#YZY is too mean for her?

[talimagpiesfictrove]

Not me waking up in the middle of the night and my illness-addled brain being like "MDZS BOTW au with LWJ as Link and WWX as Zelda"

[jiangchengsjawline]

teenage wwx and fem!jc hooking up in lotus pier secretly bcs yzy would skin wwx alive if she knew. jc biting her arm to stifle the moans. wwx coming inside and then eating her out so they don’t get pregnant. each one desperately wishing they could be together for real

ohhhh my god anon. oh my god. that very specific flavor of chengxian where it’s summer and it’s too hot all the time and everybody is fussing over the particulars of their relationship and if they’re too close or not close enough or close in the right ways and they’re both so clumsy with their words and neither of them knows how to say what they mean so it’s easier just to touch. to smack each other, to wrestle, to swim, to kiss, to fuck. anyways wei wuxian that is NOT effective birth control, shimei is getting pregnant for sure <3

[alcrox]

Did Yu Ziyuan intend to cut off Wei Wuxian's arm?

I have seen this brought up a few times.

There are generally two arguments: yes, she totally intended to do that and only changed her mind when she was told that Lotus Pier would be converted into a "Wen Supervisory Office" AND no, she was just buying time by beating up Wei Wuxian and appeasing Wang Lingjiao.

I think it's a bit of both?

She didn't (and wouldn't) hesitate to beat up Wei Wuxian. This is the first scene we see her physically abuse Wei Wuxian (before this we only hear her verbally abuse... well, everyone) but it is made very clear that Wei Wuxian is quite used to this sort of treatment. Cutting off an arm, however, is very different. It would maim WWX for life. It isn't something that, even WWX with his strong golden core, would be able to just heal from easily. He would have to find a whole new way to get around his disability.

It's not as if YZY would hesitate to cut off WWX's arm from a place of concern or affection. Hell no. She is extremely sharp and intelligent, though. She has seen WWX grow up, she has seen his talents first-hand. She knows just how much of an asset WWX is to the Yunmeng Jiang. And she knew that this day was coming. The day when the Qishan Wen came to her doorstep and tried to take over Lotus Pier. She might blame WWX for it (because she too, like Wen Chao, just needs an excuse to blame WWX, though hers comes from a place of being blinded by hatred rather than planning a seize) but she is well aware that one way or another, this was happening. That much was clear in episode 11 when she is spitting mad that Jiang Cheng has to go to the Wen Indoctrination Camp. She knows what the Wens are doing and she is not surprised when the final showdown finally happens.

So, it's a bit of both. She was buying time, but she was also, maybe, hoping that punishing WWX in front of WLJ would be enough. When WLJ mentions cutting off WWX'S right arm, however, she visibly hesitates. (Or rather, considers.) She knows what cutting off WWX's arm means; it means to rid her Clan of a powerful asset. WWX may still be able to fight with his left arm (as he has clearly made up his mind to do so) but right after his arm is cut off, he would be of no use in a fight. And YZY already knows from that point onwards, there are only two options. One, she and JC and WWX and the Jiang army fight off the Wens and risk losing their lives, including the heir Jiang Cheng. Two, the option which she ends up choosing, she fights to death, defending her home from the Wens while JC escapes with WWX. In both options, WWX's survival and skills are crucial. She knows JC's best chance of making it through all of this is keeping WWX alive and indebted. She cannot cut off his arm yet. Not when WWX, in her eyes, hasn't paid off his debt yet. Not when she knows, despite her hatred, that WWX can be counted on for his courage and loyalty and incredible skills to keep JC safe.

She orders the doors to be shut, which is absolutely meant to be interpreted as acquiescence to cut off WWX's arm. She is clever. She buys them as much time as possible, possibly also gives WWX a while to recover from being whipped so brutally by Zidian. And it also serves the purpose of keeping the Wens inside so that they can't go and alert Wen Chao and bring an even bigger army back to Lotus Pier. She knows shit's about to hit the fan so she doesn't reveal what she plans to do until the last possible moment when does.

And then WLJ utters "Wen Supervisory Office" and YZY knows it's time. That the gig is up.

If the order was to whip WWX with Zidian for a while longer, YZY may have complied. She knows exactly how strong WWX is and how much he can withstand without, like, dying or something. But the price WLJ asked for was too high (and probably calculated on WLJ's part as well; she too must know what a skilled fighter WWX is and how to sever the Yunmeng Jiang from one of its most powerful weapons. She saw WWX in action, after all, in the Xuanwu cave). So YZY stopped complying and began strategizing. How to save her home. How to keep the Clan alive. How to preserve her assets.

She didn't keep WWX alive and safe (well, safe is questionable, she did beat the shit out of him) out of goodwill. She kept him alive and safe out of necessity.

Side note, this shot:

This shot helped reinforce my theory. YZY despises WWX, that much is not a secret. Everyone knows it. Everyone in this very scene knows it. Yet when the Wens, headed by WLJ, first arrive at Lotus Pier, this shot makes a pretty firm statement of they are united against a common enemy. YZY is many things, but she is not stupid. She knows what the real problem here is. And she is standing with her entire Jiang army, including WWX, against said problem.

I despise YZY as a mother but damn if she isn't an interesting character.

[phoenixcatch7]

Absolutely insane to me that anyone either in universe or irl believes anything the main wen clan says.

We see from the very beginning in every adaptation that their modus operandi, nay, their way of life, is to lie, threaten and bribe people into doing their dirty work for them (you see this even easier in untamed).

Their favourite thing in the whole world is to make other people look bad, ESPECIALLY when they get a scapegoat out of it.

This is one of the ways the jin clan at the time follow in their footsteps - they capitalise on wwx as the pre prepared scapegoate they can blame and use to sow doubt, discord, distrust. They use the exact same tactic to remove a perceived threat on wwx as the wen remnants, mxy, even jrl - isolate them, make their word untrustworthy, assert themselves as the Righteous and Generous side in the process. But not without rubbing everyone else the wrong way just to make double sure they uncover anyone willing to stand against them!

The main issue here is, of course, the burning of lotus pier. First of all, wwx had no part in the physical actions the wens took, just to get the most obvious out of the way. Secondly, gusu burned first. That had absolutely zero to do with wwx or any rising rebellion - it happened before the indoctrination! (Side note, I can't believe that's how it gets translated when that's the biggest possible red flag term to use. It's genuinely insane when the clans remain complacent as they toss that word around and prepare to send their kids to it. At least pick, like, Education or Examination or something with plausibly less brainwashing cult kidnapping energy.)

Anyway. The wens chose their targets well. Gusu burns first: it is the best connected, hosting the lectures, it is the biggest repository of knowledge in the entire jianghu (including assassination techniques!!), it has two rising stars, one set to take up the role of new (and thus more alert and proactive). It's got the weakest actual sect leader by far. It's also, perhaps, the most isolated. None of the other clans are aware it's been utterly decimated by the time of the indoctrination.

Then it's either the Nie, already partially crippled with the previous sect leader already killed by wrh, leaving a child to fill the boots with no parents, no previous instruction, an infant brother and no elders. They're prone to deviation exacerbated by resentment (which human battlefields are FULL of) (though they can be helped by, you guessed it! Lan techniques, whom they've just burned all of). They have no rising star, their heir is famously useless. Or the Jin, the most closely allied major clan, with immense wealth but little actual stake in the war as long as they themselves aren't targeted. You'll remember it's the sect heir who finally drags his men onto the field. The jianghus whore is too busy coddling up to and yes manning the wen to be of any concern.

This just leaves the jiang. A strong and powerful great sect filled with dangerous, head strong warriors. I'm explicitly including yzy in this, who is a harsh taskmaster who continues taking night hunts into marriage and motherhood to keep her wit and skills sharp. The daughters engagement with the jin is cancelled, which means they won't alienate the jin by attacking. The father is both alive and active, capable and willing to actually run the sect and lead it into battle with the wen (or at the very least his wife is practically chomping at the bit). It's got two rising stars glued to each other's hip, one of which is the heir and the other the brightest, most troublemaking, most ready to throw hands in the name of justice in his whole generation. Their people are wealthy and loyal.

Oh, and also, they basically own the waterways. I'm not sure if it's explicitly canon, but they are the sect most connected to the rivers that (canonically, remember the waterborne abyss?) run between at least three of Great sects, including (drumroll please) the very first sect they just burned to the ground and are notably keeping surpressed (wen chao, at the very least should have bragged incessantly to everyone who looked at him, never mind his captive and isolated audience), and the wens themselves!! Lotus pier basically borders to its town, which is very clearly thriving af. It's loud, it's colourful, it's exotic, it's getting so much trade it's not even funny. The jiang are so much more experienced in water and water enemies (remember wwx noticing lwjs weird boat waterline?) than even gusus heir and spare! They are trade, they are TRANSPORT, they are INFORMATION (merchants and gossips).

Even if wwx didn't exist, it's just the most tactical thing to do. If you want to cripple your enemies, you target their knowledge and ties. You sabotage supply lines and communication lines. You do that as fast as you can, make sure to damage moral, prevent them from rallying together. The wens win when their enemies are divided. All together and united, they form the sun shot campaign.

WHICH IS WHY. Absolutely NOTHING they say or do can be trusted!!

What's her face coming into lotus pier and targeting wwx is so blatant and transparent a divisive tactic (so identical to the rest of the clan) I was honestly shocked anyone even pretended to listen. Jc believing it even slightly really surprised me. And I'm!! Not trained! In leadership tactics in fantasy land, SECT HEIR. At the very least living with his mother should have given him some idea of how to spot when someone is lashing out and scapegoating for their own gain, good grief.

Unfortunately. Pink antenna (I don't know how but the anime makes her look really old) dangles the possibility of sparing the jiang in front of their faces. It is a long, unlikely shot. It's playing into their hands, it's giving them the jerk off material and superiority high they want, it's undignified and self sabotaging. It's probably stalling at best. But. It's literally the only option either wwx or yzy could live with. If they didn't at least try.

It's exactly the same tactic the jin later use with wwx (again) and the remnants. Give us your strongest people, your glue, your most clever and loyal. Let us ruin them, kill them. In return, we will let your people go free <- lying so openly and blatantly to people so cornered and out of options that they might just, desperately, make the willing sacrifice. It's scummy and cruel.

Ironically, I think this is the time wwx and yzy are most in agreement, and it's when jc would rather anything else. They play this awful role, really ham it up, demean themselves and pretend they're playing right into the wens hands. She says no, she hesitates, she backs out or fumbles, she gets pressed for harder, more, make him really bleed. Wwx is willing to perform the farce and be the sacrifical lamb, on the longest shot to keep his home safe. He wears his own mask for this, because you'll notice he's able to get up and fight immediately after, whereas lwj was bedbound and healing for literal years.

Yes, wwx is insane and martyrish and has way too little self worth. Yes, yzy would not have been so willing if jc was picked. Yes, she stopped the SECOND they realised the wens were just going to keep pressing until wwx was dead and then probably demand she desecrate the corpse. She wasn't about to cripple her best fighter and son's best chance of survival. And she recognised that becoming a supervisory office would be pretty equal to being destroyed by them, but also grant the wen a HUGE boost in everything a war monger could want. If the wen took lotus pier, forces overwhelming as it already was, they would win. Full stop.

Whether or not all that was going through her mind as she slapped pinky idk, and I won't say she made the right choice, but again, either way they did what the wens wanted. This is how they isolate and sabotage threats. They will say and do anything to keep their hallucinated high horse and get that sweet sweet bullying high.

They cannot, under any circumstances, be trusted to give a reliable word on anything. In fact, I'd argue that you should believe the opposite of what they say.

So stop acting like anyone genuinely believes them. Have characters (wwx) blame themselves for events with their guilt complexes but not their head!

Also shout out to mianmian for being the only other person to call anyone out on it.

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

The uwu-fication of Jiang Cheng also comes with the side effect of justifying Yu Ziyuan's abuse over Wei Wuxian, and EVEN JIANG CHENG.

"She was the way she was because she cared"

"It was all Jiang Fengmian's fault for ignoring Jiang Cheng"

"YZY has a right to be mad at WWX bc she never asked for there to be another child in the family"

Like the braindeas takes make me want to yeet myself off a cliff 💀

I also think that Jiang Fengmian is over-villianized by JC stans to an extent that he becomes a caricature of a bad father.

V curious to know your thoughts on all this!

Good afternoon!

I've had a long standing issue of his stans propelling Madam Yu to saintly levels, as they deny her abuse of children, or try to excuse it for the dismissal of what she does to Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian themselves.

The only ideal outcome in the Jiangs lives as a "what if" is if she died too young for Jiang Cheng to remember. I do not mean that by nature he would change (I believe he would always be dour, caustic and rude as his base self). But he would be competent and would not have a dangerously possessive and obsessive lifestyle to the detriment of his self and others.

To say abuse is care, is one of the most used lines to gaslight victims to stay. As well as shifting the blame to say the victims should have done more, they should have been stronger, less scared. It's their fault for letting it get to that point after all.

To blame a child for simple existing and needing basic decency and care, is heartless and people who think that enough to argue, is vile.

[poorlittleyaoyao]

vines I am staring at your MY canon divergence au and would love to hear more about it!!!

OKAY SO.

This AU exists for two main reasons:

1.) A lot of fix-it fic for JGY seems to focus on him being "saved" from his canon fate via romantic relationship, and that simply doesn't cut it for me. You really want to free him from the destructive weight of his misplaced filial piety in a way that doesn't just handwave it all away? You save his mom. You save his mom and enable them both to know JGS is a lost cause from the get-go and give them the means to forge a different path.

2.) WQ and MY are my faves and I want them to hang out!

As I said, I will almost certainly not write the whole thing out. I did post the inciting portion where MY actually arriving in Qishan and WQ starts treating MS, but as you can see, I did not finish it over the summer as intended, because I am the world's slowest writer. But I think about the ways it could go a lot! It's a little thing--just pushing a canonical event earlier in the timeline and changing the impetus--but it has SUCH impact. Aside from what I mentioned in the tags of that other post:

-MY no longer has any ties to Qinghe. He and NMJ can still clash (since MY is for all intents and purposes a Wen), but it's not personal in quite the same "I lived in your household for a substantial amount of time" sort of way

-WQ has someone she can talk to who's in similar straits! This is all based on CQL canon foremost, and what's striking to me about her is that she never gets to be a kid. Even at Cloud Recesses, while her peers are having a silly goofy time, she's on high alert doing WRH's work. WN's behavior suggests that he knows the vibe is weird, but he doesn't seem to understand exactly how fucked things are, which in turn implies that WQ is deliberately shielding him from it. That's so much stress that she's bottling up! With MY there in the same situation of abetting atrocities to protect beloved family members, at least she has someone to confide in (while their situations are juuuust different enough to conflict).

-MENG SHI REACTS TO: EVERYTHING. Those five sentences of information about her are so interesting. She's clever! She's shrewd! She's also compassionate, I feel, because MY had to get his altruism and his loyalty to those who show him kindness from SOMEWHERE, and he certainly didn't get it from his dad, WRH, or anyone else he grew up with. I have a whole backstory for her that I cannot write because hooo boy the effort required would not be worth the reward, but I want so much to explore how she'd respond to the fucked-up situation of being beholden to the Evil Regime. On the one hand, she knows the Wen clan under WRH are doing horrible things, and I don't think that would sit well with her. On the other hand... MY inherited his survival drive from somewhere, too. What does MS feel she owes to society when that society abused and degraded her?

-MS and WQ would also have some things to talk about on the "making great sacrifices for family" front, I think.

-Less seriously, XY meets MS and probably calls her a slur to be edgy, and she hits him right back but in a way that he finds fun rather than takes personally, and now she's on XY's list of People He'll Murder For On The Slightest Provocation.

-MY and/or MS might know about the core transfer and that sure is a fun piece of information for more people not named Jiang Cheng to possess!

-I think MS gets to date WZL firstly on account of WZL being a total catch who respects smart women going by his ??? with YZY, secondly on account of them both getting a lot of shit from society for their work (though the one who voluntarily disables people for a living is treated more respectfully by far bc this is a horrible garbage world!), and thirdly because MS is going to have to bear witness to Xiyao and Chengqing and she deserves something for herself there.

-I mentioned "what about after the war?" in the tags of that other post, but ahhh the Optimal Outcome here fixes EVERYTHING. JGS offers to legitimize MY. MY kind of wants to tell him to fuck himself, but realizes that his and MS are in a highly unstable position and he needs to go all-out on convincing people He Was A Good Guy All Along. (WQ and WN don't have that luxury with their Wen surname.) He accepts on the condition that prisoners are treated with mercy and MS is also granted security. JGS provides exactly neither of these things, as MS is either shunted off to a prison camp with the Wen remnants or she's isolated within Jinlintai as a means to keep MY compliant. How do we solve this? Unclear! Maybe XY finds out JGS is being a dick to Meng Shi, A Person He Likes, and he impales him about it. Regardless, we have MY and the Jiang sibs (plus Jiang-in-law Zixuan) all conspiring together, and in an ideal scenario, I believe in them.

-There are also a lot of sad messed-up ways this could go, but. I do not want it to this time. At least not for my two faves and MS. Everyone else........ debatable.

Again, I cannot stress enough that this is not ever going to be an actual longfic. I have written one (1) longfic ever and it was three years ago and not even that long. But it has POTENTIAL.

[shijieswife]

this fandoms casual misogyny, often, parading around as feminism pisses me off so much. when u guys turn all the female characters in mdzs into token girl bosses - when all of them were such fleshed out, interesting characters, meant to affirm the oppression in mdzs.

yzy was a horrible person, and no amount of making her into a badass woman, so called feminist, can change that. being mean ≠ being a strong woman. u can have a backbone without being a horrible bitch (example, shijie) she quite literally berates jyl her entire life, for bearing the sin of being a daughter, and a weak cultivator. she only slapped wlj and didnt cut wwxs hand off, because she was annoyed that wlj had 'risen above her station'. and u guys treat that classist moment, one that shows yu ziyuans morals completely, as a badass moment !

to make jyl 'strong', u make her mean, or taking up the sword path. being physically strong is not a strict guideline to being a strong woman. shijie did not pick up the sword path, because she was sickly and a weak cultivator - she physically could not do it. shijie was still strong, in the way she was kind and gentle, and the way she still had a backbone and stood up for her didi, with what limited power she had.

u guys also, amazingly, never make nie huiasang, also a weak cultivator, pick up the sabre. because you recognise his strength lies elsewhere.

and then theres just the blatant, casual misogyny. where u guys just give the female characters in ur fics any role, without any thought, while giving the male characters extremely thought out, well suited roles. theres too many fics where the women are just used as props - how many fics, with mianmian appearing as the 'object' in the way of wangxians relationship, are there ? if were lucky, well get a flat, token girlboss characterisation form her.

and dont get me started on the ships u put these poor girls through. jyl and lxc ??? why ?? just cuz their didis are married ??? jyl would not want to be around such a spineless hypocritical coward, who has so much power, and would stil stan dby and do nothing. when she, extremely oppressed throughout her entire life, stood up for what was right.

wq and jc ?? even tho cql tried to shoehorn in a romance between the woman who had a debt owed to her by the man, which the man didnt only not repay, but also led a siege against her family that he knew were innocent, there was not an iota of chemistry between them. it just seems so slimy, and just outright nonsensical when u consider their two personalities - jc is literally what u picture when u hear right iwng cishet man who doesnt wash his own ass, and u think wq ?? wq woulve been into that ???

[jiaoji]

Seeing YZY takes by JC stans is so funny to me, like saying that JFM is worse than her and that he didn’t deserve to marry her…

But didn’t she and her sect forced him to marry her? Didn’t she essentially brainwashed JC to having daddy issues? She didn’t even take the Jiang name???

Like??? She fucked around and found out! And made the people lives around her even worse!

(while I do agree the JFM is shitty it’s because he allowed her to abuse an orphaned child with a whip that his back was full of them)

I can’t find myself to petty her at all knowing those facts.

YZY whole purpouse on life is to make everyone's life miserable and unfortunaly she married a very passive guy that is tired of her and just let things happen.

FGM is bad, but he have some redemptions acts/qualitys, like trying to be a good father for JC and teach him, but YZY throw that off the window just opening her mouth and JC is already too deep into his mother bullshit and imaginary daddy issues (as much as is not THAT imaginary, but less than what YZY says, i mean, FGM love his son very much)

She's not a "girl boss" and drives me insane how people just like her for a 1-2 minutes animation with her being "badass" and because of her looks, when she phisically and verbally abused an orphan child (she's a bully, a 30 years old bully that target a child)

FGM didn't deserved to (forcibly) marry her, thats the only thing they say that is correct, but not in the way they think.

[naturenaruto]

nobut literaly i love a forced???

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

transed??????????? jiang cheng like hear me out lmao

-his parents only married bc forced obviously so they needed a Reward from the marriage to reinforce that they did the right thing what they had to blahblah

-what is this Reward oh right a child ofc

-so they first have yanli and ofc yzy is trying sthhoo hard to reasurre that they needed one of these too and that shell make a good bargaining chip in he future just gotta give it 10-16 years hehheh..

-then jfm is like k fine ill deal BUT we had better have a baby with a PENIS next OR ELSE

-BAD NEWS! they dont get a baby with a penis

-cue yzy scrambling to come up with a way to justify a girls existence (So Difficult) bc they already have the one (1) they didnt need TWO babies w vaginas goodness no so after evaluating her state and determining that no more will come out of her own vagvag she then comes up with a brilliant plan that will get everyone what they want: trans their infant

-so they decide that since they havent declared any name or whatever Theres Still Time so they just....start telling everyone they had a son (wiiiith a penis™️) and they had already told yanli she had a little sister but oops haha kids just tend to mishear misremeber things haha nope defintly a little b r o t h e r *yzy glare* yanli: haha o yes my younger BROther haha yes can i go now

-crisis averted

-so then they just decide to raise her ahem him as a son therefore heir Everythings Fine and besides yzy: oh it just doesnt even matter i mean girls can become *just* as good cultivators as boys cough im sure with myyyy training (and genes) he'll be the best in the sect anyways not like a u know what makes any difference amirite jfm: 😒 uhyeah sure honey whatever u say😓

-so anyways jc is raised as a boy and yanli does in fact know but defers to her mother at first and then jc and so

-GREAT NEWS! jc is Perfectly Fine being a boy™️! no worries here haha

-but as it turns out even when it looks like boy and walks like a boy and talks like a boy and fights like a boy if it doesnt have that penis™️

-well

-so this is why i [hc] that jfm resents and dislikes and invalidates jc because he doesnt......see him as his actual son

-like thats why hes always secondguessing and calling him out and pointing things out and commenting on him like......he doesnt do those things to yanli bc theres. o point yanli does whats required of her and also she doesnt Really Matter but jc unfortunaltely does matter and jfm resents that a vagina could be an heir and yzy knows it and knows her husband never respected her even though shes canonically lauded as a cultivator....and knows that the only reason he validated™️ csr is bc he was fluffing her up bc he wanted to marry her....not bc he wanted a cultivation partner but bc he wanted a Wife™️

-well yzy is no mans Wife™️ so she does her Absolute Best to ensure that jc is qualified (and he is!!!!!)

-except enter wwx and all that scheming goes out the window bc now jfm has found not only an actual (re: had penis) son but csr'ssss son and he now plots to put him in front of jc even going so far as to imply that they could somehow untrans him by ~revealing~~ that oopsies he was Actually A Girl the entire time hehe but now she'lllll be married to the successor Mr. Wei so its k now

-!!!!!!

-yzy: *~~~zidian~~~* -jfm: *muffled broken screams of a man being beaten by a woman* -so blah blah blah ppl dying etc blah

-after everyones dead and wwxs gone.....jc just......was never really asked by anyone not even yanli if he was ok with any of this he just kinda said well i still have long hair the clothes are more comfortable i still wanna cultivate does it matter whats in my pants???? its all baggy anyways whos business is it! *classic jc glare* -so besides the (now very dead) wen no one knows or at the very least they pretend like they dont so its realy never an issue

-jc feels fine it doesnt feel forced the only problem was that he knows it was never meant for him and that no matter how good he got........someone with a penis was always going to be better

[fincalinde]

qi rong! i kid, i kid. how about jc.

I will ignore your cruel taunting and focus on my viniferous darling.

a song that reminds me of them

I don't think I have a personal anthem for him, but En Fortapt Bror (A Prodigal Brother) by Rotvelt would probably go on the playlist if I made one, just for this bit alone:

Kan ikke ta det tilbake Kan ikke få du gjort Jeg vil ikke ha tilgivelse Det vil ikke vaske det bort

Can't take it back Can't get you done I don't want forgiveness It won't wash it away

what they smell like

If we're getting poetic, like lotus fragrance and ozone.

an otp

No one in the cast is right for JC but I do think he wants and deserves a suitable wife so I like the idea of reading something where he's in a relationship. His problem is that he needs just, so much therapy before he can make an effective life partner for anyone. He features in this postcanon AU I wrote and that's a reasonable depiction of how I think things could shake out for him after many years have passed if he's worked on himself. Basically, I know his extracanonical list of qualities he requires in a wife is meant to be humorous, but I tried to incorporate them into an OC while also making her a match for him.

I dabbled in reading Sangcheng because I am a slave to @starwife and like, in theory, many many many many many years postcanon who knows what might happen? And mightn't that be interesting? Sadly I have come to the conclusion that it's too much of a stretch and isn't my cup of tea. Pls forgive

a notp

I was racking my brain to think of a JC pairing I kneejerk hate beyond the general 'well, he isn't really compatible with any of the characters we meet' stance and then I realised I had forgotten Xicheng exists. Pause for audience laughter.

What can I even add here? It's based on nothing and it's not even like there's the intelligence of a thoughtful resistant read behind it. The laziest possible pair the spares approach taken by people whose reading comprehension is so poor they think JGY is an irredeemable cackling villain and WWX is a noble woobie. Thankfully it's easy for me to avoid and therefore ironically ends up irritating me less than bad Xiyao in practice.

favorite platonic/familial relationships

I love his relationship with his mother. She's just horrendous to him and I don't think he ever has any concrete evidence she loves him until their final moments together, but what I find most interesting and realistic is that he seems to understand her. He can see why she is who she is, which doesn't in any way mitigate the damage she does but is an important part of their dynamic because it's an element of why he defends her and it contributes to how he internalises her criticisms.

My favourite JC and YZY moment is this:

Jiang Cheng was stuck between his father and his mother. After a moment of hesitation, he moved to his mother’s side. Holding his shoulders, Madam Yu pushed him forward for Jiang FengMian to see, “Sect Leader Jiang, it seems that some things I have to say. Look carefully—this, is your own son, the future head of Lotus Pier. Even if you frown upon him just because I was the one who bore him, his surname is still Jiang! … I don’t believe for one second that you haven’t heard of how the outside people gossips, that Sect Leader Jiang has still not moved on from a certain Sanren though so many years have passed, regarding the son of his old friend as a son of his own; they’re speculating if Wei Ying is your…”

YZY emotionally, verbally and sometimes physically abuses her son. She is failing him as a mother and as a mentor. But she is not failing him as badly as JFM is failing him, and everything she says here is completely correct. And when JC and WWX talk about it afterwards, JC is also correct. WWX and LWJ kill the Xuanwu of Slaughter and no one cares or gives JC credit for his less glamorous contributions. His own father prefers WWX and doesn't even like him, and that is appalling.

WWX means well by trying to gloss over it, but it's an open secret and pretending it's not true is harmful. YZY is also going about it all wrong, but she's the only person who calls JFM out directly for failing his son. Pot, kettle, but there's a reason why when JC is stuck between his parents he ends up going over to his mother's side.

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

I'm going to go radical here and say I don't personally enjoy or want to read any postcanon Twin Heroes reconciliation. The novel is pretty final about how things end up for them, and it's my belief that they are both far better off not being in each other's lives any more. It's sad because they were close as brothers and love each other so deeply, but ultimately it's for the best. They both appear to be in agreement about this.

the position they sleep in

Probably looks all super cool and handsome when he sleeps, but unfortunately not quite as super cool and handsome as WWX.

a crossover au i’d love to see them in

Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Can you imagine.

my favorite outfit they’ve ever worn

We all know I'm MDZS first in almost everything, but I'm not a huge fan of JC's hair in the official art. Besides, it cracks me up that JC is far and away the most stylish member of the cast in CQL, and yet there's no indication that it's actually an interest of his. CQL NHS wearing his same basic bitch grey and white yet again while CQL JC swaggers past in his shoulder pads owning the entire world—amazing. How could I pick a favourite? I do like his official photo look though, because the gold looks great with the purple.

[runespoor7]

Re: chengxian cis!girl au, what do you think would change socially/politically/ect if Jiang Cheng was afab!guy ?

It would really depend on how/when the social transition happened! And how you decide the Jianghu is wrt trans guys. I largely err on the side of “idk, I don't feel like it would change much provided JC doesn't come out/transition socially while JGS is running the show.”

Still not really what you asked for, but here's a couple things I think this would mean for JC and his self image and his relationship with WWX:

In a world where the Jiang parents hide JC’s sex at birth (maybe YZY had a hard enough pregnancy etc that another try isn't an option, and they already think JYL will be unfit as a sect leader, so they decide to announce JC is a boy and raise him as such), it doesn't change much of anything on that scale. JC has a very bad time when sequestered in LP and WQ promptly doses him with abortives, but that’s largely it.

If JC doesn't transition as a child, I think a good moment for it would be Sunshot. It’s a messy, chaotic time, the jianghu is in upheaval, JC is the Jiang authority, I don't think anyone’s going to find the time and energy to police too strenuously his claim that where the younger Jiang daughter died a Jiang son lives. (You know, it'd be cool if one of the reasons why WWX defaults to calling him JC in that world is bc JC doesn't like his courtesy name.)

I don't thiiiiiink WWX would necessarily be super cool with coming back and finding JC recognized as a dude even if he’s known for years that JC’s a dude. This is mostly because post-being-thrown-in-the-BM WWX is horribly not okay. Everything that’s different from what it was before grates. Also, this specific thing, I think it hits WWX right in the toxic masculinity/cultivationship/sth-sth: it’s like JC decided to be his own protector, it’s like– it’s like an acknowledgement or an announcement that WWX isn't there anymore, that the brilliant head disciple of the Jiang is no more. WWX isn't enough. And WWX feels it like that because that’s what’s going on, he is no longer the person he was and he can't fulfill his duty to JC like he was meant to and he will never again be able to. (I wonder. Would this WWX look for WQ at some point. Would he try to convince her to give him a core, any core. He fantasizes about it, that's for sure.)

If JC doesn't transition socially during Sunshot, I think he’s stuck being understood to be a woman for a good while. Maybe he can transition at some point after JGS’s death but before WWX’s return? Would he, though? He’s not exactly someone who loves to rock the boat.

Wouldn't it be something if when WWX returns JC is out as a man, though. Wouldn't that occupy WWX’s thoughts a lot! (Maybe would fuel his unavowed resentment. Oh, so JC can fight against social norms after all.) I'm not sure when/how it works but WWX being flummoxed would make it a good fic.

Or maybe he transitions after canon. The other two great sects are in disarray, the Nie are… whatever’s going there, people have decided to blame JGY instead of WWX, up is down, might as well. Now's a good time. Now is the time. JC is no longer a frightened youth, he's a powerful adult that no-one wants to have angry at them. (And, as well: WWX and LWJ have confessed their love and have married. Is it such a reach that JC would take advantage of that?)

In both last two cases I’m not sure WWX knew about JC being a guy; I don't think JC did. JC didn't conceptualize it that way. It took him a long time to arrange the pieces.

In both cases - JC being a guy after WWX’s death - I think it reframes his relationship to WWX in his mind. Surely that was the root of both his resentment and his love. He loved WWX because he was a girl and he resented WWX because he wanted to be WWX (cool and strong and a boy). He’s not actually in love with WWX.

WWX’s confession to LWJ is also a lot here. (let JC tell himself that men can't like men like that, WWX!!)

[lansplaining]

Ask meme: Jiang Cheng?

a song that reminds me of them: this one just came on, but i sort of love it for him.

what they smell like: everyone just smells like their incense ok. and lotus flowers.

an otp: u know

a notp: no comment

favorite platonic/familial relationships: i mean.......... the yunmeng bros are like, so key to why i became so obsessed with this fandom.

a headcanon that is popular in the fandom but that i disagree with: no shade at all, but i personally don't HC jiang cheng as ace. i think, as with most things in his life, the chance for a sexual relationship is something he'd like very much and has deliberately given up.

the position they sleep in: you think YZY is letting her kids have anything but perfect sleeping posture!!

a crossover au i’d love to see them in: god let him go live in a more traditional xianxia setting where he'd get to be the hero

my favorite outfit they’ve ever worn: this is SO tricky, but I think I'd go with his Sunshot Look:

they have a tendency to get a little too elaborate after that (though I love his Guanyin Temple look too)

[truly-morgan]

[Shapeshifter AU, bunxian & pupcheng (w.i.p)]

ChengXian | Mo Dao Zu Shi Shapshifter AU 13-06-2021

[#chengxian, animal shapeshifter (or whatever you call them)]

I just wanna see young bunxian slowly getting used to pupcheng when he is brought to LP.

Like, little bunxian still has trauma from dog (shifter or "feral") and being in LP where most are either dog or wolf shifter is really hard.

jfm never shifts nor let his dog attributes out around him, which is why bunxian is more at ease with him at first. jyl is old enough to control it pretty well, does her best not to spook him but sometimes it happens. yzy doesn't really care, if she wants to let her ears and tail out she will and if she wants to go around in her large wolf body she won't stop herself from doing so.

Of course, pupcheng is as young as bunxian, so he cannot really control anything. He still shifts into a small pup when he's overly emotional and cannot hide his ear and tail (jfm did try to force him into doing it despite it not working, yzy ends up enraged).

The relationship doesn't start well between them. pupcheng is jealous that his father is giving so much attention to bunxian and even asks him the impossible for some random bunny.

bunxian on the other sides is just scared of canines and believes pupcheng hates him. Then the incident of pupcheng kick bunxian out of his room happen (he was just really jealous & angry). bunxian knows better than to argue with dog/wolf, so he just tries to find somewhere else to sleep (maybe jfm will be generous enough to find him a room he can use, even a closet is fine).

but pupcheng immediately regrets it and get really worried about the friendly-looking bunxian. He hadn't meant to be mean to him and he did not expect him to really wander around LP at night like this.

pupcheng get so anxious that he changes into his pup form and start looking for bunxian (his scent is actually pretty easy to pick one). he tries sneaking past some of the disciples doing their rounds of guards (many in their animal forms) and this is when he picked on some fear, worries sinking deeper in his little heart.

He finds bunxian blanket abandoned at a corner, but no bunxian in sight. after more research, he finds little bunxian hiding tightly under a cabinet, trembling in a little ball. He tried sneaking under, but it only resulted in bunxian letting out a little terrified scream, making him back away.

pupcheng then simply settles down away, laying sadly as he tries to calm down so he can bring bunxian back to *their* room. He really wants to apologise but simply cannot right now.

Now that he is reassured to have found bunxian he is able to shift back, not as worried When he does so, he kneels next to the cabinet, trying to coax bunxian to come back with him, saying he is sorry for what he did and said, he even has his blanket! blanket are comforting right?

eventually, bunxian does come out, but he won't let him touch him directly, clearly still scared. He simply carries him inside the blanket, sneaking back to the bedroom.

When he's there pupcheng is a bit scared because bunxian isn't moving (did he hold him too tightly?). but after checking he realise bunxian simply fell asleep (maybe being on edge all day because he's surrounded by dog/wolf shifter is tiring).

but bunxian bed is now empty of blankets and pillows, so he simply put the fluffy black bunny on his bed, laying down next to him (not without giving a safe distance not to roll on him).

But pupcheng cannot really go to sleep yet, so he just caresses between bunxian ears to help him calm down even in his sleep.

He really doesn't hate him, he actually quite like bunxian.

When jyl comes to wake them up the next morning (worried since someone said having seen bunxian running around LP in the night) she finds them sleeping in the same bed, pupcheng holding bunxian protectively against him now that he's back to his usual form.

she decides not to wake them up, finding this scene rather reassuring. She would rather them get along than have a scared/hate relationship.

bunxian is a bit spooked when he woke up first that morning (he did /not/ expect to be held like this!) but there is something strangely really reassuring in the way pupcheng is holding him and the way he carried him carefully and protectively last night as if scared to hurt him (what a new thing for him).

Sure, he is still a bit worried, but something feels okay like this and this is probably why bunxian hasn't started to panic yet.

In the following days, pupcheng took upon the task of making sure bunxian is protected from other cabin shifters and dogs.

If bunxian must stay, then he might as well also want him to stay (to his mother's annoyance) and protect him.

He will become the one wolf shifter bunxian isn't scared of.

(there will be more little snippets like this to come 🐰🐺)

[🐺❤️🐰 part 2: bunny protect]

What if bunxian and pupcheng keep growing closer, to the point they always take care of each other (pupcheng makes it his mission that nothing bad happens to bunxian). They want to make sure no one put the other down.

Anyone acting as if bunxian should only be a servant and nothing more? You better get ready for a barking pupcheng getting right back at you with whatever he might have heard about you, bunxian is /more/ than a servant and people should also respect him. and these occurrences are vaguely common, as most people usually say that behind bunxian back.

bunxian usually tries to reassure pupcheng when jfm doesn't give him the attention he deserves and the praises he should have.

If jfm won't give some praise, bunxian will do and prove to pupcheng that what he did was really great and he's not failing anyone, they will become great cultivators together! But then one-day pupcheng is already not having a very good day. He can't seem to get the new form he has learned, is upset that his mother keeps pushing while jfm just don't care.

Then one of the more petty disciples decides to call him a bad boy and weak because apparently pupcheng hurt him at some point (pupcheng really cannot remember), but also because he's already 7 and cannot control himself.

This is just the last straw for pupcheng that day and he just loses it, crying until he shifts into a small pup, making the other disciple laugh a bit, because this only proves his point.

But then you have a storming bunxian, looking angry as all hell storming towards them, placing himself in front of pupcheng to protect him. He heard from other disciples what was happening and caught the later part of it.

His trembling like a leaf because of the other dog shifter (and despite now not flinching with pupcheng, his wolf form still kicks in his instinct).

but this does not stop him from protecting pupcheng, no one gets to call him a /bad boy/.

"Chengcheng is a good boy and no one can say otherwise! He's strong and will become even stronger than slj and mdmy!! He'll be the strongest of the sect and you will regret ever telling this, and--"

and little bunxian does not stop, even when the other youngster looks angry, at his intervention ("how dare he be so insolent!"). But even as he shakes like a leaf, bunxian doesn't stop yelling at him, which ends up bringing attention to them. Some adult cultivator joins them to calm the situation, but bunxian is too angry to stop talking, ready to tell everyone that pupcheng is the best boy and he will also be the strongest!

It's only when the source of the problem is finally taken away that bunxian stops, crouching down at a safe distance from a pupcheng who is now calmed down and trying to shift back. He does yelp a bit when pupcheng suddenly come to him for a tight hug when he shifts back, not letting go of him as bunxian slowly calms his nerve too.

"Do you really think it?" pupcheng asks, "That I am the best of boy and will be the strongest?"

"Of course! I know chengcheng will be the strongest one! and he will never be a bad boy!" he says earnestly.

This makes pupcheng feel warm and happy. He has never heard anyone say with such certainty that he /will/ be the strongest and that he's the best of boys forever.

"Yes... I will be, and you will be by my side too!" he says, feeling like he always wanted bunxian by his side, "I will be strong to protect you!" he promises.

"Then I must get strong to protect you too," bunxian says with a laugh.

They can protect each other in the future. It feels as if as long as they have each other, everything will be alright.

pupcheng is really happy to know he will always have someone by his side who believes in him.

[🐺❤️🐰 part 3: pup wanna protect]

pupcheng has this strong want to protect bunxian because he feels like bunnies must be weak, right? He has this memory of following his mother on a hunt once and she hunted that rabbit so easily! So in his young mind, pupcheng couldn't stop worrying "What if someone bigger than bunxian attacks him? Won't he be overpowered?"

But his young and little mind didn't add that bunxian isn't actually a rabbit, he was also a cultivator who could very well fight (maybe lp being mostly populated by dog/wolf shifters and bunxian being afraid of them is the reason he never really thought about it. scared bunxian = could be hurt = need to protect).

So bunxian ends up mostly training with pupcheng or some guest disciple who aren't canine. People have picked on quickly that pupcheng protects his little friend and not many of the older ymj cultivators are actually allowed to help him train (which lead to jfm being the one doing it the most).

But as they grow, bunxian get a bit tired of that. He wants to fight too! He wants to show he can defend himself and not always have pupcheng around him to protect him! Then one-time bunxian gets in some trouble with some kid and he /fights/ (Of course, this was about shit-talking the /great/ heir of ymj sect).

pupcheng is so scared when he runs back to him, yet bunxian is standing winner as he yelled at the running kid. Bunxian was only about to laugh and say how weak they were, only to have pupcheng drag him to a safe spot, looking him over for injuries ("It's only a couple of scratches! I won't die chengcheng!").

It takes bunxian actually taking pupcheng on a fight seriously to prove he can do it (scaring bunxian by growling did slightly come to his mind, but pupcheng quickly pushed this away. He cannot betray the trust bunxian puts in him).

Slowly pupcheng understood that it wasn't because you weren't a "predator" that you couldn't be strong (or that said "predator" couldn't be weak as shit). It took time to take away this idea that had been implanted in his head by older cultivators (all from bigger animals obviously).

But pupcheng (which at this age would be wolfcheng) never missed saving his bunxian ass when he ended up in a tight spot (or someone was using his fear).

He often wants to scold him, but seeing bunxian cooperate with him now when he protects is good.

He knows bunxian isn't some fragile flower who cannot protect himself, but he will always have this little fear of him getting hurt when he's not watching (bunxian is good to get in trouble really). basically just pupcheng learning to not be overprotective, but also that bunnies shifter isn't weak (bunxian did kick his ass more than once).

(Omg I just realised, mdm yu hunted a real rabbit, not a shifter jqksmfjfi hopefully everyone understood it like that the first time, although am sure she would have no difficulty taking down a shifter either)

[🐺❤️🐰 part 4: bunny heat 😳]

What if bunxian hits his first heat rather early compared to everyone else. And he's so confused and scared when it's all happens. He feels hot and oversensitive, his sens all seem a bit too sharp.

But he's too embarrassed to ask jfm what this might be, assuming he might just be a bit sick and that it will pass.

But pupcheng doesn't like that. Suddenly bunxian won't let him near him? He will flinch away anytime he touches him?+

He ends up confronting him because he certain he somehow man him angry or scared and bunxian just won't tell him.

"I don't know okay!" bunxian suddenly snap after a while, looking a bit distressed, "I-I feel hot all over and everything is too much and and I am scared". pupcheng is surprised because it's rare for bunxian to snap like this or look distressed (it is usually with dog and he makes sure to protect him when it happens).

Then he thinks a bit more about what bunxian just told him, what has happened recently and then it hits him. was his shixiong in heat? It could explain why his scent seemed to have changed a bit lately. But wouldn't bunxian know about it.

But then he thought about it. No one here was bunny shifter, nor any adult was really close enough to bunxian to explain it (and he somehow doubts jfm talked about it with him).

so pupcheng tried explaining to him gently what it might be, although he wasn't sure how to help (or even if he /could/ help).

So he's about to go tell his parents, thinking they might know what he can do to make bunxian feel better.

but he's stopped by his shixiong before he can even get out of the room, bunxian looking nervous. "I-It's alright chengcheng, it will eventually pass right? I can deal with it, I don't need to bother uncle jiang with this".

so pupcheng sit down with him again, because he can't bring himself to go against what bunxian wants. He instead tries to make him feel more comfortable, tries to comfort him.

After two days the peak of it is passed and bunxian is back to being alright, thanking pupcheng for his help and not telling anyone else. Pupcheng heart soften at this, of course, he would do anything to make sure bunxian is alright, there no need to thank him. "Simply call for me next time you think you'll have your heat, I'll come to comfort you again" (he also plans to look for books and scroll about bunny shifter heat season so he knows how to help comfort bunxian better.).

(nsfw-ish)

after a couple of heat, pupcheng ends up being less of a passive presence and helps bunxian more physically (not without his permission obviously).

They learn how to pleasure each other and they are both slowly crossing the line from a shixiong/shidi relationship to... something more. But they don't mind it, they like it and they are comfortable with one another. Why would they want anyone else if they can be together?

So quickly pupcheng happily takes upon the takes of fulfilling bunxian needs in his heat, whether it being emotional or physical. even just laying down with him and doing nothing is good, as long as he can help.

they grow even closer yet no one seems to be able to know why.

[🐺❤️🐰 part 5: wolf heat 😳🤭]

so bunxian and pupcheng are already used to bunxian heat, but what when pupcheng finally hits his?

Sure, pupcheng also get more sensitive to thing, hot all over (and horny).

But he also gets angry more easily, much more territory and is possessive too.

pity to the poor lady in the market they were visiting on a night hunt when she started flirting with bunxian (and bunxian even started flirting back jokingly!). This did not please our pupcheng who pulled bunxian to him protectively, glaring at the poor feline shifter who did not expect to anger the young cultivator.

"ow, is chengcheng jealous that his bunny was flirting with someone else" bunxian jokes before his laughter stop when he saw how serious pupcheng seemed to be. he doesn't add more as he's dragged somewhere secluded, looking at pupcheng a bit confused. He trusts him, but he doesn't understand why they are here.

He yelps a bit when he's pushed against a wall and pupcheng suddenly start rubbing against him. "Jc, are you trying to scent me?" he asks with a little laugh, letting him do so if it can help him feel better.

bunxian laugh a bit more, circling his arms around pupcheng. "Don't be mad anymore chengcheng, I won't flirt with anyone else than you, you don't need to scent me like this"

"But others won't know not to approach you" pupcheng mumbles as he stops his takes, hiding in the crook of bunxian neck.

"Haa, what will I do with you" bunxian laughed in a fake exasperation, "what about I let you mark me as much as you would like once we get back to the inn tonight?".

bunxian doesn't have an answer, but he knows he got his attention on that, so he continues. "I mean, this time we share a room only the two of us, all I would need is a silencing talisman to make sure no one caught us".

"... let's do that" pupcheng answers, "And don't flirt with others anymore" he adds as he nibbles on bunxian neck. bunxian wants to remind him he cannot leave visible marks, but something in him really wants to let him do so (though he knows yzy would lose it if she knew what kind of relationship he has with her son.)

that night neither of them got much sleep, bunxian letting pupcheng claim as much as he wants, marking him until his heart was happy ("You cannot be anyone else" he is reminded more than once by an anxious pupcheng as if he would look elsewhere).

bunxian knows pupcheng scent must be stuck to him now (which he also likes), so he's not really surprised by the little glance other disciples are giving them ("they /do/ always stay together, it might be why" they hear whispered). bunxian can only throw an innocent smile towards mdm yu when she gives them a suspicious look.

She might be suspicious, but he's satisfied with last night and clearly pupcheng seems just as satisfied and pleased with his claim, so it seems worth the little suspicion.

[🐺❤️🐰 part 6: meeting friends 🐗🦌🦚]

Can't remember if they all meet for the first time at CR studies (rip my bad memory :'3), but here what if they met when they were younger?

They met boarsang by accident when pupcheng was trying to find somewhere fresh where they could stay while the adult were all having their boring meeting. Plus, bunxian was probably gonna overheat if they didn't found somewhere.

they accidentally find boarsang who was hiding from the head disciple because he doesn't want to train, instead drawing in a secluded section of UR.

Two lost bunny and pup find him and surprise him, since usually, guests stay closer to the guest area. Yet, he ends up befriending the two yunmeng kid (their robe are pretty telling) after a couple of minutes talking with them, both of them amazed by how well he can draw.

He takes them to an artificial pond closer to their living quarters, where they can all play in it. (It doesn't take long before pupcheng and bunxian are in the water).

They play in the refreshing water for hours, unknowing of all the adults worried because they cannot find the three kids anywhere (it takes nmj intuition to finally find them). They get scolded for scaring everyone like this, but honestly? They had too much of a good time to really mind it.

Next time they meet at another sect conference, these three are gone to do whatever around the place (& worrying the disciples that are supposed to look over them)

The first time they met stagji, was when gusu lan visited yunmeng jiang. stagji had gotten lost at the pier, losing sight of his older brother.

This is when bunxian found him.

And immediately started tormenting him playfully. pupcheng also eventually played in it a bit too (but not too much so he wouldn't be scolded later on).

stagji did seem to find it annoying, the two youth too noisy and energetic for what he is used for (LP is much more noisy and alive than CR in general actually).

But, stagji ended up following them around anyway as the two of them were trying to show him the "coolest places of lotus pier". He tried acting as tho he hated it, but really there was something in him that was pretty happy to have them being so friendly to him, he was not exactly used to people being this friendly to him from the get-go.

They even took him to the market on the pier, making him taste many of the specialities of yunmeng (poor little stagji was /not/ ready for all those spices).

They stay around the pier until late in the evening (nothing really unusual for pupcheng and bunxian) because they didn't see the time pass.

That is, until they got back to LP with a stagji who was starting to be a bit sleepy.

They were a bit intimidated by the tall lqr with his antlers, looking a bit annoyed that they took stagji out for so long without /at least/ letting him know (poor lxc was worried about his baby brother).

Though it didn't stop bunxian to be rather impressed by those antlers (little pupcheng got a bit jealous at that) and telling lqr what they did with stagji when he asked why they were out until so late.

"We just wanted to show him how fun lp can be" he said with a smile.

stagji even admitted having some fun (though it was loud enough only for lqr to hear, he wouldn't admit it aloud when he went for so long acting as though he didn't care). This did make lqr a bit less annoyed at that, since it was rare for him to see stagji having fun with other youngsters (though he wouldn't have minded it being someone less chaotic than bunxian).

when they meet again at the sect conference, bunxian take some good fun of bothering stagji and stagji always enjoy it secretly because he has the feeling of having some friend.

(doesn't stop him from hoping bunxian was a bit less loud and chaotic, but pupcheng would never allow on his watch someone trying to change how his bunxian act. He's perfect like this)

The first time they met with peaxuan was not as good as stagji and boarsang. They had already heard about jiejie needing to marry him and them both immediately went "Is that so 😠 who he".

Like, little peaxuan over there si too young to really want a marriage yet and here he is, force to hang out with pupyanli because his mother said so.

And pupcheng and bunxian don't like that attitude of his.

So they bother him. A lot. To them, he truly is a peacock (Ah! am funny) and doesn't deserve their great jiejie.

Then imagine them bothering peaxuan and listing all the good things pupyanli can do and he doesn't notice because he's a blind idiot. They try testing him, to show jfm that he isn't worth their jiejie time (but of course it's never works because this was 95% political marriage with guessing it might have love one day).

Of course, peaxuan only accepts these challenges because of pride, he cannot possibly let these two assume he cannot do [enter whatever was the challenge]. Little does he know that many of these a yunmeng specialities skills and he got absolutely destroyed by either of them when trying.

Then at some point in their teenage years peaxuan actually starts courting pupyanli correctly and then they both goes "Hold the fuck on, who said you could court her so freely hum? Are you enough for her"

and then they proceed to just test him over so many things, all thing peaxuan accept to do because he wants to prove he can be good for pupyanli, he really is! He finally saw what they meant and he wants to do good to her if they have to marry (and now he really want to marry her!!).

pupcheng and bunxian eventually have to tone it down because it makes jiejie sad that they cannot get along with peaxuan. they still challenge him, but more out of habit taken over the years and because it is their thing to compete over many things anyway.

eventually, they will be able to see peaxuan as family and friends, but for now, they are young and all stupid, so they are rival who want to protect jiejie.

[🐺❤️🐰part 7: first time]

From as far as they both can remember, they were each other first in pretty much everything.

They were each other first kiss, when their young mind got curious about how it felt. They kissed for the first time hidden in LP library, far from anyone else eyes.

It was quick and chaste, but they really liked it and didn't take long to try again. they giggled a lot, feeling as if they were doing something they shouldn't be doing, but that they really like to do.

Something in them was telling them jfm and yzy wouldn't like it if they knew, so they keep it a secret, stealing innocent little kisses when no one was looking.

They were also each other first person to pass heat with. They were too young to really do anything, but simply being with each other had been enough for a long time.

the first time bunxian had been rather happy that pupcheng stayed with him, trying to keep him comfortable and keep him company as he was feeling so bad.

When it was pupcheng turn, he was just as glad that bunxian stayed with him, keeping him close to him and burning his nose in the crook of his neck ("a-cheng it tickles when you do that" bunxian had told him when he did it the first time, not pushing him away either).

The first time they also sneakily look at an erotic book that had been sneaked to their room by boarsang once when they went to UR.

They both got really flustered at the illustration coming with the text, not expecting it to be /like that/. bunxian even playfully suggested that they imitate the position (while clothed!) and something in him might have awoken from being pinned down and held in place by pupcheng. Some of it was similar to when they were fighting, yet it felt really different. Pupcheng might have also found it really good to have bunxian under him like this, but neither admitted it and awkwardly brushed those thoughts away.

Then came the first time both their heat decided to happen at the same time. It was already something that not really do anything to relieve themselves other than barely grind against something and hold (or be held) tightly the other.

But this time it was a bit worst with the other being just as bad as them.

So they decided that grinding lightly is not enough this time, so they will give each other a hand (literally).

bunxian is startled by how good it actually feels to have pupcheng touch him directly like this (he has never really experimented more than grinding/humping his pillow, maybe sometimes using his hand but never like this). He even wonders if pupcheng ever did this alone before.

But he soon recovers from the surprise and reciprocates the action, trying to imitate pupcheng movement with his own hand, happy to see it does seem to please his shidi when he does that.

this is how they lazily pass their heat hidden in their room, pleasuring each other when it was getting a bit too much. It might have awoken something more in them this time too, loving how the other sounded because of them, wanted that for themselves only.

pupcheng even felt instinct telling him to mark bunxian, but he managed to control himself, scared that bunxian would be scared afterwards (but later he does mention it and bunxian tells him it is alright since it's pupcheng doing it.).

Of course, they are each other first time. They were not in heat when it happened, but the sexual tension had built to the point where pupcheng ended up pinning bunxian down to his bed and started kissing him, bunxian happily and gladly responded to it.

bunxian had been flirting with him more often now, had been making jokes to provoke him more often but also had been teasing him by sticking to stagji so much when they met in a previous conference (the grin bunxian would give him told him he was doing it on purpose).

knowing bunxian was teasing him didn't stop him from being scared someone else would take bunxian away from him, he wanted to claim he all to himself before someone else could do it.

bunxian would probably lie if he said he hadn't wanted for pupcheng to do just that.

He didn't struggle when pupcheng worked off his robes (instead helping with getting them off of him, trying to undo pupcheng robes too so he wouldn't be the only one).

He really enjoyed the kisses and slight nibbles pupcheng did as he made his way down his neck, quiet moans escaping his mouth as he was grinding against him through their trousers. His mouth was travelling between marking his neck and kissing his lips, hand exploring his upper body as they kept grinding into each other, trying to keep their moan low.

bunxian nearly whined when the body above him disappear for a moment, pupcheng leaving his bed to go get something hidden near him. He was a little curious when he saw the little bottle he brought back with him, only to flush when he realised what it might be used for (they had read in some of boarsang erotic books about it. It was seriously to wonder where the other young man would get those books).

He was a bit tense a the idea of going farther than anything they did before (only hand searching for sensitive spots and handjobs). but pupcheng gently reassured him with kisses, telling him they would stop if it was too much for him.

It was a bit awkward trying to prepare him, as they never did anything of the like before (and illustration and word were only that). but eventually, they found a rhythm that worked, a position that seemed better and pupcheng found how he could make bunxian enjoy it more (he believed the sweet sound bunxian made was telling him he was doing at least alright).

It was actually bunxian who ended up telling him he wanted him inside, that he was ready for more than his finger. He was a bit unsure at first, but he decided to believe him, still oiling himself up to make sure he wouldn't hurt him.

He nearly fully backed out when bunxian grimaced at him entering, only to be held in place. "It alright a-cheng" bunxian breathed quickly, "Just... just go slowly, I'll get used to it"

So he did just that, keeping himself from going too fast to feel more of the tightness around him (what was his pleasure if bunxian was in pain?). So he did it slowly, staying in place once he was fully in, waiting for his shixiong to tell him whether he wanted to continue or not.

Bunxian was the first to tentatively move his hips, surprising pupcheng a little bit, He started moving slowly, trying to see in bunxian expression if he was hurting him or not, until he got the hang of it a little bit better and started moving faster, hands working on bunxian arousal so he could also enjoy it.

bunxian quickly started to enjoy it, trying to keep his moan and whining in, not wanting to alert anyone else (He didn't exactly want to know what would happen if jfm, or worst yzy, were to find them like this).

He also enjoyed pupcheng above him, panting against his lips,

teeth grazing his shoulder sometimes as if he wanted to bite down and mark him fully, "You can mark me if you want" bunxian ended up eventually saying. It did hurt, but it also sent a weird spark in him (and pupcheng expression of satisfaction when he straightened back a bit was also very good).

They only did it once that night, bunxian tired from this first time, pupcheng gladly hugged him tightly in his arms, kissing better the bite mark on his shoulder.

after that, it is evident that they were each other first in anything sexual they wanted to try, even bunxian crazy ideas that nearly got them caught more than once (yet the thrill was all in that).

Original

[bloody-bee-tea]

24 Days of Mingcheng 2022 Day 17 - Lunch

This story is courtesy of a prompt from indiw which was as follows: add to the punching JFM tag -  only this time it is JC punching him, YZY giving immediate alibi and shaming JYL and WWX (and LWJ?) into agreement, over NMJ’s honor.   NHS has recordings and receipts for future blackmail purposes and is waiting, when JFM wakes up.  Maybe YZY, JYL, and WWX (and LWJ? ) are also present.

It's not exactly like that but I hope you still enjoy it!

Jiang Cheng doesn’t want to be doing this. He can imagine a thousand different things he would rather be doing that bring Nie Mingjue to lunch with his family and going to the dentist to have a root canal treatment still ranks pretty high up there compared to this.

“It will be fine,” Nie Mingjue tries to reassure him as they are getting ready and Jiang Cheng shakes his head.

“I will not be fine. Nothing about this will be fine. Mom has been strange for a while now, Wei Wuxian will be as annoying as ever, Yanli will only try to keep the peace when it’s for Wei Wuxian’s sake and my father—” He trails off here because there are not actually words for how badly his father is going to behave.

“You know nothing he says about you is right, correct, my heart?” Nie Mingjue carefully ventures and Jiang Cheng lets out a sharp breath.

“I know. I’m not worried about what he’ll say to me,” he then admits because he has long made his peace with the fact that his father is a neglectful, abusive asshole and that it’s not actually his fault. That also means that there is nothing he can do to change his father’s opinion of him, though, and it had taken Jiang Cheng quite a few therapy sessions to not only accept but also come to terms with that.

“Then what?” Nie Mingjue wants to know, taking Jiang Cheng’s hand in his own.

“I’m worried what he’ll say to you,” Jiang Cheng tells him. “I doubt he’ll be on his best behaviour today, it’s only family after all, and he’s not going to hold back. He’ll casually insult me but also you, if only by proxy and I might just be fed up enough with him that I am not going to let that stand.”

“You’re worried you’ll start a fight?”

“Well, it’s not really like you can start a fight with my father, he’s way too infuriatingly calm for that somehow. But I will want to and it’s not going to end pretty.”

“Did you talk today through with your therapist?” Nie Mingjue asks him with a smile because he knows Jiang Cheng way too well already.

“Of course I did,” he huffs out in reply. “She told me to simply do and say what feels best for me, with no regard for him since he doesn’t have any regard for me, either. It seems like sound advice but it could also backfire horribly.”

“You will be fine,” Nie Mingjue reassures him, leaning in for a quick kiss. “If things do escalate, I am still there as well after all. And I have your back, no matter what.”

It’s nice to know that Jiang Cheng has someone on his side who is there unconditionally but it might not be helpful for this evening. There are still so many ways today could mean he breaks with his family and despite all the therapy and all of Nie Mingjue’s love, he’s not sure if he’s ready for that.

“Let’s just get it over with. I’m glad it’s only lunch, though, because that means no matter what happens, we get to end the day on a nice note.”

“Yeah, I wondered about that. You usually have dinners right?”

“My mother planned this. I don’t know what’s up with her lately, she’s been a bit strange. Last week she told me to take care when we said goodbye on the phone and that never happened. I wonder if she’s sick.”

“Or maybe she just realized how awesome you are,” Nie Mingjue gives back and even though Jiang Cheng’s doubts it was meant to make him laugh, he can’t help it.

“Yeah, right,” he mutters but follows Nie Mingjue outside when he leaves for their car.

The car ride is over way too quickly and Jiang Cheng stares at the house, dread pooling in his gut. It’s going to be awful, he can already tell.

“Stop frowning, we haven’t even gone in yet,” Nie Mingjue chides him and Jiang Cheng heaves out a deep breath.

“Fine, fine,” he sighs out and makes a conscious effort to relax his face.

“Better,” Nie Mingjue decides and then kisses Jiang Cheng between the eyes because of course there must still be a furrow.

Jiang Cheng doesn’t even know if his face can do completely relaxed but he’s not about to ask Nie Mingjue that, at least not right now.

He braces himself before he goes to knock on the door and he’s not surprised when his mother practically yanks the door open.

“You’re—” she starts but then cuts herself off and that alone makes Jiang Cheng frown again. “I’m happy you’re here,” she then says instead and Jiang Cheng fights the urge to reach out and take her temperature.

“Hello, mom,” he says and then tugs on Nie Mingjue’s sleeve. “This is Nie Mingjue, my boyfriend.”

“It’s nice to meet you in this capacity now,” Nie Mingjue says with a slight bow and Jiang Cheng watches his mother open her mouth, close it again, visibly re-arrange whatever she wanted to say and then try again with: “It’s nice to finally meet you, Wanyin has been talking quite a lot about you, recently.”

It’s almost nice coming from his mother and Jiang Cheng tries his best to keep the confusion off his face.

Something must surely be going on here; maybe it will be a big family announcement that will leave Jiang Cheng devastated and Yu Ziyuan is just trying to soften the blow or something. Jiang Cheng wouldn’t put it past his family, after all.

“Do come in, lunch is almost ready,” Yu Ziyuan tells them and ushers them into the house with the same impatient gestures she always uses and now this Jiang Cheng can recognise.

“Don’t be fooled, she’s not normally this nice,” Jiang Cheng whispers as Nie Mingjue and he take their shoes off and Nie Mingjue shrugs.

“But it’s nice for now, isn’t it?” he asks and Jiang Cheng has to admit that it kind of is.

If only he wouldn’t be waiting for the other shoe to drop. But he can’t trust this yet and so he keeps his guard up at all times.

“Let’s just see how the rest of the day goes,” Jiang Cheng whispers and leads Nie Mingjue into the dining room.

His family is already there, milling around the room and Jiang Cheng briefly presses his lips together when he realizes that neither Jiang Yanli nor Wei Wuxian have brought their respective partners.

It seems as if his family wanted to make sure that all the scrutiny is on Nie Mingjue today.

“Just great,” Jiang Cheng bitterly mutters under his breath and Nie Mingjue briefly squeezes his hand.

“I can deal with that. I have dealt with worse,” he reassures him, clearly coming to the same conclusion Jiang Cheng has and while Jiang Cheng knows that Nie Mingjue is more than capable of dealing with a bit of scrutiny, he simply wishes he didn’t have to in this setting.

“I know,” Jiang Cheng sighs out and then forces a smile on his face when Jiang Yanli notices them.

“A-Cheng, how nice to see you,” she says and flutters her hands around Jiang Cheng’s from as if she wanted to fix something. “And Mingjue as well, how nice, how nice,” she babbles and Jiang Cheng’s worry instantly doubles.

His sister is never one for babbling and she’s also not someone who refuses to make eye-contact but she’s doing it today.

Something must be up.

“Ah, Chengcheng, you brought your mountain of a man,” Wei Wuxian also calls out at that moment and Jiang Cheng takes a deep breath at that.

It’s not technically an insult—yet—because Nie Mingjue is huge but to say it to his face? That’s more than tactless in Jiang Cheng’s opinion.

“Wei Wuxian,” Yu Ziyuan chides him almost immediately and even though her voice isn’t as cutting as they are all used to from her Wei Wuxian still shrinks back.

“My lady,” Jiang Fengmian reprimands Yu Ziyuan almost instantly and Jiang Cheng isn’t sure if he wants to sit down for lunch first before they start with the fighting or if he’d rather get it over with.

It’s not like it’s in his hands anyway, but it’s nice to think about the different possibilities if only to tune everything out.

“Well, are you simply going to let him speak like that to our guest?” Yu Ziyuan wants to know and Nie Mingjue darts a quick look at Jiang Cheng.

He only shrugs in answer though, because it’s not as if he has any control over this. And it is along the lines of what he told Nie Mingjue to expect from this lunch.

“It wasn’t meant like that, and besides. He’s right, isn’t he? Mingjue is rather—huge,” Jiang Fengmian says, eying Nie Mingjue up and down and his gaze is so judging, Jiang Cheng immediately feels like apologizing to Nie Mingjue.

He seems to simply shrug it off though, because he extends his hand towards Jiang Fengmian.

“Thank you for inviting me,” he says and he almost sounds sincere, which is quite the feat, in Jiang Cheng’s opinion.

“Yeah, we’re required to meet any new partners at least once, right?” Jiang Fengmian gives back as he takes Nie Mingjue’s hand and Jiang Cheng narrows his eyes at him.

“You’re going to meet him a lot more often, though, because I’m planning on keeping him,” Jiang Cheng says and he fights the urge to take a step back when his mother honest to god smiles at him.

“That is nice to hear, that you’re intending to make this work out,” she says and again, it’s just this shy of a compliment that it leaves Jiang Cheng a little bit floundering.

“Is it, though?” Jiang Fengmian muses, critically eying Nie Mingjue up again. “We all know about the temper problems of the Nie. I’m not sure we need any more of that in our family.”

It’s a clear side blow at Yu Ziyuan and Jiang Cheng, and honestly, Jiang Cheng couldn’t care less because he damn well knows he’s never going to change his father’s perspective of him, but for him to insult Nie Mingjue like that? Jiang Cheng can’t let that stand.

He’s just about to open his mouth when Nie Mingjue puts a steadying hand to the small of his back, slightly shaking his head at him. Jiang Cheng would love nothing more than to argue with him about that, but he presses his lips together instead.

Fine, if Nie Mingjue doesn’t want him defending his honour, then so be it.

“I think I have my temper just as well under control as Wanyin does,” Nie Mingjue gives back with a smile but of course Jiang Fengmian only huffs at him.

“So not at all, of course,” he says as if that is to be expected.

“Father,” Jiang Cheng says, his voice carrying a warning that is clearly lost on Jiang Fengmian. “He is a guest here, today,” he reminds him and Jiang Fengmian gives him his blandest smile.

“Of course he is. Thankfully only today, though, because you won’t be seeing him again after this,” he then declares and silence falls over the room.

“Fengmian,” Yu Ziyuan snaps out, her voice now carrying the bite Jiang Cheng was almost missing. “How dare you dictate who your son is seeing?”

“When it’s someone so wholly unsuitable as him, I exercise that right, of course.”

“Of course,” Yu Ziyuan huffs out mockingly. “But when Zixuan made your daughter cry several times and in public even, that was fine. And when Wangji almost molests Wei Wuxian at the dinner table, with no regards to social propriety, that’s also fine, am I right? No need to interfere there, but here you think you can tell your son what to do?”

“I can and I will,” Jiang Fengmian says. “Nie Mingjue has a reputation as a brutish and violent man and I will not stand for that in my household.”

“What you mean to say is that he pulverized the cooperation proposal you sent to him because it was entirely bullshit and you can’t deal with that,” Yu Ziyuan sums up and if Jiang Cheng wasn’t so angry on Nie Mingjue’s behalf he would laugh at the fact that his mother basically just called his father childish.

“Father, please think about what you’re going to say next because I will not allow you to speak like that about my boyfriend,” Jiang Cheng now chimes in as well even though Nie Mingjue is still motioning for him to stay quiet.

But Jiang Cheng will not stand for this; what kind of boyfriend would he even be if he allowed this?

“Wanyin, you will not be seeing him again,” Jiang Fengmian says again and Jiang Cheng clenches his hands to fists.

“You do not get to decide that,” he presses out. “You haven’t cared about my life before this, and you certainly don’t get to care about it now. So either you shut up right now, or you won’t like the consequences.”

“A-Cheng, please, don’t be rash,” Jiang Yanli soothingly says and steps in between Jiang Cheng and Jiang Fengmian. “There is no need to fight.”

“Oh, there absolutely is, if he thinks he can just say these things about Mingjue. You wouldn’t stand for it if he said those things about Zixuan.” He looks over at Wei Wuxian. “Or Lan Wangji, for that matter.”

“Ah, but Chengcheng, it’s all just in good faith, right? Aren’t you happy that Uncle Fengmian is worried about you?”

“Why would I be happy about that if he tries to paint my perfectly nice boyfriend as a violent man?” Jiang Cheng wants to know because he logic escapes him here.

“But he is exactly that,” Jiang Fengmian says, a small, confused frown on his face as if he couldn’t possibly understand how Jiang Cheng can’t see the truth. “We have all seen him with his brother after all.”

At that Nie Mingjue flinches slightly and Jiang Cheng immediately steps closer to press their arms together. Nie Huaisang is a bit of a sore topic for Nie Mingjue; even though they are mending their relationship as best as they can, there have been some things said between them that will need time to heal.

“That is enough,” Yu Ziyuan almost yells but of course Jiang Fengmian is completely unimpressed.

“She is right. One more word about this and you won’t like the consequences,” Jiang Cheng says as well and he is fully prepared to punch his father in the face should he say one more word on this topic.

“He’s probably abusing you just as he is abusing his brother,” Jiang Fengmian says despite the clear warnings and that’s it.

Jiang Cheng darts forward, his fist connecting with the side of Jiang Fengmian’s face and when he crumbles to the floor Jiang Cheng doesn’t even feel bad about it.

“A-Cheng!” Jiang Yanli yells out, rushing forward to Jiang Fengmian’s side and Wei Wuxian steps between them as if he needs to shield Jiang Fengmian from Jiang Cheng.

“How could you?” Jiang Yanli asks, her voice shaky and her eyes glistening with tears but before Jiang Cheng can find his voice, Yu Ziyuan steps in.

“I should hope that both of you would have done the same if anyone accused your spouses of abuse,” she sternly tells them. “If not, I would urge you to think about the consequences even such a rumour could have on your lives. Now, call him an ambulance if he needs one, or let him lay there for all that I care but I will see my son and his partner out now. You better have excuses ready for why you didn’t step up for your brother when I come back,” she says and then turns around to Nie Mingjue and Jiang Cheng.

“Come on, this was entirely unpleasant and you shouldn’t have to stay here,” she says, herding them towards the entrance.

Nie Mingjue looks a bit pale around the nose, so Jiang Cheng follows along without much complaint but once they are at the door he can’t help but to ask: “Mom, are you alright?”

Her behaviour is still strange and in all honesty it makes Jiang Cheng worry that something might be wrong with her.

“Everything is fine, my child,” she says and Jiang Cheng thinks he’s never heard her voice this soft. “I—have been attending therapy for a while now. I know there is a lot I have to make up for, but I would like to try. If you are amenable to that.”

“You’re going to therapy?” Jiang Cheng blurts out because he expected a lot but not that.

“Yes. When you moved out it was so clear that you didn’t expect anything from us—no help, no money, nothing—and it rubbed me the wrong way,” Yu Ziyuan admits. “After that I started to notice all the little things that have been going wrong in your life thanks to us so I talked to a good friend of mine and she advised me to talk to someone professional about this. It helps, at least I like to think that it does.”

“Wow,” Jiang Cheng breathes out.

“I would like to—well, make it up to you sounds as if this can be fixed, but I at least would like to try to build a proper relationship with you,” she says and it sounds so awkward that Jiang Cheng shudders.

Plus, he’s not completely convinced he can believe her.

“Lunch, once a month. You can prove how sincere you are then,” he decides even as he guides Nie Mingjue to put on his shoes.

He does so, but his moves are mechanical and Jiang Cheng worries.

“Sure. Now get your man home, he doesn’t seem so well.”

“He’s not. But thank you. And father—”

“Would do well to keep his mouth shut in the future,” Yu Ziyuan immediately says, much to Jiang Cheng’s amusement.

“Alright. Bye, mom,” he calls over his shoulder as he ushers Nie Mingjue towards the car.

“Bye, my son,” she calls after him and Jiang Cheng hates to admit it, but it makes him happy to hear her like that.

“My heart, are you alright?” he asks Nie Mingjue once they are in the car and Nie Mingjue slowly breathes out.

“I am not abusing you or my brother,” he then says and Jiang Cheng is quick to agree.

“You are not. Do you want me to call Huaisang?”

“I—yes, please,” Nie Mingjue slowly says and Jiang Cheng gets his phone out immediately, dialling the number and putting him on speaker before he even picks up.

“A-Cheng, hello,” Nie Huaisang cheerfully greets him but Jiang Cheng is not about to beat around the bush here.

“We just had a bit of a situation at lunch with my parents,” he explains and Nie Huaisang’s soft “Oh, oh,” is barely audible over the speaker. “My father accused Mingjue of abusing both of us.”

“Oh dear,” Nie Huaisang sighs out. “Is he there?” he then asks and Jiang Cheng hands the phone over to Nie Mingjue.

“Didi,” he breathes out. “I’m sorry.”

“There is nothing you have to apologize for. You never abused me. We both said some pretty hurtful shit when we had our fight but you never abused me, do you hear me?”

“I hear you,” Nie Mingjue whispers out and Jiang Cheng reaches over to take his hand.

“But do you believe me?” Nie Huaisang wants to know and then curses when Nie Mingjue stays silent. “Alright, change of plans, you two come here. Did you eat lunch? Doesn’t matter, you’ll do it again. I expect you in twenty,” he tells them and then hangs up on them.

“See, he doesn’t sound upset and he wouldn’t invite you over if he felt unsafe in your presence,” Jiang Cheng soothingly tells Nie Mingjue who seems to finally start to believe him.

“Alright,” he says with a nod and Jiang Cheng leans over to press a kiss to his brow.

“Good. Now let’s have an actual nice lunch and not whatever the hell this was.”

“Did you—punch your father for me?” Nie Mingjue suddenly asks. “And did your mother say she’s been going to therapy?”

Jiang Cheng allows himself a small laugh at that.

“Yes, to both. The former, especially, was very cathartic.”

“I can imagine,” Nie Mingjue wryly says and Jiang Cheng knows he will be okay when he smiles slightly at that.

Jiang Fengmian’s remark hit a very sore spot for Nie Mingjue but Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang will make sure to show him exactly how much they love him, no matter how much Nie Mingjue sometimes worries.

Nie Mingjue’s and Nie Huaisang’s relationship might have been bad once upon a time, for various reasons, but they both want to change that and are working so hard on it.

Jiang Cheng is just happy to support them both through that and if that includes punching his idiot father—well, he’s happy to do it again any time.

Tip me

[phoenixcatch7]

Random mdzs headcanons that I don't think interfere with canon:

Though sufficient cultivation cures this, lwj is short sighted. (this is because of that mxtx interview but if he actually was short sighted he would be wearing glasses in canon.) Similarly, so would lxc and lqr is already halfway there lol.

Wen chao is barely older than the main cast. Like a couple years at most. This is is because it took until his poor wife (who shall forever be unknown, rip) being mentioned for me to go 'that's an ADULT?!'. Everything from the voice to the face to the short sighted immaturity and the lying to adults in charge, there's no way this guy is anything over 20.

Lqr isn't a very strong cultivator for all his technical skill is impeccable. I think this because I thought he was young grandparent age when he's the uncle!! It's too much stress! Major props.

He's also aromantic! We know that nothing will stop a lan in love, much to their detriment, but not only does lqr seem to regard the lot of them as idiots for finding the absolute worst choices ever but I feel if he'd also loved and lost it would have been... Relevant.

Jfm was gay, and his unrequited love was wcz. Alternate sexualities (and queerness as a whole) is one of those things that's still so dangerous in many countries, and I guess ancient fantasy China is one of them! Poor mxy. Anyway that plus arranged marriages plus jfm being an only child (to my knowledge) and needing heirs... Yeah I feel like that's one of those things that happens. It's common all throughout history, forcing people into het relationships for any number of reasons or risk social (or even physical) death. I could so easily trace how that would have affected him through the courtship, marriage, his parents, him genuinely trying to love yzy and maybe deep inside knowing it was doomed to fail, her intelligence picking up on that and trying to figure out how she was unworthy, her feeling hurt and disrespected, getting more and more paranoid and sensitive as it wears on, her being so close to the right answer but correcting her would expose him. Him just trying to settle for mutual respect and teamwork and her never getting what she needs to be fulfilled in life, what she was raised and trained all her life in preparation for. The way he's so unwilling to force his kids to do anything miserable and the way he's so quick to call off the engagement when all he's hearing is disinterest and incompatibility. I could make this a whole post on its own but I fully believe this man lived and died like so many other queer people have in the past - never being able to find out who he truly was, and that he wasn't broken for not being the way he needed to be. Wangxian have an easier time of it, but when there's stories like mxy? People keep their heads down. He raised jc the way he was raised, and he turned out fine. It wasn't their fault he was such a failure of a son.

To cheer things up, I firmly believe that wwx is bisexual af. Just because lwj is his soulmate doesn't mean he's not. Are you an mxtx protag if you're simply, straightforwardly gay? I think not.

Though I do wonder if jc being Banned From Women was 100% an entirely whoopsie daisy accident. Sometimes standards are supposed to be impossible... Now I think about it, the certainty lwj hated wwx, the total lack of any partner, the focus on jl, the constant frustration with wwx's flirting and incomprehension with jyl crushing on jzx... I think the women are the only straight ones in the family, cuz he's sounding the aroace bell! Good for him tbh!!! Break the cycle!!!!

Lsh is the child of either wrh, wc, jgs, or two perfectly lovely normal people who died in war/childbirth. He was 100% a village kid, so thank goodness they all stepped up. I feel like one of the wens would have told wwx his parentage either way, so if he hasn't told anyone else I can't imagine it's great.

Each sect is associated with an element. The wens of course were fire, the nie earth, the lan air, the jin water (koi/carp tower), and the jiang are lightning (given we assume yzy and the jiang territory are compatible (her husband is probably water lol oof)). Years of specialised clan training and select marriages have caused the clan members qi to take on movement (at minimum) matching the respective elements. This is based on the anime, where everyone has nice handy colour coded qi, but the twin jades have the prettiest cloud texture that perfectly matches their crest and wwx has an almost lightning spiky red with just enough smoulder to make he sure he's a fire type. This also!!! Matches their fighting styles, have you noticed?? Idk if they did it on purpose or not but it's so cool!!! Wwx and jc are constantly moving, redirection, bounce and flip around; lwj and lxc are very twirly, lots of attacks from above, lwj often lets his sword fly mid battle, and of course the music! And the nie are very... Brick wall lol. I'd say NHS is air? Maybe? Water?

This one's a bit silly, but I like to imagine csr and bsr are mother and daughter from a distant land where people use their surnames last (gasp) and it wasn't really important to bsr cuz secluded mountain but they did figure it was going to be a problem a touch late. 'oh but phoenix they have different spellings in Chinese' csr got asked 'oh so like the immortal?' panicked and changed it on the spot. Her husband's nicknames all use her 'surname', he's the only one who knows about the mix up.

Spinning in the air helps you change an attack or helps you float. Yes this is based entirely on the anime (donghua?) where even the most serious of characters (lwj) do three full rotations before landing a big attack midair. It might be so he has time to get his guqin out lmao.

Jc is left handed, I'm pretty sure that's anime canon at least. Any good swordsman (or dual sword whip wielder!) can do a little ambidexterousness tho.

Wwx can do decent guqin cuz he's the gentleman prodigy of the arts but he probably whittled a dozen dizi out of roadside bamboo on long journeys to entertain himself which is why chengching was such a fine tuned spiritual tool.

The jiangs were a great sect lead by good people in an ehhhh family. Individually they're all actually decent people but they bring out the worst in each other even as it keeps them all in check.

I firmly believe that yzy was holding back a LOT when made to whip wwx in front of the wen wench. That's a whole entire spiritual weapon and she was going at it wildly in a barely stable environment. Compare that to lwj who took the discipline whip not too many more times (if any) and was rendered bed bound if not house bound for years recovering (and grieving) and over a decade later is still a mass of scar tissue. And that was an orderly and structured punishment using materials designed to NOT kill the victim, not a whole entire LIGHTNING MURDER WEAPON. Wwx was back on his feet minutes later sword fighting, rowing, carrying jc on his back... Lwj is the more realistic result, real whips can be lethal, and very, very dangerous. They are excruciatingly painful and if you make a mistake they can easily flay skin and muscle to crack bone. You're not supposed to strike the same patch of skin twice. Yeah wwx and his stupid pain tolerance but I truly believe him and yzy were in full accord in that moment with the roles they had to play (and jc hated every second). She could at least have apologised... in the middle of heated battle for her home and life though....

Lwjs eyes are gold and sunset and stars' YES ALSO BUT I looked at them and my immediate reaction was 'that's a bird of prey'. They're LITERALLY falcon eyes, they're identical, and I've never once seen that comparison :(. He's already piercing/intense/pinning/scouring, (and his anime eyeliner and dark lashes look like the markings) he's so perfect for the metaphor. Make it that wwx is the rabbit prey, come on.

Why is wwx sun coded but moon aesthetic and lwj moon coded but sun aesthetic like how's that fair why does it always happen.

Stop blaming wwx for Suiban he admits he came up with a zillion good names and it was jfm who didn't pick any and named it as a joke. Ngl if that was my trusted person who went and did that I would have been gutted but hey wwx thrives. I do feel like jfm naming the sword that wwx sacrifices to save jc is grounds for some angst at the very least.

Lxc was definitely in some situation with the other two because he does read as a parallel to lwj. Their romantic lives are basically inversions of each other, you could hold a graph up to a mirror. It's just that lwj was so deeply lucky to get wwx back, and he fell in love with someone true to himself. Lxc just got used and left with the ashes, no matter how much true love was on either side. Wwx chose family, kindness and community with poverty and jgy chose greed and power and wealth for total isolation. It was NHS that inverted their fates, but either brother's love could only come at the cost of the other. Poor qiren...

All those fancy huge ribbons in everyone's hair (again it's the anime donghua) are special and ridiculously sturdy ribbons given by the parents they wear in varying styles to tie it all up and as they grow up so they don't trip on it. This is a silly headcanon but I love it cuz those ribbons are stupid long and literally everyone has it. Maybe it's the mdzs equivalent of the guan ceremony?

Wwx has for sure done cannibalism.

Ooh painful headcanon time - his parents died in yiling right? And all corpses get tossed into the mounds for centuries, right? Nonzero chance wwx's parents bodies broke his fall.

Lwj gets wwx a mule for a birthday/festival cuz those guys are basically the perfect mounts humans are ever going to get, they're just v rare and infertile. They're smart and brave as donkeys and fast and strong like the horse, resulting in an animal that is down for mounted parkour with the right training. And then lwj can ride a horse alongside wwx when they go travelling ^^. Idk I just think it'd be super cute.

Wwx only comes up with good names when he's doing real bad. Names when he's doing good: Suiban, li'l apple, rulan (after his bf). Names when he's doing bad: chengqing, yin iron tally/stygian tiger amulet, compass of evil.

[leatherbookmark]

chinhands

i’m not quite sure if i would say that jyl loves wwx more than she loves jc. she does look at wwx as she’s dying, which can’t be said for jc, but like... wwx is the runaway problematic kid, wwx is the one she hasn’t seen for months, wwx is the one who’s responsible for her dying. i feel it’s a bit like the reason why jfm gives more attention to wwx than to jc, aside from the fact that jc is yzy’s son and reminds him of her and of everything that didn’t work out between them -- wwx is the new kid, he needs to get used to his new home, he needs to know he’s safe and loved, he needs to have his fun, and he’s not the heir so he obviously can get into more trouble he’ll need rescuing from/rescuing after...

i don’t have siblings, but i don’t know if we can say that jyl, jc’s biological big sister who was there when he was born, held his little hand, comforted him when he cried and played with him, obviously loves wwx more than she loves jc. she does show wwx more attention and warmth! so maybe it’s just me pointlessly arguing about the semantics! and also wwx is the main pov, so maybe she’s affectionate with jc but we just don’t see it! but it just. idk.

a personal sidenote: i completely suck at being a friend. i routinely forget about people -- say, when i get into a new Thing, i can spend AGES thinking about it, reading ff, browsing people’s blogs, and then i wake up and remember i have friends i haven’t talked to for three weeks, oops. i also often hesitate to message people even if i want to talk to them, because a, i don’t want to bother them, and b, i often don’t have anything worth talking about going on in my life, and i want to avoid the shame of having to admit that. and like -- i mean, yeah, maybe there is something wrong with me, actually, because i’ve had several relationships just... fizzle out to nothing -- we stopped talking, we got into a petty argument and unfollowed each other, and so on -- and i just feel... “well, that’s a bummer” about it, and that’s it. i’m not heartbroken, i can’t relate to those “everyone had a homoerotic friendship in high school that later fell apart and ruined you emotionally” posts! so maybe i don’t have feelings, maybe i’m a bad “friend” or even an “acquaintance”! this is not sarcasm, i mean it. i don’t know. but i’m sure there are people who do have feelings and are good friends, but who, say, have adhd and it makes it hard to keep in touch, or regularly pay attention to their loved ones, and it just makes me sad to think that essentially if you pay less attention = you care less.

or maybe it’s also me being a tiny bit 🤔 when we start adhering too closely to what the book clearly/evidently/obviously says in our posts...? like. idk. i think a lot of the fun in fandom is also having our interpretations and “well i don’t know for sure, but i think that...”, and talking strictly and only about the canon text a/ gets kinda boring after a while and b/ well it can’t all be there, can it. like at least some of it has to be our interpretation. and it’s okay! it’s fun, actually! it’s just. augh.

am i making sense. am i being mean. i don’t know. don’t expect things from me please