#WEN NING IS NOT A THING PERIOD

[suibianne]

Wen Ning is not a thing.

[purgatoryandme]

Underdiscussed MDZS topic: I think it has been broadly concluded that Wen Ning is 1) Best Boy and 2) unduly influenced by Wei Wuxian since his fierce corpse transformation, causing him to murder Jin Zixuan in a situation where he otherwise would not have. It would appear that most of the cultivation world has concluded the same thing, though they’re probably pretty on the fence about #1. 

Wen Ning’s intro in the novel is as a corpse puppet. Countless accusations fly around regarding his free will and Wei Wuxian’s own cruel denial of it during his darkest times. Our perception as readers is often split between that of the cultivation world at large and that of the people who know and have FEELINGS about the main characters, and the schism between those perceptions is made most obvious regarding the Burial Mounds period. Especially because of how little exposition the novel provides about it - and how unwilling Wei Wuxian is to speak of it later.

Public perspective: Wen Ning is Wei Wuxian’s puppet, unable to form his own thoughts and feelings, and is the vessel of Wei Wuxian’s hatred for the world. He was brought back to life to be a weapon, and the Wens, as evil people fleeing their reckoning, approve of these evil arts.

Private perspective: Wei Wuxian was trying to collect the shards of many broken lives, desperately trying to bring a sense of good into a deeply twisted situation, and created a very complicated outcome. He brought a brother back to his sister and gave Wen Ning an opportunity to live again, albeit in an upsetting way, and respected his autonomy as best he could while their lives crumbled around them. Wen Ning himself took joy in protecting his family for what little time they had left, and was grateful for the comfort provided to his sister despite having...complex repressed feelings about being a corpse. He was happy to see Wei Wuxian again. Wen Ning has free will and Wei Wuxian appears to really value not even attempting to overtake that.

Audience perspective: Wen Ning was brought back to life because of his sister’s request and Wei Wuxian’s desire to repay a debt/unwillingness to accept failure without consideration for his own desires. His existence is a perversion of the natural order, but his subservient nature and ties to Wei Wuxian cause him to make the best of a bad situation. He’s a good person, and has maintained an outwardly positive perspective, but cannot cry any longer, cannot have meaningful connections outside of the Wens, and is, in a way, cursed. Worse: he is vulnerable to Wei Wuxian’s control superseding his own desires, especially regarding Wei Wuxian losing control of the resentful energy that powers them both. In this, Wen Ning is a victim of Wei Wuxian’s greatest lapse. 

Wei Wuxian’s perspective is quite similar to the audience’s, as is often the case in the novel. Perhaps it is due to his bad memory, perhaps it is a response to trauma, but Wei Wuxian often internalizes his public persona in times of great stress or conflict that is truly irresolvable. He simply forgets many of the little things that form a dissonant image...or never speaks of them again, preferring to move on with his life.  (Or his death. His death is such a mysterious thing in the novel it drives me nuts)

The thing about the audience perspective, though, is that it is as flawed as the other perspectives. In particular: Wen Ning clearly disagrees with it. Arguments can be made for him protecting Wei Wuxian from his own actions, piggybacking on Wen Ning’s meek and mild attitude...but the novel proves, time and again, that this is a deeply flawed approach to Wen Ning’s character. Out of the entire cast, Wen Ning is second only to Lan Wangji in his directness regarding the truth or moral core of a situation. He confronted Jiang Cheng about his golden core, despite being sworn to secrecy. He rescued Wei Wuxian despite having minimal contact with him. He stood up to his sister about this reckless rescue. He turned his back on the Wen sect!!!! He came back as a FIERCE CORPSE!!!! He willingly turned himself in when it was clear that Wei Wuxian was going to die for them all!!!!! When contrasted with the actions of the rest of the main cast, it’s obvious he’s got a spine of steel. He’s polite, he was raised to stay out of the way and to not be a liability to his sister, but he’s got even more decisiveness than her underneath it all when it comes to relationships he values. Wen Ning is clever, emotionally literate, and unafraid of facing the truth. Even Wei Wuxian forgets this at times, and is often embarrassed about underestimating Wen Ning’s character. 

This is important. 

Wen Ning doesn’t blame Wei Wuxian for Qiongqi Path. He does blame himself, though, and his regrets are largely focused on how the situation deteriorated. He isn’t as horrified by the murder he’s committed. 

Key to this: Wei Wuxian admits, in that oblique way of his, that Wen Ning killed Jin Zixuan because Wei Wuxian saw him as an enemy and Wen Ning is attuned to his emotions. Not his orders, not his control, not his resentful energy, but his emotions. 

Losing control was losing the ability to hold back the resentment that Wen Ning died with. And what does Wei Wuxian and most of the cultivation world skim over regarding this resentment? Wen Ning died on Qiongqi Path. He was killed by Jins.

The same people, wearing the same colours, who attacked the man Wen Ning is now tasked with guarding. 

Wen Ning had his own reasons for losing control that are broadly independent of Wei Wuxian, but acknowledging those reasons requires 1) acknowledging Wen Ning as his own person and 2) acknowledging that, as a person, he may have homicidal inclinations towards that people that murdered his sect, his clan, his direct family, and himself. The Wens, both victims and victimizers is the narrative, might hold some desire for retribution in their heart that echoes that of the Sunshot Campaign members. And that’s hard, because that’s complicated - no clear villains or victors here.

MXTX plays with narrative like this a lot in MDZS. It’s subtle at times, obvious at others, but it’s a consistent theme of the novel. It’s also one that a lot of discourse seems to miss. 

If the character perspectives isn’t enough support for you, though, there’s also the world-building context to look at. According to legend, Qiongqi Path is where the founder of the Qishan Wen Clan, Wen Mao, rose to fame in just one battle. Hundreds of years before the novel's beginning, he fought a divine beast for eighty-one days and ultimately claimed its life. The divine beast was the Qiongqi, a beast of chaos known to punish the good and encourage the evil, devouring the loyal and the righteous while awarding the malicious. Of course, many of the Wen clan’s legends can be looked at with suspicion. But Qiongqi Path was already a graveyard. It’s a tainted place, with tainted memories for the people involved, firmly seated in a legend that reeks of the inevitability of somebody dying there that day, regardless of one man’s ability to maintain control of another. 

[morethanwonderful]

Out of all of Wei Wuxian's traits, one of the ones that fascinates me the most is how incredibly casual and chummy he is with corpses. All the other cultivators are a bit desensitized to the dead by nature of their profession, yes, but Wei Wuxian in particular treats the dead very much the same as he treats living people, and I think it's simultaneously one of his best and most concerning attributes.

On the good side, the way Wei Wuxian treats the dead is absolutely an extension of his overall goodness and empathy. He stands on the side of those that are looked down on, and nobody faces more discrimination that the dead. He treats the dead like people because they are people, and they deserve to have their voices heard. That's what Empathy's for, and that's why he revives Wen Ning to stand as witness to his own murder. Wen Ning is not a thing! And even when Wei Wuxian is raising armies of dead Wens to fight on his behalf, we get illustrations of him giving a helping hand to a weak old corpse that can't stand on its own.

Wei Wuxian is painted in very deliberate contrast to Xue Yang, who treats the dead as tools and deprives them of agency. His closeness with them is a symbol of his kindness.

However, beyond treating the dead decently and like people, there is a point where his chumminess with them starts to get unsettling, and that's the point where it becomes a reflection of his loneliness and trauma. In particular, I'm thinking of his cuddliness with the ghosts he uses to torture Wen Chao and the corpse girls he's hanging out with when he invites Lan Zhan to drink with him. Because treating the dead with respect is a very different thing from having a corpse lay in your lap as you stroke its hair. And fierce corpses by definition do not have personalities (with Wen Ning as the exception that proves the rule), so treating them as companions to socialize with is rather concerning behavior.

So why is he like this? Isolation and trauma!

It's easy to understate the trauma of Wei Wuxian's three months in the Burial Mound, especially given that we don't see them play out but do get details about so many other horrible moments. But those three months? They Fucked Him Up. In particular, beyond the trauma of the near death experience (or presumably many many near death experiences in a row), he spent the better part of three months without seeing a single other living human. People are not meant to do that.

So what is a person gonna do when he spends three months in Worse Solitary Confinement? And when that solitude is spent on Fierce Corpse Mountain? He's gonna get really weird about corpses. He's gonna turn into the kind of man that would let a murderous ghost he's controlling lay in his lap as he strokes her hair, because for an extended period of time, that is the closest thing to human contact he's had access to.

And later, post-sunshot-campaign, Wei Wuxian does regain access to living humans and society, but he's still incredibly isolated. Just about everyone besides his siblings and Lan Zhan hates and/or is scared of him by the time we hit the scene of him and the fierce corpse girls throwing flowers, so it's no wonder he's hanging out with dead people. He already picked up the habit of replacing company with corpses once, so of course he doesn't see anything wrong with it. Maybe they're there as bodyguards, maybe he's just extremely lonely and doesn't have any human companions to drink with him, or maybe (probably) it's a mix of both. But in any case, it's a pretty clear expression of a horrifying degree of both past and present isolation.

That's why, though he doesn't lose his respect for the dead or his desensitization to touching corpses, we never see him just Hanging Out With Mindless Ghosts in his second life. It's a substitute for real companionship, not a healthy behavior, but lack of company is no longer an issue he has after being resurrected.

He doesn't need an entourage of corpse girls, because this time, when he wants company, he's always got Lan Zhan.

[poorlittleyaoyao]

Okay, I have officially gotten to the post-timeskip era of the show in my rewatch, so time for some overarching thoughts!

Basically, I owe my past self an apology, because a lot of things I'd assumed I missed the first time around due to being overwhelmed with information/ relying on Netflix's iffy subs/ not paying close attention... are simply not present in CQL canon and/or aren't explained.

Sunshot, for example. I came away from the show thinking Sunshot had only lasted for a few months, and up till now had felt very silly because it's a massive multi-year war, right? NOT IN THE SHOW IT ISN'T. Sunshot begins in earnest in response to Lotus Pier's destruction; it is introduced alongside the core transfer, which occurs 1-2 weeks after Lotus Pier's destruction. When WWX returns from the Burial Mounts three months + 1 week later, he hangs out with everyone in the Unclean Realm for around a month before they make a final push against Nightless City. No other military action is shown during this time. Based on all the timestamps given, the active combat portion of this war took place over a period of less than 6 months.

(the following is said with the full understanding that I might sound like an insufferable CinemaSins video)

The consolidation of the Massacre at Nightless City and the First Siege of the Burial Mounds to one terrible, horrible, no-good very bad couple of days also diminishes it. All the Wen remnants--every single one of them!! nobody is left there when WWX wakes up!--just decide to let themselves be executed on the off-chance that WWX will be left alone with his sought-after cursed object and get to happily rejoin society after accidentally killing his brother-in-law. Why on earth would they all agree to that, especially without consulting WWX first? WQ and WN alone, sure, but ALL of them? Even A-Yuan's caregivers? WQ herself says that the jianghu gentry already decided WWX is guilty no matter what proof WWX offers! How will this solve anything!

(On the topic of the Burial Mounds: I assume that the reason the Burial Mounds are inhabitable and people are freely able to come and go without getting obliterated by ghosts is that WWX tamed the place during his time there earlier. Otherwise, it isn't "WWX spent 3 months cultivating resentment to survive until he was powerful enough to escape thanks to his hard-fought refinement of the Yin Tiger Tally" and more "WWX spent 3 months doing evil ghost science in a desolate yet fully habitable haunted forest just because.")

I also didn't get what the big deal was about WWX, because he... didn't really do anything? And again, I figured I must've just missed something, but no! He does atrocities at Yiling as he pursues Wen Chao and then he just sits there dodging concerned questions from loved ones and punching JZX over soup until the last minutes of the final battle, during which he summons some evil clouds that make people fall down. That's it. And then everyone, himself included, acts like he's the strongest and scariest dude ever. Part of the problem is that they only have like 50 extras in any of the battle scenes so there's no sense of scale, but even if there WERE hordes of CGI dudes... that is one battle, one time. Declaring himself an instrumental part of Sunshot is an overstatement, and it also raises the question of why he didn't use Chenqing or the Yin Tiger Tally sooner. He does nothing but use Chenqing as a baton until things get truly dire. I'd be suspicious of him too, if I'm honest!

And Wen Ning! Wen Ning, the oh-so-scary Ghost General, kills like a dozen guys one time and people think he's a terrifying death machine. This could have been chalked up to overblown rumors--oh, WN is just a little guy! he is just sitting there with his turnips! it's so messed up that people think WWX's trusty soft-spoken friend is a mindless tool for violence! UNTIL QIONGQI PASS 2.0, where WWX uses him as PRECISELY THAT. Why is WN coming with him to Jinlintai anyway, if not as a weapon? He certainly wasn't invited as a guest! Does he really think JGS is going to let the not-zombie who killed his employees come to his grandson's party when JC isn't even willing to let WN attend the surprise soup picnic?

Speaking of Qiongqi Pass 2.0, I do not understand why, if the whole thing was a nefarious scheme orchestrated by JGY to kill his brother and cause turmoil, WWX and WN were allowed to return to the Burial Mounds. SMS has the ability to control WN, and WWX can't fly on a sword. Just use WN to subdue WWX, capture them both, take the Yin Tiger Tally from WWX, and gain your father's esteem for obtaining the cursed object he wants and bringing his favorite son's murderers to justice! Come ON, JGY! If you're going to be extra evil, at least be clever about it! You aren't even at your breaking point yet!

I think the adaptation changes--the Yin Iron stuff, the not-zombies, XY working with WRH, the fairy statue backstory with WN's soul being easily detachable--actually do work in the front half of the show, where it's not following the text as closely. These things go together decently on their own! But from Sunshot onward, the new lore and changed characterizations that can't be fully discarded clashes with novel canon plot points that are too major to skip. It's a weird reversal of what happened with the first FMA anime, where the first half more or less follows the manga with some core changes baked in, and the second half deviates based off those changes since it outpaced the manga and didn't want to spoil it, resulting in two high-quality but fully distinct canons. Here, with the story unfolding chronologically, we have a first half that deviates with a lot of new content, and a second half that has a text to follow, resulting in ????

I'm still having fun, but I knowwww thinking about literally anything is gonna be such a mess from here on out. It's a testament to how much I like the actors' work and the expanded time with the supporting characters (and how much I do NOT vibe with Book Wangxian lol) that this is still my preferred canon.

[wangxianficfinder]

In the mood for a Fic...

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1. itmf a fic where wen ning kinds like wei ying or they have a thing going but still wangxian endgame?? idk if anything like this exists 😔 thanks🫶🏼

The Martial Arts Instructor Fic You Didn't Know You Needed by enbysaurus_rex (M, 423k, wangxian, LWJ & LSZ & WWX, WWX & Wen remnants, WQ & WWX & WN, modern, martial arts, everyone lives au, not canon compliant, WWX has ADHD, autistic LWJ, pining, enby WWX, implied/referenced alcoholism, PTSD, slow burn, chronic illness, found family, polyamory negotiations, JC & WWX reconciliation, Single Parent WWX, Single Parent LWJ) #1 is a hard ask but in this Martial Arts Instructor fic the author describes WN/WWX in a QPR bcuz WN is aro & WX is still endgame

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2. For the itmf I would love y’all favorite Xuanli live fics! Fix-it, time travel, fierce corpses, all options welcome. Thank you!! @the-vaguely-shifting-void

Posthumous by EHyde (T, 8k, XuanLi, Canon Divergence, PG necrophilia, aka zombie kisses, Not quite a fix-it, zombie jzx au, [Podfic] Posthumous by sisi_rambles) I'll share my own fic for 2

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3. hi! can you recommend me some nice jgy and wwx friendship? thank you!

Peony to Lotus series by Deriliarch (T, 65k, JYL/JGY, wangxian, canon divergence, arranged marriage, demisexual character, demiromantic character, fix-it, slice of life, angst)

Meng Yao vs. the Board of the Homeowner's Association Series by Ariaste (M/T, 119k, WIP, XiYao, WangXian, Modern AU, Established Relationship, xiyao and wangxian are both already married, Family Feels, Domestic Fluff, Family Bonding, Slice of Life, Discussions of Past Trauma, wwx's canonical kinks, HOAverse)

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4. omg!! I really loved the recommended fics before!!!!!!!! thank you very very much!!!!❤️💙

anywaysーI really liked those fics where CCSR and WCZ survived and WY was never orphaned;;; I would really like to read more!!! (the comedy potential of LZ meeting WY's parents lol) thank you in advance!!!!💙❤️💙❤️ @tinafaye

A Mother’s Curse (A Mother’s Blessing) by Eudoxia (E, 33k, WangXian, A/B/O Dynamics, Omega WWX, Alpha LWJ, Huli Jing LWJ, Huli Jing WWX, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Curses, Case Fic, Animal Transformation, Arranged Marriage, Misunderstandings, No Sunshot Campaign, No Yīn Iron (The Untamed TV), Mentions of Ace LXC, Mentions of Ace WN, XuanLi, XiNing, ChengSongQing, Knotting, Rimming, Blow Jobs, Oral Sex, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mating Bites, Mating Bond, Size Kink, Mpreg, Pregnancy, Pregnant Sex, LWJ and WWX Have a Breeding Kink, Intersex Male Omegas, Vaginal Sex, Vaginal Fingering, Cunnilingus, Squirting) parent reveal is quite late, but lwj step parent interaction is there!

Burn It All Down by nekojita (M, 94k, WIP, WangXian, XuanLi, Canon Divergence, CSSR Lives, BAMF CSSR, Sentient Burial Mounds, Burial Mounds Ensemble as Family, Rogue Cultivator WWX)

Wújī by FairyTaleDreams (M, 50k, WIP, WangXian, Canon Divergence, WCZ & CS Lives, Rouge cultivator WWX)

Resplendence by FrozenMarVel (E, 159k, WIP, WangXian, Canon Divergence, WCZ & CS Lives, Different first meeting, Fluff, Crossdressing, Love at first sight, Fix-it of sorts)

The Wei of family by HikariNoHimeWriter (E, 46k, wangxian, CSSR/WCZ, underage, everyone lives au, ABO, Rogue cultivator WWX, omega WWX, alpha LWJ, first time, falling in love, genius WWX, WWX & CSSR have ADHD, hurt/comfort, fluff, smut, love confessions, mating bond, not JC friendly, not YZY friendly, mpreg)

From the Warm Sun by sunshine_sparrow (T, 58k, WangXian, CSSR & WWX, CSSR & LQR, Discussion of Rape, Period-Typical Sexism, Mostly CQL but probably some MDZS too, CSSR Lives, Madam Lán Lives, Qingheng-jun lives, But WCZ Still Dies, Fix-It, Happy Ending, All Soft and Very Little Angst, the wens live, Yīn Iron, Good Person MY, Good Person LQR)

The Return of Cangse Sanren by milesofheart (T, 52k, WIP, WangXian, CSR/WCZ, Canon Divergence, CSR & WCZ Live, Angst with a happy ending, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Burial Mounds days, BAMF CSR)

Cartwheels In Cloud Recesses Series by ShanaStoryteller (Not Rated, 23k, WangXian, CSSR/WCZ, CSSR and WCZ Live, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Cloud Recesses Shenanigans)

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5. For the next ITMF I would like to request some fics that have WWX and LWJ in the first stages of a relationship where one of them is experiencing a healthy relationship for the first time. So I'm looking for a fic where something goes bad (even the smallest of things) and one of them expects the other to be mad and lash out at them (either physically or emotionally), but is surprised when they don't, because they're so used to be treated badly by their significant other. @blueghost13

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6. hello! in the next ITMF it’d be lovely to have some fics where lan zhan finally snaps and yells at everyone INCLUDING wei ying @nickthecornstar

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7. Hi! Thanks for your blog!

I'm in the mood for Lan Zhan falling in love with chubby Wei Ying. If possible modern au. Self esteem issues and lz adoration, appreciation and protectiveness.

Thank you! 😉 @best-before-end

things you've done by everythingispoetry (M, 19k, wangxian, modern, college/university au, living together, childhood trauma, eating disorders, control issues, body image, the excruciating process of recovery, non-sexual submission, weight issues, body worship) altho this fic has a different vibe from what the asker seems to ask? be sure to read the tags first

leave all your love and your longing behind by ScarlettStorm (E, 143k, WangXian, Modern AU, no magic, Meet-Ugly, Panic Attacks, autistic lwj, neurodivergent wwx, the neighborhood asshole dog, if you’ve met one then you know, Hurt/Comfort, Pining, Minor Angst, major shenanigans, Happy Ending, for everyone including the  asshole dog, Eventual Smut, switch rights, Sex Toys, horny yearning, Masturbation) might fit, it has a scene where lwj appreciates wwx's muffin top

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8. itmf fic that focus on wwx's first time coming to the jiang's house (can be canon/modern). preferably with lots of focus on how wwx feels abt the entire thing

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9. I was hoping for the next iitmf if the lovely people who search diligently, could use their amazing ability that I lack, could see if there are any fics where it is Jiang Yanli who is uncomfortable/homophobic with WangXian being together. Please and Thank You. :) @lizzybgood

The F-Word by raspberrymocha (M, 10k, WangXian, Modern AU, Family Dynamics, Established Relationship, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Humor, Fluff, Light Angst, Weddings, Engagement, Marriage Proposal, Implied/Referenced Sex, 5+1 Things, Heteronormativity)

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10. Hi! Thank you mads for all the hard work you do, you guys are the backbone of this fandom <3

For ITMF I would like to request some siblings fluff, like protective Jiang Yanli and Jiang Cheng with Wei Wuxian, (shijie dotting on his shidi is the best!). And also, if I could have some friendship between tge peakcock and A-Xian it would be great! (I know is a bit ooc but I do need it as reference 😅 @astarlith

A Full Sun (A Bright Moon) by Pip (Moirail) (E, 52k, wangxian, modern, bdsm, rope bondage, safe words, safe sane & consensual, fluff & smut, phone sex, getting together, comfort no hurt, hand feeding)

🧡 To have and to hold by Moominmammashandbag (M, 78k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Major character injury, CQL verse, Happy Ending) fits the ask! Siblings being protective and jzx&wwx friendship

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11. So I guess this would be itmf... I have a friend who only decides to watch new shows after reading some fic and getting invested in a ship. I have told her a lot about wangxian and she asked me to rec her a few fics. I'm overwhelmed by the idea of trying to win someone over with only one or two fics so I thought people here might help. She likes the CNC dynamic and their general kinkiness, so that should def be included. She also likes angst w/a happy ending, hurt/comfort. Also something that isn't overwhelming to someone who doesn't know the plot or terminology.

Nothing too spoilery, although I know it can be hard to avoid--maybe aus where they still have same dynamic/similar meeting and relationship progression but different main plot? Idk. I'm open to whatever. Just really wanna win her over!

Tl;Dr if you could have someone read only one (kinky, explicit) wangxian fic, what would it be? @moku-youbi

perhaps either

Content Warning: Romance by Ariaste (M, 5k, WangXian, BDSM, Praise Kink, nonsexual kink, which turns into sexual kink, wwx's canonical fetishes, Kink Negotiation)

or

turn towards the sun by Ariaste (E, 21k, WangXian, Kushiel's Legacy Fusion, The Night Court (Kushiel's Legacy), Kink Negotiation, Courtesans, Intimacy, BDSM, Consent, Wangxian's canonical fetishes, roughly Cloud Recesses-era, Extracurricular Kissing, Impact Play, Kink Experimentation, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse)

Or

Most People Don't Actually Go Fuck Themselves by orphan_account (E, 14k, WangXian, Post-Canon, book canon, Rape Play, fully consensual, Exhibitionism, Body Swap)

The Jade Chamber by raitala (E, 18k, wangxian, modern w/ magic, case fic, pining, angst w/ happy ending, hurt/comfort, getting together, trapped together, there’s only one bed, light bondage, masturbation, oral sex, emotional baggage, ghosts) Maybe?

the earthquake in the room by phnelt (E, 39k, WangXian, College/University, Modern: No Powers, Canada, Getting Together, Mentions of lwj/others, inter-faculty romance, strangers to lovers to frenemies to lovers, mostly book characterisation) or maybe even this one?

❤️ get wild by aroceu (E, 23k, WangXian, Modern AU, Rivals With Benefits, Basketball, Under-negotiated Kink, Dom/sub, College/University, Fist Fights, top LWJ, bottom WWX, Dom LWJ, sub wwx)

Whistler by carriecmoney (T, 108k, wangxian, modern, office au, texting, artifact fiction, Canada, embedded images, epistolary, animated gifs, pining, multimedia, inventor WWX, lawyer LWJ, implied sexual content, covid happens) For #11 with the caveat that it doesn’t have the kinks - It does have the similar meeting/relationship progression and plot points in a modern Canadian au. It’s also the fic that got me into the fandom after I randomly came across it and led to me reading more and watching the show so maybe it can do the same for your friend

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12. Hi! For the next itmf is there any good older!lwj/younger!wwx fics?

The Season of Fire by Magnolia822 (E, 31k, WangXian, Age Difference, Mutual Pining, Forbidden Love, Coming Out, Brief WWX/other, Homophobia, Modern AU, Unsafe Sex, Slow Burn, Lovers to Friends to Lovers)

Many happy returns. by orange_crushed (E, 25k, WangXian, Modern AU, Mistaken Identity, Misunderstandings, Grief/Mourning, Loss of Parent(s), Implied/Referenced Suicide, Past Suicide of a Parent, References to Depression, Anxiety, Therapy, References to Anti-Depressant Medications, Escort Service, Loneliness, Everybody’s Abandonment Issues, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst with a Happy Ending, Domestic Fluff, Moving In Together, Oral Sex, Penetrative Sex, Hopeful Ending, Recovery, References to Escorting/Sex Work but No Actual Escorting/Sex Work)  

Unexpected by MxModern (E, 10k, WangXian, Modern AU, Escort WWX, Sex Worker WWX, CEO LWJ, Past LXC/WWX, Ass to Mouth, Anal Sex)

Wangji's Beautiful Stranger by xxxMiaHikarixxx (G, 34k, WIP, WangXian, Modern AU, Soulmates, older lwj, younger wwx, LWJ is So Whipped, Modern: No Powers, Not Jiang Family Friendly)

Share Some Light With Me by GusuBunnie (Not Rated, 13k, Canon Divergence, WangXian Get a Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, Domestic, Mentor LWJ/Student WWX, Mutual Pining, Getting Together, Romance, Cloud Recesses, Supportive LXC, Sweet, Angst with a Happy Ending)

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13. Hi, first time asking,

Are there any fics where Wangxian are married or in a relationship but comes a third wheel who tries to break their relationship or tries to impress lwj but lwj as always loves wwx only. Thanks keep up the great work <3

Coincidence is Another Man's Fate by TriviasFolly (M, 164k, WangXian, Modern AU, A/B/O Dynamics, Omegaverse, Alpha LWJ, Omega wwx, Implied/Referenced Sexual Harassment, Getting Together, fated pairs, Eventual Attempted Sexual Assult and Recovery, Modern Setting - Office, Mpreg) It may be a little left field, and mind the tags, but for no. 13

What if...Lan Zhan wasn't a Moron? by Asmayi (E, 16k, WangXian, one-sided WangYu, Professor LWJ, Engineer WWX, Modern AU, POV Alternating, Dorks in Love, Anal Sex, Tender Sex, Jealousy, Insecurity, Hurt/Comfort, Self-Esteem Issues, Dirty Talk, Protective LWJ, Not MXY friendly, Blow Jobs, Possessive Behavior, Body Worship, Angst with a Happy Ending, Feminization, Rough Sex, Exhibitionism, Just for the Extra chapter)

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14. Hello, thanks for helping me last time. I came back after so many days. If you have lists for fiction WWX as a war prize, would you please share some? @paraffin22

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15. Thank you for all your hard work! I love this blog so much 🥰 For the next in the mood post could you find some fics where LWJ takes revenge for WWX? It can range from dark like murder to small petty stuff. I just want to see LWJ defending and even avenging WWX. Thank you!!

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16. Hello! do you have list of adopted wwx by hualian, bingqiu etc (not from any cultivation sect like wens, lans, nies)? its a crossover but the crossover list is kinda mix, i specifically want adopted wwx (pref since he was a child). This can be included in the next itmf, i think. Thank uuu

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17. hey! for a future itmf, do you have any recs for wangxian hookups-turned-feelings? thank you for all the work you guys put into this! @wen-ning

got your way with me by vesna (mrsronweasley) (E, 51k, WangXian, Modern AU, Friends With Benefits, Fuckbuddies, wangxian/others very briefly, otherwise it's OTP all the way, lwj FUCKS)

walk my days on a wire by cicer (E, 27k, WangXian, Modern AU, they were business rivals(oh my god they were were business rivals), mentions of mpreg, Pregnancy Kink, Light BDSM, Praise Kink, Dirty Talk, Barebacking, Subspace, Lingerie, Mutual Pining, Bottom LWJ/Top WWX, Intersex) check tags for unwanted content, but two years of discreet hotel hookups turns into feelings

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If you didn’t get an answer to your ask here, don’t forget to make use of @mdzs-kinkmeme and MDZS KINK MEME on Dreamwidth. Authors actually do use them for ideas. You may get what you order!***Your prompt doesn’t have to be kink! Fluff, crack, whatever - it’s all good!***

[whetstonefires]

You know what my thought is on Wen Ning and Jiang Cheng, okay? Well actually I have loads but very funny thing I've been thinking about is:

Per the drunken road crater kicking incident, Lan Wangji resents Wen Ning immensely.

Which means both Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji have spent something like fifteen years holding a grudge against Wen Ning, a dead guy who has spent most of that time period in brain-stabby prison, for being the person Wei Wuxian was prepared to drop everything and ruin his own life for, rather than staying alive with either of them.

And Wen Ning's like. I literally did not ask him to do this. And you don't even know what was actually going on back then.

But if you wanted anything in particular maybe you should have used your words???

[dani474]

Jiang Cheng, the Golden Core, and why it's love. [PART 2]

I ended part one by noting that the burial mound siege wasn't the end of their relationship, but it is not the reconnection of it yet either.

Jiang Cheng capturing and torturing people who cultivate like Wei Wuxian, believing they could be possessed by him, is definitely something that would make you think of hatred. So far though, he has not actually come back into contact with Wei Wuxian, neither through the constant spirit summoning or possession trials.

Checking for possession in this moment is especially important, because this is the closest he has been to finding Wei Wuxian since his death. The fact that he's spent the last 13 years doing this is. Unhinged honestly. Even Lan Wangji didn't go out searching for him.

We all know that Lan Wangji knew Mo Xuanyu was actually Wei Wuxian because of WangXian, but Jiang Cheng heavily suspects it’s him due to Wen Ning being the force corpse summoned. 

No matter who might’ve followed WWX’s cultivation methods, summoning WN is probably something no one else has ever tried much less succeeded at. (Later, we learn why, as we learn how Nie Huaisang and Jin Guangyao are both playing their own game, but for now, all we know is that WN hasn’t been seen for at least 13 years.)

Later, we see that Wei Wuxian is scared of dogs, like to the point of potentially being a phobia due to PTSD, and this is what confirms his theory that MXY is still somehow Wei Wuxian even without the possession. Rather than a question of demonic cultivation, this is actual experience with Wei Wuxian's fears, personality, and thought processes.

His emotional state here really shows his conflicting emotions regarding Wei Wuxian and his return, as well.

“Don’t you…have anything to say to me?”

In the novels, it’s noted that Jiang Cheng speaks softly in reply. “You won’t repent, just as expected.”

“And you haven’t improved either.”

I think it's interesting that this^ is what makes Jiang Cheng angry, not Wei Wuxian admitting he has no idea what to say to him. This makes me think he wanted an apology or an acknowledgement in some way, rather than an explanation on how he got his body.

“It’s all your fault that Jin Ling is made fun of like he is now. Don’t you forget how his parents died!” This anger makes total sense, and unfortunately lacks the information around the circumstances that led to Jin Zixuan's death. he's not wrong though, and I'll come back to this.

Wei Wuxian also admitted as soon as he learned it was Jin Ling, that he would've never let someone speak to him that way, so Jiang Cheng's defense here is not one to criticize in general, no matter if the words here are equally harsh.

More than that though, throughout the present period, their interactions are sporadic and limited. Somehow, we go from this tense exchange to one's that begin to unravel more of Jiang Cheng's feelings regarding the entire thing.

When Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian locate Nie Mingjue’s head in Jin Guangyao’s room and attempt to confront him, he is able to attack and force Wei Wuxian to grab his Suiban, leading to his identity being revealed. 

Jin Ling protests here, but Jiang Cheng is visibly unsure, questioning if the possession part could’ve been wrong despite Zidian, because of the sword unsealing itself.

This is his confirmation that Wei Wuxian has returned to the land of the living. After 13 years of searching and torturing people under suspicion (and guilt of demonic cultivation), he's making this face.

In the novels, he’s noted as looking “incredibly upset.” and also that he was “seeming to ponder what action to take.”

Unintentionally, this expression, this moment of hesitation (in a room full of killing intent mid you) reveals just how complicated their relationship actually is. Normally, if you hated someone and had them brought low, you'd take the chance to strike. We see that here with everyone else in the room, later Jin Ling (despite his own messy feelings over it), and later with Nie Huaisang.

Here though, he pauses. Jin Ling had more initiative to harm Wei Wuxian than him.

And at the second burial mound siege, Jiang Cheng led his people into the Den and was willing to consider Wei Wuxian’s theories. It’s unconscious, but he holds that judgment and intellect in high enough regard to actually approach it, rather than dismiss it. When Wei Wuxian makes himself a target, and takes Lan Wangji off with him, Jiang Cheng decides to help too, with no request from anyone. Jin Ling follows AFTER his uncle.

At the end of the fight, when everyone decided to go to Lotus Pier, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji followed and Jiang Cheng just…didn’t say either way. And when he asks Jin Ling who bullied him, the assumption that it was Wei Wuxian here makes sense in this context specifically. Note that he uses ‘Wei Ying’ in his thoughts.

You can say what you want about Jiang Cheng, but he protects his nephew undoubtedly. Is he perfect about it? No, but I do not expect the same tenderness Yanli could give him. His own experiences with parenting shape the way he responds. Still, Jin Ling tells Wei Wuxian outright that Jiang Cheng has never hit him, and yes, he can be harsh but seems to be trying to avoid belittling him. He is actually looking out for Jin Ling's safety and actively trying to support his cultivation (just not in the best way). Then again, it's hard to change such deeply ingrained responses.

Also, I think that if we're going to call Jiang Cheng abusive (though I personally disagree) for being crass and harsh towards Jin Ling, then we should consider he is an abuse victim and hasn't broken every single toxic trait he's learned. It is not a moral failure, and it actually makes his character more nuanced. So.

Anyways, for the most part, things are ambivalent.

It’s not until Wei Wuxian takes Lan Wangji around Lotus Pier, and they do the tree jump hug thing that things seem remiss. Jiang Cheng witnesses it and sees them going to the Ancestral Hall. More than any of his harsh words towards their ‘friendship’, he’s angry because Wei Wuxian is going without showing respect to Jiang Cheng or even his parents. This is audacious of Wei Wuxian, if only because he didn’t bother to tell Jiang Cheng he’d like to visit the Ancestral Hall. He doesn't live there anymore and their relationship is still very much damaged, so honestly, I can kind of understand being upset about the Ancestral Hall being approached the way it was.

He still blames Wei Wuxian for the destruction of Lotus Pier and Lan Wangji being there is fuel to the fire. Due to his own perceptions, Iang Cheng sees this as a mockery of his parents and their deaths, so I’m not surprised he reacts so negatively. Is it strictly true or fair, no, but it’s also something they’ve never actually talked about. It’s still pent-up between them.

Note that Jiang Cheng only makes a vaguely homophobic comment after Wei Wuxian tells him to shut up (for insulting LWJ). He’s being a dick sure, but this comment was specifically to goad Wei Wuxian into fighting. It’s working. Jiang Cheng’s words after this make me think he’s angrier about the introduction of Lan Wangji to his own parents because of their ‘thing for each other.’ He clearly read the intention of a marriage blessing and I think that’s what’s bothering him the most here. Why? This: “...If you two have any integrity, you shouldn’t have come here and…”

Again. Jiang Cheng points to Wei Wuxian saving Lan Wangji as being the catalyst that destroyed Lotus Pier. This is specifically what he's referencing.

Wei Wuxian strikes first, and then they’re fighting. Which is what Jiang Cheng was looking for. He can’t totally explain why he’s upset, so he argues instead.

Wen Ning decides to tell Jiang Cheng about the Golden Core transfer because he was hurting Wei Wuxian, with his actions but also with the burden of said secret. Jiang Cheng’s reaction to this – the secret itself and his own feelings around it/Wei Wuxian – are pretty justified, and instead of starting a fight later, he mostly shares his true feelings about it. 

Jiang Cheng keeps responding to it with anger, but right here, this is shock and hurt, as far as I can tell. His next words make me believe that: “Lies!” “Lies! All of you are lying to me!” 

Right now, he has no idea what to think of Wei Wuxian. He has no idea what’s really happened and who’s told him the truth. It completely upheaved his current perceptions. He does ask others to try pulling out Suiban. Because he knows, on some level, that WWX’s sword should not be ‘unsealed’ and that Baoshan Sanren should’ve been much more elusive. 

I think the most interesting aspect here is the result of it.

Jiang Cheng does what Wen Ning asks and once he enters the Guanyin Temple, well. Jin Guangyao taunts, throwing his confusion and whirlwind behavior in his face.

His anger here is not at all surprising, considering this is a private issue. The fact that it’s being used against him during this little skirmish is not a good sign for him. It's forcing him to acknowledge that Wen Ning was telling the truth, in a way that even unsheathing Suiban himself can't.

Jiang Cheng is upset here because he’s having all of his accomplishments since the Sunshot Campaign started questioned, diminished, and attributed to Wei Wuxian. Once again, someone is telling him that he will never be good enough, and by mentioning a golden elixir, even implies that he must ‘cheat’ in order to even match Wei Wuxian. Of course, like most people, being compared to someone this way is hurtful, and to have it done repeatedly by so many people who see that other person as more likable and more accomplished, is going to leave deep seated issues.

Still, the moment JGY threatened Wei Wuxian’s life, he was over there to protect him without a thought. JGY was intentionally riling Jiang Cheng up in order to put him in that position. With his ability to read people, he quickly realized that despite any potential anger and hurt, he wouldn’t allow Wei Wuxian to be injured, not when he’s just learned about the Golden Core Transfer. By doing this, he was able to injure Jiang Cheng as he was slower to defend himself.

In response to Wei Wuxian saying “I told [Wen Ning] so many times not to say it!” is anger first. This is probably the most blatant he is about his own insecurities concerning and his own capabilities.

He’s mocking Wei Wuxian’s choice as playing the hero and living up to their sect’s motto in the way he couldn’t.

It’s interesting that Jiang Cheng is overshadowed by Wei Wuxian to the point of viewing himself as inferior at everything; to the point of needing to question who or what he is. This sounded strange to me at first, but subconsciously people recognize that Wei Wuxian’s abilities are higher despite who he is – the son of a servant (or the potential bastard of JFM) according to what’s convenient. Jiang Cheng is lower here because his parentage is “no match” for Wei Wuxian's. The parents aren’t mentioned outright, but why else would a sect heir, and now a sect leader, be pitted against his head disciple and viewed as a failure for not matching up? 

It's the same reason Madam Yu was so angry.

Because failing to match Wei Wuxian is seen as a slight against the Jiang sect. She was angry that Jiang Fengmian kept acknowledging Wei Wuxian but not his own son and heir. It’s why the gossip was so bad, and why it was getting to her. It’s also why Jiang Cheng can't help but be jealous. It's a conflict of status. He feels much lower, but his status is nothing of the sort. Wei Wuxian’s accomplishments are higher and more respected, but his place is much more tenuous. 

This is not either of their faults. It’s the results of classism and parental conflict. The Jiang parent's and their personal strife leads to the belittlement of their children, and the jealousy directed at Wei Wuxian leads to a conflicting position. The son of a servant and a head disciple who should be good, but not better than Jiang Cheng. The son of Canse Sanren who's as well known as Madam Yu, but also brings her disrespect and dishonor in the rumors. Whichever causes the most tension at the time. 

Also, yes, I know Jiang Cheng’s rant in the novel is much more harsh, and his actions more impulsive, but that doesn’t really change anything. People do not act rationally when they are this upset. Some of the things he says in here show how belittled he feels (ex. “You never tell me anything. You treat me like a fool!” and “What am I? Does it serve me right to be blinded by your brilliance?!”)

When Jiang Cheng lashes out here, he’s also questioning their positions, even before he says it outright. He tries to shove Wei Wuxian and we can say whatever about this choice, but to be honest, I very rarely see people who are close peers much less those raised in the same household (whether they’re allowed to consider themselves brothers or not) approach anger or hurt without being a bit of a childish dick about it. Lan Wangji is quick to interfere of course, so Wei Wuxian isn’t actually hurt. 

I already noted why he’s asking these questions. ‘What am I if the son of a servant, even one taken in by my family, can outshine me in everything? How can I live up to that? Why can’t I, when I’m a sect heir? My status is higher than yours, but you are much higher than me.’

Again. It’s not intentional, but it is driven by classism, not just sibling jealousy.  Being so close to one another in their youths makes his perspective on Wei Wuxian's class more flexible than his parents, but it also means the discrepancy between them, and the public opinion is much heavier. It drives those insecurities deeper.

Jiang Cheng going on to mention the deaths that Wei Wuxian caused. It’s no surprise he still blames WWX for being the catalyst in Lotus Pier’s destruction, but I think him bringing up Jin Ling's parents is different. The politics around the Wen’s attacking Lotus Pier are complicated enough that he only mentions his parents rather than the whole sect, as he did in the immediate aftermath of the attack. 

Jin Zixuan and Yanli, though? These must hurt in such a specific way. Wei Wuxian is more to blame for these deaths than the others, because both of them went out into an unsafe situation to help him.

Wei Wuxian was increasingly unstable, his position on its very last leg, and his powers caused the injuries. Yanli is more complicated, if only because she was injured but would’ve survived if she hadn’t stepped in front of a sword strike meant for Wei Wuxian. They chose to protect him, in two different ways. Jin Zixuan was trying to diffuse the situation enough to get Wei Wuxian out safely, and Yanli wanted to calm Wei Wuxian down enough to control the corpses, to get him out of that situation, and more than anything -- she wanted to see him again.

Jiang Cheng’s anger is not unjustified, to be honest. Is it complicated? Yes. Everyone else's actions also caused those deaths. But emotions are not logical nor are they simple. 

And then we get to the crux of the issue, in my opinion. 

This more than anything is why he’s angry. Because breaking it meant Jiang Cheng could not lean on him or count on him for support, which he definitely needed while rebuilding the sect. 

Because it meant his sect (and Jiang Cheng himself, maybe) was not worth protecting. Wei Wuxian did choose to protect ‘outsiders’; he may have done so because it was the right thing to do, because he owed a debt that he couldn’t ever really repay, but it is still a choice that puts the Jiang sect (JC) second. When he asks: “what did you take our family as?”, that is what I hear. 

Jiang Cheng is asking whether or not he should or is allowed to hate Wei Wuxian. LWJ gets in between them and Jiang Cheng decides he can fight if necessary. And to be honest, I can’t help but pay attention to everyone's expressions when he steps closer to Wei Wuxian. Everyone looks so surprised to see he’s in pain, that he’s crying. Everyone takes his at face value, so they miss how much he carries behind all of it.

He’s so angry at Wei Wuxian, maybe even hates him, because more than anything, it hurts.

This is just all that pain and grief coming out. Jiang Cheng lost Wei Wuxian when he broke that promise, and after having lost his parents, then his brother-in-law and sister, that was all he had left.

He doesn’t understand why Wei Wuxian couldn’t tell him these things. It would’ve hurt much less if he knew the truth, I imagine. Because for this entire time, he didn’t have any explanation for Wei Wuxian’s behavior. This, honestly, tells me that he wanted Wei Wuxian to stay. We know Jiang Cheng wanted to protect him, as Yanli did, and now he knows that Wei Wuxian wanted to protect him, too.

When Wei Wuxian apologizes for breaking his promise, Jiang Cheng is upset with himself for needing it. For wanting it. He feels weak for not being able to just hate Wei Wuxian. Because that’s the thing.

Jiang Cheng asked those questions because he struggles to reconcile feeling like he should hate WWX – maybe actually hating him on some level – and still loving him. 

And yes. Jiang Cheng loves him.

He may see Wei Wuxian in a position of both servitude (as his head disciple, regarding the expectations around him being a sect heir, and Wei Wuxian being of a servant’s line) and one of admiration and inferiority to. But they’re close enough to bicker and be tactile as siblings would, but not enough to be considered siblings by anyone else.

They see this causal behavior as one of disrespect, and at Jiang Cheng’s lowest and most politically unstable moments (sunshot and after), he began to see it that way as well. It’s much harder to ignore everyone shouting these kinds of things at you constantly when you have next to no one countering that perception. MianMian and Lan Wangji both tried to stop people from spreading this idea but they couldn’t. Jiang Cheng couldn’t either, and the fact that they fed into pre-existing insecurities makes them very easy to internalize and manipulate. Don’t forget that he’s literally 17-20 when this is mostly happening. 

When Jiang Cheng apologized to Wei Wuxian, and he responded like this, I was questioning if he chose to do it out of obligation.

Why would he say this? Is it because Madam Yu and Jiang Fengmian asked him to take care of their children? Because the Jiang family took him in?

Or because Jiang Cheng accused him of betraying his family? 

Wei Wuxian giving his Golden Core to JC is not something anyone would’ve requested of him to fulfill his obligations to the Jiangs. It was an experimental procedure that hadn’t even been heard of outside of Wen Qing and her family. Wei Wuxian chose to do it because he wanted to protect Jiang Cheng. To protect from his grief and his guilt over not being able to get revenge for their sect. To protect him from feeling inferior. Jiang Cheng was literally at his lowest point and was arguably suicidal. After bringing JC to someplace safe enough for treatment, he’d already fulfilled his duties to the Jiang family. But choosing an extremely risky procedure, to give someone a part of himself that the cultivation world considered near sacred, wouldn’t have crossed any cultivators mind. 

Choosing to do it anyway. How is that NOT out of love? 

It’s just that he didn't tell Jiang Cheng the truth because it would hurt him. And by hurting him this way, making him feel as if none of his accomplishments were his own, he would be dishonoring his obligations to the Jiang parents. 

Wei Wuxian’s own feelings here are more complex. He’s grateful that Jiang Fengmian took him in, so he approaches the Transfer in a way that emphasizes that to reduce the sense of loss. He says as much in the novels:

If he hadn’t been taken in, he’d never have a golden core and would never feel that loss, but he’d never have met Yanli or Jiang Cheng either. So, duty is easier. But this is AFTER.

“If it had not been for Jiang Fengmian bringing him to Lotus Pier, Wei Wuxian might never have crossed paths with the cultivation world. He would never have been conscious of such a mystical and magnificent realm.”

“[...] He’d have had no way of cultivating, let alone a chance to form a golden core. And at that thought, he’d feel a lot better.”

Wei Wuxian wanted Jiang Cheng to live, so he did something that would ensure it, even at the cost of his own health. Regardless of the parents, these three value each other's lives enough to risk their own. It’s shown to us repeatedly. All of these are reciprocal and are done without any need for debt or obligation.

The reason Wei Wuxian says it this way is because he thinks that Jiang Cheng shouldn’t have to apologize for his words. From his perspective, Jiang Cheng believes he should repay the Jiang family, because of how he's been saying these things. 

I say it like that because Jiang Cheng doesn’t like that response. He questions it. To my parents? To my sister? And then Wei Wuxian asks them not to talk about it, to let it be in the past. He’s doing this to protect himself and yet inadvertently implying that he chose to do it because of literally everyone BUT Jiang Cheng. 

It sounds like “I did this to repay your family, not for you.” and that bothers him. But he doesn’t say anything else because Wei Wuxian told him not to. Wei Wuxian said it because he thought it would make Jiang Cheng feel less betrayed. They’ve completely talked past each other and don’t even know it.

He doesn’t look relieved here. Seriously. This is not the face I’d be making if those words relieved me. His face is scrunched and his teeth are clenched. He looks pained. He’s trying to keep the rest of his tears in. 

It hurts him to hear that, but he can't say anything now. 

And with the reveal that Su She casted the Hundred Holes curse on Jin Zixun, Wei Wuxian is rightfully feeling that he was wronged. The moment Jin Guangyao says that, actually, Wei Wuxian would be besieged regardless and would die young, Jiang Cheng gets angry. It hurts to hear, because it ended up being true. JGY knows it and uses that to his advantage, but only after being called the son of a prostitute. (Before that, he's just generally taunting.)

By laying all the blame for Wei Wuxian’s death on Jiang Cheng, he’s hitting a surprising sore point. Jiang Cheng feels guilty over aiding in Wei Wuxian’s death. He knows that the wedge driven between them happened because of his insecurities. And he knows that by allowing the other sects to target Wei Wuxian rather than risk the sect to back him, he pretty much set the stage for Wei Wuxian's death. It took a year, but once there was a ‘reason’, he ended up with no choice but to siege the Burial Mounds. Once again, these things happened due to more than just themselves. They did not have a path outside of this one due to where they both were.

I like the detail that Jin Ling has to hold him back here, but Wei Wuxian also won’t let it slide. He immediately comes to JC’s defense once JGY starts to imply that JC killed him. (He corrected Wen Ning on this, too.)

(Side thing: They both care for Jin Ling. Yes, Jiang Cheng is rude, but he does try his best to spoil and protect him, and when Jin Guangyao takes Jin Ling hostage, he’s upset to the point that he uses the affectionate form of his name. This also causes Wei Wuxian to immediately try to help in response, due to being familiar with Jiang Cheng’s different tones.)

At the end of all of this, Jiang Cheng had wanted to tell Wei Wuxian something just before he left, but didn’t. I particularly like his expression in the manhua. 

“I didn’t get caught by the Wen Clan because I insisted on returning to Lotus Pier to retrieve my parents’ bodies. When you went to buy rations in that small town during our escape, a group of Wen cultivators caught up to us. I noticed them early and left the spot where I’d been sitting to hide in a corner of the street. I didn’t get caught, but they were patrolling, and they would have surely bumped into you while you were getting us food.

So I ran out and lured them away.”

TL;DR

Like most people, Jiang Cheng’s words and actions don’t always match, and they don’t always say what he’s feeling. Can he hurt people with his behaviors, yes. But honestly, this is just how people work and isn't a sign of one-dimensional villainy. He hurts others with his actions and other people’s actions hurt him. It’s just the nature of being involved with others, and especially in loving them. 

Keeping his actions within his relationships in full context is really the only way to understand his motivations, emotions, and why other characters feel the way they do about him. This is about how Jiang Cheng’s insecurities and strained familial relationships influences how he responds to Wei Wuxian over the course of their lives, how politics shaped the fallout, and ultimately why it was not duty that led to the Golden Core transfer, on either side. 

They didn’t tell each other about those sacrifices – ones they made out of love for each other and with little regard for anything else – because knowing would hurt the other. 

Sacrifice as a form of love is a theme between these two. Sacrifice was a form of love between many others too. Yanli, Wen Qing, Lan Wangji, Madam Yu, even. An element of obligation doesn't actually counteract that. Everyone has some level of obligation to the people around them.

Even so. They deal with their issues by pretending they don’t have issues, so of course it builds up. Of course, Jiang Cheng’s personality results in a grudge, but that doesn’t mean it’s all he feels. It’s complicated. I think with people you’re close to, it’s easy to resent them and also love them. I think they love each other, and there’s just so much pain and trauma and communication issues between them that it festers into something ugly. It looks like hate because those pains build until they explode.

I think for someone like Jiang Cheng, it’s so much easier to hate someone than to love them when it’s painful to do so. 

It must have been so much easier to hate the man Wei Wuxian became – the Yiling Patriarch – than it was to remember who that person was, to him. We know that Jin Ling and Jiang Cheng are noted as being similar, and I think Jin Ling’s complicated feelings reflect this point. Jin Ling stabbed Wei Wuxian because of his parents being murdered, but also helped him and didn’t want to see him get hurt, because he came to like the man Wei Wuxian actually was rather than the big scary boogeyman. I think this happened in reverse for Jiang Cheng. Hate the boogeyman to forget the human you knew. 

But, eventually, the truth comes out, and they can’t keep those things in anymore. 

So to me, the Golden Core Transfer, from both ends, was them saying: ‘I want you to live.’ And how can that not be an act of love? Of devotion? We see Yanli’s protection of WWX as an act of love and sacrifice, but not this? Because their relationship cannot be easily described? Because Jiang Cheng is a hard man to work with, or even love? Because acknowledging this level of devotion might threaten the impact of wangxian? Sometimes, for better or worse, we know people who are hard to understand and hard to communicate with, but the love is there and it’s real. And for these two, I think even if the love could not outweigh the tension or the circumstances around them, they tried as best as they could. Because they both believed the other was worth it. 

We know Wei Wuxian has more positive feelings overall towards Jiang Cheng, but it’s much harder to get into Jiang Cheng’s head because he’s not often the narrator. This is on purpose of course, but it also means we can miss intricate details. 

That doesn’t mean it isn’t there though. And that doesn’t mean there’s no love. 

LINK BACK TO PART 1

[lilapplesheadcannons]

A life of service and compassion

Wen Ning always felt slightly irrationally guilty staying home on a Monday morning. Somewhere in his subconscious, a voice that was suspiciously similar to Qing-Jie's called him a bum, but he was determined to enjoy every moment of the golden period that was summer break. It was a particularly glorious day today. The sunshine entered through their living room window and coloured their ancient beaten down wood furniture in a deep honey colour. The air smelled of butter and fresh pancake, remnant of their breakfast. For the next couple of hours, until he had to help granny making lunch, he had nothing to do. So he grabbed Jie's stethoscope and decided to listen to their cat Zombie's stomach. It was safe. Jie has just returned from a night shift and would be dead to the world for the next 8 hours.

Zombie's stomach gurgled away happily. It sounded like all the mice and lizards and roaches inside were having a very animated debate. Wen Ning was jolted out of his reverie by an impatient horn outside. Glancing down from the window, he wasn't surprised to see the battered jalopy. Wei Wuxian was madly grinning from the driver's seat as he waved him to come downstairs. Wen Ning suddenly had the premonition his Monday just got very interesting!

Wen Ning found out Wei Wuxian wasn't the only occupant of his car. Jiang Cheng was sulking with his arms crossed in the front passenger's seat. In the backseat, Nie HuaiSang looked mildly lost and confused like he didn't quite know where he was or how he got there.

"What is going on?"

Wei Wuxian smiled his most persuasive smile. This should have been a warning sign. "Good morning to you, too. We have a favour to ask."

Wen Ning considered turning back and running inside. He was 17. Jie can and will still whoop his ass if he got arrested or, even worse, dead.

Jiang Cheng snorted loudly, "You are scaring him!"

Wei Wuxian waved his arms wildly, "It's nothing serious, really. You know Jie went on her honeymoon last month. She asked us to keep an eye on her flat. She is coming back this afternoon. The problem is, we have plain forgotten..."

"You have forgotten! Don't blame me!"

Wei Wuxian turned his head to look at Jiang Cheng, "Why haven't you gone to look after it then?"

Jiang Cheng's frown somehow managed to deepen, but he remained silent. Wei Wuxian turned back to look at Wen Ning placatingly, "Well, we need to make sure the flat is clean and not broken into and... stuff. Do you want to come along?"

Wen Ning asked cautiously, "Why would I want to come clean your sister's flat?"

Wei Wuxian started to persuade him in his gentlest voice, "You know how much Jie likes you. She made sure to serve your favourite lobster in her wedding. Do you really want her to return to a dusty flat after a month away? Besides, think of this as showing kindness, your act of good deed."

Nie HuaiSang spoke dreamily from his seat, "A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity."

Wei Wuxian nodded vigorously, "Yeah, that too!"

Wen Ning considered his options. If he was a sane, sound minded person, he would stay away from the three dukes of hazards. But when had he claimed to be sane? Besides, he did feel endebted to Jiang Yanli. The lobster was indeed divine. He couldn't have it on his conscience if he unleashed the trio in her flat unsupervised. Yanli might return to a crime scene instead.

He nodded and got in the backseat beside HuaiSang.

In 15 minutes, they were inside Yanli's flat. There was very little to do, in fact. Yanli has left the place immaculate. HuaiSang plopped down on the couch.

"Why did you sit down?" Jiang Cheng asked.

"Doesn't look like there is anything to do," Wei Wuxian ran a finger across the mantlepiece and looked visibly crestfallen at how clean his finger came out. "Not even dust."

Wen Ning tried to console him, "Well, it was a close flat. Maybe we can just air the rooms and leave."

Wei Wuxian argued, " But I will feel so bad if I left without doing anything. How about this? See that throw rug? It must be dusty. Let's vacuum it."

"You can't leave well alone, can you?" Jiang Cheng growled. But Wei Wuxian has already made his way to the supply closet and was pulling out an ancient gigantic vacuum cleaner. He plugged it in and pushed the power button, but nothing happened. In a typical Wei Wuxian manner, he tried to shake the vacuum. Jiang Cheng leapt forward to help or at least hit Wei Wuxian twice with the nozzle. It was a skirmish that suddenly resulted in the vacuum to start with a menacing growl. But instead of vacuuming, it started to regurgitate. Within a blink, the living room was covered in a dust storm.

After the four emerged, coughing and spluttering, the flat looked distinctly like the Sahara desert. There was inch deep dust on every surface. Dust swirled in the stagnant air. Both Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng looked like commandos wearing face paint.

"See what have you done, you imbecile!" Oddly enough, it was the ever-placid HuaiSang who screamed.

Wei Wuxian scrstched his head thoughtfully, "Hm, that was very unexpected."

Unexpected indeed! Yanli would blow an aneurysm if she saw her precious flat in this state.

Jiang Cheng spat bitterly, "Well, now you can vacuum until the end of the world."

Wei Wuxian rejectedly picked up the vacuum cleaner, then put it back fown and announced, "I am starving."

Wen Ning grabbed Jiang Cheng before he could murder Wei Wuxian on the spot.

HuaiSang had dusted a perch for himself on the coffee table. He had obviously worked through his previous discontent because he stood up enthusiastically, "There must be something to eat in the kitchen."

Wei Wuxian and HuaiSang marched towards the kitchen. Jiang Cheng shook his head before picking up the vacuum and starting it, right way this time. Wen Ning followed the former two.

The kitchen escaped the dust onslaught. But it was remarkably...empty of foodstuffs. Just pots and pans gleamed in the cupboards.

HuaiSang opened the fridge. "There's a carton of eggs."

Wei Wuxian was bending down to peer into the cupboard. He straightened carrying a bottle of oil and a salt shaker. "We can fry some eggs!"

Wen Ning had also made a discovery himself. A tin of biscuits, tucked away in a corner in the overhead shelf. He grabbed the tin but was immensely disappointed to find teabags inside. Shame on Yanli Jie. She always seemed so nice, too.

Wei wuxian turned to HuaiSang, "Ok, let's get started. I'll heat up the pan. Why don't you crack the eggs and start beating them?"

He grabbed a 5 litre saucepan and set it on the gas hob before twisting the knob to the highest setting. HuaiSang looked absolutely lost, holding the carton. Wen Ning had a sneaky suspicion no one had confronted the young Nie heir with an egg before. He rummaged around the shelf to find a shallow bowl and a fork. In the meantime, Wei Wuxian had already emptied a 1-litre bottle of olive oil in the pot.

As Wen Ning cracked the first egg on the side of the counter, a smell appropriate of the deepest circle of hell was unleashed. It felt like all the horrible smells of the world were trapped inside, and they got out to torment humanity. Nie HuaiSang retched loudly and immediately projectile vomited. Wen Ning bumped his head on an open shelf and saw sparks before his eyes. Wei Wuxian jumped, and the pan burst into flames.

They all owed their lives to Jiang Cheng, who ran in to find them scrambling to collect water from the washbasin to pour over the oil fire. He shrieked like an angry elephant before unhooking the fire extinguisher from the wall and dousing the fire and everything in a 10 meter diameter in white foam.

The four of them stared dumbstruck at their handiwork. The living room was still covered in dust. The air smelled of dust, rotten egg, vomit, and fire. The kitchen was buried under a sea of foam. The fire alarm was blaring overhead. Is this service? Is this compassion?

"Guys, quick!" Wei Wuxian was always the leader in difficult situations. The four of them ran out of the flat like they were being pursued by the devil. As they descended the stairs three at a time and ran into the lobby, Jiang Yanli and her husband walked in, dragging their luggage behind them. Both looked very tanned with matching grins.

"Hi boys..." Yanli's husband didn't get a chance to finish his sentence. Wei Wuxian threw the keys at him, and they ran out of the building. As they scrambled into the car and Wei Wuxian stepped on the accelerator, HuaiSang was the first to speak.

"Witness protection system!"

[lansplaining]

golden core anon again! I haven't gotten the 7s translation yet, but in the ExR translation JC "retracted the whip, but it was already too late" and (a few paragraphs later) the hit actually landed on WN, leaving a scorch mark. I don't which is more accurate, but I've always had the impression that it wasn't really obvious for WN that JC was trying to stop the fight! I'm also 90% sure that WN wasn't lurking nearby to watch the whole exchange, so he's probably working with a lot of incomplete information here (in a lot of ways lol). as for why he immediately decided to deal emotional damage, instead of restraining JC or just punching him in the face (which would've probably made more sense to everyone and also might've made JC's day somewhat better in the end)… my personal interpretation is that WN was already pretty mad at the whole golden core thing? he initially respected WWX's desire to sacrifice the golden core for his brother, went along with his plan so that JC wouldn't suspect anything, watched WWX suffer during the surgery, then watched him destroy himself in the Burial Mounds without a core… and then realized that the guy who prompted so much self-sacrifice is… maybe kind of a dick actually? who has been treating WWX with nothing but anger and resentment whenever WN was present to see it? and now he's actually attacking him? "yeah no, fuck you, no blissful ignorance for you anymore, you should know exactly how much he has done for you and maybe then you'll leave him alone". (don't get me wrong, I agree that WN wasn't exactly fair to JC during the reveal, especially if you know that JC had sacrificed his core for WWX first, but I kinda get where he's coming from emotionally)

The Seven Seas has what I quoted, and yes, Wen Ning does intercept the blow that was going to hit Wangji. I don't speak Chinese and definitely can't get into the business of comparing translations, I'm very specifically talking about the experience of reading this translation and taking it as a story/narrative experience on its own.

I'm not saying that Wen Ning doesn't have personal reasons for revealing the golden core (though imo his emotional state as described both before and after is... weird, but that's part for the course with the unreliability of the narrator re: Wen Ning specifically), and I'm not saying the scene makes no sense. I'm literally just saying it's interesting that as a writer, MXTX chose to make the golden core reveal not actually the climax of a deadly conflict, or the only possible thing that could have stopped Jiang Cheng in his tracks, or even in response to Jiang Cheng actually doing something truly egregious-- it's yet another misunderstanding and disproportionate response to a situation someone bursts into without understanding.

(There's also the irony that right after this, Wen Ning thanks/implicitly forgives Lan Wangji because he spoke up for Wen Ning and Wen Qing before they were executed... but Jiang Cheng also spoke up for them-- to say nothing of facilitating the entire Burial Mounds grace period by arranging the fake fight-- Wen Ning just wasn't there, and it (also) didn't work.)

[robininthelabyrinth]

Discordant Rhapsody - ao3 - Chapter 8

The Wen sect were all settled in one of the courtyards reserved for guests, but Lan Qiren suggested that Wei Wuxian be put into one of the rooms adjacent to his own courtyard, both to reinforce the fact that he was now Lan Qiren’s personal disciple and to forestall Lan Wangji from completely embarrassing himself by deciding to move in with the Wen under some paper-thin excuse of needing to protect them.

He would have hoped that Lan Wangji would have slightly more self-restraint than that, but his nephew still seemed dazed, even stunned, by the fact that Wei Wuxian was in Gusu at long last.

Wei Wuxian, for his part, was growing increasingly merry as he realized that whatever terrible things he’d feared awaited him in Gusu were not about to come to pass – things he had apparently feared as a result of Lan Wangji constantly beseeching him to return with him, no less. Oh, Lan Wangji was going to get the scolding of his life the moment Lan Qiren got him alone…!

Wen Qing and Wen Ning had come along to as well for the time being, Wen Ning because Wei Wuxian was still in the period of supervising him – despite how calm he was, and no, Lan Qiren was not taking credit for that – and Wen Qing to keep an eye on them both.

“A-Ning can stay with Wei-gongzi if he thinks that’s necessary, while I prefer to stay with the rest of my family,” Wen Qing said begrudgingly. “But I want to be involved in whatever’s going to happen next.”

“You wouldn’t be invited to stay here anyway,” Lan Qiren said bemusedly, minorly appalled at her presumptiveness and trying not to show it. “Adult men and women live separately in the Cloud Recesses, excluding those married couples who choose otherwise.”

Zhang Xin and Lan Yueheng, for instance. To no one’s surprise, they’d opted for the founder’s choice, sharing a single courtyard and spending every night together in the same bed – perhaps it wasn’t actually that surprising that they had managed seven living children, even if one set were twins. Supposedly Lan An had originally proposed the arrangement with his dao companion as a result of their commitment to poverty, him being first a secluded monk and then a wandering musician, but Lan Qiren personally suspected that it had less to do with their sect founder’s inclination to live like a peasant and more to do with his reputation (within the sect, anyway) for overwhelming ardor. Not unlike Lan Yueheng, he and his wife had made a very solid start at expanding the family line and setting up branch families from the very beginning…

“Ah, yes, right, of course,” Wen Qing said, flushing a little in embarrassment. “I didn’t mean to suggest otherwise.”

Thinking about the Wen elders’ comments, Lan Qiren subtly moved away from her.

“I’d love to look your prosthetic more closely,” Wei Wuxian said to Lan Yueheng, blissfully unaware of the other ongoing discussion. “There’s arrays on there, aren’t there? They were muted, but I assume you can activate them – using the same principle as a spiritual sword?”

“Almost,” Lan Yueheng said, always willing to be drawn into a theoretical discussion rather than have to talk politics. “It’s based on the same thing, but obviously you’re really only supposed to have the one sword unless you practice a dual style. If you like, I can set up a meeting for you with the others who helped make it. I’m only an alchemist, what you really want are the artificers.”

“I didn’t even know the Lan sect had alchemists and artificers!”

“Well, you’re not wrong – we’re in the great minority, it’s mostly sword and music, music and sword, the usual,” Lan Yueheng said. “You’ll need to meet the rest of them anyway, since I assume you’ll be joining us! We have laboratories up the mountain where we keep away from everyone else, to avoid a fuss. Some people just don’t appreciate explosions no matter how many times we explain that it’s a necessary part of the creative process –”

Wei Wuxian was looking a little starry-eyed, and Lan Wangji like he was considering possibly picking up an interest in forging or potion-brewing again despite having hated all his lessons in such things when he was younger, but Lan Xichen cleared his throat.

“Third Uncle, don’t get ahead of yourself,” he rebuked gently. “What Wei-gongzi’s situation is has not yet been settled.”

The bad feeling Lan Qiren had immediately got distinctly worse. There was a bad reception to his actions and there was bad. He had expected the former, not the latter; he wouldn’t have thought it would be so bad that Lan Xichen would feel the need to use his diplomacy to mediate against him, something his nephew would only do if he felt it was necessary to preserving peace in the Cloud Recesses as a whole.

It was only just and right that he do so, of course. How many times had Lan Qiren lectured his nephews on the need for a sect leader to prioritize the sect before everything else? Justice required equity among all, without special treatment, and if Lan Qiren was sometimes unable to model it, doting and over-fond as he was of his nephews who deserved every last bit of his love, then at least he had sought to convey the correct behavior whenever he could. It was good that Lan Xichen had learned that lesson.

It was good. It was. It was what Lan Qiren wanted, genuinely and sincerely – that Lan Xichen could be the best possible person he could be, and the best possible sect leader as well. Lan Qiren had no desire to be exempted from the rules simply because he was his nephew’s guardian, and he would have been incensed if Lan Xichen had suggested such a thing.

The churning feeling in his stomach wasn’t about that. It was just…he just hadn’t expected his nephews to stop needing him so soon, he supposed.

“Fine, fine, we’ll talk it to death instead,” Lan Yueheng grumbled, taking a seat and stretching out with a sigh. “Just the way we always do…hey, Wei-gongzi, you wanted to look at my leg, right? Catch.”

He drew his finger across the seam, deactivating the array that connected the prosthetic to his body, and tossed the extremely expensive and complicated result of months of effort across the room like it was a sack of potatoes.

Wei Wuxian caught it with a cackle of delight. “You’re really weird for a Lan, you know that?” he said with a grin, sitting down with the leg – sitting next to Lan Wangji, Lan Qiren noticed, even though he could have taken a seat closer to Lan Yueheng. “Oh, this is interesting…say, how’d you actually lose the leg, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Oh, Wen soldiers cut it off,” Lan Yueheng said with a shrug. Lan Qiren shook his head a little when he noticed how Wen Qing flinched and Wen Ning’s shoulders went up around his ears – they were going to need to get used to hearing things like that if they planned to stay at the Cloud Recesses. Lan Yueheng wasn’t even aiming his words at them, good-natured soul that he was; he was only stating a fact. There were plenty of facts like that in the Lan sect. “Well, I mean, actually they just cut the ankle tendon to keep me from being able to move, but I didn’t have access to a doctor for a while so by the time one did finally get to me, it was too late to fix it back up. They had to cut it off at the knee, since the lower bits’d already started rotting…”

That was approximately the point at which Lan Qiren gave up on trying to use facial expressions to subtly hint to his cousin that he should shut up and tapped a quick patter on the table, sending out a sharp pulse of qi designed to feel like a kick to Lan Yueheng’s now-absent shin.

Lan Yueheng yelped, and then seemed to belatedly realize the problem – possibly he had finally noticed the increasingly ghastly expressions on the faces of the Wen siblings, and the awkwardness on everyone else’s – so he added, rather hastily, “Anyway, now I have a very nice leg that I can throw at people when I’m mad at them, so it’s all right, really. We use the dragon story for the children too young to understand what happened; when they get older, we explain that it’s a metaphor. For, er, war.”

It was a metaphor for the Wen sect, to be precise.

“Yueheng-xiong has a great deal of experience with children,” Lan Qiren said, deciding to move the conversation along. “The one he mentioned earlier, who will be receiving the courtesy name Jingyi, is his seventh.”

“Seven?” Wen Qing squawked, clearly relieved by the change in subject. “Your poor wife!”

“Don’t make assumptions,” Lan Xichen said dryly, looking equally thankful. “I think Auntie Zhang handles them better than Third Uncle does. She’s the one always insisting she wants more…shufu, while we’re on the subject, you should be seen to by a doctor.”

Lan Qiren sighed.

“Your health isn’t what it was,” his nephew reminded him, polite but firm. “I know you dislike being treated by doctors, but it would give us all some peace of mind to know that you are well.”

And not cursed or ensorcelled, yes, he was aware. He grunted, waving a hand in reluctant agreement.

“Thank you, shufu.” Lan Xichen looked around the room. “Naturally, the rest of you are welcome to whatever resources of the Cloud Recesses you find yourself in need of.”

“We appreciate the offer,” Wei Wuxian said, still fiddling with Lan Yueheng’s leg. “Now, do you want to talk about the whole disciple thing, or are you planning on waiting until you’re alone with Teacher Lan for that?”

Lan Qiren picked up a writing block from his desk and threw it at Wei Wuxian’s head.

His new disciple apparently hadn’t been expecting that, so he only belatedly dodged, causing it to brush by his shoulder rather than missing him entirely.

(Lan Wangji caught it easily, because of course he did.)

“Do not be insolent,” Lan Qiren told Wei Wuxian sternly. “You are my personal disciple, and Xichen is my sect leader. No matter if you belong to another sect yourself, you will show him the respect due to him, as if he were – ”

Hmm, he’d been about to go with if he were your own sect leader, but Wei Wuxian didn’t seem to be very good at respecting Jiang Cheng, who was the shidi he’d cheerfully dragged around and teasingly bullied for much of their childhood.

“ – as if he were Madame Yu,” Lan Qiren amended.

Wei Wuxian hadn’t been expecting that, either; he snorted in laughter involuntarily. “All right, all right,” he said with an amused smile that suggested he was currently picturing Lan Xichen dressed up in Madame Yu’s preferred style of clothing. “I get the picture! I’ll be good. But surely we need to talk about it at some point.”

“‘We’ do not need to do anything,” Lan Qiren said censoriously. Did Wei Wuxian really not understand the situation right now? Lan Qiren knew the Jiang sect did things differently, and naturally he wasn’t privy to the internal discussions of another sect, but surely it couldn’t be so far away from the Lan sect’s own; before the massacre, the Jiang sect must also have had prickly elders and influential people whose voices must be heard and respected. “Didn’t you hear Xichen? The matter is not settled yet.”

“But – you said –”

Perhaps he really didn’t understand.

“You are my personal disciple, that matter is settled,” Lan Qiren said, trying to be patient. “But I am no longer sect leader, only an elder. My conduct reflects only myself, and not my sect, which I no longer have the ability to bind – only Xichen can do that. Therefore I will speak with Xichen first and foremost on the subject of my conduct, and only once that discussion is concluded will we have a discussion that involves you.”

Wei Wuxian’s jaw worked for a moment, his eyes narrowing and taking on a slight reddish hue, but when Lan Qiren pointedly reached for something else to throw, the expression swiftly passed and he seemed to regain his equilibrium. They would need to find a way to deal with that, Lan Qiren reflected –soul-calming music, perhaps. Cleansing? Even Clarity? The latter would require regular playing, which he could certainly manage…though perhaps Lan Wangji would be interested in volunteering his services for that purpose instead.

“Well, if you’re sure. You’re the teacher, I’m merely the student,” Wei Wuxian said with a smile that was only a little forced, and then he mischievously threw an arm around Lan Wangji’s shoulders, the smile becoming genuine. “Lan Zhan can keep me company while you two talk. You can trust the great and wise Hanguang-jun to keep me out of mischief!”

Lan Qiren wasn’t too sure about that. Still, it wasn’t a bad idea – Lan Wangji had an excellent reputation for being scrupulously fair, and it had belatedly occurred to Lan Qiren that, Lan Wangji’s blatant display of puppy-eyes earlier aside, the majority of the sect had probably not yet figured out that he was in love, the one thing that might affect his fairness. If Lan Wangji stood sentinel, the sect would not worry too much about Wei Wuxian causing trouble, and because Lan Qiren did know of Lan Wangji’s affection, he wouldn’t need to worry about Wei Wuxian getting instigated or framed, or in any other way inveigled into a perilous situation the way he might with some other guard. His nephew would both speak and act in Wei Wuxian’s defense, whole-heartedly sincere, and with any luck his behavior might clue Wei Wuxian in a little as to the regard Lan Wangji had for him.

Anyway, even putting aside Lan Qiren’s half-hearted desire to help his nephew be successful in love, Lan Wangji was Lan Qiren’s finest student. He would be able to start the process of helping improve Wei Wuxian’s temperament at once – after all, he’d even managed to get Wei Wuxian to memorize the Lan sect rules back when they were both adolescents…wait.

Surely that hadn’t been when Lan Wangji had become infatuated? Had Lan Qiren done this to himself?

He dearly hoped not.

Well, even if he had, it was a moot point now, anyway. What was done was done.

“I think that that is an excellent idea,” he said briskly. “Wangji, take Wei Wuxian to the jingshi and conduct an initial level review of his abilities with Cleansing as the base song.”

Lan Wangji looked startled. As he should – an initial level review to determine someone’s skill level was something usually done for children, not adults, and certainly not for acknowledged masters of musical cultivation like Wei Wuxian.

It did, however, have the advantage of taking quite a long while to complete.

“Hey, hey, wait,” Wei Wuxian said, frowning. “That’s unnecessary, isn’t it?”

“Is it?” Lan Qiren tapped the desk thoughtfully. “I believe that’s up to me to decide as your master. I noticed you taking some shortcuts with cleansing songs on our journey here – Wangji will be able to see if those were intentional or if you have simply forgotten the basics.”

“But…!”

Lan Yueheng sniggered and formed a hand seal, summoning his leg back. “It’s always good to brush up on the basics,” he said cheerfully, his good humor managing to make what could have been an insult to Wei Wuxian’s trustworthiness into little more than a teacher’s petty snit. “Just you wait, he’ll have you doing handstands soon enough.”

“…handstands?” Wen Qing asked.

“To copy the rules,” Lan Yueheng said, then blinked when she gaped at him, displaying a reaction that seemed to Lan Qiren to be far outsized for such an innocuous statement. “What? Copying rules is a standard punishment, but if you break the rules that require that punishment repeatedly, you get the next level up.”

“And that involves…handstands? How?”

“You copy the rules while in a handstand,” Lan Xichen said, hiding a knowing smile even as Lan Qiren frowned at his guests, unsure as to why his guests seemed so bemused – Wen Qing was still gaping, Wen Ning’s eyes were wide, and Wei Wuxian had put a hand to his temple as if to contain his reaction. “It’s a type of punishment rarely imposed on guest disciples, since they’re rarely present long enough to violate the rules ‘repeatedly’. You would not have seen it.”

“No wonder you all have those arms,” Wei Wuxian said, shaking his head. “All right, all right, fine, you win! Lan Zhan, I’m at your mercy. Put me through my paces.”

Lan Qiren observed that the tips of Lan Wangji’s ears had gone red.

He was pretty sure he didn’t want to dwell too long on why.

“I’ll show you two the way back to your family,” Lan Yueheng said to Wen Qing and Wen Ning, standing up himself. “Mistress Wen, you’re a doctor, right?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Good! You can come visit my wife tomorrow. She’s still in retreat following A-Shen’s birth – she needs company. Let me tell you a bit about her…”

Lan Yueheng could sing Zhang Xin’s praises for an entire night and day if he so wished, so Lan Qiren could rest assured that neither of the Wen siblings, trailing behind him, would be making any trouble in the near future, and neither would Wei Wuxian, following Lan Wangji over to the jingshi.

That left only Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen alone, with Lan Xichen rising to his feet to go and close the door behind the others, activating the privacy arrays and adding in an extra talisman to strengthen the effect before turning to look at Lan Qiren.

“Shufu,” he said. “What were you thinking?!”

[llycaons]

hi i love hearing your opinions about cql and i remember you said that you prefer mianqing over yanqing. i love both but i think mianqing would suit each other more tbh. id also love to hear your reasons why!

Hi anon, thanks so much! for me it comes down to compatability in personalities

yanqing is a fine ship based on shared experiences (both familial and traumatic) and relatability, and wq could provide the stability and strength and confidence that jyl often finds herself without while wq could get taken care of AND help take care of jyl too....but wq is so reserved and guarded, and jyl is so polite and shy and uncomfortable with pushing, that I think unless they were together for an extended period of time in intense situations that forced them to rely on each other, it would be hard to for them to get close or open up to each other. and you could argue CR arc and the wen attack provided that foundation, esp with wq helping jyl medically and jyl apparently becoming closer with wq's beloved wen ning, but I'm someone who likes to imagine relationships based on what you see in canon (this is about to make me a hypocrite) and they seemed just as gently polite to each other at the end as they did initially. but it's a nice ship, I certainly don't disparage it or dislike it! there's just too little...spark in there for me if you know what I mean

now for mianqing. this is actually quite a bad justification so I apologize in advance but the way that mm acts just makes me think she'd be more likely to break through wq's walls, and provide interesting and valuable companionship. wq, even more polite but just as distant as lwj, carefully guards herself as he does. and the only person (besides a literal child) unrelated to them who really broke through those barriers was wwx, who's attention and interest was impossible to brush off or ignore. and like wwx, mm and wq are both sharply intelligent and have strong enough principles to defy their sects and do the right thing for others regardless of the damage it incurs to them, and mm isn't willing or able to sit by while wq's family is hunted down once she knows the situation. NOT to blame jyl for what other sect leaders are doing but it makes for a somewhat awkward situation, romantically speaking 😭. wq's best friend is wwx, so it just would make sense that she could come to care for someone just as fiery and witty and passionate as him. wq is an extremely strong and brilliant person with equally strong ideals, and I can't see her with someone who doesn't share those ideals or is willing to risk what they have for her family. I don't have much of a reason for mm to return her affection besides 'wq beautiful genius, who wouldn't? but it's something I can see arising in a rogue cultivator scenario. I actually find mm's canon husband very charming (as I find xuanli), but there you have it

also....women are hot.

thanks for the ask!

[youhideastar]

WIP Wednesday: Tender

Made good progress on Tender (the Burial Mounds visit fic) this week - I have a complete draft! Now it just needs editing. I'm hoping it will be done and posted next week! In the meantime, another snippet: links to previous snippets are collected here.

Wei Ying’s hands are gentle as he unpins Lan Wangji’s guan and the delicate architecture that supports it. He interrupts his work periodically with kisses, little closed-mouthed sips of pleasure. Lan Wangji feels like the midday earth, warmed by the sun’s regard.

He realizes that Wei Ying is being careful not to touch his forehead ribbon. It makes him want to capture Wei Ying’s hands, bring them to the ribbon, rub Wei Ying’s palms against it until the metal plate is warm from his touch, tell him touch it, touch it, it is yours, it has always been yours.

It would be too much; he knows that. He says nothing.

When his guan has been set aside and his hair falls softly around his face, Wei Ying places his hand on Lan Wangji’s cheek and simply looks at him; thoughtful, disbelieving. “I never thought you would,” he says, an aching murmur. His thumb sweeps delicately over the thin skin under Lan Wangji’s eye. “Never, ever, ever.” The candle beside the bed gutters, casting his face in shadow. “But we’ve all done things we never thought we’d do. Haven’t we.”

Again, Lan Wangji says nothing. It is the truth.

“Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying says, strangely solemn. “Come to bed.”

Lan Wangji points out, “I am on your bed.”

At that, Wei Ying laughs. “So you are, Hanguang-jun. Well, then.” He hops up on the bed, wincing slightly—likely his wound from the fight with Wen Ning is still healing—then beckons to Lan Wangji. “Come closer. Come here. Come touch me.”

“Mn.”

Lan Wangji obeys.

[mdzs-fics]

Tales from the Burial Mounds, part 1

Tales From the Burial Mounds is a collection of stories. A Collection on Archive of Our Own is a curated group of tales, mostly with similar themes or characters. The Curator has this to say about the collection:

Mostly wangxian

Includes but not limited to : Canon divergence Time travel Angst with happy ending Yunmeng siblings feels Hurt comfort Parents wangxian

This collection contains 63 works, and 73 additional Bookmarks. Readers may find works that other readers have both enjoyed and recommended through Collections. I will periodically mention other Collections as time goes on. Here is a sampling of five stories.

they who refuse to be blessed by sysrae

Canon Divergence 3 chapters 7k words

“What you would steal from me, Core-Melting Hand, I have already given away. I have undone your work, and now –” he lifts the dizi once more, “– I will undo you.”

Words not meant to be observed lead to better outcomes.

three surgeries and a mercy kill by MarbleGlove

AU-Fixit 1 chapter 11k words

It was trying to figure out how to help Wen Ning that finally created the unlooked for breakthrough for Wei Wuxian.

Wen Ning had been dying in the stone quarry turned mass grave of the Jin prison camp at Qiongqi Pass. He had been dying and no one there had the spiritual power to heal him, but Wei Wuxian had the resentful energy needed to halt everything, to preserve everything. Like a flower drowned in honey, the last flicker of Wen Ning's golden core was preserved, completely untouchable.

The attempt of Wei Wuxian and Wen Qing to figure out how to help Wen Ning become more than a Fierce Corpse led to the breakthrough for both Wen Ning and Wei Wuxian. After much theorizing in the Burial Mounds, a solution for Wen Ning is sought from the Nie Sect. Things change.

A War of Stone and Silence by kitsunealyc

Canon Divergence 1 chapter 4k words

After Lan Wangji stood up against the Lan elders to walk the single plank road alongside Wei Wuxian – or, to carry each other, since Wei Wuxian maintained you couldn’t walk abreast on a single plank road because it was a single plank road! – after he removed his forehead ribbon and jade pendant and placed them in Lan Xichen’s hands, quiet returned to the Burial Mounds.

In which there is a Wall of Argument at the base of the Burial Mounds until Wei Wuxian borrows Bichen for some commentary of his own.

Drag Me Into Your Coffin (I Will Drag Your Sins Into the Light) by the5leggedCricket

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Time Travel Fixit 1 chapter 2k words

Lan XiChen was rooted to the spot. Suddenly Jin GuangYao pulled Lan XiChen towards him, just as Nie MingJue grabbed him by the throat. The last thing Lan XiChen saw, was his brother reaching, reaching, hand moving through the air. And then, darkness.

In which Lan XiChen has an epiphany after finding himself back at the banquet that led to Wei Wuxian's downfall. Or, as I like to think, "Fool me once …"

some foolish thing I've done by sysrae

Modern - College 1 chapter 4k words

Ironically, it’s only thanks to his brand new hearing aid that Wei Wuxian hears Jiang Cheng say, “Hey, what’s that thing in your ear?”

In which a new hearing aid helps reveal old wounds and new hopes.

[pharahsgf]

question! jc is obviously not a dad, but how do you view lwj regarding his relationship with lsz? do you think he's a father figure or a more general trusted-mentor-within-the-communal-space figure, and does this change based on which version of the story you consider?

good question! and potentially unpopular answer? my opinion re: lan wangji and lan sizhui is that i love & adore the father-son relationship they share in most fan content and will break down weeping if i think about it too long. but i also don't think it's entirely accurate or realistic, and that's a combination of lwj's absence from lsz's initial settling period + the communal nature of the sect + overall i just don't think lwj behaves like he views himself as lsz's parent? i mean obviously he cares about lsz in a way that goes beyond the bonds between sect members but in his interactions with lsz he comes across more like a beloved mentor type figure than a substitute parent. if you get me.

i guess it's kind of similar to how wei wuxian likes to talk big about lsz being his baby son he gave birth to himself yada yada while he was essentially his babysitter. and then lsz goes off with wen ning right after their reunion. it's like, wx are important to lsz and he trusts them and they probably are the closest thing to parents he's got left, but he also clearly views the wens as his true family more than anyone else and i do think that's significant

[i-am-just-a-kiddo]

10 characters

tagged by @talays-portkey ❤ I chose 10 characters from 10 different things that I consumed this year and liked.  I’m gonna say a few things about each and try to keep it short. 

tagging @intyalote, @the-cloud-whisperer, @not-saying-revolution-but, @cortue, @isabellaofparma, @sassyassassy. Have fun, there’s no rules!

continues under the cut: 

Sean /Not Me: The Series (2021)

Not Me, as a whole, breaks me in the best ways possible. And Sean - he’s just everything to me. In my opinion, one of the most beautiful character arcs you can give me is having a character find a few more reasons to live. Make them start cherishing their life as a thing that should be protected and you have me on the floor sobbing. And Sean is this to me - comfort and pain wrapped in one person.

Jim Jimenez /Our Flag Means Death (2022)

Do you know how hard it is to choose only one character from this damn show? I love them all so much, with my entire heart. But Jim is my special kid okay. It truly hits diffently, seeing them having their own arc in this silly little show, being just as silly with their crewmates, but also being badass and cool off the side and also having such a precious friends to lovers romance alongside everything. My beloved. 

Ayukawa Ryuuji “Yuka”/ Blue Period (2021)

This anime wrecked me, everything about Yuka wrecked me. Their story made me cry for two hours straight and unlocked something in my brain. I don’t know how to explain. 

Shen Yi /Under The Skin (2022)

With everything happening this year, I almost forgot I watched this show, but everytime I remember it, I’m so incredibly fond. It’s rare to watch a crime show that feels comforting, but this one does it! And I attribute a lot of it to this lovely protagonist, because he is so warm, sensitive and charismatic. I loved watching Shen Yi and going through all these cases from his point of view. He just feels like such a comforting presence and honestly, more protagonists should have this characteristic. Let them be gentle!! 

Guillermo de la Cruz/ What We Do in the Shadows (2019-?)

As someone on this hellsite put it - he’s the most character ever. Last week I finally caught up with the new season and I’m all here for Guillermo’s emancipation arc! Fuck it up son!!!! I’m cheering you on, keep doing your hot girl shit!

Vegas Theerapanyakul & Pete / Kinnporsche: La Forte (2022)

Yes I’m cheating again but what are you gonna do about it. I couldn’t choose between these two because I find them both equally as engaging and interesting. If you’ve been following me - you know. You know the insanity I feel for these two. Who would’ve thought comfort is stored in the toxic BDSM couple. Emotional support fucked up men. Truly on the top of the list for this year.

Striga /Castlevania (2017-2021)

Listen it doesn’t need much - give me a queer muscly lady with a huge sword and the coolest action sequence of the series and you have me sold. My actual favourite is Alucard, but I feel like we, as a society, should appreciate love and go crazy over Striga a bit more. Like, she’s right there!!

Lucifer Morningstar /The Sandman (2022)

I just think they’re neat. Once again a show full of wonderful, beautiful characters, but Lucifer simply lives in my mind rentfree. @ netflix I beg, please renew this show so we can get the sequel with Lucifer going apeshit. I’m on my knees. 

Wen Ning / The Untamed (2019)

Sooooooooo I’ve been rewatching this curse of a show for the past week while lying sick in bed with covid and. AND. After three years the pain truly does not get better. Once again, I did not know who to choose for this - every single character in this god forsaken show deserves their own spot. But I somehow ended up on my darling, my boy, my favourite Ghost General. His story arc fucks me up so badly every time and yet it is one of the most beautifully tragic things. He’s a red thread, pulled through the entire story, and it makes my heart bleed. (and yes @the-cloud-whisperer​, I’m gonna come back to you soon and finally scream with you properly)

👑 Louis de Pointe du Lac / Interview With the Vampire (2022-?)

2022 has not ended yet but I know this guy takes the crown. I’ve been a fan of the Vampire Chronicles since I was 15 and finally. FINALLY. I get what I fucking deserve. And FINALLY here is a Louis that I adore - one that is charismatic, one that feels raw and real, and one I can finally love and be invested in. This show truly made me fall in love with his character when before that, he always paled in my affection to Lestat. He always kinda bored me in the books and the movie adaptation. As my friend put it: we all want to be Lestat but actually we are all Louis. But here is he at last, my highest quality blorbo: Louis de Pointe du Lac, resident disaster man full of existential despair, wrath and love. This show is all I’ve been thinking about and I will not apologise. 

[princessshikky]

10 Fandoms, 10 Characters, 10 Tags

@squirrelwithatophat tagged me, and I'm just going to pretend I'm fashionably late to the party or something.

As far as I understand, you just name 10 of your favorite characters from 10 fandoms? Is that it? Also, I'm not going to rank them, it's not a "top 10", they're all my favorites.

Chi Xiaochi, "Don't pick up boyfriends from the trash bin"

One of the best protagonists ever, and here's why: he's extremely ruthless, calculating and manipulative, cruel and vindictive... but he's not a villain protagonists, he actually has a solid moral compass and a strict code of ethics. He's never needlessly cruel, and while he may initially come off as a jerk because of his cynicism and a devil-may-care attitude, Chi Xiaochi is actually a very kind and caring person. But when he's dealing with his "targets", who are awful, horrible, no-good scum-of-the-earth, CXC is absolutely the scheming bastard. And it's glorious. Also extremely rare in a protagonist, which makes CXC stand out.

Oh, and he's very proactive, which can't hurt. Love me a proactive protagonist.

2. Wen Ning, "Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation"

A sweet, gentle zombie whose superpower is turning into a roaring berserker when he feels like it. Also he's extremely loyal, nice to people, and he once made a grown-up man cry just by talking.

3. Anders, "Dragon Age 2"

Anders is my favourite Bioware character, period. He's the person who spent years being brainwashed by a corrupt theocracy, defied them at every turn, risked his life to provide free medical care to refugees, then went out of his way to try and start a revolution against said corrupt theocracy. And it was awesome. Honestly, the chantry boom on its own would've been enough to make me love Anders even if he were a homicidal maniac, but he's also very caring, brave and devoted person. And gorgeous. And passionate. And is the real hero of "DA2", because while Hawke just runs around and does crime, Anders is there peacefully (and not-so-peacefully) protesting against the people who would execute him for his mere existence.

4. Luffy, "One Piece"

Again: love me a proactive protagonist who does stuff and moves the plot instead of waiting for stuff to happen to him. And Luffy's awesome.

5. Sir Lancelot of the Arthurian Legend

I love almost every iteration of sir Lancelot (let's just all pretend "The mists of Avalon" don't exist, ok?). He's perfect. Nothing else to say.

6. Ned Stark, "A Song of Ice and Fire"

Ned is a fundamentally good person, which makes him an awful politician and costs him in the long run... but you know what else that makes him? A perfect husband/father material.

7. Iskander, "Fate/Zero"

A charisma that literally moved armies. The only person to weaponise the power of friendship. Also Iskander is surprisingly smart, and a lot of his seemingly stupid and rash decisions are well thought-out, once you stop to think about them.

8. John Gaius, "The Locked Tomb"

The Evil Overlord done right. Like, he's extremely obviously evil, he's literally a necromancer waging war against humanity, and yet I can totally believe people are standing in line to join his army. Hell, I'd stand in line to join his army! John Gaius is what you get when someone reads "200 things I'd do if I became an evil overlord" and says "Hey, that sounds perfectly reasonable, I'm doing that".

9. Alexander Tiedermann, "Dark"

Perhaps one of the healthiest, sanest, nicest characters in the whole show. I also love how he's initially presented as a cold, uncaring mogul only to be later shown as a loyal and caring husband and father and a decent human being overall. Considering how most of the cast are awful people, Alexander was a breath of fresh air every time he was on screen.

10. Hob Gadling, "The Sandman"

I just like his story arc. The immortal human who never gives up on humanity, who never loses hope, who loves this life and this world, whose endless optimism and perseverance impresses even the beings who stand above gods. Neat.