#but in the words of yunmeng jiang

[stiltonbasket]

How did wen!wwx fall in love with lwj? Was it some form of stockhold syndrome on lwj's part? Pls tell us?

I can't really answer this via ficlet, but in short, Lan Wangji has known about Wen Ruohan's near-total control over Wei Wuxian for over twenty years. LWJ also knows that his imprisonment at the Wei Manor is meant as a punishment for Yu Zhenhong, not Wei Wuxian; and very soon after he moves into WWX's mansion, he realizes that WWX is genuinely the best person he's ever met and becomes bitterly jealous of Zhenhong. He's perfectly capable of escaping if he wants to, but he falls in love with Wei Wuxian so quickly that he decides to stay in Qishan until he can remove the obedience sigils on WWX's back, or at least until he can find a way to take Wei Wuxian with him.

On Wei Wuxian's side, he's a 37-year-old single father who has been alone all his life, out of fear that Wen Ruohan might use a spouse or partner as leverage against him. He's counting down the days to his only child's conscription date, and his greatest asset in the war effort - his position as Wen Ruohan's high general - has just been taken from him.

And then he meets Lan Wangji - the only person who is his true peer in every respect, despite being nominally dependent on Wei Wuxian's name and protection. He finds a way to support Wei Wuxian's spy ring from the High General's manor and get messages back to the front, and he manages to keep Wei Wuxian safe when Wen Ruohan starts to suspect that WWX might have betrayed him. He gives Sizhui a protection charm that will prevent any cultivator of Lan descent from wounding him with their spiritual energy, even though Sizhui is going into battle against Lan soldiers.

It's no wonder that Wei Wuxian falls in love with him. But he believes his position gives him far more power over Lan Wangji than it actually does, which is why he refuses to make a move until Lan Wangji makes it for him.

[evakant]

 — quote credit (with some personal tweaks)

[waitineedaname]

It wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t the life he had hoped for. But it was a life that was livable, most days. The grief of missing his family faded to a dull ache, throbbing in the scar tissue between his ribs. He chose to give them up just like he chose to give his kidney up, and getting them back was just as impossible as regrowing the missing organ. And then Jiang Cheng showed up unexpectedly at his work and punched him square in his jaw. 

surprising no one, my first fic for the untamed is about tragic siblings. because of course it is. this google doc was titled "thanks for the kidney i hate it" <3

[lemonzestedtea]

please drop fic recs where wwx doesn't lose his golden core or finds a way to cultivate it again and the yunmeng siblings trio stays together 🙏🏽🙏🏽

[gentil-minou]

If it's not a bother, I wanted your thoughts on something: I know the point of Cheng not telling Wuxian that he gave himself up to protect him was to not burden Wuxian and let him live his life but how do you think he would have reacted if he had known?

Ooo not a bother at all, I think wwx would have reacted the same way jc reacted when he found out about the golden core transfer.

The reason I love that scene where we see jc sacrifice himself for wwx is because it shows that these two really are both brothers who would do anything for their family. They're brothers, nearly twins given how close they are in age. If wwx found out jc sacrificed himself, he'd probably yell and shout and cry at hime about it, and be angry that it happened. I don't think the anger would last for long, because by the end of the story it's clear wwx just wants to move on and live past everything that happened. But I definitely think jc and wwx would react the same

It also helps us understand why jc reacted the way he did after jyl's death and blamed wwx for everything. He always thought wwx put his family first, like jc. So it feels like a betrayal to him, because this happened when wwx chose someone else's family. Jc was missing the important context that the wens are more than just wwx's friends, they saved him too. He doesn't know about the level of debt between wwx and the wens. He was a dumb teenager stricken with grief and feeling all alone, it makes sense why he acted that way

I like to think they had a big reconciliation after the story where they both talk about how they sacrificed themselves for the other (with lots of yelling and crying and definitely some hitting) and made up. They're family, after all.

[trans-xianxian]

jiang cheng remembering wei wuxians promise word for fucking word some 20 years later is so real. I've seen people say that it was childish and unreasonable for him to bring it up again all those years later in guanyin temple because it was "just a silly childhood promise" but well. what is an older sibling if not someone to dwell on their every word for the rest of your life

[sandupommelfrog]

new twin ghosts chapter is up!!! Chapter 34: Haha so what if we kissed/I gave culturally and emotionally weighted cpr to you BOTH?? Haha just kidding…. Unless??? 👉👈🥺🥺🥺🥺 😳😳😳😳😳

[enby-axels]

imo reducing the jiang clan dynamics to "wei wuxian was only a servant, never family" undermines the tragic reality that he was both. his position was a dubious, unclear thing, complicated by his debts and the jiangs' varying intentions.

jiang yanli had called him her brother and treated him like one in direct defiance of their class differences and her mother's words. jiang fengmian had seen wwx as a replacement for his parents, not a son, as evident in his passive refusal to defend wwx and his prioritization of his actual son's life. yu ziyuan had seen him as an arrogant servant transgressing class norms and threatening her son's position, and she had consequently scapegoated him at every turn. jiang cheng, the youngest, inherited all of their sentiments in one way or another.

the love was there, it was not enough. so mdzs concludes the jiang clan sub-plots by having jc let wwx leave. that's important. he chose to let to go of the yunmeng shuangjie promise, the oath of fealty. because wwx's position with the jiangs — a brother, yet also a servant, an outsider, never an equal, certainly never a son, bound by duty — made a mockery of love. i think that's more tragic than him being solely a servant and nothing more.

and not to make this lan wangji (actually, everything is always about lan wangji), but that's why it's so important that wwx found a home in him, in a relationship that has no need for debts like "thank you" and "sorry."

[hannigramislife]

I don't think people really stop and think about how absolutely massive Jiang Cheng's sacrifice for Wei Wuxian truly was. Lotus Pier was in ruins, his parents dead, he was what, 17 years old??? He's gone through massive trauma, and he blamed Wei Wuxian for the attack out of misguided anger and grief, yet he stepped out in that crucial moment.

He is the sole heir of the Jiang sect. He plans to get revenge, there's a war brewing, he has his sister to protect and take care of, along with the people of Yunmeng, that are now ruled by the ruthless Wen.

And yet he doesn't hesitate- he doesn't fucking hesitate to let himself be captured in order to save Wei Wuxian. He was beaten half to death. He lost his golden core. He had no way of knowing that would be fixed, he thought he would probably be killed.

And more importantly? What I will never get over?

He never mentioned it to Wei Wuxian. Not even when Wei Wuxian left; he didn't use it to persuade Wei Wuxian to stay with him, he didn't throw it in his face, he never breathed a word of it.

The most devastating part of both Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng's sacrifices is that neither of them ever told each other.

Even more devastating is that Jiang Cheng has to live with the knowledge of what his brother gave up for him. Wei Wuxian, blissfully, doesn't.

[mediocretosubpar-soup]

I find Jiang Cheng takes Wei Wuxian at his word and moves on with his life really compelling. Like Jiang Cheng going, ok, I'll respect your boundaries. Sure it kind of sucks but Jiang Cheng doesn't strike me as the type to stick around if he's not wanted. It's not like he doesn't have a wholeass life and a whole ass career. Wei Wuxian just refuses to perceive Yunmeng Jiang sect, doesn't mean they don't exist.

That said, JIang Cheng/Wei Wuxian reconciliation fics are worth their word counts in gold bars. LIke give me that, any day, any time.

But JIang Cheng getting on with his life. Because that's his thing. Things happen so much and so hard but for Jiang Cheng that was barely more than another Tuesday.

[dani474]

Tell us your theory on why he says that PLEASE. I don’t think it’s true they have to fix things 😭

So, this post points out a huge flaw in Wei Wuxian's response and its discrepancy to what we know of their relationship in canon. The Golden Core transfer is one of MANY things they need to discuss to get past their estranged, brittle, slightly obsessive relationship.

When we take a close look at why Jiang Cheng is so angry and so hurt here, it's not just about his family or any debt Wei Wuxian might have had to his parents. Ultimately, it's about Wei Wuxian's promise to remain by Jiang Cheng's side. He lost his parents and their entire sect, then he lost his own core trying to protect Wei Wuxian (who doesn't know!) then his "martial brother/brother/best friend/whatever" not only goes missing for three months but returns with new powers and new issues he won't share with anyone. Not even Yanli.

Jiang Cheng wanted to protect Wei Wuxian but was unable to due to larger political circumstances and the fact that he didn't know about the transfer. He didn't know why Wei Wuxian was using demonic cultivation! He warns Wei Wuxian again and again that there are larger risks of his cultivation, and he turned out to be right. Trouble found Wei Wuxian even when he ran off and hid peacefully! And he never knew why.

To Jiang Cheng, Wei Wuxian asking to leave the sect -- regardless of whether or not it was to protect them from further scrutiny by the other sects -- is him asking to leave Jiang Cheng's side. To break their promise without any explanation. He already lost so much and all he can see here is losing another person he loves.

I want to drive that point in, really.

Any insecurity Jiang Cheng feels over Wei Wuxian's capabilities is often outweighed by his sense of responsibility towards rebuilding his sect and attempting to protect what remains of the family he had before the attack on Lotus Pier.

He didn't want to tell Wei Wuxian about why he lost his golden core for the same exact reason that Wei Wuxian kept the surgery a secret. They didn't want to hurt each other with the knowledge of such a great sacrifice. A sacrifice no one would have ever asked of either of them, no matter what was "owed." The Transfer was experimental and pretty much something no cultivator would even attempt. That's what made this choice so risky and so hard to account for.

Neither had any real way to weight the risks and consequences of this situation, and by never talking about it even during a tearful argument, we got canon events. (I've seen people talk about how Wei Wuxian's circumstances meant he had very little else to choose but survival, but this is true for Jiang Cheng too.)

And really. They both tried so hard to survive. And yet, when faced with terrible choices, they chose to protect each other. Putting their cultivation on the line to save each other's lives is not something anyone would normally do. Duty could have been a factor, but in my opinion, it wouldn't have taken Wei Wuxian that far. It wasn't even a factor in Jiang Cheng's.

And I think this is why people feel so put off by Wei Wuxian claiming it was done out of duty to the Yunmeng Jiang family. But it doesn't start with him. Their entire confrontation starts out with Jiang Cheng questioning what the sect meant to Wei Wuxian, if everything they gave him (everything they were to him) was worth nothing. This is almost entirely a projection of what Jiang Cheng asks when he cries. What he really feels is hidden in questions about martial duty.

"Why did you not tell me?"

For all his words, it was less about their sect and so much more about Jiang Cheng feeling like he was worth nothing to Wei Wuxian.

We know this. But Wei Wuxian doesn't.

I didn't notice it immediately, but Wei Wuxian's whole thing is deflection. It's about telling small truths and laughing things off or forcing himself to forget entirely. By the end of their confrontation, he does it again by asking Jiang Cheng to let it stay in the past, now that it's out there, but this does nothing to reduce the tension. It just deflects it again.

I think Wei Wuxian's response to Jiang Cheng's questions was to focus on what he thought was most important. Duty, debt to the Yunmeng Jiang. It was a deflection from what was really wrong. He didn't want to address his own complicated feeling, much less try to untangle whether Jiang Cheng hates him or loves him, so he doesn't.

Whatever broke between them wasn't about duty of any kind. It was about sacrifice, and the pain of carrying its burden alone. It was about loving someone enough to do something so drastic and never being able to say it.

Jiang Cheng hearing that the transfer was out of duty hurts him deeply, because he doesn't know that Wei Wuxian loves him. But Wei Wuxian doesn't know that's what Jiang Cheng is looking for. He hears the first part of their confrontation and responds to that.

Not, "Why did you never tell me?" But 'Did the Yunmeng Jiang mean nothing to you?'

Those are two different questions.

Wei Wuxian is trying to tell Jiang Cheng that it did mean something. That Lotus Pier's destruction, the Jiang parents and Yanli's deaths mattered to him. He's trying to release Jiang Cheng's burden without realizing that, by saying it had nothing to do with him, he's saying that Jiang Cheng didn't matter enough.

This is not how Wei Wuxian feels, we know this. But, again, Jiang Cheng doesn't.

They're talking right past each other, and because of all their other issues, they not only don't realize it, but might never be able to truly address it. They're so used to keeping their feelings hidden from each other that they can't even see how much they, as individuals, matter to each other.

TL;DR.

Both of them love each other and couldn't say it because of their complicated. Well, everything. Instead, their misconceptions cause them both to focus on the wrong things at the wrong time. By asking about what the Yunmeng Jiang meant to Wei Wuxian, it hides what Jiang Cheng really wants to know: if it was done out of love and protectiveness as his sacrifice had been. By focusing on this deflection, Wei Wuxian hides his own feelings by placing duty to the Jiang sect in highest importance. He gives the answer that he thinks Jiang Cheng wants to hear.

So, no, I don't think Wei Wuxian wasn't telling the truth (or at least not the full truth) either.

In the end, this is not what either of them actually wanted from the confrontation and does very little to address their actual emotional issues. All it really does is open the door for something to change in the future.

[evakant]

#he doesn't even get to actually kill him#he deserved to !! justice for crazy grief stricken jiang cheng and ''i will do what i must''#obi wan coded truly STOP WHY IS THIS SO CORRECT!!! i just know people would deny that owk and jc are similar on this front but THEY ARE THEIR BROTHERS TURN INTO A SHADOW OF THEIR FORMER SELVES AND THEIR HANDS ARE IMPLICATED IN THAT!!!! AND THEY COULDN'T BEAR TO STRIKE THEM DOWN AT THE LAST MOMENT!!

katan....... katan wait, wait wait....... godd.... what do you when your loved one becomes so beyond reach that all you can do is try and stop them but also the way they brought themselves to that point is so THEM (out of love!! out of love!! always for love!!!) that you can't even pretend it's someone else. changed but not enough to not make What You Must Do hurt any less.

and the idea of also having to be the one to do it, you can't send someone else, you can't ask for help. his mess is your mess, you'll help him clean this one up too, one last time.

[wise-tortoise]

Hi! i’m new to chengxian. so i was wondering, do you have any recs please? preferably long one shots (10k+) and set in the original location (i don’t like modern aus mostly as they are based in the us or uk). sorry for all the stipulations!

HELLO ANON AND WELCOME TO CHENGXIAN!!

I am DELIGHTED to be a source of fic recs, and I have JUST the fics for you.

First of all, I highly recommend checking out the various ao3 collections of past chengxian events, such as Chengxian Happy Ending Fest, or Chengxian Minibang 2023, Chengxian Week 2020, Chengxian Week 2021 , Our Meeting is Inevitable or The Chengxian+ Collection, which are a goldmine of wonderful fics. I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding something to your taste among them!

Now, on to my personal recommendations, under the read more because this got LONG.

Based on what you said you'd prefer, the fic all my dreams have come and gone a half a million times by iri_vail sounds like something you'd enjoy. It's a lovely post-canon shuangjie reconciliation fic, 10k words, with wonderful art. There's frogs too!

consider rivers by Lirazel, 9k, canon divergence fic with no war that rewrote my brain chemistry. Jiang Cheng wants Wei Wuxian to marry Jiang Yanli: lots of yunmeng trio feels, lots and lots and lots of pining.

after the sun sets by Artemis1000, 12k words, it's an amazing fic set during sunshot campaign, lots of hurt/comfort, lots of love and understanding and softness between our two favorite miscommunicators.

electricity between both of us by zyprexd is an absolutely incredible series of two fics that make me go feral. Past w4ngxian, tentative shuangjie reconciliation with long overdue communication, lots of feelings aknowledged and accepted, Wei Wuxian introspection.

Turn Back, Dull Earth by groundwiremantaray, 8k, canon divergence, a whole lot of fluff (with a delightful twist). Though not a oneshot, if you like to read happy times with chengxian, this is absolutely the fic for you.

this love that I most fear by Runespoor, 25k words divided in three chapters, in which a coreless Jiang Cheng has to aknowledge Wei Wuxian as his bastard brother in order for him to become sect leader, with all the relative implications. An angsty delight!

Little Sesame by Rurtle, which is an absolute must read. In which the summoning ritual goes wrong and Wei Wuxian reincarnates into a dog. Shenanigans ensue.

born of waters like blood by Artemis1000 (same Artemis as before) which is one of my absolute favorite fics of all time. Chengxian baby made of resentment and lake waters! Chengxian being dads! An unspecified number of eyes!!!! This fic is a bit shorter than the others I've recced, but absolutely worth reading.

letters from inside the storm by serein, in which everyone has a very bad time (not me though, I enjoyed this IMMENSELY), double whump with a very tentative reconciliation.

if tomorrow would ever come... by Midori_99, 17k, a reincarnation fic in which Wei Wuxian after his death reincarnates into a playful little fox and, despite his best efforts, finds himself once again in Lotus Pier, beside Jiang Cheng (and, really, there's no better place for him to be). The good, GOOD, cathartic angst right here, good food for the soul.

If you'd like EVEN MORE chengxian fics, my bookmarks are open and the fics are all ready to receive lots of love (and of course, if you like, there's my fics too, but they're only open to registered users)

Alright, that's definitely not all the fics I would like to rec, but that's about all I can fit in a single post before it becomes too long.

I suggest of course that you check out other works by the authors I listed, as they are all incredibly talented (and I really really wish I could put more of them here but I tried to contain myself with word count and setting as per your request)

Thank you for the ask anon, I hope you'll enjoy your stay in the chengxian side of fandom and I wish you a wonderful day!!

[twilightarc-gm]

Why do you like jiang cheng?

At the risk of liking him for the wrong reasons, let me be verbose and annoying about it.

A short anecdote: I finished the donghua before the novel and I liked JC's aesthetic so I was happy to have that imagery in my head for the novel, but mostly I came out of the donghua like "cool story, the ending was frowny face though" and I came out of the novel like I was lost in the IKEA store "there's stuff here but it's not what I want and it's organized in a way that's hard to navigate through." Bit like giving me a puzzle to solve.

Anyway, imagine a cat bapping at a thing trying to get fandom to show me what to do with MDZS (i.e. reading fanfic) and then I come across anti-Jiang Cheng stuff.

//record scratch

I'm sorry what?

Why?

NO.

I started then on Shuangjie reconciliation fic and quickly evolved into Jiang Cheng "Apologist" ((I actually don't think he has anything to apologize for even if he would do so anyway.))

I've been in the xianxia/wuxia sphere of media consumption for a year or so before trying out MDZS and JC just fits so well as the main character of his own story; destined for a position of power through birth, friends with someone in his life that causes conflict, seemingly betrayed by said friend when needing that friend the most, losing and losing and losing as his trust in said friend proves unfounded because the friend walks a path he can't follow, and then he's left with the tragedy that befell the world because--ultimately he trusted this friend too much.

It's a classic story of love and attachment and how good intentions can have massive consequences. Two men entwined by fate and in the end there's a battle on a hill (off screen in this case) where one is forced to "kill" the other.

MDZS could have ended with the past timeline, and I would have liked it more but at least in the present timeline we get Jiujiu and a-Ling.

Anyway: Excerpts and Commentary Below about WHY I LOVE JIANG CHENG, courtesy WANYIN

Of all the clans to offend, you don’t offend the Jiang Clan, and of all the people to offend, you never offend Jiang Cheng.

We stand by a badass mf in this house. The first thing we learn is that he gets credit for killing a big baddy and the second thing we learn is how fierce the rest of his reputation is. He brooks no shit and leaves no quarter. Amazing 💜

Well, I was done for at "gaze like two streaks of cold lightning" so RIP me, I guess. Reminds me of some antis that are like "you only like him because he's hot" which isn't true but it is a nice plus. He's described as inferior to LWJ so like, if it was only about hotness then wouldn't I like LWJ???

“I am his uncle. Do you have any last words?”

At the sound of that voice, every drop of blood in Wei Wuxian’s body seemed to surge to his head but then immediately drained away again. Thankfully, his face was already a mess of ghastly white, so it didn’t look strange when he went a little paler.

A man in purple attire strode over. He was dressed in a narrow-sleeved light robe, with his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. A silver bell dangled from his waist, yet there was no sound when he walked.

This young man had fine brows and almond eyes, with a chiseled handsomeness to his features. His eyes were deep and intense with a hint of aggression, his gaze like two streaks of cold lightning. He stopped and stood three meters away from Wei Wuxian. His expression was like that of a nocked arrow on a bow, ready to shoot, and even his composure was suffused with arrogant pride.

Jiang Cheng ruled the Jiang Clan of Yunmeng alone, so it could have been said that he was in a state of isolation.

🥺 Alone?? And he could still afford 400 Immortal Binding Nets? Self-sufficient king 🤩 And like, his reputation is so fierce and he's boiling over with anger in that scene, but still he restrains himself because he did the cost-benefit analysis! And then later he takes a huge risk on WWX, like he always does for WWX, and that doesn't work out for him--like it always does.

Seeing that nothing had happened to Jin Ling, Jiang Cheng was greatly relieved. However, that relief soon turned into a furious reprimand:

Parent behavior. Enough said.

He has a twisted smile when encountering a trigger for his PTSD and then he decides to fight it instead of letting it paralyze him. He's such a doer. Like, every other moment of the day he's carefully calculating pluses and minuses to every choice (valid) but when it comes to facing his personal demons he's ready to throw down. Excellent.

A moment later, Jiang Cheng’s lips pulled into a twisted smile. His left hand subconsciously began stroking that ring once more.

He said softly, “Excellent. Back, are you?”

He let go of his left hand, and a long whip dangled from it.

“Oh? Then please enlighten me, what is your type?”

Walking A-Spec flag very concerned about what the man who might be his shixiong thinks about him, more at eleven!

Wei Wuxian waved him off and then hooked his arm around Jiang Cheng’s shoulders. “Who cares? I’ll tease him a bit more before I go. You’ve already collected my corpse so many times. Once more won’t hurt.”

Okay but big lol that JC doesn't get to collect WWX's corpse that final time. //sounds of sobbing

A smile appeared on his face, but then he immediately humphed.

He's so grumpy and adorable! I love him! pre massacre JC is precious and I just want him to have someone to bring out that smile again.

He literally didn't have to do this. He makes all these excuses how he'll be embarrassed if WWX is rolling around 😂 Perfection. Boy, you are still carrying him and he doesn't want you to stop.

Jiang Cheng, walk slower, you’re gonna throw me off.”

Not only did Jiang Cheng want to throw Wei Wuxian off, but he practically wanted to bash his head into the ground to create a human crater. “So fussy even though I’m carrying you!”

“I didn’t tell you to carry me,” Wei Wuxian reasoned.

Jiang Cheng flew into a rage. “If I didn’t carry you, I think you’d hang out at their ancestral hall all day, rolling around on the floor. I can’t afford this embarrassment! Lan Wangji took fifty more strikes than you, but he walked away on his own, and you’re not embarrassed, pretending to be an invalid? I don’t want to carry you anymore. Get the hell off!”

“No, I’m wounded,” Wei Wuxian said.

Alrighty, like I'm just going through the entire book at this point.

Let me see if I can make this more concise:

Sacrifices himself despite his very dutiful nature that would oppose this. He throws away all his responsibilities for WWX, again and again, carrying on a tradition of favoring WWX over his own health and happiness. Citing: JFM favoring WWX to the detriment of his marriage, JYL dying to save WWX, and JC (exhausted and with little or no power) running into danger to save WWX ala distracting the Wen patrol and 2nd Siege.

Can't be honest in his affections and makes up excuses to do nice things for others.

Loves and understands his sister. She wanted JZX so he made it happen when LLJ had absolutely no reason to reinstate the marriage contract between Xuanli. JGS notes in the CR arc that he didn't want the marriage for his son in the first place and that there were better options than YMJ, and that was before the war! JC helped her get to Yiling to show off her wedding dress! Even though she married out he still felt so attached to her son he couldn't not co-parent Jin Ling.

Yes, he has Zidian, but he also has a second horsewhip that he keeps on him which is very exciting to know.

The narrative hates him but he survives. (He survives because the narrative hates him).

Most BAMF entrance in the novel at the temple scene with the busting the temple doors down and coming in from the rain with an umbrella. Like sure the narrative hates him but small blessings that rule of cool still counts for something.

Mama's boy.

Just some dude, shows up late to treasury room nonsense, knows all the gossip, no one has faith in him including himself, but he keeps going and doing what needs to be done even when he's so so tired and his shixiong shows up 3 months late with a ghoul lady and a latte, or disappears to liberate slave property without warning first and now he's called into a midnight meeting after trying to get some much needed rest and now he's got consequences to deal with. Someone help him!

An expert at sneering. Threats as a show of worry and care. This makes all the little and brief smiles so much more endearing.

Sandu Shengshou is an amazing title, get out of here if you don't agree. Holy Hand of the Three Poisons? Brutal, perfect 💜 It gets used like, ONCE. Crime against me personally.

Link to Blorbo Sheet for JC

He loves, he hates, he wants to hate he's not allowed to love. Zero middle ground, he's all in and there's no way out.

//is shot and dragged off stage

But just as the Wei Wuxian of the past who’d extracted his golden core for Jiang Cheng had been unable to tell him the truth, the Jiang Cheng of the present could no longer bring himself to speak up.

[wangxianficrecs]

murder is easy, especially if you're murdering an asshole by ravenditefairylights

🔒 murder is easy, especially if you're murdering an asshole

by ravenditefairylights (@tiesanjiaoshenanigans)

Not rated, 5k, Yunmeng Trio

Summary: “I’m… I’m okay,” Wei Wuxian manages, sounding a little shell shocked. His voice comes out hoarse, and he coughs a few times. “Is he dead?” “You stabbed him in the neck with a pocketknife,” Jiang Cheng says bluntly. He’s sheathed his sword again, Jiang Yanli notes, but he sounds just as shocked as Wei Wuxian is. “Of course he’s fucking dead. It’d be a miracle if he took a hit like that and survived.” or in the words of the prompt: the yunmeng jiang trio deserve to do a murder and get away with it, because it's excellent family bonding time Mojo's comments: hee hee hee, this made me laugh Kay's comments: The Yunmeng Trio deserve a little murder, as a treat. Despite Jiang Yanli being threatened by Jin Guangshan (rest in pieces), this story was very funny.

pov jiang yanli, canon divergence, yunmeng siblings, little murder as a treat, attempted sexual assault, asshole jin guangshan, sibling bonding, family feels, humor

~*~

(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for this hard-working author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)

[whumpbby]

Love the idea of Lan Sizhui and Jiang Cheng becoming unexpected friends.

Like, say after the plot happened, Jin Ling is a young sect leader and he struggles with it.

Sizhui came back from his travels with WN and, being his caring and concerned self, noticed things were shaky, so he decided to keep an eye on the younger boy. (He couldn't imagine going through the same, ending up straddled with such responsibility without a chance to refuse... Being a sect leader was a harsh role).

He made sure to invite JL to night hunts whenever they happened to story close to the Jin borders. He started to write letters to Jin Ling, because he looked like he needed something to distract him. He even tried to convince Wei-qianbei to speak with his nephew during the sect conferences - it was a work in progress, but he had hope...

And then, during one night-hunt, he noticed they were trailed by someone. Not wanting to worry his companions, he set Jingyi to distract Jin Ling and slipped away quietly to...find himself face to face with Sandu Sengshou. More like - hand to face with Sandu Sengshou, who slapped a hang over Sizhui's mouth and backed him against a tree out of sight of the others.

"Shut up, or I'll break your legs." Jiang Sect Leader mouthed and Sizhui could only nod. He wasn't really afraid, but Jin Ling's uncle was a different beast when the boy wasn't present...okay, he was a bit afraid.

Turns out he shouldn't have to be. Jiang Cheng was just checking up on his nephew - the hunt was skirting the edges of Yunmeng. It was a bit embarrassing, sure, but Sizhui understood - times were hard for the Jin, a young sect leader was in danger. Even more so if the Jiang Sect Leader was seen hanging around him too often.

Sizhui understood. Sect leader let him go with an order to stay silent. Sizhui promised he won't tell.

He also promised something else.

"Jiang-zonghzu, I will keep him safe, you have my word."

Bravely and thoughtlessy, sure, but the words were out of his mouth and there was no taking them back. Sizhui felt his face flush when Jiang Cheng huffed at his daring. But then...

"I'll hold you to that, Lan Yuan."

And that was a beginning of the strange relationship where Sandu Sengshou trusted Lan Yuan with his nephew's safety on the nighthunts - the trust heavy with expectations. Sizhui preferred to think he was trusted - not threatened.

What followed was Jiang Cheng easing up on following their nighthunts. Meaningful looks whenever they came across each other during conferences or in the field. A few words exchanged here and there. Short messages that found Lan Sizhui from time to time, in few words advising him to visit Koi Tower if he happened to travel close - usually following some upheaval in the Jin sect that the young leader needed break from. Sizhui's friendship with Jin Ling blooming, their little group of four (including Jingyi and Zizhen) building a great relationship.

Sometimes it was Sizhui sending a short message to Lotus Pier, when his presence could only help so much and Jin Ling needed reassurance from his family instead.

In time these messages grew longer, inclosing more details, some stories. In time Jiang-zonghzu was asking about Sizhui's studies and accomplishments, and giving him gruff advice on how to deal issues arising when one was the first disciple ("I was my own first disciple for three years after the war, I know what I'm talking about, kid.")

It was...nice. Different. Sizhui wasn't even aware of how much he missed Zewu-Jun's presence in his life. He had his uncle and Wei-qianbei now, but Lan Xichen was such a big part of his life between his training and Huanguang-Jun's travels - he missed his support. He missed having someone who spoke with authority of experience to help him deal with his issues. And Jiang-zonghzu was nothing like Zewu-Jun, but he also wasn't not like him. He was straightforward and honest, even if he didn't couch his words in kindness. He had a varied knowledge he didn't hide. He trusted Lan Sizhui with his nephew - and didn't question Sizhui's decisions. If he thought they were stupid, he said so, but he didn't question the rationale behind them ("You're young, boy, not an idiot. Experience comes with doing, not listening. Just don't do stupid shit!").

He could understand how Jin Ling became who he was - hard-headed and stubborn, yes, but also fair and intelligent, and hard-working. The self-protecting habits didn't come from Lotus Pier, did they?

("He never had friends in the Koi Tower, I expect you and the Ouyang-brat to remedy that.")

Huh.

Wait.

"What about Lan Jingyi?"

"That one will be lucky to live to adulthood, with the way he's flapping his mouth. I have no expectations of him whatsoever."