Let alone asking about JC's wound! WWX! just! Left! With! His boyfriend! & didn't look back! Not even after JC's public meltdown!

And and, what's worse, for both LWJ & WWX is this! Here is what happens when JC is trying to have a conversion with WWX about the non-consensual surgery WWX performed on him by mutilating himself on JC's behalf:

Why yes, he is injured, Hanguang-Jun! He's injured because he threw himself in front of WWX & you little fuck!

He does this once, and it causes JC's wound to open and start bleeding again, and then he goes to do it again!

It's a matter that seriously needs discussion, Hanguang-Jun. JC's world has turned upside down without him having a say in it or even being told about it for years, Hanguang-Jun. JC has every right to talk about it to the person responsible, Hanguang-Jun. It's a family matter, Hanguang-Jun.

And ffs What do you think WWX's brother wants to do to him?! After he took a stab to the chest for him?! He is wounded and his spiritual energy is sealed, what can he do? He's going through it right now in front of everyone. why would you humiliate him even more?! They're brothers! It's none of your business!

And WWX doesn't say anything! It's Jin Ling who must beg Hanguang-Jun to spare his uncle!

(I think they understood what a shitty move it was in the CQL, cause WWX at least lifts a hand to stop LWJ there. And LWJ doesn't actually push JC, opening his wound again, And then try to do it A SECOND TIME AFTER THAT!)

Like...Beating someone's family member in front of them is a very, very rude thing in general when they're themselves handling the situation very well. They were just having a family argument, and LWJ felt the need to beat JC. If you want to de-escalate a family argument, you do it the way JGY does. Or LSZ, A CHILD, de-escalates situations. While respecting both parties. Or else it just escalates even worse.

And this happened at the Jiang ancestral halls, too. WWX was the first to attack JC (which was totally within his brotherly rights when JC was being a little shit) and JC counter-attacked. JC's spiritual powers, unlike WWX's and LWJ's, hadn't returned yet. WWX totally got this. It wasn't their first time fighting. OK, LWJ deflected the first blow of Zidian. He didn't need to intervene further when WWX was beating JC in JC'S ancestral hall. WWX himself passed out when he realized wtf he was doing. (& bear in mind that hours ago, JC with his spiritual powers sealed, barely able to walk, picked his sword and was going to go back for WWX in the burial mounds, before he knew about the golden core thing)

Imagine your friend invites you to their home which they've ran away from when they were very young, their sibling that now owns the house lets you in even though you don't even say hi to them or acknowledge their existence there in anyway, & your friend invites you to somewhere you really have no business being in. IDK. Say, the master bedroom that's been locked ever since their parents' death. Your friend's sibling arrives there and they have an argument. You get offended in the crossfire but your friend leaps in to protect your honor, by beating the said sibling. The said sibling beats back. Can you imagine actually beating the sibling?! Trying to separate them, sure. But beating them?!

& others have talked in depth & better than I about how LXC just murdered the love of his life after some very shocking revelations & was 100% ready to die with him & was clearly going through it & LWJ just left with his boyfriend to fuck when LXC was the one who was there for him when HIS boyfriend died. Like..no LWJ didn't leave his brother after a few days. HE LEFT HIM THAT VERY MOMENT! DIDN'T EVEN GIVE HIM A HANDKERCHIEF OR A PAT ON THE SHOULDER!

And people have also talked better than I about how WWX didn't tell LXC about Sisi bc...he might have shown JGY mercy?

[soapy-soartp]

Day 5 of @whumperless-whump-event

Im so sorry Lan Zhan but these prompts just fit you

Day: 5 - STEALING THE BREATH FROM MY LUNGS (GIVE IT BACK)

Prompt: Wheezing / Light-headed / "I'll count, you just breathe."

Fandom: MDZS

Characters: Lan Wangji, Lan Xichen, Backround/Mentioned: Lan Sizhui and Wei Wuxian

“Wangji…” Lan Xichen starts, trying to reason with his younger brother.

Who was once again kneeling by a closed door, desperately waiting for it to open once again for the people inside to let him in.

Even all these years it’s still a painful sight to see, and even more painful to remember. Lan Wangji’s grief and desperation, his own grief and sadness, all far too overwhelming for two young children. But no one around could- no, would help them. The only one who was willing and happy to guide them was gone.

“...” As expected he got silence in return, but he can tell now that his brother’s word may fail him, his eyes don’t.

Those eyes are glassy and far away. So he does what he can as he holds over the umbrella he had over them both.

“…Let’s go inside, hm?” He tries to coax, it was raining instead of snowing but that's to be expected in Lotus pier, where the weather was much warmer than that of Gusu.

“Wangji… They’ll be ok…” He tries to reassure but it falls on seemingly deaf ears.

He can't even imagine what's going through his didi’s head right now, not only was his husband hurt, he couldn't even see him and the scene was far too similar to the one from their childhood.

–

It all happened so fast. At least that’s what was reported, Wei Ying and A-Yuan got hurt.

And he wasn’t there to help them.

“Move! get out the way!”

“I'm sorry, Hanguang Jun but you can't enter while the Jiang healers are in there…”

“They’ll be fine. He’s survived worse and you’ve both raised a tough kid.”

The long engraved need to follow the rules, to keep his composure wars with the anxiety, fear, and dread he feels at this moment.

So he kneels, out in the harsh rain of lotus pier, slightly off to the side from the Jiang sect's healing ward. His brother tries to coax him out of the rain, but he can't hear very well, actually he can’t do anything much more than fixate on the fate of those in the medical ward.

It’s getting harder to think, to breathe. He suddenly feels cold and lightheaded… and his vision starts to swim with dark spots.

Then someone’s (his brother?) is in front of him and there’s hands gripping at his shoulders.

“-ngji?...Snap…it- Breathe!” Is being yelled at him.

Breathe…? Isn’t he breathing? He has to be, why wouldn’t he be… Oh.

He isn’t breathing.

He tries but all he can manage is a wheezing breath, he blinks and his sight fogs over with tears.

“G-ge…?” He manages while struggling for breath.

“Wangji, Didi, it’s alright, you’re alright. Just breathe, ok? Just-” Was the frantic response, he feels himself shift and soon he’s leaning against his brother.

“C-can’t…” He gasps for breath but it ends in a choked wheeze.

“Ah, follow my breathing, hm?”

He feels his brother’s chest rise with a steady breath in and fall with one out. He tries to follow through but his attempts end in staggering wheezes. He feels more dark spots dance in his vision and he, embarrassingly slumps and clings to his brother.

“G-ge…g-ge, can’t. W-wei Yi- Shinz- Shu-” A gasps interrupts his desperate and panicked babbling then he continues on again.

He feels the tears fall as he calls out to the people who he cares for the most.

“Shh… A-zhan, A-zhan. Just breathe.” His brother states firmly, taking his wrists in a firm hold and pulling him in closer to the solid embrace, “I’ll count, just breathe.”

“In for One… Two… Three…” His brother starts, and he tries another breath in.

It was still hard but the solid presence helps, the calming voice and the counting helps. Thankfully after a few rounds of the breathing exercise, his own breathe steadies. But that doesn’t do much for the emotional exhaustion and anxiety he still felt, so he allows himself a moment of vulnerability.

He openly weeps in his brother’s arms, concern for his husband and their child too great to bear. Once he’s truly exhausted himself he slumps fully in the solid hold.

Now they were both soaked and kneeling in a Jiang sect courtyard. He lets out a quiet hum, an apology and thanks to his brother.

[youhideastar]

Fit for Purpose Deleted Scenes II: Alternate Version, Second Half

Yesterday I posted the first batch of deleted scenes from Fit for Purpose: the first half of a backstory chapter that I ultimately deep-sixed as a distraction. For more explanation, please read that first-half post! Today I'm sharing the second half of that backstory chapter. Again, I'm going to try to keep my commentary on the scenes to a minimum so as not to make this post longer. Other deleted scenes posts are linked in the masterpost. I hope you enjoy!

We pick up during the Sunshot Campaign, with a scene that I've always found perplexing in canon - WWX promising to let LWJ help him with the demonic cultivation. It's not clear in canon whether he ever actually does that. Here, I decided he would.

On another rooftop in the moonlight, eyes dark and urgent, Lan Zhan says, “Wei Ying. You are trying to snatch grain from a roaring fire.”

Because without that grain, I’ll starve, thinks Wei Wuxian. For a moment, he imagines telling Lan Zhan about his core. It’s a wild thought, quickly smothered.

“Wei Ying. Let me help.”

Wei Wuxian knows what he should do: call him “Lan Wangji” again. Smile like a knife. Shove him away.

But the end of the war is coming, and Wei Wuxian knows he’s unlikely to survive it. A few months doesn’t seem like too long a time to pretend that he can be fixed—that what he’s missing is something Lan Zhan can give him.

He says yes. Lets Lan Zhan play pretty songs for him. Spiritually, they do nothing for him.

But the lie makes Lan Zhan feel better.

They’re at war. Lan Zhan could be hurt or killed at any time. Wei Wuxian doesn’t want the last thing he said to him to be cruel. That’s all.

*

In the end, they win. He wins.

The other sects make the omega Meng Yao—Jin Guangyao, now—the hero. What he did, they understand. One short, sharp thrust.

It makes A-Cheng and Lan Zhan angry on Wei Wuxian’s behalf; for his part, Wei Wuxian couldn’t care less. He did what he needed to do. He fulfilled his purpose. He didn’t do it for the glory.

They go back to Lotus Pier.

A-Cheng and Jiejie want everything to go back to the way it used to be. They treat him like Yunmeng Jiang’s head disciple.

So he tries to act like it.

But there’s a hole inside of him. And so, there are things he can’t do. Things he can’t give, because he gave them already, and there’s no getting them back.

He can’t teach sword cultivation—can’t even draw his sword. And no one wants to hear about his talismans; the ones he writes in blood. The ones that draw evil in, rather than repelling it. Any of a half-dozen others would be a better head disciple than he would.

There’s only one part of his job he can really do anymore. And even that is… harder than it used to be. They want to touch and be touched, but his skin still crawls with the touch of the dead. And he doesn’t want to put his mouth on them. He never wants human flesh in his mouth again.

He’d thought he’d be dead for this part.

He was supposed to be dead for this part.

Maybe he is.

A-Cheng lays into him for failing in his duty. For not giving enough. Wei Wuxian places his hand over his incision scar and keeps his silence. He knows it’s true. No matter how much he gives, it could never be enough.

That previous scene is probably the one that hurt the most to cut. I really liked it. But DAMN did it bring down the vibe of the fic. It's so bleak in tone that it really could not coexist with the cute banter in the Jingshi.

Next is my first crack at the Baifeng Mountain scene.

Come to Gusu with me, he says. Let me play for you, let me help you, he says. I am the one who knows you, he says. Better than you know yourself.

For a moment, he imagines it. Going to Gusu with Lan Zhan. Letting Lan Zhan take care of him, letting Lan Zhan imprison him—he can’t tell anymore what it is that Lan Zhan wants to do with him, but he’s not sure he cares. At least he’d be with Lan Zhan. At least Lan Zhan understands that he’s changed. At least Lan Zhan isn’t expecting him to pretend he’s still the laughing boy on the rooftop.

Ah, but it’s a selfish, selfish thought.

Yu-furen saw it in him all along.

For him to cling to Lan Zhan—brilliant, perfect, unparalleled Lan Zhan, who has never needed or wanted anything from Wei Wuxian, not even his body—is just another symptom of his weakness.

No. Wei Wuxian knows what he is. What he is meant for. He is meant to be of use. That is what he was made for. That is why he was saved from starvation on the streets – so he could be of use. To Jiang Cheng, and to Jiejie.

He ignores the voice murmuring in his head, But what use are you to them, really? Except as a mascot, and a whore.

But that didn't really address what I consider the main point of the Baifeng Mountain sequence in this AU, and an incredibly overlooked moment in canon, imo: Jin-furen's assertion that people are starting to believe that WWX and JYL are sexually involved. To me, this is THE turning point of this arc for WWX. The only way he'd ever leave Lotus Pier is if he thought it was better for JC and JYL if he did. I think by this point in canon, he's long ago decided JC would be better off with a different head disciple, but JYL is keeping him hanging on. He doesn't feel like he's failing her. Until this moment, when Jin-furen supplies him with a reason to believe that his presence is hurting JYL, too. At that point, he feels he has to leave. I think if he hadn't found Wen Qing in the street, he might have just wandered out of Lanling and noped out of the whole cultivation world at that point.

None of Yu-furen’s lectures or Jiang-shushu’s stories or A-Cheng’s threats taught him what to do when the very people he’s supposed to live for are better off without him.

He’s a useless head disciple to Yunmeng Jiang Sect. Everything he does makes A-Cheng angry. Whenever Jiejie sees him, she looks worried. Even Lan Zhan—according to Lan Xichen—is working himself to the bone in a futile quest to purify Wei Wuxian’s nonexistent core and bring him back to the sword path.

Then, on Baifeng Mountain, he learns that it’s so much worse than he thought.

“You shouldn’t be alone with him, A-Li,” Jin-furen says firmly.

Jiejie flinches. “A-Xian is my didi. There’s nothing improper—”

“With your mother gone, there is no one who will tell you what you need to hear,” Jin-furen interrupts. When she looks at Jiejie, her face is kind; the look she flicks at Wei Wuxian is like a knife. “But I will. A-Li, didi or no, people are talking. An unmarried omega who turned down an advantageous match to a powerful alpha to stay with her brother…”

“Yes,” Jiejie says, cheeks pale. “My brother, Jin-furen. Will you tell me to stay away from A-Cheng, too?”

Jin-furen waves her fan. “Of course not. That’s different. A-Li.” She barely bothers to drop her voice when she says, “You know what betas do. You know what they’re for.”

Wei Wuxian doesn’t know what Jiejie says to that. He doesn’t stay to find out. And he doesn’t plan to come back.

If he drinks himself to death, it’ll reflect poorly on Yunmeng Jiang. But if he flashes enough gold in the right parts of Lanling City, he thinks he can probably get himself knifed pretty easily, and bleed out fast enough that no one will wonder why his core didn’t save him.

Then A-Cheng can find a better head disciple, and Jiejie’s reputation will be safe.

And Lan Zhan—

Well. Lan Zhan will be fine. He won’t have to try to save Wei Wuxian anymore. Once the first shock is past, it’ll probably be a relief.

*

But in Lanling City, Wei Wuxian doesn’t find a knife in the dark.

He finds a woman in a red cloak, starving and bruised, searching for her beloved brother.

And some part of him that he thought was dead roars back to life, like a new-fed flame.

He remembers standing side-by-side with Lan Zhan, remembers the vows they made. He can’t be a good brother or a good beta. He can’t be head disciple, or cultivate the sword path.

But he can stand with justice. He can defend the weak. He can live with a clear conscience.

For the first time since his body was shattered against the death-soaked earth of the Burial Mounds, Wei Wuxian feels alive.

*

Lan Zhan doesn’t see it that way. Lan Zhan, sheltered under his pretty umbrella, tries to call Wei Wuxian back to the path of orthodoxy.

But Wei Wuxian has just walked away from a valley of corpses. He has seen what the path of orthodoxy is paved with. His hands are shaking. Behind him are those few he managed to save – cold, dirty, half-drowned, frightened, sick. He cannot walk away from them. He cannot believe Lan Zhan would ask him to.

PISSED-OFF AND INCREDULOUS. “We promised we would devote our lives to fighting the wicked and defending the weak!” he shouts, while the thunder rolls. His eyes sting as rain drips down his face. “You tell me, Lan Zhan: who is strong, and who is weak? Who is right, and who is wrong?”

Lan Zhan has no answer.

It rises in Wei Wuxian, then: the same smooth-polished calm that came upon him in the Xuanwu Cave, when he thought the moment had come for him to die for A-Cheng. A quiet but powerful peace.

Yes. He could die here. Now. Not knifed in an alley by some thief, trying to slip unnoticed from a world where he was no longer needed, but in battle against the mighty Hanguang-jun, defending the innocent. That would be worthy. That would be right.

As he raises Chenqing between them, Wei Wuxian can feel himself smiling. His belly churns with joy and sorrow, fear and anticipation.

“If there has to be a fight,” he says, very steady, “then let me fight to the death with you. If I have to die, then let it be at the hands of Hanguang-jun. It would be no injustice.”

But in the end, Lan Zhan steps away.

So Wei Wuxian rides forward. To Yiling, where Jiang-shushu rescued him all those years ago. To Yiling, where he dragged his body back from broken death.

He’s been reborn in Yiling twice. Maybe he can do it one more time. He can only try.

Here is an alternate version of WWX's decision to go with Wen Qing. I'm ultimately not sure which one I like better.

It would be monstrous of him to follow her. To turn his back on his family. His purpose.

You live for them. Die for them, if you have to. Don’t you dare keep anything for yourself that could go to them.

A perversion; a rebellion against nature, from which there could be no return and no redemption.

He thinks about the prisoners shuffled out in chains before the targets. Thinks about the screaming of the women, at Nightless City, as the blood ran from under the doors. Of the old men shot down from behind by golden arrows as they fled on the road, sobbing.

*

Three.

Two.

*

He swore, once, to live with a clean conscience.

He should never have made that vow—his conscience, like the rest of him, belonged to Yunmeng Jiang. It was not his to dispose of.

But he did. He did make that promise.

And even though it makes him ungrateful, and unfilial—even though he knows there will be no coming back from this—he finds he can’t break it.

This one thing, in the end, is his.

Either way, we pick up with this bit covering WWX's second stay in the Burial Mounds. Honestly, this is mostly me getting high on my own worldbuilding.

In the Burial Mounds, every moment reminds him of his time in hell. Resentful energy courses through his veins. His stomach growls with hunger. He wakes every morning with the knowledge that he has turned his back on the whole reason for his existence; that he is an ungrateful, unfilial disgrace.

And still, it is easier to breathe here than it was in Lotus Pier.

The things the Wen refugees need from him are things he can actually give: protection, and they don’t care that he uses methods other than the sword; labor, and for the first time since Wen Qing cut him open, he is not the weakest of the group; and money.

Most prostitutes are claimed omegas; safe enough, since a person can only be claimed once, but clients complain about the smell of a foreign claim, vinegary-sharp and off-putting.

A beta, then, can command a high price – even a skinny, dirty one, who can only ply his trade in alleys and teahouses, rather than silk-sheeted brothel beds.

Wei Wuxian doesn’t mind it. After all, it’s not like it’s so different.

This is what he was made for. People have always told him that. It’s just that, now, they give him money when they say it.

Then there's the "LWJ visits Yiling" section, which made it into the finished fic. We pick up with:

After Lan Zhan leaves, Wei Wuxian doesn’t expect to see anyone from his old life ever again, unless it’s at swordpoint.

But he’s always been loved too well – loved more than he deserves.

“Jiejie,” he whispers, eyes full of tears, as she stands before him resplendent in red.

“I wanted you to see me in my wedding clothes,” she says gently. “Do you like them?”

“You look magnificent,” he tells her, throat tight.

It’s almost more than he can bear, to sit around a table with Jiejie and A-Cheng eating pork rib and lotus root soup, being asked—at A-Cheng’s urging, how?—to give a courtesy name to Jiejie’s firstborn. He thought this was gone for good, and now, it’s—

It isn’t like he never left. It doesn’t feel that way. Wen Ning is waiting outside; the rest of the Wens up on the mountain; his stomach is growling despite the soup, because it’s all he’s eaten all day; black curls of resentful energy fill the ugly hole where his core used to be.

But it feels like, maybe, he could find a new way of belonging. Like, maybe, he could have both: be true to his family and his sect and be true to the vow he made with Lan Zhan.

*

He’s so stupid. He never learns.

And every time he falls into the delusion, people die.

*

But when he gets Lan Zhan’s invitation to Jin Rulan’s 100-days celebration, it seems like a sign from the heavens. Confirmation. He can have both, and the proof is right here, in his nephew’s name written in Lan Zhan’s perfect calligraphy.

He works in a frenzy on his gift for the baby. Night and day, applying new protections, refining those that are already there. Every mo, yao, gui and guai he can think of will be repelled. Curses, too – every curse he ever learned about, and some he invented himself.

This is how he’ll make up for it – how he’ll pay the Jiangs back for what he owes them. Every disappointment, every time he wasn’t there for Jiang Cheng or Jiejie when they needed him, will be made right. He pours his time, his ingenuity, his expertise, and his literal blood into these beads.

They’re not fine jade or lustrous gold. Probably a kid raised as the heir to Lanling Jin won’t want to wear it. But Jiejie can make him, when he’s little. And when he’s older, he can carry it with him in a bag or in his sleeve – that will be enough. Wei Wuxian takes care to make the protections strong enough for that. He doesn’t want to overlook anything. It has to be perfect. This is his chance.

You do anything your jie needs, Yu-furen’s voice echoes, every time Wei Wuxian’s eyes start to close under the weight of his exhaustion. And her children, someday.

I will, Yu-furen, he promises silently, rubbing his eyes and returning to his work. I swear it. I will.

*

And then, there is the ambush.

The box falls from his sleeve.

Jin Zixun closes his hand and—

Wei Wuxian doesn’t completely remember what happens after that.

The dust that used to be lotus-seed beads, pouring from Jin Zixun’s fist like sand through an hourglass – he remembers that very well. It replays in his mind, again and again.

But afterward. That’s when he loses the thread. Loses control.

Loses—

*

Jin Zixuan.

Wen Qing and Wen Ning.

A-Yuan.

Wen-popo. Fourth Uncle. All of the Wens he fought so hard and gave so much to save.

Lan Zhan – his enemy now.

Jiejie, widowed and grieving. Jiejie, wounded. Then—

*

“Jiejie!”

*

There’s no point, after that.

Lan Zhan takes his hand, holds on, won’t let go when Wei Wuxian tells him to. He looks at Wei Wuxian like he sees something worth saving.

But then A-Cheng is there; Wei Wuxian smiles. Good. This is how it should be. His life is A-Cheng’s to take. It always has been.

Everything happens very quickly, then.

And then there’s nothing at all.

Okay, that's all very depressing... future deleted scenes posts won't be so bleak, I promise! Stay tuned for tomorrow's installment.

[least-carpet]

do you maybe have some more chengning thoughts or wen ning gets a life snippets you want to share👀

Hi, anon! I'm a little stuck on "Wen Ning Gets a Life," so maybe I'll ramble about that.

One of the problems that I've had with "Wen Ning Gets a Life" is that I have two tonally different streams of thought about Wen Ning and Jiang Cheng and they both kind of got mashed into a single fic. But like. The vibes are different! What have I done! But it's too late now, I think. I have enough to puzzle my way through to an ending.

One of those ideas is about monkey's paw-ing Wen Ning to the max. What if the universe what infinitely both cruel (you get what you thought you wanted and it sucks) and also, for once, kind (the experience still teaches you about yourself and then you can move on)? I don't really think of Wen Ning as a person with a lot of insight, which, like, dude died at like 16 and spent 13 years chained to a wall with nails in his head! The opportunities to learn through experience have been limited. This applies to Wen Ning, Wei Wuxian, and Wen Qing. All of them have been literally or figuratively dead for that intervening time. They have different responses to trying to return to life, and Wen Qing and Wei Wuxian are actively going insane because their go-to strategies ("fix it" and "run away and live in denial") aren't working so great. Only Wen Ning, whose strategy is "yoto (you only live twice)," is having any fun at all, and that's completely by accident. I'm trying to just focus on that.

Something about Jiang Cheng and Wen Ning accidentally fucking their way into a relationship is hilarious to me, and, you know, I've seen people do that more than once in real life (without like... witnessing the sex bit, obviously...). Like, in many cases, what is good for the hole is not good for the soul, but sometimes it IS good for both, actually, and part of the sexual compatibility is the inadvertent emotional intimacy! It will take them at least 5 years before they talk about anything, and a lot of sex, because I think it's affirming for both of them. Wen Ning is kind of growing into a new self-image and self-understanding and Jiang Cheng is getting praise and physical touch and also one place where he doesn't have to be responsible for anything. But I don't know if they talk about it? I know Wen Ning and Wen Qing have to talk, and Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng have to talk, and certainly Wen Ning and Jiang Cheng need to interact but I don't think I'm going to get them to the Conversation... hmm.

The other one is about moral injury, which is genuinely such a downer that I've cut most of it. Moral injury is a kind of trauma that happens when you witness or perpetrate actions that violate your own moral beliefs. It's distinct from PTSD and involves things like intense rumination about what happened—like I think Jiang Cheng likely has it in relation to everything that happened with Wei Wuxian, specifically in the form of him blaming himself for trusting him too much and that leading to Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli's deaths. In relation to Wen Ning, I think killing the Wen Remnants could be an additional source of moral injury, and that could mirror Wen Ning's experience of the fall of Lotus Pier. I am really interested in them as mirrors of each other. But anyway, I don't have a separate plot for this, and all of it would probably be pretty sad, so it doesn't really match "Wen Ning Gets a Life" very well.

[mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess]

@sasumimo

🏳️‍⚧️♨️🌌

Steam rose from the hot spring like a thin, white veil, winding upwards through the cold night air. Stars glimmered above, the sky clear, so clear that one could see the dim band of the Milky Way stretch over the horizon, a colorful gash of stardust and nebulae.

Wei Wuxian glanced up, mesmerized with the sight for a few moments before stepping into the hot water, skin prickling pleasantly at the warmth. Lan Wangji waited for him there already, eyes closed as he relaxed into the water, skin rosy with the heat. He didn't appear to have noticed Wei Wuxian about to join him, so he decided to maintain the advantage and sneak up on his husband and scare him a little.

However, though he waddled soundlessly into the water, he found himself hoisted into Lan Wangji's arms just before he pounced - all while Lan Wangji's eyes remained closed.

"I thought you fell asleep! Here I was trying to scare you, and you ruined it!"

Lan Wangji cracked an eye open. "I could pretend to be scared now."

Wei Wuxian leaned against his husband's chest, laughing. "We both know you're a terrible actor, Lan Zhan."

"Mn..."

A few moments of comfortable silence followed, the two sharing an embrace in the quiet space. Wei Wuxian's eyes drifted towards the sky again, taking in the multitude of stars.

"Lan Zhan."

"Hm?"

"When I was little, there was a legend I heard in Lotus Pier, about the stars in the night sky. It was said that the stars above are people that died but that did not want to leave their loved ones behind. So, the gods turned them into stars, so they could watch over the earth. And if you ever miss someone that's gone, you can talk to the stars and maybe your loved one is there and they'll hear you..."

Lan Zhan opened his eyes, looking to the stars himself. He had talked to them many times, but not in a tender way - he had raged to the heavens about his fate, about Wei Ying's, about A-Yuan's. He had asked why such a good man had to die in such a gruesome way, why nobody could see the truth the way he did.

He had been angry, resentful, grieving - never had it ever crossed his mind to try and seek Wei Ying among the stars. He should have, if anybody deserved to live on into the heavens, it was him. Still, Lan Zhan could only be glad he hadn't, returning instead on earth, to him.

"I've been thinking a lot about Mo Xuanyu recently... I've been having these dreams that I think were his, and it's... difficult."

Lan Zhan ran his fingers through the ends of Wei Ying's hair, watching the strands dance into the water as he let go. Then, cupping some of the warm water in his palm, he gently wet Wei Ying's back, warming up the drying skin.

"I think... based off these dreams and what I remember reading in the notes I found in that shack at the Mo manor, that Mo Xuanyu wasn't a man, or at least didn't feel like one. There was makeup on my face when I woke up, and I also found some tattered clothes that I didn't think much of at the time, but now I think they were parts of dresses...I keep dreaming about being made fun of, hiding something important, feeling out of place..."

There was a pause yet again, and Lan Zhan found himself wanting to leave a kiss on Wei Ying's forehead. "You are feeling troubled by this knowledge."

"Yeah, but it's not - I don't have any problem with that, you know, I just don't know how to refer to... him? her? Them? I'm one of the very few people that still remember Mo Xuanyu and probably the only one that tries to honor their memory. And I feel like I've been disrespectful of them in many ways, even just by referring to them as a man..."

"I think they would understand. They did not reveal that information to you right away, either." Lan Zhan replied, after a long moment. "They simply summoned you with a purpose, and allowed you to live in their body as you please after that purpose has been fulfilled. But, of course, we must be mindful to refer to them in a more respectful way now that we know of this facet of their identity."

"Yeah... I just hope they didn't get too upset about being referred to as someone they were not." Wei Wuxian's eyes flitted to the sky again. "Wherever they may be."

[remma3760]

Chapter 3

Summary:

Wei Ying begins his life at Cloud Recesses, while Jiang Fengmian plots to get him back.

I'm not entirely sure how old any of the children were when things happened in canon, so will be making my own timeline. Wei Ying's parents died when he was five, and Jiang Fengmian found him and brought him to Lotus Pier a year later. I know it was supposed to be longer, but that never made any sense to me. He was a child. He wasn't hiding. He stayed exactly where he was left so why did it take so long for him to be found? So, when my story starts, Wey Ying and Jiang Cheng are six, Lan Zhan is seven - his mother has been dead a year - Jiang Yanli and Lan Xichen are ten. Again, I have no idea when they would get their courtesy names, so I'm going to go with ten, which is also when they get their swords.

Scowling, Lan Qiren dropped the letter back onto his desk. This was the third one. The third. What was Jiang Fengmian thinking? The way he talked, it was if he had completely forgotten his wife's irrational behaviour, and the whole reason Wei Ying had even been taken from Lotus Pier. And, while he hadn't directly asked for Wei Ying's return, he was clearly leading up to it. Hmmn, maybe it was time to bring his contingency plan forward. The man was simply unreasonable. Who knew what he would try next.

There was also a letter for Wei Ying from Jiang Yanli. While he could believe that the little girl cared for Wei Ying, he doubted that she had written such a letter alone, or even at all. Fortunately, he had decided to review the contents before giving it to Wei Ying, and had been appalled. From start to finish, it was nothing more than a subtle rebuke of Wei Ying's behaviour. Claiming that if he had only behaved, none of this would have happened. That he had hurt them all terribly by running away and abandoning his duty to Lotus Pier. Didn't he miss them at all? Didn't he miss her? The whole thing was nauseating. Certainly not something a child would write unprompted. Lan Qiren felt a shiver of disgust at such an unprincipled use of the girl. 

He had shown the letter to Lan Huizhong, who had agreed that the inherent reproach from someone he cared for would certainly set Wei Ying back in his recovery. The poor boy didn't deserve the unwarranted guilt the Jiang heaped upon him. While it was against his principles to keep the letter from Wei Ying, he had to do what was best for the child, and decided to follow the healer's advice and so for now, the letter would go in the drawer. 

Sighing, he got up and headed for the medical pavilion. Yesterday, Lan Baojie had declared Wei Ying healed enough to leave, so he would be bringing him home today. There had been one rather traumatic moment when Wei Ying had thought they were sending him back to Lotus Pier, but once the misunderstanding had been cleared up, little A-Ying had been ecstatic. Lan Qiren had arranged for a new bed to be set up, next to A-Zhan's. Xichen was seeing to it now, excited that his little brother finally had a friend and happy to welcome Wei Ying into their lives. Such a good boy. Both - no all - his boys were good boys.

***

Jiang Fengmian was not happy. He knew Lan Qiren was a smart man so he must have picked up on his hints at wanting Wei Ying returned. Yet he said nothing. His letters were perfectly polite. He detailed A-Ying's progress but never once mentioned when he would be giving Wei Ying back. He spoke as if it had already been decided that Wei Ying would remain at Cloud Recesses. Jiang Fengmian had never agreed to that. Yes, the situation had been difficult, and yes, at the time it was best for Wei Ying to be removed from that situation. But that was weeks ago. He had talked with his wife and while she had not admitted fault, he could see she realised that she had gone to far and was sure she would never harm the boy again. He was sure she wanted Wei Ying back, too. 

Well, maybe the letter from Yanli would do the trick. She had been a little reluctant at first, but she missed Wei Ying and when he explained how important it was for Wei Ying to understand that he belonged with them and that her letter would help him see that and bring him home, she had complied. And Wei Ying adored her, so as soon as he read how sad he had made her, he would be instantly sorry and would beg to return to Lotus Pier. Besides, he must be tired of the Cloud Recesses rules by now. He was a free spirit, just like his mother. Lotus Pier was the right place for him. 

Satisfied, he pulled out some paper, deciding another letter wouldn't hurt. Maybe a letter from him to Wei Ying, stressing his childrens' misery at their beloved brother's absence. Did he really want to make them suffer? Why would he make them so unhappy, when he knew how much they loved him? Yes, that was the way to go. 

He hummed to himself, planning out his newest letter. Meanwhile out on the training field, another practice dummy met a horrible end. The two disciples watching from the sidelines ducked their heads and hurried away as the Madam's angry gaze fell on them. She sneered. Let them run. Cowards, the lot of them. Let them fear her. She was Yu Ziyuan. None of them had the right to judge her. None of them. All because of That Brat. How dare he be kept from her. Who did those Lan's think they were to keep him from her. It was her right to discipline him as she saw fit, and once Fengmian brought him back to Lotus Pier where he belonged, she would make him pay for inconveniencing her. She would teach him his place. It was her right. 

***

Wei Ying bounced happily, grinning at his Saviour Boy - at his Lan Zhan. Lan Zhan had visited him every day since he came here. Lan Zhan had read him stories and held his hand whenever he felt afraid. Lan Zhan was so good to him. Lan Zhan had been teaching him the rules. He loved how Lan Zhan would nod and give a pleased hum every time he learned a new one. He liked learning. So far, he had learned almost a hundred rules. Yes, there were a lot more to go, but he would learn them too and then he would follow them all and then he could stay here with Lan Zhan forever. He liked Lan Zhan so much. He didn't smile much, or talk much, but Wei Ying didn't care. Lan Zhan was always kind and always helped Wei Ying and always answered Wei Ying questions. Lan Zhan had saved Wei Ying, so Wei Ying knew that Lan Zhan was the best person in the world. 

Ever since he had been here, everyone had been so kind to him. Lan Xiansheng, who had carried him when he couldn't walk. Lan Daifu who had given him horrible things to drink but had promised that they would make him feel better and they had. And he had put cream on Wei Ying's owies. It had hurt, but Lan Daifu tried his best to be gentle and not hurt Wei Ying, so Wei Ying liked him too. And Lan Zhan had a brother! Lan Xichen, and he was so nice. He had brought Wei Ying a sweet bun and had smiled at him and patted his head. He was glad Lan Zhan had such a kind brother. He liked all of them, really. Not as much as he liked Lan Zhan, but he didn't think he could ever like anyone as much as he liked Lan Zhan.

Then the other Lan Daifu had come. He hadn't given Wei Ying any icky drinks or pushed and prodded at him at all. He had just sat and talked to Wei Ying, and listened to Wei Ying. Wei Ying wasn't sure what to make of that. Grown ups didn't usually care what Wei Ying had to say, but this Lan Daifu did. At first, Wei Ying didn't know what to say. He didn't want to say the wrong thing and make Lan Daifu angry, but Lan Daifu said that there was no wrong thing to say, and Wei Ying could say anything Wei Ying wanted to say, and Lan Daifu would listen, so that was good. Wei Ying knew Lan Daifu talked to Lan Zhan too, and Lan Zhan hardly ever talked to anyone, so Lan Daifu couldn't be bad if Lan Zhan talked to him and so that meant it had to be safe for Wei Ying to talk to him. 

Yesterday, he had been told he would go home today. At first, he had been scared and cried, because he thought that meant they were tired of him and that they were going to send him back to Madam Yu. He was so sad and scared. Lan Zhan held his hand and he looked sad, too. Wei Ying didn't want that. Lan Zhan was so good. Lan Zhan should never be sad, so he tried to stop crying and be brave.

Lan Xiansheng had looked worried, asked him why he was upset. Hiccuping, he told them he was fine. He would go and not be a bother. It was fine. At least he knew some rules now, so maybe he wuldn't make Madam Yu so angry all the time. Lan Xiansheng had looked shocked, then explained that he was not going back to Lotus Pier. That he was staying here. That he would have a bed right next to Lan Zhan's. That he would have his own trunk to keep his own things in right next to Lan Zhan's. He could stay. They wanted him to stay. They weren't tired of him and they weren't sending him away. They wanted him. When they said home, they meant here. Here was home now. He could stay with Lan Zhan always, and learn rules, and never go away. 

And, any minute now, lan Xiansheng would come for him, and they would go to where his bed was, and where he would have his own trunk with his own things in it. He would still be talking to Lan Daifu, but that was okay. He would talk to anyone as long as he could stay. He grinned at Lan Zhan again, swinging their arms, clinging to his hand, and Lan Zhan smiled back! A tiny smile, but it was definitely there. And he did that. He made Lan Zhan smile. He was so happy. He was going home. 

[ganen-cheese]

Hello :3 About mdzs, it's so nice you've tried all adaptations :) I'm curious but do you have a favorite moment in the book? also if I may ask again, between drama/anime/dramaCD, what is your favorite version of the wangxian song? :D sorry for all the questions, you can ignore if you want~ have a nice day, and thank you so much for offer us amazing mdzs content!!!

AHHH!! Thank you for all the questions heheheheh I love talking about MDZS sldfkj. Thank you so much!! And you read MDZS too!!!!!!!! <3333333

Spoiler warning!

Favorite version of the WangXian song:

Definitely the Chinese Drama CD's WangXian!!!! It's the MOST BEAUTIFUL THING EVER!!!!

I've repeated it 10 billion times.

Random favorite moment:

When Wei Wuxian was making drunk and dirty Lan Wangji take a bath to clean himself up after the chickens and vandalism and Lan Wangji also swiftly took off Wei Wuxian's clothing's tie and Wei Wuxian was like "No, no!? I'm not gonna go in with you!?"

It's the time Wei Wuxian wanted to ask drunk Lan Wangji how he felt about him (and kept telling himself that's all his motive). It's so cute how embarrassed Wei Wuxian was about the bath scene, even while he already saw nekkid Lan Wangji in the past. You can really see how conscious he is of Lan Wangji as a romantic interest and I think this kind of "first time" -ness of Wei Wuxian was really cute, even while he was actively trying to know Lan Wangji's feelings for him.

Meaningful favorite moment:

This is difficult!!! I love so many things.

I loved when Wei Wuxian was showing Lan Wangji around Yunmeng/Lotus Pier. Lan Wangji always overtly "rejected" Wei Wuxian's insistent invitations before, he "appeared" in Yunmeng before but it was never an "official visitation" and Wei Wuxian didn't think it was him Lan Wangji was looking for, and it ended in an argument when Lan Wangji insisted on Wei Wuxian to come back to Gusu with him again.

So when Wei Wuxian finally got the chance to have Lan Wangji in Yunmeng to show around, it was so cute (while also sad because of all the memories of his childhood he can't have back, but I am so happy that he got to actually go back, with Lan Wangji - he doesn't have to be alone).

It's like doing everything he wanted to do with Lan Wangji before, and more. He showed all his childhood trails, made Lan Wangji eat the foods he liked, visited the memorial of his foster parents to let them meet Lan Wangji no matter what (and did the two bows with him while holding off on the third bow for a hopeful some day ;o; ), climbed the tree he was stuck in (but didn't tell him the real reason ofc ;w; ), and of course, the moment he jumped straight into Lan Wangji's arms and he caught him (;-; ). It's so cute the way Wei Wuxian slowly realized his own feelings secretly and it was so nice seeing him just....... having a date with Lan Zhan (before he was only 3 year old Xian Xian asking his sister what it's like to like someone... but now he is... at least 10 year old Xian Xian XDDD), and then later slowly moved to know Lan Wangji's feelings as well. (;o; )

*****

Wei Wuxian to Wen Chao

"Oh, can you remind me again what punishment awaits those who humiliate a Wen cultivator? How are they punished again? If I remember correctly, I think they are cut down and killed on the spot. Is that correct? Yeah... That's nice.

So you can go die now"

******

"I have to make sure to repay the debt they have granted me"

"Nonesense! Why do you make other people pay the price for the debt that you owe!"

******

I also liked, in the cave, when Lan Wangji saved Wei Wuxian and got his foot bit by Xuanwu, and while he was being dragged away Wei Wuxian saved Lan Wangji then carried him away.

Oh and any image of Lan Wangi, Wei Wuxian and A-yuan.

(T.T )

******

"I REALLY WANTED TO SLEEP WITH YOU!!!"

******

And when Wei Wuxian lets Lan Wangji save him hehe in Guanyin Temple hehe.

I think there are so much more but I just can't remember right now but ahhhh everything is perfect. I love Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. Times were so rough and sad before but everything is paid off in the end and they are happy husbands (;o; )!!!

Again, thank you so much!!! Hehehe I might edit if I remember more...

[impatiencegyu]

Wei Ying, Wen Qing and A-Yuan

Some context before we start! This is set in the Hogwarts universe, just retaining the sects and clans and the type of magic (don't think too hard about it, I'm confused too). Wen Ruohan used to be Minister of Magic, now it's Jin Guangshan. He's oppressing the cultivation world, especially the innocent Dafan Wens. A-Yuan is a baby and is not at all involved, and Wen Qing has to save him somehow, even if she can't save everyone.

"A-Yuan, you've been awfully quiet all this time! Did Qing-jiejie tell you off for something?" Wei Ying smiles at A-Yuan ruffling his hair as he fake-glares at Wen Qing with a hand on her wrist.

"Qing-jie, I've told you to not be too hard on him. It is this poor mother that suffers when his child is hurt!"

Wen Qing rolls her eyes so hard it hurts, before slapping his hand away. "This is not the time for your dramatics, Wei Ying. You know more than anyone how serious this is."

She watches Wei Ying's smile falter at the edges, before he smiles even wider than before.

"Aiya, jiejie, you worry too much about everything! See, we have to be carefree and calm about such things! Nothing's going to—"

"I don't remember you being this carefree when Jiang Cheng lost his core."

Wen Qing watches the blow burn across Wei Ying's face, and ignores how her heart hurts when his smile drops and his eyes harden.

"Please keep your voice down, Wen Qing. I don't want the whole pub knowing, gods." Wei Ying's voice is colder now as he leans back in his seat. "And, besides, as one bad leader falls, another rises. It's natural. I don't understand why you're so terrified of this. If it was Wen Ruohan before, it's Jin Guangshan now. There's not much we can do about it except being careful, is there?"

"You say it so easily," Wen Qing snaps, "He's killing people, Wei Ying! He's killing more people in a day than Wen Ruohan did in a week! And yet, no one will raise a hand against him because the ones who are being killed are us. Even when we did nothing."

Wei Ying laughs, a dark humorless chuckle that startles A-Yuan, before raising his hand nonchalantly. "Isn't this hand enough? I'm not letting him do shit anymore, jie. As long as you don't decide to throw yourselves at his feet, you'll be okay. I will—"

"Exactly, you idiot. That's what I've been trying to tell you for the past few minutes. Don't help us. Go back to the Muggle world, help Jiang Cheng set Lotus Pier straight. If you can't do that, go somewhere else, experiment with your dark arts. Or, just go to Gusu. Lan Zhan, you know he is—"

"This is not about Lan Zhan, is it?" Wei Ying snaps, slamming his wand down on the table. "Don't bring him into this. He's already done too much for me, lying to the Aurors and what not. I don't want to burden him more. Lan Zhan doesn't deserve that."

Wen Qing inhales roughly, gripping him hard by the wrist. "Lower your voice, you're scaring A-Yuan."

A-Yuan stares back and forth between them, eyes wide with fear. Wen Qing watches Wei Ying's eyes soften, and something akin to self-hatred fills his eyes as he goes to say something, but she beats him to it.

"You say Lan Zhan has done too much for you, and you can't let him do anymore for you. It's the same for us, Wei Ying. You've done too much for us. You've taken your own life apart for us. What if you have to go to Azkaban, what then? Who will protect us if you go away and they all turn on us? I can't even save myself — how am I going to save all of us? This is why I say it's better if we just—"

"You will not surrender to that man, jie." Wei Ying's voice rings like thunder in the small booth, "I won't let you do that. You've all— you can't do that to everyone. They are all—"

"Wei Ying," Wen Qing interjects, eyes teary as she stares at him helplessly. "This is the only way. The only young people with us is me and A-Ning. The grannies and uncles are all ready to go with us. This is the only way. We're not scared to die, none of us are. If all this mess ends if we die, then we'll do just that. We'll go to him."

"Jie," A tear slides down Wei Ying's cheek as he holds on to her hand desperately, "Jie, you can't do this to me."

"This is the only way, brother. And as for A-Yuan," She smiles reassuringly at A-Yuan, who, surprisingly, doesn't smile back, "I'll find a way before we leave."

"I'm not letting you do this," Wei Ying says in a determined voice. "I won't let you do this. We'll find a way, jie, I can't just let you—"

"I'm sorry, Wei Ying," is all the warning he gets before Wen Qing points her wand at him.

"Jie?" Wei Ying's voice is laced with betrayal and confusion, as he stares back and forth between her and the wand.

Wen Qing closes her eyes, gritting her teeth as she holds back tears and whispers, "Stupefy!"

Wei Ying's eyes widen once, before closing, as he falls down on the table with a soft thud. Wen Qing ignores the tears streaming down her face as she takes out the adoption papers and the ink, quickly pressing Wei Ying's thumb against it.

"Jiejie," A-Yuan calls, crying as well, "Will Xian-gege be okay?"

"Yes, he will, love, as long as you are with him. You remember what I said, don't you?" Wen Qing crouches down to his level, ruffling his hair. "You are going to live with your Xian-gege from now. Take care of him. Take care of yourself. Be good, and convince your gege to go see your Rich-gege, alright?"

A-Yuan nods, rubbing his tears away. "Jiejie, will I see you again?"

Wen Qing smiles sadly, kissing his forehead, "Maybe, love, maybe."

She then turns to Wei Ying, knocked out on the table, and presses a kiss to his forehead too.

"Wei Ying, my little brother," Wen Qing sighs, tears falling into his long hair. "Jiejie's sorry, yeah? I know you said you'd raise him, but not like this, ever. This is the only way we can save him if we are gone. I'm sorry, A-Ying. Jiejie's so, so sorry."

Then she turns away, manages a smile at A-Yuan, and gives the papers to him. "Give these to your gege, okay?"

He nods again, not crying anymore, but Wen Qing knows that look on his face. Determined, as if given a great responsibility. An expression too old to be on that young face. The same expression she had seen on Wei Ying's face when he first offered to help them.

Wen Qing bites down her tears, embracing A-Yuan hard once more before leaving.

She doesn't look back.

[mfingenius]

A request for mdzs ?? I'm full of ideas omg!! Like WY going to Lotus Pier to eat his favorite dishes with Lan Zhan and they take Sizhui with them and Jingyi tag along but Jiang Chang and Jin Ling find them in the city and what happens neeeext ?? 👀

Or Lan Zhan having nightmares? I find it hard to believe that he doesn't have any after believing in WY Death for so many years and WY waking up and tells him "I'm here, I'm alive" so many times to reassure him and for once he can't smile because he didn't feel those years pass but LZ was there and his pain will always make WY feel guilty for leaving him alone 🥺

I have more if you're still begging 👀🥰

I AM IN FACT STILL BEGGING BABE YOU CAN GIVE ME ALL THE REQUESTS YOU HAVE AA

Also I want to do the first one and i might later on but for now imma do the second one cause ANGST

***

"Lan Zhan?" Wei Wuxian was certain that the bell hadn't sounded yet. The sky outside was dark, and everything was quiet; if it had been mǎo shi, he would at least hear the sounds of the birds singing. They seemed to rise when the Lan did.

But it was quiet, and everyone was still asleep, and Wei Wuxian's husband - who usually slept, unmoving, all throughout the night - was sitting up on their bed, curled into himself, breathing so heavily his shoulders heaved.

"Lan Zhan?" he asked again, sitting up slowly. He was afraid to startle him. It was usually impossible - Lan Zhan seemed to hear everything and see even when his back was turned - but he'd already said his name once, and Lan Zhan didn't seem to have heard him. "Lan Zhan, Lan Wangji, Hanguang-Jun. Are you alright?"

Lan Zhan flinched when Wei Wuxian placed a hand on his forearm, but instead of pulling away, Wei Wuxian tightened his grip.

"Lan Zhan," he said quietly. "What's going on?"

Lan Zhan looked at him. His skin was pale, his eyes red-rimmed. There was blood on his lower lip, and Wei Wuxian wiped it away with his thumb; the indentations left behind by Lan Zhan's teeth were almost a surprise. Lan Zhan didn't react.

"Lan Zhan." Wei Ying forced a laugh. "I need you to say something, alright? Anything."

"Go back to sleep," Lan Zhan said finally; his voice was wrong. It made a knot tighten on Wei Ying's stomach. "It's alright. It was just a nightmare."

Wei Ying didn't know Lan Zhan had nightmares; he didn't. He did sometimes, before; when he could remember hungry dogs or the feeling of his skin splitting under Zidian. When he was so angry he could hardly breathe, later, filled with too many awful memories that weren't even his own, when there were always screams echoing in his head.

But now - everything from his past life was little more than a hazy memory, hardly even present enough to leak into his dreams.

"We don't have to go back to sleep," he said, moving closer to Lan Zhan. "Let's go to the Back Mountain, yeah? See the bunnies. They always help."

He attempted to get out of bed, only to be pulled back by his husband, who wrapped his arms tightly around his torso and buried his face in his neck; he was trembling.

"Don't leave." Lan Zhan pleaded. "Not yet, please. I know - stay. For now. I've missed you so much."

"Alright," Wei Wuxian agreed, feeling more and more unsettled by the moment. "Alright. I'm not leaving, Lan Zhan. It's alright. I'm not leaving you."

Lan Zhan's arms tightened, and Wei Wuxian made a small noise as the breath was squeezed out of him; he usually greatly appreciated the Lan arm strength that his husband possessed, but right then, he felt his husband might be trying to squeeze him to death.

It would've been a great way to die, but he wasn't planning to go without complaining.

"Aiyah, Lan Zhan," he said, settling more comfortably into his husband's arms. "You're going to squeeze me to death, you know? I mean, I'll obviously enjoy it, I don't think there's anything you could do that I wouldn't enjoy, but you could at least try to be gentler with your poor, fragile husband. I'm not as strong as I used to be, you know? Ah, I guess I can't really blame Mo Xuanyu, he did give his life up for me to be here, but he could've at least-"

His shoulder was damp; his shoulder was damp, and Lan Zhan's shoulders were hitching in tiny little movements that meant crying, but the idea of Lan Zhan and crying was so foreign it took him too long to piece it together.

"Lan Zhan?" he asked. "What's going on? You're scaring me, husband." He tried to extract himself from his grip so he could turn around, look at him, but Lan Zhan made a wounded noise and held him closer. "Alright. Alright, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. "We'll stay like this as long as you want. We'll stay like this forever, okay, Lan Zhan? No more being Hanguang-Jun. No more teaching the junior disciples, or visiting the rabbits. Just you and me, sitting here like this, until you're ready to move."

Lan Zhan nodded, and Wei Wuxian settled against him once more.

They'd talk about it tomorrow, or later, if Lan Zhan felt like he could talk; Wei Wuxian couldn't imagine what Lan Zhan's nightmares were about, if they left him like this. He swallowed and tried not to wonder whether they'd happened while he'd been dead, as well, if Lan Zhan had found himself sitting like this alone, in his bed, with no one to comfort him.

He swallowed again and sunk deeper into his husband's arms.

"It'll be alright, Lan Zhan," he said. "Everything's going to be okay."

Lan Zhan didn't respond.

------------------------------------------------------

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Commissions

[azems-familiar]

For the mzds oc (whose name fell out of my brain whoops): how do you feel about WWX’s resurrection?

(!!!!!!!!!!!! i am so excited to answer this one dkjgfhkjh i haven't done much with her yet! and her name is Lei Bao 雷豹, courtesy name Wuying 乌撄!)

(Lei Wuying is, for those unfamiliar with her, the head disciple of YunmengJiang post Wei Wuxian's death. She was one of the very few juniors to survive the Fall of Lotus Pier, and so remembers what it was like to learn from him, and remembers what it was like when Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan were in charge.)

Lei Wuying sighs and makes a face, torn between some kind of aggravation and frustration and fondness, even now. "It's been strange," she admits. "He was my hero when I was young, and even after everything happened - I know why he had to leave us, I do, I get it. He was protecting us. He never stopped protecting us. But I was still a kid when he left - I was. I didn't think it at the time, because I'd just been a person of authority during a fucking war, but I was still a kid, and he was my hero, and when he left it hurt. I didn't like feeling like I wasn't good enough for him, like our sect wasn't good enough for him, even though I knew that wasn't why he left. And when he died... sorry, I don't really like talking about Nightless City, even this many years later."

She shrugs and runs a hand over her forehead - there's cinnabar ink on her fingers, and it leaves a streak across her face. "Anyway, as for the actual question - it was always like there was a ghost in Lotus Pier, if I'm honest with you. Jiang-zongzhu wouldn't ever admit it, but with how much time he spent hunting down any rumor that da-shixiong returned, and the fact that no one really dared mention him within the walls... da-shixiong's ghost was there in all the ways he wasn't there, if that makes sense. And I've always been more reliant on talismans than my peers, because of his influence, and so I taught that to my disciples once I took this position. But none of us ever expected da-shixiong to come back."

A laugh, and then, "Though of course, if anyone was going to do it, it'd be him, just to piss Jiang-zongzhu off. I think it'd feel less strange that he's back if I'd had the chance to speak to him, honestly. The only time I've seen him is during that impromptu conference here in Lotus Pier shortly after the Second Siege of the Burial Mounds, and he was paying more attention to Hanguang-jun than anyone else at the time. He looked happy, though, and I think - now that I'm older, I think that's the best I can want for him." She sighs, a little rueful, and says, "Now that I'm an adult with my own juniors to look after, I realize that Wei Wuxian isn't a hero, or a devil, or anything like that. He's just another person. And if he needs to join GusuLan to be happy, then I'll be glad for him.

".... I'm still going to try and meet him at the next Discussion Conference, if Jiang-zongzhu takes me along. I want to compare talisman designs. He's not the only talisman inventor in the jianghu anymore. That's what he gets for being dead for thirteen years."

[rosethornewrites]

11/25-12/8 NR, E, & M reading

The usual

Finished

Not Rated:

Feel It All Around, by BishopDeaconCardinal

"I think I killed you in another life."

"I think I let you."

Gifts and Tricks, by Noble_House_of_Black

Jin Ling invites Wei Wuxian to his Birthday Celebration. Wei Wuxian is having a good time, until Jin Ling locks him in a room with the Sect Leader of Yunmeng Jiang.

Explicit:

A Narrow Bridge, by FrameofMind, Jo Lasalle (Jo_Lasalle) (58 chapters)

Once, Lan Wangji made a choice to step aside. Ten years after Wei Ying’s death, he finds a way back to choose again.

Much Ado About Knotting, by Solmae

Based on a WuJi event prompt.

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji try out something new. It goes...less than ideal.

Mature:

Head and the heart, by Janelle24601 (46 chapters)

(This story moves away at some point from the canon story)

Lan Zhan loses his memories after an accident at fighting the Wen’s at Nightless City. He can’t remember the last few years. The war, being indoctrinated and humiliated by Wen Chao, and most importantly for his brother and Uncle he can’t imagine ever meeting Wei Ying. Lan Zhan never fell in love with the most unsuitable cultivator possible, he can now live a life more suitable for his station without being dragged down by the YiLing Patriarch. It seems too good to be true. Maybe it is! Meanwhile without the balance of the Lan's the cultivation world has been aiming their hatred at both Wei Ying and the Jiang Sect, forcing Wei Ying to make some hard choices. By the time the Lan's and the cultivation world need Wei Ying's help once again will all this time apart without Lan Zhan’s guidance and support mean the new Wei Ying still feel anything for Lan Zhan?

Away from Trouble, by Ilona22

An overheard conversation changes the way Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian part before he ascends Baoshan Sangren's mountain.

From that point onwards, things go differently.

Unfinished

Not Rated:

One more time with feeling, by Hauntcats

Wei Ying and Lan Zhan are married and settled into Cloud Recesses when Wei Ying finds himself back in Lotus Pier before leaving for the Lan lectures.

Or Really? I'm back in time again? Wahhh - Wei Ying.

Explicit:

the fire in your stare, by WhatTheOwlHears

He buried one hand in Lan Wangji’s hair, dragged his lips over the corner of his mouth. “Come on, Lan Zhan, stop me.”

Lan Wangji—shivered. It was a faint motion, something he might not have detected if he hadn’t plastered them so close together, hadn’t had his lips and fingertips against his skin. It set Wei Wuxian on fire, to feel that chink in his armor.

“Does Wei Ying want to be stopped?”

Discarded, by teawater

Children in Cloud Recesses are succubming to a dark curse. There's one person who may be able to help.

Unfinished Epilogue - Postscripts, by Solmae

What happens after ‘the end.’

The Not!Sequel to the Unfinished Epilogue.

Mature:

Your Song Called Me, Can't Believe I am Late, by Padma_Warrior (locked; must be logged into ao3 to read)

" Forgive me! I beg you, please!." A sharp smile.

" You didn't listen when he said please, so tell me. Why. Should. I?"

Sometimes, people forget. They forget that the Nightless City witnessed a bloodbath because some hurt the loved ones of the Yilling Patriarch. They forget that while Wei Wuxian wouldn't even bat an eye if you cut off his meridians — the same cannot be said for those he cares for.

The world pays a price to be reminded.

Truths Laid Bare For All, by Preludian_Staves (locked to signed in ao3 users only)

The betrothal letter comes in the Springtime with a Lan escort, changing how events happen in Wei Wuxian's life.

AKA Wangxian meets early before the Cloud Recesses lectures and slowly starts moderately sooner, some things change and others stay moderately the same. Plus WWX flourishing under the tutelage of the Lans when there isn't prickly Heir or his equally prickly mother lurking around that needs near constant appeasement and a truth serum is involved somewhere in the course of things.

[wangxianficfinder]

Fic Finder

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1. hi, thank you for your efforts ❤️ i have a fic finder, because even though time travel fics should be so easy to find, i just can't find this one. wx both come back to the cloud recesses days, lwj finds out that wwx also went back bc he hears him humming/playing their song. wwx is given a dizi that has a name with 'dawn' in it i think? (by nhs who was probably the one who sent them back). they fix all the stuff of course

FOUND! The Wild Geese’s Tomb by The Feels Whale (miscellea) (T, 66k, WangXian, Time Travel, Fix-it, Temporary Character Death)

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2. Hello, looking for a fic where LWJ comes to Burial Mounds and WWX & he get into a fight. It’s pretty brutal, and at some point A-Yuan arrives and is in danger so LWJ protects him getting stabbed in the progress. I think it was a fix-it au.

The fic is during burial mounds settlement days. I think during the fight WWX doesn't fight LWJ personally but calls many many corpses to do it for him.

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3. Hi there long time lurker first time requester!! Love what you do, thank you!! I’ve found so many good fics through this blog.

Ok so for my ask, it was before I had an ao3 acct so it’s no where in my history! What I remember is SOMETHING happened and Wei Wuxian, Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan get thrust into modern times. They live together and somehow find their way back? Sorry that’s not a lot to go on :/ Thanks again!! @rogue-90-em​

FOUND! This sounds a lot like atlas in his sleepin' by anatheme (E, 49k, wangxian, JYL/JZX, JYL & WWX & JZX, fix-it, reincarnation, family reunions, dimension travel, temporary transmigrator LWJ, JC & WWX reconciliation, first time, sharing clothes, angst w/ happy ending)

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4. Hello I have been looking for this fic for awhile now and have had no luck finding it. It took place after Sunshot I believe. WWX had to marry NMJ so the wens would have a safe place to live. Later in the story LWJ in also married to NMJ and WWX.

FOUND! An Elegant Solution by giraffeter (E, 205k, niewangxian, canon divergence, arranged marriage, friends to lovers, fix-it, everyone lives au, courtship, polyamory, smut, Mojo’s bookmark)

NOT FOUND! Pastime (With Good Company) by nirejseki (Not rated, 25k, niewangxian, canon divergence, arranged marriage, WIP)

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5. Can you help find this fic? It's a modern fic about the aftermath of how wy was groomed and abused by one of jyl's friend. After getting out of that toxic relationship wy started a flower shop which his sibling try to visit frequently. Jc and lz is studying law together. I remember wy having a breakdown bcs he figured out that lz was the younger brother of lxc who was the doctor that treated him after his abused. There was also a scene where sushe harassed wy to the point of panic attack. Thanks

FOUND? #5 was written by AvoOwO on ao3 but seems to have been deleted. I think the title was something among the lines of "Daffodils to Ambrosia"?

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6. Hi! I’m looking for a fic where wangxian are both bored with their (separate) sex lives and decide to have roleplay sex with each other to liven things up. The first time they do this they pretend to be strangers in a bar. There was also one that time that was god/worshipper roleplay. It was multi chapter with each roleplay in separate chapters. Thank you so much for the help!

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7. Hey mods! There's this fic where the juniors tell mxy(wwx) that hgj is in love with another(wwx) bc they think mxy(wwx) loves hgj and don't want him to be heartbroken and turns out mxy(wwx) was actually, well, wwx lol— and after that they eavesdrop on a convo with hgj and wwx and find out mxy is actually wwx @sentientcongee​

FOUND? things we're all too young to know by someitems (T, 11k, wangxian, misunderstandings, junior shenanigans, mistaken identity, found family)

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8. Hallo! I'm trying to find a fic in which WY is a servant of the Jiangs (he is treated badly) and the Lans are guests at Lotus Pier and he walks into LZ and runs away (?) (I think he wasn't allowed to talk to anyone or was afraid he would get pubished). I have only read the first chapter and that's all I remember:/ Thank you so much!

FOUND! Flowers of pain by CorkaHadesa (M, 16k, WIP, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Bad Parent YZY, Bad Parent JFM, YZY Bashing, JC Bashing, Jiang Family Bashing, Bad Sibling JC, Bad Sibling JYL, Protective LWJ, Protective LXC, Protective LQR, Bad Parenting, Family Issues, Child Abuse, Self-Esteem Issues, Happy Ending)

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9. Hi there! I'm looking for a fic I read a while ago in which LWJ creates a new cultivation method?? IIRC WWX had been thrown into the Burial Mounds and LWJ and JC are looking for him. I don't remember any other specific details, but towards the end LWJ finally reveals his new cultivation style. I think his whole thing had to do with the earth and connecting to it?? I know it's vague but it's probably been a year since I've read it ;-;

FOUND? From my heart's ground. by orange_crushed (E, 37k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Grief/Mourning, Corporal Punishment, Vomiting, Injury Recovery, Trauma, Blood Magic, Elemental Magic, Gardens & Gardening, Resurrection, Dissociation, Explicit Sexual Content, First Time, Language of Flowers, Angst with a Happy Ending, Family, Arson, Now Everybody's A Rogue Cultivator, Self-Harm for Blood Magic Reasons, Suicidal Thoughts, Spiritual Coma, Brief Reference to Temporary Incontinence as a Result of Said Coma, Self-Esteem Issues)

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10. hii first of all thank you so much for your hard work!! i’ve been searching high and low for this fic in my bookmarks and can’t find it anywhere :( all i remember is that modern day wwx ends up in the past? i also remember a scene where he reunites with jyl and it’s really sweet bc the one from his universe had died i think? i hope this is enough jdhdhd

FOUND! Wrong Turn, Right Place by diamondbruise (E, 71k, WangXian, Time Travel, kind of, it’s more reality travel but there’s modern wwx and cultivator lwj, Mutual Pining, Angst with a Happy Ending, Jealousy, Idiots in Love, Slow Burn, Misunderstandings, Cultural Differences)

~*~

11. Searching for a fic, any help would be appreciated! It was a vaguely knight-y/medieval setting, and after some shit went down, LZ was locked up and/or severely whipped by the Lans, and when the fic starts I think he's still having issues from that and traveling on his own. And then he reunites with WY - maybe I'm conflating fics, so these are just maybes, but it could be some sort of beauty and the beast situation? Or there's a moment where WY goes full-on YLLZ when he finds out how hurt LZ was.

FOUND! the necromancer's fairytale by iliacquer (E, 17k, wangxian, safe sane consensual non-con, past torture, not Lan friendly, happy ending, switch energy, rough sex, pain kink)

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12. Hi! im looking for a wangxian timetravel fic, i remember that they went back to the cloud recess arc in their old bodies and one specific detail i remember is wei wuxian changing his hair style to his future hair style because lan zhan was still doing his hair in the mornings, sorry i don't remember much else Thanks for the help!

FOUND? No, Lan Wangji, You Cannot Marry Someone You Just Met! by soulmateenthusiast (T, 40k, WIP, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Time Travel, WWX and LWJ Are Transported to the Past, Attempt at Humor, Fluff, slight angst Gratuitous Amounts of PDA, Courtesy of WangXian, BAMF!WWX, Time Travel Fix-It, Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued)

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13. Asking this cause I lost those fic where A) Wangji was kid when got kidnapped and lives in brothel and he himself ask a witch to curse him ugly person B) Wangji is omega and lactates for A-yuan @selflovingmedj

13A)

FOUND? Turn Left by kianspo (M, 91k, WIP, WangXian, NieLan, Canon Divergence, Fix-It of Sorts, Friends to Lovers, eventually, references to child sexual abuse, not main characters, Canon-Typical Violence, Neurodivergent LWJ, LXC is the best brother, Slow Build, Lán Family Feels, specifically, Twin Jades of Lán Feels)

13B)

FOUND? 💖 so full of love i could barely eat by cicer (E, 40k, wangxian, ABO, canon divergence, breastfeeding, lactation kink, golden core reveal, fix-it)

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14. Hi I’m looking for a fic that takes place during the CR arc and has LWJ realizing that rewarding WWX works better than punishments and I think there are some scenes that take place in the library. I can’t really remember much else so I’d appreciate the help!

FOUND? Pigtail Pulling by protos_metazu_ison (G, 3k, wangxian, fluff & humor, crack treated seriously, cloud recesses shenanigans)

~*~

15. Heyy! Im looking for a fic where wangxian went on a date(i think 1st) to a petting zoo. There what I remember the most is wwx pulling grass and lwj blurting out if he was stimming. I honestly can’t remember much. There were bunnies tho. It’s complete and i thinkk it’s part of a series! Please help me find it!!!

FOUND? 🧡#Bunny date by Onomatopoetikon (T, 15k, WangXian, Modern AU, POV LWJ, Autistic LWJ, WWX Has ADHD, First Dates, First Kiss, Holding Hands, LWJ Uses Actual Words, Neurodiversity, Developing Relationship, Twin Jades of Lán Feels, Fluff, Romantic Fluff) it's part 3 of a series :)

~*~

16. hello. i've been wondering if you could help with this: i'm not looking for a fic, but i've been wanting to write one. i remember seeing some time ago a twitter thread containing certaing details and tips for writing modern aus set in china, but i can't find it. i was hoping if any of your followers would know something

FOUND? might be this twitter moment, if not, there's still some good stuff here!

~*~

17. Hey! I was looking for a LXC x Oc, the oc was a jin who is like what people say dumb and the summer is something along the lines "The new madam Lan got pregnant and is craving for the bunny" I forgot the whole summery but it was like that. Anyways turns out she was actually quite smart.

~*~

18. hello, hello!! when you have a chance, i would appreciate help finding a fic!! it was modern, and the only thing i remember was probably a part towards the end, and i think wwx was kidnapped by the wens and was on top of a building, someone was shot, & i think wen chao might've fallen off the building? wwx nearly died? sorry if this is really vague, but hopefully someone recognizes it!!

NOT FOUND! 🧡The World We Made by updatebug (T, 80k, WangXian, The Old Guard fusion, Immortals, Immortal LWJ, Angst with a Happy Ending, Junior Quartet is the best Quartet, JYL is the best, NMJ Lives, Reincarnation, Modern AU, The Old Guard AU, Team Give Xichen Nice Things, Team Unbury Your Gays, LITERALLY, Temporary Character Death) has a similar scene I think (only he gets kidnapped by JGY instead)

NOT FOUND! 🧡Rule Number One: Never get attached. by KizuKatana (E, 130k, wangxian, criminal underworld au, dark LWJ, ABO, note all tags)

could also be FOUND! Monotone, I think it’s not on ao3 directly anymore but is still available on a Google doc / the author has posted a link to monotone here / Monotone on Google docs, Anyway I think that's the shared link for #18. Pretty sure that's it. Ch. 23 Reset is WWX and Wen Chao on the roof of Nightless City. Wwx is shot and WC jumps off the edge.

~*~

19. hello! I need help finding a fic. The only scene I can remember is the Jiang family and Lan Wangji sitting at a table (eating dinner I think) and Madam Yu says or implies something insulting/rude about Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji uses his engagement or marriage to Wei Wuxian to tell her off. Saying she has no right to say something like that about something that is his/belongs to him. I believe it was Canon era but that's about all I can remember.

FOUND! chapter 6 of 30 Days of Celebration with Yunmeng Jiang by starandrea (M, 41k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Family Drama, Telepathic Bond, Kink Negotiation, Wedding Planning, Weddings, Sibling Bonding, Fluff, Happy Ending)

~*~

20. hi there! for the next FF, this modern-online-class au. it's in the pov of one of the students, though i remember it changes pov a lot. wangxian are professors, LSZ is in both their classes. he gets sick, and he never reveals who his parents are until WWX walks in on a call with him and his friends and they go >:0000 on him. theres a lot of student chatting. there was a scene with a student remarking on WWX's child's achievements on the wall and LSZ being extremely embarrassed about it. @revellingfate

FOUND! The Mystery of Professor Lan's and Professor Wei's private lives by SilverBells (G, 7k, WangXian, Modern AU, wangxian married and have a son, online classes AU, Self Indulgent Ficlet, Fluff, University AU, Professor LWJ and Professor WWX, University second year LSZ, Humour)

NOT FOUND! Lan Jingyi and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Cursed Information by fensandmarshes (T, 5k, WangXian, Modern AU, Crack Treated Seriously, Married WangXian, POV Outsider, POV Outsider on WangXian, Crack and Humour, LJY-centric, Hijinks & Shenanigans, LWJ is a Little Bitch, College/University, Nonbinary LSZ)

NOT FOUND! Yearning by Sanguis (T, 9k, WangXian, LingYi, Modern AU, Professors, Established Relationship, Married Couple, Bunnies, Pre-Relationship, Secrets)

NOT FOUND! And They Were Married And Had a Son Series by yellowcarnations (G, 8k, WangXian, Modern AU, POV Outsider, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Professors WangXian, Kid Fic)

~*~

[incarnadinedreams]

So I came across this truly spectacular take in the MDZS subreddit a few weeks ago, and it has been wiggling around in my brain since then. An unrelated twitter thread about "worst takes you've ever seen" inspired me. (Not actually the worst take I've seen, somehow.)

Regarding Jiang Cheng getting captured by the Wens to save Wei Wuxian:

The situation w/ JC getting captured by the Wen is a little more complicated. As happened so often with JC, his desire to blame WWX for things that weren't WWX's fault caused him to misread the situation pretty badly. He assumed the Wen would treat him better than WWX because he was the heir--and now the leader--of the Jiang. He still suffered from the delusion that the Wen had come to Lotus Pier to punish WWX, and not because they were trying to conquer the Jianghu.

So yes, he took WWX's place and suffered the consequences... but he did so thinking that the consequences would be a lot lighter. He let his grievances obscure his judgment. Constantly.

When someone else, in confusion, asked why JC would think he’d get better treatment, considering they’d just killed his parents, their response was:

Jiang Cheng did not know that at the time. When he was captured, it was right after his mom sent him down the river--they didn't find out what happened to the Jiangs until after JC was brought back to Lotus Pier as a captive.

I also have to freely admit part of why I'm still salty about this particular exchange is because this user openly stated in a different thread that they think anyone who likes Jiang Cheng lacks reading comprehension and doesn't understand what actually happened in the novel.

I find that to be really quite something to accuse people of, given the argument they proceeded to make, but here we are. It's not an uncommon sentiment anyway.

The obvious place to begin with refuting this is that they are, quite simply, just plain wrong about what happens in the novel. They clearly just forgot the sequence of events. Which, fair enough! It's a long and complex novel, both in what's actually written and what we're forced to infer along the way, and usually I try to be understanding of how easy it is to mix things up. So I do try to focus on the spirit of the argument as well as the pedantic details.

But in this case, what actually happened is… kind of important.

Dare I even suggest that perhaps... their grievances with Jiang Cheng have obscured their judgment? Maybe even... caused them to misread the situation pretty badly?

But it actually got me thinking and looking back at quotes in chapters I hadn't touched in a while, so it sort of took hold in my brain. And I thought: what if this person were right about what information Jiang Cheng knew at the moment he made his choice, if they didn’t know JFM & YZY were dead yet? Would I possibly agree with their assessment if that were true? (Spoiler alert: lol. no.)

So that's why I'm actually going to address it in two parts:

Quick recap of what actually happened in the novel (with receipts), and

Why I also completely disagree with the spirit of their argument

Warning, it gets extremely long! All quotes are from the ExR translation since the official hasn't reached these chapters yet.

1) What Actually Happened In the Book

A quick recap (summarized from chapters 57-59):

The Wens show up, Madam Yu throws down. She sends them off, bound with Zidian in a boat, telling them to go straight to Meishan. They encounter Jiang Fengmian, who also sends them off bound with Zidian, and instructs them to go straight to Meishan.

Spoiler alert: they do not go straight to Meishan.

As soon as Zidian releases them, they turn right around and paddle their way back to Lotus Pier. They peek over the walls, observe lots of Wens walking around and piles of Jiang corpses, and overhear Wang Lingjiao whining about how Wen Zhuliu wouldn't let her slap Madam Yu's corpse.

They run away, Jiang Cheng has the first of many breakdowns, and this is the scene where Jiang Cheng blames Wei Wuxian for drawing the Wen's attention to the Jiang sect, and where he tries to turn back to go retrieve his parents' bodies. At this point it's made abundantly clear they know exactly what has happened to YZY & JFM (ch. 59):

Jiang Cheng shook his hand away, "Don't go back there?! Are you serious? You're telling me not to go back there? My parents' bodies are still in Lotus Pier—could I leave just like this? Where could I go if I don't go back?!"

Wei WuXian's grip tightened, "What could you do if you go back now? They've killed even Uncle Jiang and Madam Yu. All that's waiting for you is death!"

Jiang Cheng shouted, "Death it is, then! If you're scared of death then get lost—don't block my path!"

Wei Wuxian stops him and promises they'll get revenge - and the bodies - later. Jiang Cheng spirals further down into shock and misery and bitterly asking Wei Wuxian why he saved Lan Wangji in the cave at the price of their sect and all of that.

At dawn, they finally set off towards Meishan, obviously in shock and traumatized. We get this fun quote that I am including here almost entirely just because it's one of my favorite sad Jiang Cheng passages and it's my post so I can:

Jiang Cheng's head had always been lowered. Hugging his right hand, he pressed Zidian onto his chest where his heart was, feeling over and over again the only remnant of his family that was left. He'd also often looked back toward where Lotus Pier was, staring at what used to be his home and had now become a den of demons. Again and again, it was as though he'd never get enough of it, as though he'd never lose that last spark of hope. However, the tears within his eyes could never be contained either.

After half a day of walking, Wei Wuxian decides to go get some food, and tells Jiang Cheng to sit and wait for him. When he comes back, Jiang Cheng is gone, and this is where Wei Wuxian assumes that Jiang Cheng went back to Lotus Pier to retrieve his parents' bodies. Not an entirely unreasonable assumption, given what had happened the night before, but it ends up being an incorrect one nonetheless. It's not until we find out at the end of ch. 110 that's not what happened:

That, back then, I wasn't caught by the Wen Sect because I wanted to go back to Lotus Pier to retrieve my parents' corpses. That, at the town we passed on our way, when you were buying food, a group of Wen Sect cultivators caught up. That, I discovered them early and left where I sat, hiding at the corner of the street and didn't get caught, but they were patrolling the streets and would soon run into you outside.

That this was why I ran out and distracted them.

So at both points in the novel, it's made repeatedly, explicitly clear that he knew his parents were dead when he made that decision. I don't think anyone is really debating that at all except this one random person on reddit, apparently, but there we have it.

Anyway, now that that’s out of the way…

2. Why They'd Still Be Wrong Even If They Were Right

So let's suppose for a while that things had gone differently. What if they hadn't gone back and seen the bodies, what if they'd followed instructions but were still caught on the way to Meishan? In such a scenario, would it still be reasonable to infer these things about Jiang Cheng's decision-making process and motivations, does the spirit of their argument hold up at all even if the actual events destroy it?

The first point I'll address is that Jiang Cheng was suffering from delusions about the Wen's intentions.

Prior to their even going to the Wen indoctrination camp, it's pretty clear that they all knew basically what the Wens were up to (ch. 51):

This demand of the Qishan Wen Sect was one that they couldn't turn down. Countless precedents could prove that if any sect dared defy their orders, it would be accused of strange things such as being 'rebellious' or 'destructive.' And, with these as reasons, they would wipe it out fair and square.

I don't believe we actually get any details before this point about what those 'countless precedents' are, but it certainly casts a very ominous, high-stakes background tension to the indoctrination camp. Even if you dismiss how the Nie sect feels regarding the Wens at this point, there still appear to be plenty of other examples of what the Wen's M.O. was in-universe that we're just not privy to as readers.

This clearly informed Jiang Cheng's 'keep your head down and get through it' approach to the entire thing, which he starts emphasizing before they even leave Lotus Pier.

Then, during the camp, they hear about the burning of the Cloud Recesses (ch. 52):

One of the disciples beside them whispered, "Of course his face isn't so great. Last month, the Cloud Recesses was burnt down. You didn't know yet, did you?"

Hearing this, Wei WuXian jolted, "Burnt down?!"

In the past few days, Jiang Cheng had heard too many of these stories, so he wasn't as surprised as Wei WuXian was, "By the Wen Sect's people?"

This once again implies there were even more sects getting some totally friendly visits from the Wens that Jiang Cheng has been hearing about. But here, the Wens haven't just burnt down random minor sect #2731, they've blatantly attacked another one of the Five Great Sects. While the Lans weren't annihilated, the Wens gravely injured the sect leader, broke the leg of one of his sons, and forced them to burn their own sect's buildings down.

After the murder-snurtle cave incident, at the end of ch. 56 and beginning of ch. 57, prior to the Wen's arrival, they're discussing Lan Wangji's post-cave condition, Qingheng-jun passing away, and Lan Xichen being missing. Jiang Cheng is the one telling Wei Wuxian about these things!

Nobody thinks the Wens are playing around, least of all Jiang Cheng. It's his very real (and ultimately accurate) fear of the Wen's ire driving much of his behavior in this arc of the story. Whether or not you like him for those decisions, it didn't involve suffering delusions about the stakes involved or what the Wens were getting up to.

So that leads us to ch. 59, where even in the very scene this person is referencing regarding Jiang Cheng blaming Wei Wuxian, it directly says that it's not that he thinks the Wens are only there to punish Wei Wuxian, but rather that if he hadn't drawn their attention they might have had more time to prepare:

In his heart, Jiang Cheng knew clearly that back in the cave of the Xuanwu of Slaughter at Dusk-Creek Mountain, even if Wei WuXian hadn't saved Lan WangJi, the Wen Sect would have found some reason to come over sooner or later. But he had always felt that, if the whole thing with Wei WuXian didn't happen, maybe it wouldn't have been so soon, maybe there would've been some way to turn things around.

It was this torturing thought that filled his heart with hatred and wrath. Unable to be let out, they cut up his innards.

While I don't think Jiang Cheng (or Madam Yu) blaming Wei Wuxian for what happened at Dusk Creek Mountain and then the Jiang sect's massacre is fair, he's also traumatized and in shock and clearly not in his right mind. It is very much in line with the sorts of things that people deep in the early stages of trauma and grief tend to think (there's a reason they've got all those 'stages of grief' mapped out and they include denial and anger!). Especially not helped by the fact his mother's parting words were echoing many of those sentiments. Not a nice time for anyone involved!

Despite that, he still isn't actually suffering from the specific delusion they're claiming he is. But I suppose that's getting a bit pedantic and specific.

I am also genuinely baffled by the assertion that if he didn't yet know his parents were dead, he would for some reason assume that the Wens would treat him leniently.

The Lans did far less to anger them than the Jiangs have just done. Between Wei Wuxian holding Wen Chao hostage at sword-point with death threats at the murder-snurtle cave and Madam Yu having just directly attacked Wang Lingjiao and Wen Zhuliu and killed a bunch of Wen cultivators just before they'd been sent off, why on earth would Jiang Cheng assume they would be lenient on him?

The situation was serious enough that both of his parents had just respectively hugged him and pat him on the head for like, practically the first time ever in his life. He knows some really, really horrible bad shit is going down when both of his parents manage to do and say something nice to him, one right after the other! That is not normal for him! (Plus the other pretty uncool stuff they said to Wei Wuxian about protecting Jiang Cheng even if he dies doing it, so, you know. Not exactly giving off 'everything is totally fine here' vibes.)

I get that this person thinks Jiang Cheng is really stupid (they actually say that in a different comment), but even Jin fucking Zixun could've managed to put two and two together on this one. Rocket surgery it ain't, he would absolutely know either way that the Wens are not going to sit around the campfire with him singing kumbaya after a light slap on the wrist.

That leads us to the essential core of their argument that I think is the most interesting to consider: that if he had known when he decided to take Wei Wuxian's place that the Wen had actually killed his parents and might kill him, he would never have made that choice.

I mean, obviously he did and he did, so… that's just wrong. But again, playing with the AU idea that he didn't know about his parents yet at this specific moment, I still think it's a very weird conclusion to come to.

I think the core of this idea is a very fundamental misunderstanding of Jiang Cheng's whole deal. Jiang Cheng does have a very strong and specific idea of who he will stick his neck out for, and who he will not.

If people simply don't like that aspect of his character, then fair enough! That's a perfectly reasonable opinion to have about him, based on what he actually does in the actual book, even if it's not something I'm particularly bothered about myself. That point is always going to be a matter of personal taste in fictional sad little men.

But where I disagree is the assumption that he's fundamentally selfish and always unwilling to do anything to help the people he cares about and is responsible for. We are shown that he is, over and over again, willing to sacrifice himself for those people.

Jiang Cheng is also, to either his credit or his detriment depending on your personal feelings about it, actually extremely consistent about who is and isn't in that group at any given point in the story. That list of people does not include Mianmian. It does not include Lan Wangji or Jin Zixuan at the Xuanwu cave. It definitely does not include the Wen remnants.

But it does, over and over again, include Wei Wuxian (and the rest of his family), until it can't include him anymore.

We see this pretty clearly at the Xuanwu cave in ch. 52. As soon as Wei Wuxian actually gets injured by Wang Lingjiao (with the branding iron), he flips from 'don't cause trouble, keep your head down' mode to this:

Jiang Cheng chased over to fight Wen ZhuLiu. Wen Chao saw that his eyes were bloodshot and had on a terrifying expression. The rest of the disciples had also been excited, and there was still a gigantic beast inside the pool, the front-left claw of which had already stepped onto the shore. Wen Chao finally began to fear, "Retreat, retreat. Retreat right now!"

I'm actually not even including the part where he dives into a pool of water with a pissed off murder-snurtle in it, presumably also with a couple centuries of snurtle poop too, to facilitate rescuing everyone, since that also counts as saving himself. Though he does come back for the other batches of people after he finds the cave opening.

Much like his own father, I'm also not counting the whole running nonstop for days to fetch help thing, since nobody ever died from a little cardio and nobody cares.

And when the Wens show up, he has to be physically restrained by Yinzhu and Jinzhu to keep him from trying to stop Madam Yu from whipping Wei Wuxian (ch. 57):

Madam Yu had already stood up. Zidian had turned into its whip form, sizzling between her hands of cold jade. She shouted, "Jiang Cheng, move out of the way, or you'll be kneeling too!"

Wei WuXian tried to get up, pushing against the ground, "Jiang Cheng, move over! Don't worry about me!"

[...]

Jiang Cheng was held firmly back by Jinzhu and Yinzhu.

There's way more but like, the whole scene is him trying to interfere to protect Wei Wuxian, so if I quote it all I'd just be reposting half the chapter. He also, later in the same confrontation, takes a blow to the shoulder from Wen Zhuliu to protect his mother.

And then, well, this whole being willing to die for him at the hand of the Wens thing, but we're pretending for now that wasn't a choice he made even if he very much did.

The point is, this list includes Wei Wuxian until it doesn't anymore. Until Jiang Cheng feels it can't anymore, and even then he's angry that he feels doesn't have a choice in that. And when it happens, he even says it directly to Wei Wuxian with advanced warning that he is no longer on the list! That was the whole point of his 'flower that blooms alone' speech in ch. 73, where he straight up said, "If you insist on protecting them, I can't protect you."

That's actually an impressively organized and specific "will I die for you?" mental list he's got going on here! Again, perfectly fine if someone's not a fan of that approach in a character, but most of the time people don't provide advanced and specific warning about getting taken off such a list!

If you won't give him points for heroism, at least give him a few points for clarity and organization with that one.

Obviously, it also includes Jin Ling. In ch. 81 (the second siege), we've got the scene where Jiang Cheng tries to give Zidian to Jin Ling, in a very obvious parallel to the night his mother gave it to him. There's the clear implication that he expects to die in short order protecting him.

Thankfully, Jin Ling is simply not having it, nope, no thank you, we're just not doing that today jiujiu:

Jin Ling had never seen so many fierce corpses before, much less at such a close distance. He could feel his scalp tingle, clenching the sword hilt of Suihua. Yet, suddenly, his fist was peeled open, and a cold object was stuffed inside. He looked down in surprise, "Uncle?"

Jiang Cheng propped himself up with Sandu, which had lost its spiritual energy. His figure wavered slightly, "Try losing Zidian and see what happens!"

[...]

When Jiang Cheng was unaware, he stuffed Zidian's ring back into his hand and sprinted toward the crowd, all the way up to the most dangerous area before the mouth of the cave. Jiang Cheng was about to chase after him when he managed to slice a few corpses, staggering. He felt that Sandu was no lighter than hundreds of pounds.

And Wei Wuxian appears to have just gone right back on the list at some point! Because by ch. 82, Jiang Cheng tries to go back into the cave full of corpses to… do something. I'm not sure if Jiang Cheng himself even knows his end goal in this scene, or what he's even capable of doing to actually help in his current state, but he's certainly doing some kind of putting himself in grave danger and likely death for Wei Wuxian and he's in a bad mood about it!

All of these corpses were attracted to the flag on Wei WuXian, staring at that one direction with red eyes and ignoring them.

Jin Ling shouted, "Uncle! I..."

Jiang Cheng's voice was drenched in ice, "If you dare go back there, don't call me your uncle anymore."

Jin Ling stared at him hard. Jiang Cheng threw him onto the ground, shouting, "Stay here!" He himself, on the other hand, took up Sandu and rushed back inside the Demon-Slaughtering Cave.

Jin Ling paused in hesitation before calling after him, "Uncle, wait for me!" Despite the warning, he still followed.

He definitely could've just left with Jin Ling at that point. I would even argue it probably would've been the more Responsible Uncle thing to do at that point! But alas, he just can't stop himself.

It's clear that even though his feelings towards Wei Wuxian are still quite complex at this stage of the novel (are they ever not?), he's still willing to do something dangerous for him, whatever that thing was going to be. I have seen some people argue he was actually going back in the cave to make sure Wei Wuxian died and possibly kill him, but I just simply do not agree with that reading so I'm ignoring it!

Then, we've got the whole going back to Lotus Pier and Ancestral Hall scene and the reveal about the golden core transfer. Yet just a few days later, at Guanyin Temple, despite everything that's happened, we still get him doing this (ch. 101):

With his left hand, he whipped out another string and attacked Wei WuXian!

Jiang Cheng's pupils shrank to become just a point. With a flip of his wrist, he turned Zidian's direction to defend against the guqin string. Jin Ling, however, blurted, "Uncle, watch out!"

With this chance, Jin GuangYao unsheathed the sword that had been wrapped around his waist and thrusted it into the center of Jiang Cheng's chest!

Face dark, Jiang Cheng clutched his chest. Blood leaked from between his fingers, immediately dying the fabric a blackish purple.

Of course, they didn't actually need him to get stabbed for them, and his extremely badass sexy dramatic electric-whip-and-umbrella-and-clangy-swords entrance was utterly ruined by him losing it at Jin Guangyao and getting stabbed, so it's all very awkward and embarrassing and he's in an even worse mood about it after.

But, you know, it's the thought that counts.

-----

Anyway, I did actually respond with a correction about the novel events on reddit at the time, though I didn’t touch the spirit of their arguments. To their credit, they responded with thanks for the correction.

But then they argued that it didn’t really matter because they were still down a core and if it had been WWX who’d been taken by the Wens, JC would've just been mad at him for doing it and blame him anyway so it doesn’t matter what he did for WWX. (full disclosure: that's my summary and not a copy-paste of their response) At that point I decided it was clearly fruitless and gave up on responding because I don't even know where to begin.

I didn't realize until later that they actually have some other spicy yet nonsensical takes that are actually even more baffling than this one. For example, that Jiang Cheng stole Wei Wuxian’s inheritance from him. (What inheritance? What stealing? Where? How did they reach this conclusion? They don't specify) Another is that the Jiangs didn't take Wei Wuxian in, they enslaved him to exploit his talent as a child laborer and took advantage of him, proof of which is that instead of paying him in cash he was only allowed to buy whatever he wanted at the merchants around Lotus Pier and then Jiang Fengmian paid the bill later.

???

Of all things to take issue with in this book, I find that to also be a fascinating choice.

I think it's some sort of bad etiquette to link directly to their comments from another platform or identify them, so I won't, but let's just say there are some true gems in that subreddit. (Also some good posts too of course)

[annebaneriddle]

I still try to undertand the logic going inside the brains of people who say "Well, why are you even writting the wholeass bible to badmouth 'X'?" ("X" character who is canonically a complete asshole who kills innocent people, gaslight people, plays the victim to escape the consequences of their own actions, blame others for what they did, blame-shift, victim-blame, terrorize people, yada yada).

I'm not saying you can't like said character. Far from me telling you who you should like, you and your likes are not my business and you can stan whoever you like, be them real or fictional. The thing is: other's and their dislikes is also not your business, specially if they have a completelly fair and reasonable reason to find a character disgusting.

Let's use Jiang Cheng from MDZS as an exemple: the man did suffer? Hell, yeah. He saw his whole sect being murdered, saw his parents being murdered, had to become a sect leader at a far too young age and then saw his sister being killed too. If that does not count as suffering, I don't know what does. That's totally ok if you feel for him, I do too, I think no one should suffer like that and I also think he is a pretty interesting charactet who adds to the story.

The thing is, the man also announced Wei Wuxian was now an enemy of the cultivation world when the plan was just for them to stage a fight and say the said sect brother has left the sect (that made public opinion of Wei Wucian even worse and contibuted to Jin Guangshan's and Jin Gangyao's plan of getting rid of Wei Wuxian to get tue Stygian Tiget seal to themselves), what makes clear that the thing that made him turn against WWX wasn't Jiamg Yanli's death; he lied to people saying WWX killed JY when JY willingly put herself on the way of the sword meant to pierce through WWX, when she willingly died to protect WWX; he led a siege against innocent people when he knew that they were civilians and that there was even a damn barelly 3 years old child amongst them (not taking the blame away from the other sects, because there is no way you put your sword through an old granny and doesn't notice it isn't an armed cultivator); for 13 years he continuously tortured and killed innocent people to the point of where his nephew was willing to lie to him to help one of them escape because he knew exactly the atrocities his uncle was capable of; civilians around Lotus Pier were afraid of him; his behaviour crosses the line so much that all female cultivators blacklisted him (and given it was at a time where men were excused from plently of shitty behaviour, that is quite surprising); he has the annoying mania of playing the victim, and so the list goes on.

So yeah, do you really has such a thick face to say that people who don't like him don't have the right to dislike him only because "he looked hot with doing that", "he suffered too" or whatever the hell your excuse is?

People who dislike a character have the right of disliking them and writting a wholeass bible about it just like you have the right of writting a wholeass bible worshiping the ground said character walks on. However, it's quite interesting how I seldom see antis clowining stans posts, but it's quite common to see stans complaining on anti posts. It's a two ways road, so get over yourself and stop whinning like a child that is mad because someone didn't find their toy as cool as they think it is.

Not even gonna lie, I don't mortaly hate most characters I find disgusting. What makes me hate them are their stans.

[robininthelabyrinth]

I'm absolutely delighted your prompts are open! Your writing is amazing and always makes me smile, it's the best way to start the day along with a cup of coffee!

Lan Zhan and Wei Ying are given another chance at raising a child after a family is killed leaving only a young child behind. Lan Sizhui is delighted to have a baby sibling. Though everyone is more or less nervous about it (mostly be Wei Ying is a gremlin) but also there isn't any other options.

ao3

“It’ll be fine,” Jiang Cheng said, rolling his eyes. “Hanguang-jun raised Lan Sizhui, didn’t he? And he turned out fine.”

“I did,” Lan Sizhui said agreeably, then frowned. “I think I did, anyway.”

“Not to be a spoilsport, but, realistically speaking, how much raising did Hanguang-jun actually do with you?” Jin Ling asked, and held up his hands when Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi both glared at him. “I don’t mean any offense or anything! I’m serious. We know he was in seclusion those first few years, right? Who raised you then?”

Lan Sizhui thought about it. “Back in the beginning? Well…that was mostly Teacher Lan, I guess.”

“Teacher Lan’s the best,” Lan Jingyi said loyally, then added, “Well, other than that fondness he has for surprise quizzes. But that’s not applicable to parenting, is it?”

Lan Sizhui made a face that suggested that maybe it was, in some weird way, shape, or form.

“Teacher Lan, really?” Jiang Cheng asked, clearly getting drawn in despite his best intentions – as was often the case. There was a reason their little group swung by the Lotus Pier nearly as often as they did the Cloud Recesses and Jinlin Tower, despite Jin Ling not living there part of the year any longer. “Wasn’t he mostly in recovery for those injuries he got during the war? I would’ve figured Zewu-jun would’ve been more involved, wouldn’t he?”

“He was around sometimes, but no, it was mostly Teacher Lan,” Lan Sizhui said. “Zewu-jun was often busy – he was rebuilding the Lan sect –”

“I was rebuilding the Jiang sect! So what? I still raised Jin Ling, and he wasn’t even supposed to be here – I had to fight the Jin sect for months just to get the opportunity – ”

“Yes, jiujiu, we know!” Jin Ling said hastily. “You don’t have to tell that story again! You didn’t have to tell everyone that story in the first place!”

Jiang Cheng huffed. He was probably going to tell the story again whether they liked it or not.

“I think I see what you’re saying, Jin Ling,” Ouyang Zizhen put in, always a good fellow for throwing himself on a conversational sacrificial sword. “If Lan Sizhui was already a few years old when he was adopted, and then Teacher Lan raised him for the next three years, then he would’ve been old enough to be entered into the Cloud Recesses’ official junior classes by the time Hanguang-jun took charge of his education, right?”

“Yes, that’s what I meant, that’s it exactly!”

“What does it matter?” Lan Sizhui asked.

“Yeah! Hanguang-jun still raised him the rest of the way,” Lan Jingyi put in, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring. “Gave him lessons and tips and all that!”

“Isn’t that something he does as a sect senior anyway?”

“Well, yes, but it’s different for Sizhui, okay?”

“I’m not saying that there’s anything wrong with that. After all, the person who teaches the most is the same as the parent, and being the person raising them is what matters no matter when they’re adopted,” Jin Ling said, with an eye on Jiang Cheng, who looked begrudgingly pleased. He looked begrudging all the time, though, so it was probably just pleased. “But my point is – once you were part of the lessons, even if he was raising you the rest of the time, you still already mostly had your personality down by then, right? We’ve never seen what someone raised entirely by Hanguang-jun from birth would be like.”

They all stopped to consider that.

“More than that,” Jin Ling continued. “This kid’ll be raised not just by Hanguang-jun, but by Hanguang-jun as he is now – after he and Senior Wei got together. You know?”

They did know.

“And of course, that’s all putting aside that the kid will be raised by Senior Wei himself, too…”

“Maybe we should start investing in defense talismans,” Jiang Cheng mused. “Because everything is going to explode. Everything.”

-

“Everything will not explode,” Lan Wangji said calmly.

“Are you sure?” Wei Wuxian asked. “Because I’m not sure, and I’m more likely to be involved in these hypothetical explosions than you are.”

“Mm. I’m certain.”

“But…”

“Wei Ying will be an excellent father,” Lan Wangji said, and his voice left no room for doubt.

“It’s easy for you to say,” Wei Wuxian whined, though he was smiling now. “You already have the experience of it! They say that it’s easier the second time, when you know what to expect…”

“Do not tell lies,” Lan Qiren said mildly. He was looking over some of Wei Wuxian’s notes – he’d insisted on any new inventions passing through a sanctioned approval process before they were put into practice and had volunteered himself to review them, a matter that had caused Wei Wuxian no end of stress until he realized that Lan Qiren really did intend to approve anything that met his standards and, moreover, understood musical cultivation enough to understand what he was driving at with most of them, even the esoteric ones, at which point Wei Wuxian gotten extremely enthusiastic about the whole thing.

This didn’t mean that they were friends or anything, but they’d at least formed some sort of tentative truce.

Most of the time, anyway.

Wei Wuxian squinted at his old teacher suspiciously. “What’s that supposed to mean? Are you saying that it’s not easier the second time?”

“I am only saying that I have experience in raising a child not my own,” Lan Qiren pointed out, and Wei Wuxian nodded, slightly abashed; he knew that the old man had basically raised Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen, of course, although sometimes he forgot. “The first child I raised was Xichen and his personality as a child was much as it was as an adult: gentle, amiable, friendly, obedient.”

That made sense. Wei Wuxian nodded.

“The second child I raised was Wangji,” Lan Qiren said. “He bit people.”

Wei Wuxian burst out laughing.

Lan Wangj virtuously ignored them both, continuing to write a letter without the slightest hint of embarrassment – even his ears hadn’t turned red. What a shame!

“I can testify to that myself,” Wei Wuxian giggled, leering at his husband in the hopes of getting a rise out of him. “He’s still a biter – for certain lucky people.”

“He was a lot less discriminating when he was younger,” Lan Qiren said, and Wei Wuxian winced, abruptly remembering that Lan Wangji’s uncle was, in fact, still in the room. Luckily it was pretty easy to flirt around Lan Qiren, who didn’t seem to notice most of the time, but it was still a bit awkward. “And I once succumbed to temptation and gave him mixed messages, which I believe made it worse.”

That sounded like a story.

“He gave me a candy after I bit Sect Leader Jin,” Lan Wangji clarified, which made Wei Wuxian start laughing again. “He did not expect me to remember. I remembered. Nor did I allow him to forget about it.”

“It is easy to make mistakes while raising a child,” Lan Qiren said, ignoring Wei Wuxian’s cackling. “But if one means well, and tries hard to do the right thing, children are very forgiving – usually.”

Despite his best efforts to remain neutral, Lan Wangji’s eyes curved slightly in a smile. Wei Wuxian felt his heart go all warm and melty all over again.

“This is true regardless of whether it is the first or second child,” Lan Qiren added. “I have confidence that you will both do fine.”

“We will,” Wei Wuxian proclaimed. “With parents like me and Lan Zhan, how could the kid go wrong? And we’ll even try to avoid too many explosions!”

“Please do. One Lan Jingyi is enough for the Cloud Recesses.”

“You know, I was wondering – how did you end up with him being quite so…hmm…”

“Oh?” Lan Qiren said, and Wei Wuxian noted to his amusement that Lan Wangji straightened in back in sudden alarm despite Lan Qiren’s extremely nonchalant tone. “Have you not met Lan Yueheng yet? I must introduce you when he returns –”

“Perhaps not,” Lan Wangji said, sounding a little worried.

Worried, in this case, meant fun.

“No, I think I definitely need to meet this person – Lan Zhan, stop batting at me! I know exactly what I’m doing…”

-

Wen Ning looked down at the baby with which he had been entrusted.

“I don’t have any idea what I’m doing,” he confessed.

The baby gurgled.

“I think Wei-gongzi may have been thinking more about ‘babysitter that doesn’t need to sleep and has inexhaustible energy’ and less about ‘is this person qualified to take care of a baby’.”

More gurgling.

“I just wanted to apologize in advance.”

The baby yawned.

“…right then.” Wen Ning straightened up. Someone was going to have to raise this child, and based on how distractable Wei Wuxian was when he was around Lan Wangji and visa versa, it looked like it was going to have to be him. “Let’s do this.”