#she is a little more fond of jzx

[devotedly-a-bug]

I was grinning the second this text showed up.

She than called me and yelled about JFM and YZY dying for a good while

[wangxianpromptsgenerator]

Everything that did, or could have gone wrong

Headcanon:

- Lan Wangji was wary of attachment due to his parent’s history, yet fell heads over heels in love with Wei Wuxian.

- Wei Wuxian yearned to crave a place in people’s heart. He sincerely wanted a place to belong to, without duty or debts in between. Yet he got attached to a guy that didn’t want friends. Like Jiang Yanli he also cared too much about others, and too little about himself, in a world where he’s looked down upon because of his lineage.

- Jiang Wanyin is the type of person that would act first, and regrets after. He’s also very emotive, and tends to let his emotions blind him. His parents’ disastrous marriage had a heavy impact on him and his self confidence, which is not ideal given that he’s expected to lead a sect with a level head.

- Lan Xichen reproaches Wei Wuxian to be careless with his brother’s feelings (and to be a horrible person in general), yet he’s willing to ignore all of JGY’s faults. He also admitted to knowing about his misdeeds but turning a blind eye.

- Jin Guangyao loved Lan Xichen, but he loved power and riches even more, and stopped at nothing to better his station.

- Jin Guangshan clearly wasn’t against pitting his sons against each other (he had so many anyways). He also wasn’t fond of his wife. He could have used the threat of Jin Zixua’sn demise (whose childish behaviour lead to a broken engagement, that could have had strengthened not only their alliance with the Jiangs but also his wife’s position. Something JGS was against. JZX wasn’t taught politics for a reason, most probably.) & his numerous bastards to undermine her influence in his household.

- Jin Zixuan turned out alright. He could have turn into Jin Zixun, if he got better relations with his father (instead of favouring his mother).

- Wen Qing cared only for herself and her people. And she only helped WWX because Wen Ning asked. What about WRH then? What if he did commit atrocities? That wasn’t her problem. Then her people were persecuted by the Jins, and the Cultivation world didn’t care either. - Jin Guangyao, Su Mishan and even Xue Chengmei bitterness steamed from the Gentry’s arrogant and condescending regard towards people of their station, among other things. Yet, the cultivation world never seemed to learn. - The Jiangs were purposefully isolated at the end of the SSC, despite being the ones that lost and contributed the most. (They were excluded from 3zun’s sworn brother hood, and WWX that was their strongest asset was alienated.) Yet, the Jiang sect thrived when WWX was resurected. - Neither did WWX, nor LWJ, Lan Sizhui & Wen Ning asked for any form of retribution for all of the wrongs committed against them. - Jiang Yanli was most probably used as a leverage against the Jiang sect, following her marriage with Jin Zixuan.

[robininthelabyrinth]

yanli takes wwx and jc on a "training mission" at some point and then forgets to come back, she still gives updates to her senior sect siblings when she sees them, but refuses to return to loctus pier. idk if jfm and madam yu tell the jin what's really going on, but the idea of jzx running into her and being confused at why she's here, in those clothes, doing WHAT?!!?! is hilarious.

ao3

1

“Worthless,” old Grandmother Yu said, spitting on the ground. “Completely worthless.”

Jiang Yanli couldn’t help but smile: she loved it when her mother’s mother came to visit. Meishan Yu had an idiosyncratic tradition of female sect leaders, mother passing the position to daughter when the time was right, and they were powerful enough to make it stick, too.

Jiang Yanli’s own mother had been her grandmother’s third daughter, a ferocious cultivator in her own right, and currently looking as helplessly fond as Jiang Yanli had ever seen her.

“What’s worthless?” she asked, crossing her arms. “Don’t tell me you mean the boys.”

Don’t you dare say one thing about A-Li, Jiang Yanli imagined her saying. Sure, she’s not the greatest cultivator, but who says you have to be? There’s more to her than just that.

Of course, her mother wouldn’t say such a disrespectful thing, not to her own mother.

Not over Jiang Yanli, anyway.

“Their raising, that’s what I mean. Anyway, it’s A-Li you ought to be worrying about,” Grandmother Yu said. “Don’t forget your roots, or one day you’ll find they’ve pulled themselves up and left you behind.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Jiang Yanli’s mother said. “Do you even know how much of Meishan Yu I’ve taken with me? People are still making fun of me about it!”

She said more, too, but Jiang Yanli’s imagination had already taken off in a completely different direction.

2

“Hello, grandmother,” Jiang Yanli said politely.

Her grandmother looked at her, then at the two boys, aged ten, that stood awkwardly next to her, shuffling their feet a little in uncharacteristic embarrassment.

“You’re not approved to be here, are you?” she asked.

“Of course we are,” Jiang Yanli said. “We’re on a training mission.”

“A training mission with children that takes you all the way to Meishan?”

“Oh, I didn’t specify when I made the request to take the boys out,” Jiang Yanli said breezily. “No one said it was necessary, and no one asked, either.”

“Mm. I see. Do I at least get to know why you decided to go on an indefinite ‘training mission’?”

Jiang Yanli shook her head.

Her grandmother Yu was made of stern stuff, though: she just grimaced and said, “Well, all right then. On your head be the consequences. Get inside – I can get you a week’s notice in advance if your mother comes to try to collect you from here.”

Jiang Yanli had the best grandmother.

3

“I’m going to murder your father,” Grandmother Yu said conversationally. “And possibly my daughter. I put her on this earth, I can take her back out of it.”

“She loves us,” Jiang Yanli said mildly, because she was sure of that much. Her mother loved her, and she loved Jiang Cheng – Jiang Yanli had never doubted that.

Her way of going about it, though…

“Bah! I thought it was all your father, but it’s not, is it? A-Cheng thinking he’s always going to be second best, Wei Wuxian thinking that he needs to do everything just to justify his existence…” She shook her head. “Ridiculous. Ridiculous and intolerable! You did the right thing, coming here.”

“I didn’t come here,” Jiang Yanli reminded her. “I went on a training mission.”

“Of course,” her grandmother said, but she didn’t understand, not really.

Jiang Yanli didn’t bother explaining. It didn’t really matter, in the end – her grandmother would understand, eventually.

Meishan was nice, but it wasn't somewhere they could stay, either.

4

“A training mission,” Lan Qiren said, sounding – skeptical.

Jiang Yanli nodded. Her grandmother had, after some badgering, agreed to write a letter of introduction to the Lan sect leader, who was known for being an amazing teacher. The boys needed a teacher: they were right at the age of having received their spiritual swords, and that meant they needed to learn all the things the cultivation world deemed necessary for gentlemen to know.

Jiang Yanli couldn’t teach them that, and Meishan Yu did not, as a habit, teach boys that weren't their own.

So Jiang Yanli had only two choices: return to the Lotus Pier and let her parents resume teaching Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian, or else find someone else to do it…and that someone else had to be someone who wouldn’t be inclined to hand over the children back to Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan as soon as they rushed over to ask for them. The only reason they hadn’t managed to get them back so far was because they were afraid of Grandmother Yu – for anyone else, anyone less powerful than another Great Sect leader wouldn’t get the same level of deference.

“Is it a problem?” she asked.

Lan Qiren squinted at her for a moment, then scowled. “No, it’s not,” he said, sounding grumpy. “Send them in, we’ll get them set up with the rest of the season’s students.”

Grandmother Yu had told Jiang Yanli that Lan Qiren had a soft heart underneath it all, and to ignore the tone of his words in favor of his action. She’d been right.

Jiang Yanli bowed.

“You can go over to the women’s quarters,” he added, and she blinked at him. “What? Just because I only teach boys doesn’t mean you get to drop them off and swan away. Go!”

Jiang Yanli smiled.

5

“We’re ready to come home now,” Jiang Yanli told her parents, who were both visibly furious – though perhaps for different reasons. “A-Cheng and I, that is.”

Her father frowned, even as her mother looked pleasantly surprised. “Why isn’t A-Xian coming?”

“Well, he’s engaged.”

“He’s what?”

“It’s a long story,” Jiang Cheng said. He was old enough now to ignore the slight, just as Jiang Yanli had hoped. “If we’re going to go, we should go now – we’ll need to be back here by the start of spring for the next set of classes.”

“A-Cheng –”

“You want me to be a gentleman, don’t you?” He shrugged. “Anyway, I heard that Jin-gongzi is coming next season. If you send us back, jiejie will have a chance to met up with him early.”

Their parents exchanged glances, but Jiang Yanli knew they would give in.

As for Jin Zixuan…

Well, she’d see what she thought about him. If he didn’t meet her standards, she had other options.

There was a whole wide world out there, after all.

[silverflame2724]

WWX decides to kill two birds with one stone and with the help of WQ reforges the Stygian Tiger Seal into a artificial golden core replacement which she implants into WWX.

WWXs eyes are now permanently red and he has the full power of the seal at his fingertips at all times because its part of him now.

Another side effect of this Stygian Core is discovered when WWX misses JZXs ambush and is instead attacked and disembowled in Carp Tower in full view of the cultivation world but then immediately regenerates without a scratch and blood ruined robes.

Watching WWX be more annoyed at the bloody robes than being disembowled because the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation has apparently cultivated to immortality USING RESENTMENT shakes a lot of people.

“Huh.” Wen Qing says as she observes yet another failure of Wei Wuxian’s inventions quite literally blow up in his face. “So this Seal of yours protects you?”

Wei Wuxian coughs from the smoke of his busted invention, “Well, yeah. What about it?”

“It’s sentient, correct?”

“Yeah....?”

“Hmm.” Wen Qing observed the Seal slowly bobbing up and down. “Can you circulate resentful energy through the Seal for a moment? Don’t make it do anything. Just channel resentful energy through it like you would if you channeled spiritual energy normally.”

“Okayyy??” Wei Wuxian was perplexed but nevertheless obeyed and watched as Wen Qing’s eyes brightened. “What? What is it? Wen Qing, tell meeeeee! Don’t leave me out!!!!!”

“Brat, I’m trying to concentrate.” She scolded him, but her tone was fond.

Wei Wuxian waited a few more moments before it seemed like Wen Qing had seen enough.

“I want you to calm down when I say this, but I think you can reforge the Seal into a core which I can transfer into you.”

Wei Wuxian was silent......for about two seconds. “............What?”

Wen Qing sighed. “Wei Wuxian, when you channeled resentful energy through the Seal, the Seal acted much like how it would if someone were to channel spiritual energy through their core. The Seal can be made into an artificial core is what I’m saying.”

“I.....you are sure?” Wei Wuxian asked. He knew Wen Qing wouldn’t joke about this.

“Yes. I’m about eighty percent sure this will go well. I can even knock you out when I cut you open this time.”

“I.....okay.” Wei Wuxian was at a loss for words.

“So I’ve rendered you speechless.” Wen Qing smiled. “That kinda feels good.”

Wei Wuxian pouted.

...........

It took a few days to reform the Seal into a form that would resemble a core but Wei Wuxian was a genius and having Wen Qing there to bounce ideas off of helped in giving him a clue as to how a core should look and feel like.

“Are you ready?” Wen Qing asked.

Wei Wuxian, who was one hundred percent not ready, said, “Yes.”

Wen Qing saw through this. “It will be alright.” She squeezed his hand. “This time, it will be alright.”

That was the last thing he heard before he was knocked out.

.

.

.

When he awoke, his eyes had burned for a little before the pain dissipated.

Wen Qing had been in the midst of declaring the operation successful when she suddenly paused, “Huh.”

“What is it?” He asked nervously. Did something go wrong?

“Oh.....it’s, hmm. A’ Ning, get me some water, will you?”

Wen Ning returned not long later and locked eyes with Wei Wuxian. He seemed quite startled and that made Wei Wuxian even more curious. Based on Wen Qing’s reaction, it wasn’t anything bad, but still.....

“Wei Wuxian.”

“Yes?”

“Look at your reflection and you’ll understand why A’ Ning and I looked startled.”

Wei Wuxian did.

And he was shocked to see that his eyes have now become a brilliant shade of red. “What the hell?”

“Mmhm.” 

“Why are my eyes red???”

“Well, Wei Wuxian, I’m not sure if anyone’s told you, but you’re aware your eyes turn red everytime you use demonic cultivation, right?”

“Umm, no??”

“Well, they do. And considering what your core is, well. I’m not entirely surprised this happened. It was certainly unexpected though.” She finished cleaning up and left Wei Wuxian to just sit and admire his reflection.

...................

A week and some carefully supervised experiments later, Wei Wuxian had full control over his core. It was really just the same thing as how one would normally use a golden core, so it didn’t take long for him to get the hang of it. However, considering his core is the Seal, he also had the ability to control thousands of corpses and this time without any of the side effects.

He also spent time trying to get Suibian to respond to him using resentful energy. Considering that the sword was a spiritual sword, he was unsure of the compatibility but Suibian seemed to adapt well enough and Wei Wuxian was so glad he didn’t have to give up ever using his beloved sword again.

The next step on his agenda was to update the wards. Using the power of the Seal to strengthen it was a walk in the park and Wei Wuxian finally felt like despite how the cultivation world was always on the verge of killing him and the Wens, they’d be safe. The wards would hold out.

He then started absorbing all the deep-seated resentment in the soil to make it more fertile as well as trying to clear the Burial Mounds resentment by listening to the stories of the dead and helping them pass on. He also painstakingly dug up all the strewn about corpses, burned them and held proper funeral rites for them.

The crops flourished, the Wens and him were well-fed, and the Burial Mounds started to lighten up. Wei Wuxian no longer looked to be on the verge of death and he was able to cultivate without any problem.

Like this, time passed peacefully.

..........................

He was invited to his nephew’s one month celebration not long later and Wei Wuxian decided that this would be a good time to show the cultivation world that he truly is the grandmaster of demonic cultivation they all claim him to be. (In truth, he never considered himself to be any sort of grandmaster considering how little he knew of demonic cultivation, but it was different now.)

He told Wen Ning and the other corpses - of the resentful spirits that stayed behind saying they wanted to help him - to watch for any Jins since he trusted they’d take this chance to attack the Burial Mounds.

After he put on a concealing talisman for his eyes - since he knew that his different eye color would make a huge uproar -, he took to the skies with Suibian and nearly teared up. He’d missed flying. He’d missed this feeling. Laughing happily, he circulated the resentful energy in his core and sped up, becoming a black blur as he flew straight over Qiongqi Path.

When he landed at the foot of Koi Tower, invitation in hand, the Jin guards seemed surprised to see him there but had to let him in, not wanting to offend him. 

Jiang Yanli-- no, it was Jin Yanli saw him and waved excitedly, beckoning him over. Out of his sight, Jin Guangyao and Jin Guangshan seemed surprised to see him there.

“A’ Xian!”

“Shijie!” The form of address slipped out.

Her face softened. “You made it!”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world!”

The whispers of the people around him, wondering why he was there, surrounded him, but he ignored it. “Shijie, here’s my present!”

She looked at the bell with a little bit of wonder. “What does it do?”

“It’ll ensure that high level resentful beings and below won’t be able to move!”

“Oh, A’ Xian! This is perfect.”

“Thank you.” Jin Zixuan said, awkwardly. Wei Wuxian had forgotten he was there.

“No need! If it’s for Shijie’s son, I’d do anything!”

“He’s my son, too.”

Wei Wuxian made a face at that. “Well, yeah.”

“Wei Wuxian!” Jiang Cheng called and then stopped. “You have your sword?”

Wei Wuxian shrugged, “Yep!” He twirled around. “I started picking Suibian up again! But let’s not focus on that, Jiang Cheng!”

Jiang Cheng seemed hesitant but dropped it readily enough as they started bickering like they used to.

Suddenly--

“Wei Wuxian!” Someone yelled.

Wei Wuxian groaned. Can one day go on without someone yelling my name with hatred??? Like, please??

“Yeeeeeees?” He drawled tiredly.

And some Jin guy that vaguely looked like Jin Zixuan stomped in, looking murderous. “You, remove the curse that you put on me!!”

Murmurs started up all around them.

“Curse?” Wei Wuxian looked confused. “What curse? And who are you anyway? Am I supposed to know you from somewhere??” 

“You know who I am!!”

“No, I don’t actually.” Wei Wuxian scratched his head as he walked forward to get a better look. He really didn’t know!

“That’s Jin Zixun.” His shijie said, coming up to him. “From the Phoenix Mountain hunt?” Before Wei Wuxian could say anything, she continued. “The one that was supposed to apologize to you.”

“Hmm?” Wei Wuxian thought really hard. “Oh! I remember you now!” He said to a rather red-faced Jin Zixun. “Sorry about that buddy, but uhh I didn’t curse you! I didn’t even remember you until now!”

“It must be you! It has to be you!!” He screamed and it was really grating on his nerves. “See! Look at this!” He ripped his robes open and everyone gasped at the evidence of the Hundred Holes curse on his torso. 

Wei Wuxian whistled. “Well, that’s quite some curse. But I still didn’t do it.” Jin Zixun looked ready to refute so he continued, “Why would I curse you secretly when I usually make a big production of those I kill?”

People had to admit he had a point.

Jin Zixun continued to scream expletives until he finally rushed forward and in a rather bold move, drew his sword, plunging forward. However, in his anger, he completely missed his target and the direction of the blade pointed towards Jin Yanli.

“A’ Jie!!” Jiang Cheng screamed

Wei Wuxian was the closest to her and pushed her back, stepping in front of her taking the sword to his gut.

“A’ XIAN!!!” “WEI WUXIAN!!” “WEI YING!!” Jin Yanli, Jiang Cheng, and Lan Wangji, who was actually there, all screamed.

And Wei Wuxian who had just been disemboweled, grit his teeth and pulled out the sword. Which, in hindsight, was a horrible decision since blood got everywhere. Though not so much when his stomach stitched itself back together. “................Huh.” I knew I regenerated quickly considering how often I got hurt plowing the fields and digging up the corpses to put them to rest, but damn that was quick. Though..... “My robes!” He fake-cried, turning his attention to a stunned Jin Zixun. “You ruined my robes! I just managed to scrounge up enough money to buy this new pair and you ruined them!!!!” He fretted over the large rip over his abdomen. “What am I going to tell Wen Qing? She just told me not to stain them!”

The entire cultivation just stared at him in silent shock, making Wei Wuxian feel a little self-conscious. 

“Uhh, what are all of you staring at me for?”

“Wei Wuxian,” Jiang Cheng said with all the patience of an exasperated brother. “Is that the only thing you can ask?!” He glared, signaling for two Jiang disciples to restrain Jin Zixun from anymore stupid ideas he’d like to enact. “When did you cultivate to immortality?”

“I didn’t??? What do you mean??”

“Wei Ying.” Lan Zhan said, checking him over. “Are you alright?”

“Hmm? I’m a little dizzy considering all the blood I’ve lost, but it’s nothing big!” He grinned. It felt nice to have Lan Zhan care for him rather than fight with him.

“Wei Wuxian, stop flirting with Hanguang-Jun and answer the damn question.”

Wei Wuxian turned his attention back to his brother and pouted at him, missing Lan Wangji’s red ears. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“A’ Xian.” Shijie said and Wei Wuxian abruptly realized her robes had his blood on them. 

“Shijie, I’m sorry I got your robes dirty!”

“It’s fine.” She patted him. “But A’ Xian, I know you didn’t pay attention to those lectures, but only immortals can heal from wounds like that that quickly.”

“Really?”

“Mn.” Lan Zhan confirmed.

“Huh. So I’m immortal?”

“Yes.” Jiang Cheng deadpanned. “And you didn’t even notice it. In true Wei Wuxian fashion.”

Lan Zhan frowned then. He had still been checking Wei Wuxian’s pulse. “Wei Ying, what happened to your core?”

“Hmm? .........Oh shit.”

“Why is it covered in resentment?”

“Oh. Umm.” Wei Wuxian really was at a loss for words now. “We can discuss that later?”

“Wei Ying.”

“Aiya, how do you make my name sound like reprimand?”

“Don’t try to deflect the conversation.” Jiang Cheng said, now paying attention.

Wei Wuxian groaned. “Okay. Well, everyone would have found out sooner or later but umm. I might have cultivated to immortality accidentally via demonic cultivation? Haha, ha......”

No one laughed with him. They all looked pretty shaken and Wei Wuxian wanted to laugh at their reaction. He felt pretty detached from it all, to be honest.

“Can we all just forget about this and continue celebrating Jin Ling’s one month celebration?”

And everyone collectively said, “No.”

“Aww.”

___________________

To this day, I’m still unsure of whether it’s Carp Tower or Koi Tower.

[crossdressingdeath]

Seeing your post about how JYL has a 'ranking system' in her head when it comes to WWX and JC hits so hard, but honestly, the more I read into the Jiang family dynamics, the more I agree. JYL obviously loves WWX, but I don't know if she's capable of putting him above JC. And we see her defending him, and she obviously gives her life for him, but she was also reacting in the moment. Not to speak lightly of her sacrifice of course, but I just feel like there are certain limits to how 1/7

far she's actually willing to go for him. I was initially one of JYL's staunch defenders, and always said that, unlike JC, she didn't have the same amount of political power as him, wasn't in a position to do anything about the Wens, ect. But...I'm starting to question if that's really true. JYL may not have had much direct political power herself, but she was the sister of a sect leader, and even if JC was unwilling to help, JYL had just married into the richest and most powerful sect 2/7

at the time. It was a love marriage, JZX adored her and would've done anything for her if she'd just bothered to ask him for it. Madam Jin also cared for her and respected her, and between her and JZX, had JYL actually bothered to tell them anything, I'm sure they would have been able to sort something out. Or she could have had it as a condition of her marriage - I'm not marrying into the sect that's trying to kill my brother unless you tell your father to stop. Had it been reversed and 3/7

The Lans were calling for JYL and JC’s deaths, no way in hell WWX would’ve just married into the sect, regardless of LWJ’s involvement. Instead she just doesn’t really do anything. We see no proof that she ever tried to see WWX after the wedding dress incident, which — god I instantly saw it as a sweet gesture, but now it just bothers me, because your brother is living in squalor, and you decide to show if the expensive dress that you’ll be 4/7

wearing when marrying into the sect that's trying to kill him, you bring along one bowl of soup for him, and don't even try to explain WHY you're marrying into said sect. Beyond that, we don't see a single moment up until her death where JYL actually seems concerned about WWX, puts in effort to try to see him - she doesn't even ask him how he's doing the one time she does come to see him. When we compare that to how WQ treats WN, yeah, she's outwardly not as loving or sweet, but she 5/7

goes to the ends of the earth for her brother, even going as far as to betray her sect and risk WRH's wrath because he asks her to. And now we come back to that ranking system you mentioned before - yeah, it really does seem like JYL places her blood family first, which definitely hurts, but in comparison, despite only knowing him for a shorter amount of time, WQ truly grows to think of WWX as a second brother. And she treats him as such, at an equal level with WN - after JZX dies 6/7

WQ doesn't attack WWX for what happened. She doesn't try to come up with a way to sacrifice WWX instead and let WN survive in his stead. She and WN, two people who have become WWX's family, both give their lives to protect both him and the rest of their remaining family members. And it's just frustrating to think that the one member of WWX's adopted family who we all thought treated him like an actual brother, might not have really been on his side after all. 7/7

Yes! To start with the wedding dress thing, because it drives me nuts when people treat that like some super sweet act of love: JYL shows up in the Burial Mounds with no money, no sign of having tried to talk the sects around, no news outside of her own, no food beyond a couple bowls of soup (one of which she gives to the guy who can’t eat), and doesn’t so much as ask WWX if he’s okay. She literally came all that way to have a family meal, ask WWX to name the future nephew it’s becoming increasingly clear he’ll never meet, and tell him about her impending marriage into the family that’s currently doing everything in its power to destroy WWX’s life. Like, if you think about it that entire visit is such a slap in the face; “Here’s a bowl of soup while the people under your protection are starving, oh by the way I’m going to marry the son of the guy actively trying to get you killed, okay bye”. All you can say in regards to her helping WWX is that she does potentially manage to persuade JZX to invite him to JL’s one month celebration, but if memory serves the novel never actually specifies whose idea that was and it was JZX who decided to go get WWX after JGY told him about seeing JZXun heading in the direction of the Burial Mounds. And even then JZX does the same thing JYL does; sees WWX outnumbered and surrounded and tells him to stand down. At least in JZX’s case you could argue that the actual fighting hadn’t broken out and JZX probably trusted in his authority to be able to sort the situation out so long as WWX wasn’t actually acting aggressive (or defensive, rather), and he’s also physically strong enough that he may well have been able to intervene if the cultivators had attacked. JYL, when she does the same thing, has no authority and no physical power to defend WWX with. And yeah, both JZX and Madam Jin adore JYL, and neither of them seem super fond of JGS (JZX respects his father, but I don’t get the sense he loves him); if JYL had asked them for help it’s entirely possible they would’ve started at least circulating her version of events and demanding a proper investigation into what happened. But there’s no mention of her so much as trying, and she doesn’t offer to ask them when she visits WWX.

And yeah, compare WQ to JYL and it’s... well. WQ is so quick to offer WWX her love and care? She’s harsh, but she loves him and views him and WN on such equal footing that she and WN willingly hand themselves over to the Jins for WWX’s sake without her so much as bringing up the possibility of saving WN instead. There’s no ranking for WQ; WWX and WN are her brothers, and she loves them, and she’d do anything to protect them. When it becomes clear she can’t save WN (like hell the sects would let him live, and by this point it’s pretty clear that WWX won’t be able to protect them forever) she throws her whole weight behind defending the brother she thinks she might still be able to save, even if it means bringing WN with her to die. WQ knows WWX for... a year or two? Maybe? The timeline is a little hazy. Not long compared to JYL, anyway. And yet she’s willing to walk all the way to Lanling to die in the hope of saving him. It’s for her whole family, yes, but she makes a point of including him. Basically, I think this fandom needs more stuff wherein the Jiangs and Wens survive and the Wens are fully like “Our brother now, you don’t deserve him”.

The thing with JYL is... she loves WWX, she genuinely does, but he is never going to be first for her. To the point where she outright enables JC’s abuse, in places; she always expects WWX to be the one to grin and bear it. Hell, one of their first conversations involves JYL cheerily allowing WWX to cover up JC locking him out of his bedroom and scaring him out into the woods by threatening to set dogs on him! Let me rephrase that: she allows a traumatized nine-year-old to hide the fact that the kid her dad expects him to share a room with locked him out of said room on his FIRST NIGHT and threatened him with his LITERALLY WORST FEAR, and as far as we know makes no attempt to tell JFM herself. To keep JC out of trouble. That is such a thing! WWX was scared to the point of running away and JFM expects him to share a room with the person responsible for that and JYL goes along with him promising not to tell JFM so that JC won’t get in trouble! And from that day forwards everything is just “Boys will be boys” to her. Like, let me put it this way. Before LWJ (and arguably the Wens before that, although WWX saw himself more as protector than protected there) JYL was the person WWX trusted to protect and care for and comfort him above all others, yeah? She’s the one he thinks of as having his back? He doesn’t tell her about JC trying to kill him. JC tries to kill WWX three times before JYL’s death, and WWX doesn’t say a word to her about any of them. You could argue that he doesn’t want to involve her, but... JYL pretty clearly takes JC’s side every time JC starts having a go at WWX. When he chases him out of their room, when he starts snapping about how annoying WWX is, when he stabs WWX... She never outright says it, but there really does come a point where by staying neutral you’re siding with the aggressor, and she reaches that point a lot. Hell, the stabbing is one of those aforementioned near-murders! JC stabbed him! According to WWX (who downplays serious injuries, he never exaggerates them) he had to hold his guts in! WWX is talking about a pretty fucking serious injury (and JYL grew up in a cultivation sect, I don’t believe for a second she doesn’t at least know what constitutes a serious injury) while JC whines about a broken arm like it’s worse than having to physically hold your guts in until you can reach a doctor and JYL acts like those are equal! JC could easily have killed WWX and has enough training with the sword to know better than to go for a blow like that in a staged fight and JYL doesn’t even suggest he should apologise.

Honestly? The more I think about JYL the more it pisses me off that she’s treated like WWX’s best sister more than WQ is. Imagine WQ seeing one brother stab the other in the gut and take the former’s side because the latter broke the former’s arm. Imagine WQ so much as considering allowing a child to cover up the kid he’s supposed to share a room with locking him out and scaring him into running away. She wouldn’t! Because WQ sees her brothers as equals. She won’t pick WN over WWX just because they’re blood siblings; she loves them both, and will choose based on who she thinks is in the right. And she wouldn’t just stay neutral to avoid rocking the boat, oh no. If WQ heard WWX say that WN stabbed him and did enough damage that he had to hold his guts in... oh boy would WN have a bad day. The thing with JYL is that she seems like a good sister in comparison to the rest of the Jiangs; stick canon JYL into a family that genuinely loves WWX and sees him as equal to their other children, and she would not look anywhere near as good.

[wangxianfics]

I'm looking for some fics were Wei Wuxian and Jin Zixuan become friends?

Hello nonny, sorry about the late answer!

Here’s some WWX & JZX being friends fics for you:

Candy & Conspiracies by cl410  (16K, Teen)

(Canon Divergence, Jin-Raised!WWX, Found Family, Humor, WWX & JZX, WWX & Mian Mian, Early!Wangxian)

“Wei Wuxian is the son of two rogue cultivators who recently died on a night-hunt,” his mother explained. “We are taking him in as a favor to a friend.”

At least it wasn’t another surprise half-sibling.

It did not take long for Jin Zixuan to reconsider. Wei Wuxian was a gremlin, brought to Koi Tower for the sole purpose of driving Jin Zixuan into insanity.

@i-like-plan-m​​

Detailed comment here

Twin Treasures by crossdressingdeath (81K, Teen, WIP - 14/?)

(Canon Divergence, Jin-Raised!WWX, WWX & JZX, WWX&Madam Jin)

When Madame Jin happens to come across Cangse Sanren's orphaned son on a trip to Yiling, she can't bring herself to leave him there. Wei Wuxian finds a somewhat different family. Jin Zixuan finds a little brother. The course of history changes accordingly.

(Some things are written in fate, but even fate itself changes.)

@crossdressingdeath​

What Lies Ahead by pupeez4eva (30K, Teen, WIP - 8/11)

(Canon Divergence, Time Travel, Everyone Lives, Humor, Hurt & Comfort, Burial Mounds Family, Yiling Laozu!WWX, WWX & JZX, Wangxian Pining)

After their fight in the Cloud Recesses, Wei Wuxian and Jin Zixuan find themselves hurled into the future, with no idea how to get back.

Now they are both stuck in a time where Wei Wuxian’s future self is apparently the most hated man in the whole cultivation world, and where Jin Zixuan seemingly fulfilled the very thing he desired least, and married Jiang Yanli.

Oh, and Lan Wangji seems to hang around quite frequently, for whatever reason.

(Or, wherein Jin Zixuan and Wei Wuxian travel to the future, and the Cultivation World is way more messed up than they remember it being).

@pupeez4eva

Fatherhood's Calling by Fortune_Maiden (1+K, General)

(Post-Sunshot Campaign, WWX & JZX, Crack, Humor)

Jiang Yanli thought of Wei Wuxian as a son. It made so much sense. Everyone knew that Wei Wuxian lost his mother at a young enough age to barely remember her. And everyone also knew that Madame Yu had never been fond of him. So why wouldn’t compassionate gentle Jiang Yanli start to see that pitiable urchin as her own?

But... if Jiang Yanli saw Wei Wuxian as a son, then didn’t that make Jin Zixuan, her husband, his father?

atlas in his sleepin' by anatheme  (29K, Explicit, WIP - 4/6)

(Canon Divergence, Fix-It, Dimension Travel, Reincarnation, Transmigration, Transmigrator!LWJ, Modern Era, Family Reunions, Scar Kissing,Clothes Sharing)

The thing was, Wei Wuxian was the king of questionable decisions and the paragon of curiosity and bad choices.

A pair of white boots entered his line of sight.

“Wei Ying?”

(or: AU in which Wei Wuxian, Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan reincarnated into the modern world. In a bid to let them see their son, Wei Wuxian ended up accidentally summoning Lan Wangji right in the middle of his apartment.)

What's Wrong With Secretary Lan? by silverclaw  (5K, Teen)

(Modern AU, Inspired by: What’s Wrong With Secretary Kim, Best Friends WWX & JZX)

“That’s where he goes on Friday nights, he goes to underground boxing matches.” Wei Wuxian ignores him, certain in his derivation.

“Why does it have to be underground? Maybe he just does regular boxing like regular people.”

“Then why wouldn’t he tell me?”

“You sound like a whiny boyfriend, stop it.”

“I do not!”

“Just marry him.”

“Wait...” Wei Wuxian says. “That’s not a bad idea actually.”

“Have you been day drinking?” Jin Zixuan asks, baffled.

“You’re the one who suggested it!”

“I was joking.”

“No, before that. You said I should either give him a raise or marry him. Well, I already tried giving him a raise.”

@lwjstiletto

@scifikimmi also recs:

Quartet by WithBroomBefore (70K, Teen, Series)

(Canon Divergence, Sunshot Campaign, Found Family, JZX Has Friends, WQ Lives, WN Lives)

Wei Wuxian almost does not catch the name of the song.

In which the aftermath of the cave battle involves just enough communication to make a difference.

@withbroombefore

[angstymdzsthoughts]

wow im loving this new ask layout.

it was post canon and wwx has been living with his husband and son in cr for a couple years now. jc is still somewhat reluctant to talk to him but he understands. jl comes by to nighthunt with his friends regularly. one unlucky day wwx had a mishap with resentful energy during a nighthunt accident and lsz died in the process.

everyone was heartbroken but wangxian were absolutely destroyed. they stayed in seclusion for months. wwx couldnt stand the guilt and had no face to see his son's friends and the other lans. even when lwj finally had to come out for sect duties wwx chose to stay in seclusion. he abandoned his regular cultivation and swore off demonic cultivation forever. in an effort to cheer up his husband, lwj persuaded him to go on a trip to worship the gods to pray for sizhui's death anniversary.

they came across a small temple, old and rickety and overgrown, and out of kindness they cleaned up and left a small offering. wwx just wanted his family back. lwj wanted a chance to start all over again. it suddenly stormed heavily that evening, so they had to take shelter in the temple for the night, taking caution to ask for permission from the resident god.

when they woke up, they were at the cloud recesses. lwj woke up in his old bedroom in a body that felt too small. wwx woke up startled in a guest bedroom in cr with jyl sitting by his bed.

"a-ying? did you have a nightmare?" wwx choked back a sob and just hugged his shijie for comfort. only then did he notice that he felt too small, and too soft. he looked down at his hands, then at his body. he was somehow a girl.

then jyl's presence in his room would make more sense. girls and boys dorms are separated in the cr. wangxian woke up as an alternate version of themselves with their original memories as well as the memories of their new body. lwj was still lan er gongzi. but in this body, she was just wei ying, a senior disciple of yunmeng jiang.

wangxian met each other again in class and wy took caution to not vex lqr too bad this time, lest he disapprove of their inevitably impending union. jc eyed lwj furiously when he approached wy after class to talk privately. it seemed that the two of them were the only ones reborn.

the first thing lwj did after that was ask his uncle to send a formal betrothal request to ymj for wy's hand. which to lqr was weird, but lz wouldnt budge. he thought lxc could still marry a more proper wife, so its fine.

they spent the rest of the year courting, lwj was in such a rush to marry wy. wy wasnt /actually/ jyl's little sister so it was no issue if she married first. meanwhile, jyl's betrothal was broken. this time by her own brother who punched jzx so hard he broke his nose. wangxian got married a year after they finished studying in gusu.

everyone was overjoyed when wy got pregnant. even mdm yu was happy for her. when their son was born, lwj recognized his soul to be their a-yuan, and wy cried her lungs out in joy. their little son had his old nose, lwj's nose, but now the rest of him look like them too. his hair was midnight black like lz's but with wy's playful curls. he had wy's ears and little constellation of moles on his skin. he even had lz's light eyes.

lqr wouldnt let go of his grandnephew that lan huan had to bargain with his uncle to be able to hold his nephew. after a-yuan could walk, they went to visit lotus pier. the toddler /adored/ jiang cheng, laughing and squealing loudly in his arms. he loved getting head pats by jyl and kept demanding attention from mdm yu by pulling on her skirt or hugging her leg and crawling into her lap. he wasnt so fond of jfm, however, only looking away in disinterest or reaching out his hands to his parents. for once jfm felt left out in his family.

wangxian wracked their brain trying to stop the sunshot campaign from happening, but wrh's power ran deeper than they thought and they could only postpone it, not prevent it completely. the wens attacked lotus pier first, burning it to the ground and killing jc's parents. the jiang siblings ran to cr, but it only served to bring the wen dogs sniffing at cr's door.

wy is talented in cultivation, but having sworn off resentful energy and having to protect the sect's children as well as her own, she could only do so much while her husband was taken to the nightless city.

lwj eventually managed to escape and jc with the help from qinghe nie managed to gather the survivors of his sect. they all went to war and the sun was finally shot. lwj came home to wy just in time to tell him they were expecting a daughter.

this time there was no yin hufu for jgs to fight over, just the remnants of the wen sect. knowing llj would abuse the war prisoners, lwj spoke up and ppl listened when he proposed the wen remnants go to qinghe for trials. civilians are left to themselves while criminals are sent to labor. the resouces belonging to the wen sect was distributed to other sects both big and small depending on how much casualty they suffered under wrh.

jzx fell in love with jyl during the war and got married as soon as it was over. jin ling was born not too long after a-yuan's little sister lan yuyan. together jyl and jzx forced llj to give out resources for jc to rebuild his sect.

3zun still became sworn brothers and wangxian didnt exactly know when jgy got married, so he still married qin su. jgs had jgy kill nmj, and when jgy wont agree to spy on gusulan he had another one sent. lwj sent nmj a missive not to trust jgy with calming and avoided his death.

it took a couple years, but when jgs thought he was ready he even imprisoned jzx and his family in koi tower, depriving them of any communications and arrested disciples that are loyal to jzx.

llj was gearing up to war once again, this time against everyone else. jgs had, unbeknowst of everyone, gotten the note on core melting hand technique and had xue yang learn it.

wangxian reached out to nhs, trying to find a way to kill jgs. realizing that jgs was fully prepared to kill lxc, jgy turned his sights over to jzx, admitting his faults and teaming up to kill jgs. jgs had jzxun attack qinghe, but it was easily defended against. xue yang led the troop against cloud recesses.

xy aimed at the main lan family and injured a-yuan. in a desperate attempt to save his family, lwj jumped out and xy destroyed his golden core. meanwhile, he still sent spiritual energy towards saving his son. distracted by his victim, wy managed to cut xy's head off. back in llj, jgy along with jzxuan and jc attacked jgs's forces in koi tower. jc beheaded jgs and with that this new war was over.

thanks to lwj, lan yuan was fine and his injury was stabilized. however the destruction of lwj's golden core not only take away his cultivation but also mangled his meridians. wy could do nothing but weep with her daughter in her lap while lxc and lqr played healing for her husband.

lwj died in his sleep that night, finally exhaling his last painful breath while wy fell asleep from crying. his funeral along with those fallen during the attack was held a few days after. wy didnt look like herself in the mourning clothes she wore along with the children.

wy was inconsolable and kept apologizing the the children. especially a-yuan. fate had been so cruel on him that he couldnt grown up with two parents twice over. it seemed that in this life too he would be named sizhui. wy refused to move and kept sigil by lwj's coffin.

suddenly su minshan came out of nowhere and started yelling at her. calling her a jinx and an unlucky bitch that shouldve prevented her husband from dying. lqr yelled at him to leave. two and a half year old lan yuyan tried to shoo him away, punching at his knees. but the adult man just kicked the little girl away. jc couldnt stay silent anymore and wrapped zidian around sms's neck and pulled, making sure his neck broke when hitting the floor.

wy didnt say anything. she just took her crying daughter and left. after making sure lan yuyan is alright, wy locked herself in her room for 3 weeks. she didnt even open the door when her kids come knocking and begging.

it broke lxc's heart to see once again two children waiting on their mother's door. he asked jyl for help in persuading wy to come out. when they came in, wy looked like a ghost still in her white mourning robes with a whole head of white hair and her eyes so weary from weeping. she fainted soon after opening the door.

they checked on her only to find out she was 2 months pregnant. the tears start anew for wy and jyl asked lxc to take wy back to lotus pier so she can recuperate with her sworn siblings. lxc and lqr reluctantly agreed and wy came with jyl and jc back to lotus pier. jzxuan became the new sect leader and severely punished jgy along with his father's men while his wife and son stayed in yunmeng.

wy made a promise with lwj once to never let their children be orphans like they were. even if only for her kids, wy tried her best to get better. she stood out in her white mourning robes in lotus pier. wy was constantly surrounded by kids, all wanting her attention. she ate jyl food with the kids and watched jc teach her kids and jin ling how to swim. after a couple months, her dark hair came back and she got healthier. her second son lan shun was born in the middle of the hot yunmeng summer in lotus pier.

after lan shun turned 1, they came back to cloud recesses. wy had some time to accept her loss, but kept thinking abt lwj. after hearing from other lan disciples, lan yuan asked granduncle to teach him inquiry. the first time lwj responded to a-yuan's guqin strings, wy broke down on her knees. wy has been wearing lwj's headband on her forearm, so lwj attached parts of his soul in it. some of it went to bichen, which lan yuan inherited. some went to lan yuyan who inherited wangji guqin. lan shun never knew his father so he didnt want anything belonging to lwj.

for now, wy had to be content with inquires to lwj. for now they had to be content with waiting for each other on the other side.

.

[dreams-of-fate]

@necrrot​ said:  🍁+ tell me abt jin mom, and her opinions on major members of the jin family. i.e jgy, jgs, jzx and jzx2. :O - Old Question About My Muses Meme (accepting still pff)

        To J.in Yan, her opinions of these family members are going to be a time. 

        J.in G.uangshan - She finds herself uncomfortable around him, he gives off this unpleasant vibe she’s not fond of and tries to keep that on lockdown when she is around him. He’s greasy and clearly just trying to make himself seem more innocent about things in places that he shouldn’t. And J.in Yan has a lot of questions about him as a sect leader as well as a person. 

      M.adame J.in - She thinks this woman has a lot to put up with with a husband like hers, but doesn’t involve herself a lot in conversations to do with M.adame J.in’s venting and frowns upon some of the way she goes about but there isn’t anything in particular she can do about that so she generally keeps their topics to other things like finery, J.in Z.ixuan, etc. More Pleasant Topics. J.in Yan believes this woman’s life would’ve been infinitely better if she weren’t married to J.in G.uangshan and she’d be a different person, so she does pity her some.

       J.in Z.ixuan - He’s Just Your Typical Sect Heir who is still nothing but a child and does childish and dumb things, she suspects he’ll grow out of it once he marries at the very least. And so when he does marry J.iang Y.anli, she’s happy for him to see that he’s maturing as a person. She’s seen this boy grow up and she only wants the best for him.

      J.in Z.ixun - She’s seen this kid grow up and he kind of reminds her a little too much of his greasy vibes like his uncle, but isn’t as hopeful about him as she is his cousin. So, she really just has hope someone kicks his ass into gear. 

      J.in G.uangyao - She finds him to be a polite, bright, and intelligent young man. But she also knows his father only made him legitimate now to use him and so she has a sense of where his path in life is going to go and it’s an Unpleasant one. She wants to be more hopeful, as he really does seem like a good kid but he’s so far under his father’s thumb that the future seems bleak.

     J.iang Y.anli - She’s honestly happy Z.ixuan has himself someone who can keep him on a better path and who seemingly understands him and loves him. J.in Yan finds Y.anli to be a sincere and lovely young woman who she knows will be a good fit around there and will offer any guidance her husband or any of his siblings need. Or a good bowl of soup.

     Q.in S.u -  She’s known her over the years, seeing the young woman grow up in a sect that is subordinate to the J.ins. Has always thought Q.in S.u to be a gentle but firm in her beliefs and what questions she has in the world, stubborn but a good young woman that people need to see isn’t as dense as she appears.

    M.o X.uanyu - Didn’t expect for him to be brought to L.anling but finds him to be a sweet young boy who deserves hugs and pastries and books as presents. Also will ten out of ten help him with his makeup skills as a treat when he’s not busy. 

[bipirate]

Female characters so often play a mechanical role in MDZS plot before being killed so MXTX can focus on relationships between men she finds way more fascinating. In the book, WQ is here just to do the GC transfer, and she apparently never thought about the ethics of what the other Wens were doing before WWX stumbled on her with JC and then she suddenly decided to risk her and WN’s life (ofc WN survived in the end no matter how improbably, not her) while in CQL, she has a whole arc about slowly 1

the rest + my response are under the cut bc it got kinda long 

deciding to do the right thing and shouldering the resulting burdens mirroring WWX’s and LWJ’s. 

JYL is here only to build WWX’s character as being violent only on other people’s behalf when he punches JXZ or goes berserk after her death, birth a kid (she’s dispatched right after) so MXTX might explore JC, WWX and LWJ’s relationships through him later on and have a weird romance with JZX to move the plot along. Her relationship with her family or absence of cultivation are never explored or explained, and her character arc is just taking everyone’s BS and staying understanding and accommodating and never wanting anything for herself like a good woman should for MXTX. 

To contrast with YZY, the only female character with actual power who very tellingly uses it only to abuse people and ruin her family and sect (plus she’s depicted as hysterical and irrational!), reprising that old misogynist trope that a women outside men's control will ruin everything with her caprices so women shouldn’t be trusted with power. Even such a minor character as madam Mo follows this trope, being depicted as in charge in her family and a pretty terrible person at the same time. 

LQY needs to be saved in the cave despite being supposedly a cultivator (it’s not framed as her needing someone to fight at her side like LWJ needed WWX, but someone to save her) then she needed a public argument about WWX to realize that there is sexism towards women bc she apparently never faced it before as a low status servant?! MXTX, really? And then after being accused of acting irrationally, she irrationally storms out, abandoning the cultivator position she fought hard to reach (in CQL, she was part of the Jin sect so at least refusing to be complicit in Jin’s crimes while in MDZS, she was just a bystander from a no-name sect) and just forgets about WWX, never trying to warn him or help him or anything. 

MXTX can’t have a woman having initiative, which is probably the same reason why XXC never tries to teach A-Qing cultivation so she can protect herself or have a job that isn’t panhandling bc then she wouldn’t be able to die helplessly to fuel man angst, so MXTX said no. Unsurprisingly, madam Lan has no backstory when it would have been such a good character arc for adult LWJ to try to learn the truth about her and come to terms with it, Lan Yi and BSSR are never shown when in CQL they create a parallel with LWJ and WWX and can be read as lesbians if one is inclined (I am). 

And to be clear I like many of those female characters though probably not in their MDZS versions, but I wanted to examine the sexist tropes that MXTX seems so fond of and makes such common use of to show that it wasn't just random coincidences but a choice on her part, and it can’t be blame solely on genre conventions either as there are often women characters with good characterizations and their own arcs in wuxia and xianxia (LoF has plenty!)

(breaks added by me) yeah you’re right, the way mxtx writes women is just appalling. i think the cql team did the best they could with the source material they were given. they gave the women a bit more agency. 

wen qing being introduced earlier did wonders for her character arc, not that she had one in the novel - she’s so one dimensional and unlikable in mdzs! but in cql we see that she only worked with wen ruohan because her little brother and the rest of the dafan wens were being threatened. just that little bit of extra information made her so much more compelling. still it would have been so cool if they’d written it so that wen qing (and jiang yanli) did survive, source material be damned.

i’ve also touched on this before but when i read the novel, i was so surprised at the lack of jiang yanli! jyl is one of the most important people in wwx’s life and she’s barely present. her death in the novel made me feel Nothing. i think it’s absolutely inspired of the cql team to not only introduce wen qing during the cloud recesses lectures arc, but also take jiang yanli along. they build up the yunmeng siblings relationship as early as possible and it pays off. i also love that she is present during the fall of lotus pier in cql. she was absent in the book and we never saw what an impact this had on her. i just cannot understand why mxtx would write her out of these incredibly important moments, only to kill her off later and expect us to feel any kind of emotion about it. it cheapens wwx’s reaction to her death, too. 

you’re absolutely right about the other characters too and i don’t want to write a Whole response to every single one of them, but i do want to talk about mianmian. i’m sad that she didn’t get much better treatment in cql. i would have loved to see her fighting, defending herself instead of needing to be saved. i also really wanted her and lwj to be friends..... i’m pushing the lwj + wlw agenda but like. i really wanted to see the conversation they had right after she left the jin clan. there was Such potential there. i like that they had her come back with her husband and daughter in the future and that she was adamant about teaching her child that the yiling laozu is not a bad man. i’m glad cql placed this reunion with mianmian where they did - it’s not a secret that i Hate the novel epilogue where she reappears, if only because mxtx wrote it so that mianmian’s daughter saw wangxian kissing and got scared of wwx for this reason. as if gay men corrupting little girls was not a dangerous homophobic trope already. 

also from what i’ve seen of the tgcf donghua (i havent read the book), she hasn’t uh. improved wrt writing female characters lmao

[ibijau]

another extra for Worst Engagement (possibly the last one since at least now everything from the main story is wrapped up)(though I’m still fond of the idea of jin guangyao misunderstanding things and thinking jzx and nhs are having an affair, so who knows!)

anyway:  Nie Huaisang wants to surprise his husband by learning to play a certain song. Lan Xichen doesn't take it well. (Also on AO3)

It has been a quiet day, at least for Nie Huaisang. He spent the morning reading letters and sorting them out before answering those that he could, redirecting those that needed the attention of someone else. He didn’t see his husband at lunch, which happens sometimes. As long as they manage to have dinner together at home, Nie Huaisang won’t need to remind his husband that he promised to not let work take over his life.

For once, Nie Huaisang has his afternoon entirely free, which means he has to decide what to do. He could paint, of course, but Lan Xichen should have an empty slot in his schedule tomorrow, and they can paint together then, which is far more fun. He could go for a walk, but the weather isn’t so great. He could meditate, but that’s boring. He could do nothing, only that’d be a waste of some precious free time, when helping Lan Xichen run things leaves him so little.

Nie Huaisang’s eyes wander around the main room of the Hanshi, before stopping on the guqin hanging on one of the walls. That decides what will fill his afternoon.

Out of the few instruments Lan Xichen helped him try in the few months of their marriage, the guqin is, so far, the one for which Nie Huaisang has shown the most taste. His skill is debatable, and he doesn’t expect he’ll ever be particularly good at it, but he enjoys learning anyway. He particularly enjoys it when Lan Xichen is there to teach him, but practicing on his own is nice as well.

So Nie Huaisang does practice, carefully playing a simple melody, paying attention to his own movements, to the position of his fingers. It is only his personal opinion, but he believes he’s getting rather good with that particular song, and hopefully Lan Xichen will soon give him a new one to work with. The Lans have a lot of scores for beginners, and there are also a lot of non-Lan melodies out there. Nie Huaisang wonders if he’ll be allowed to make requests regarding what, exactly, he might learn next.

There is, after all, one song he’d love to learn to play someday. It’s not exactly meant for the guqin, not as far as he can tell, but Lan Xichen is so clever that he can probably find a way to adapt it for that instrument. Or better yet, Nie Huaisang might ask Lan Wangji, so that he can learn the song as a surprise to his husband.

That idea is so exciting that Nie Huaisang finds he cannot wait. Humming the song to himself, he starts carefully plucking at the strings, trying to reproduce the melody as best as he can. It doesn’t go too badly, and it is pretty fun to do, so Nie Huaisang soon loses track of time the same way he would when working on a painting. He doesn’t notice that the sun has started going down, or that his husband has come home, until he lifts his eyes from the guqin for a moment and notices Lan Xichen in the doorway. 

It’s anyone’s guess how long he has been there, but he looks frozen in place, staring at Nie Huaisang and his guqin with wide eyes.

“That song,” Lan Xichen mumbles.

“It was supposed to be a surprise,” Nie Huaisang pouts, before chuckling. “Well, at least you recognised it, right?”

Instead of answering, his husband continues staring. Or rather, glaring might be a better word, Nie Huaisang starts to realise. It’s always rare to see Lan Xichen angry, but it seems he is. It can’t have anything to do with Nie Huaisang, so probably something annoying happened during the day and Lan Xichen, as agreed between them, is making efforts to not bottle up his emotions when they’re together.

“Did I play it so badly?” Nie Huaisang tries to joke. “I guess I’ll just have to practice harder. I just thought…”

“Never play it again,” Lan Xichen hisses, in a way that leaves Nie Huaisang unpleasantly breathless because that tone is… 

The young man in front of him isn't his loving, devoted husband. He's the Lan Xichen of before, the cold, angry one who thought that Nie Huaisang was an idiot. It has been years since Nie Huaisang has heard that tone.

He hadn’t missed it.

"A-Chen, don't be like that," Nie Huaisang pleads, unsure yet what’s wrong exactly. "I just… I've always loved that song. I'm sorry if I butchered it. I've just always loved this story. A romance like that… I used to dream it would happen to me, and someone would love me like your father loved your mother. Well, I got my dream in the end, right?"

The Romance of Qingheng-Jun is, after all, a very popular song in spite of how recent it is. Nie Huaisang knows he can't be the only bad cultivator to have sighed and dreamt at that tale of love and dedication. It's what anyone could want, and… 

And the way Lan Xichen glares at him with cold fury nearly makes him cower in fear. 

Lan Xichen who doesn't even grace him with an answer before he turns around and leaves the house, slamming the door behind him. Nie Huaisang remains frozen where he sits, his guqin in hand, music sheets before him, trying to understand what he did wrong this time. 

-

It's a little past curfew when Lan Xichen returns. From the bedroom, Nie Huaisang hears the front door open and close quietly. He wants, desperately, to run to his husband and ask what that earlier incident was about, but thinking of the way Lan Xichen stared at him, as if he were something repulsing, stops him. If he wants to talk, his husband will know where to find him.

And find him Lan Xichen does. He knocks on the bedroom door almost shyly before slowly opening it. Nie Huaisang, sitting on the ground in a vain attempt to meditate, doesn’t open his eyes. If Lan Xichen is still angry, he doesn’t want to see it.

Keeping his eyes closed gets a little harder when Lan Xichen comes to kneel next to him.

“A-Sang, I’m sorry about earlier,” he whispers, sounding truly sorry indeed. “I was… I was upset.”

“I noticed, yeah,” Nie Huaisang replies, careful to keep his tone as neutral as he can. He opens his eyes, and finds that Lan Xichen’s eyes are a little red, as if he’s been crying, or close to it anyway. “Why, though? I know I didn’t play the song too well, but…”

Lan Xichen’s hands clench into fists. “It’s not about how you played it, it’s the song itself,” he confesses, glaring at the floor in front of his knees. “It’s… it’s a lie. That song, and all the stories that people tell, they’re just lies and I hate them so much. My parents’ marriage wasn’t like that. They… as far as I could tell, they weren’t happy. How could they have been?” 

Nie Huaisang’s eyebrows rise at the news. Madam Lan died some years before he became engaged to her son, so he's never met her. He knows the story, though. Everyone does. The Romance of Qingheng-Jun got immensely popular a little after her death.

According to the song, Madam Lan was a rogue cultivator. Qingheng-Jun and her fell in love at first glance and got secretly married. It had to be a secret, because the Lan elders had heard she was of delicate health and they disapproved. Indeed, she was so often unwell that she never appeared in public after their marriage, and died after just a few years. Her husband was so heartbroken that he became unable to attend his duties and entered seclusion. 

Nie Huaisang has always liked the story, and the song even more. Being loved like that, in spite of weakness, in spite of expectations… in the early years of his engagement he sometimes dreamed that he’d meet a Qingheng-Jun of his own and be stolen away from all this politics that scared him and just be kept safe and loved somewhere. 

It’s unpleasant to find out that things might not have been as nice as the Romance says, though ultimately not surprising. Nothing is ever like in the stories.

“Did your father resent her bad health then?” Nie Huaisang asks.

“My mother’s health was excellent, aside from the illness that took her life,” Lan Xichen replies in a sigh. “She was a strong-willed woman and, as I’m told, an exceptional cultivator.”

“Oh. Then what was the problem? If you feel like talking about it,” Nie Huaisang adds quickly when his husband throws him a pleading look. “If you don’t want to explain, I’ll ask your uncle or your brother tomorrow.”

At that proposition, Lan Xichen only looks more alarmed.

“Uncle won’t speak about it,” he claims, looking back down at the floor. “And Wangji… he was very young when mother died, I don’t think he ever fully understood, not even to this day… and I’d rather keep it that way. He shouldn’t have to bear the weight of that knowledge I guess I have to…”

He sighs deeply and goes to sit on the edge of the bed, looking at Nie Huaisang to silently ask him to join him. Nie Huaisang obeys, carefully leaving a little space between them in case that’s what Lan Xichen needs at the moment. It tells him a lot about his husband’s mood that Lan Xichen doesn’t shuffle closer or take his hand as he usually does whenever given a chance. Instead, he continues staring at the floor ahead of him, his hands neatly on his knees, his back perfectly straight, as if he were at some official meeting rather than sitting on their own bed.

“When my parents met, my father fell in love and my mother didn’t,” he explains. Even his voice is the one he uses on older sect leaders or on the Lan elders when they pester him about this or that tradition. “It could have stopped at that. It should have. But my mother, for reasons of her own, killed a respected Lan elder. She ought to have been executed for her crime, but my father offered her the alternative of marrying him and living under his protection. She agreed, although from what I’ve been told, she still held no affection for him. In fact, Uncle once hinted that my mother thought even worse of my father for the way he was willing to compromise his sect’s rules. Then again, this being Uncle, he has always been one to think ill of her, so who knows?”

Lan Xichen smiles, his eyes still far away, his hands clenched on his knees.

“I never saw my mother a lot. I saw my father even less. I’ve heard some people say that love of some sort blossomed between them over the years, and I’ve heard others say that she could never bear the sight of him, that my brother and I were only born because it was the price to pay for her to stay alive. I don’t know which is true. I don’t think I want to know. I just remember that she was good to me and Wangji, and that she looked sad when she thought we couldn’t see her face. She was…”

Lan Xichen gasps when Nie Huaisang, unable to restrain himself a second more, grabs his robe to pull him into a tight hug. Lan Xichen tenses at first, then relaxes all at once, melting into his husband’s arms.

“I hate that song,” he whispers, burying his face in the crook of Nie Huaisang’s neck, clinging to his shoulders. “Nobody ever plays it here, but after her death I started hearing it everywhere. I hate it, it’s nothing but lies. My mother wasn’t some delicate and powerless woman, my father wasn’t some kind and noble man. She was a murderer and he was selfish and I hate that I have to pretend otherwise just to save my sect some face.”

It’s always rare for Nie Huaisang to be at a loss for words, but he simply can’t think of anything to say in reaction to this. He knew that Lan Xichen held some sort of grudge against his late father, but he’d thought it was just the normal sort of complicated feelings any son might have about his father. Nie Huaisang himself is never too sure what to think about his father, except to hope that he wouldn’t be too disappointed in what his second son has become, even if he’ll never be a real Nie.

This though.

This is something else, and Nie Huaisang just doesn’t know what to say. For once in his life he keeps silent, holding his husband as close as he can, his heart bleeding over how much this must have hurt Lan Xichen. This is at least as bad as Jiang Cheng’s parents, and at least they were never passed off as an idyllic person couple, nobody wrote songs about them.

And Nie Huaisang told him that he thinks what they have is the same.

“You’re not like your father!” he hisses, pulling Lan Xichen closer against him, as if he could protect him from all the things that have already hurt him. “I didn’t mean that, I didn’t know! But you’re not like him, you would never take advantage, you…” he gasps as a realisation hits him. “You tried to end our engagement. Xichen, husband, was that why…”

“I did not want to trap you,” Lan Xichen whispers against his neck. “I couldn’t, I love you so much, I could not bear to see you end up like my mother.”

Nie Huaisang holds his husband so tight that Lan Xichen probably can't breathe, not that he's protesting. His husband, his Xichen, who’s had to listen to people speaking lies about his parents for years, unable to say the truth because it would have damaged Gusu Lan’s reputation too much. Nie Huaisang’s family life hasn’t always been the best, not after his own mother died, but at least nobody ever made up false songs about it.

“You know what we need?” Nie Huaisang decides. “We need a new song. A better one.”

“Nobody can know,” Lan Xichen sighs, clinging to his shoulders. “Least of all now, when we’re still recovering from the war, it would be…”

“Not a song about them. Who cares about them? They’re both dead. No, we need a song about us.”

That suggestion startles Lan Xichen enough that he pulls away from his husband’s embrace, too puzzled now to continue being upset. That, of course, is exactly what Nie Huaisang wanted, so he grins.

“Yes, don’t we deserve a song?” he asks. “I think we’d make good material for a story. It would have all the elements of a great romance! Two enemies, forced into an alliance…”

“We were hardly enemies,” Lan Xichen objects with a frown. “Our sects have been on good terms for generations, our fathers were friends… just because we didn’t get along doesn’t mean…”

“From enemies to lovers,” Nie Huaisang insists. “Fighting against our instant mutual attraction…”

“You were terrified and I was full of myself,” Lan Xichen corrects, fighting a smile. “Also, we were children. I don’t think much attraction could have been possible.”

“Forced by a cruel elder to live together, learning to know and respect one another…”

“An incense stick’s time per week is hardly living together,” Lan Xichen cuts him, fully grinning now. “And you were a pest, refusing to let me learn anything about you no matter how much I tried!”

“I have no idea what you mean, mister I-don’t-have-a-favourite-colour-it’s-forbidden,” Nie Huaisang retorts, turning up his nose. “I was so delightful that you fell in love with me after all.”

Lan Xichen bursts out laughing, and Nie Huaisang is struck once more by how different his husband is, now that he no longer tries to always be in control. Now that he’s allowing Nie Huaisang to really see him, instead of hiding behind some ideas about propriety… though it makes sense now, how bad Lan Xichen was at romancing him, if that’s the example he’s had to live with. His poor husband, who has put up with so much...

Nie Huaisang lacks the words to express how much he loves that man, perhaps because no word could ever be strong enough for it.

“I fell in love too, of course,” Nie Huaisang feels compelled to say. 

It worries him sometimes that Lan Xichen might not fully understand it, because of the way things used to be. It feels particularly urgent that night that Lan Xichen knows he is loved, that Nie Huaisang chose this, that he would choose Lan Xichen again and again if given the opportunity.

“Unwillingly,” Lan Xichen teases as he takes his hands, laughing again. “A-Sang, I think your song would be just as filled with lies as my parents’ one.”

“Maybe,” Nie Huaisang concedes, leaning closer and kissing his husband’s cheek. “But at least it wouldn’t lie about us choosing each other, and I think that’s all that matters.”

Lan Xichen’s eyes go soft when he hears this. Nie Huaisang is almost blinded by how beautiful his husband is, and desperately wants to kiss him. He will, in a moment, but first…

“Also, in the song, I’ll be taller than you,” he announces. “I think I deserve that.”

"You are ridiculous," Lan Xichen declares, laughing so hard now that he's started crying. "Fine, I'll write you a melody if you care so much, and you can put any words you like on it. Or I’ll take care of those too if you prefer, though it’ll probably be very stupid." 

And he will, too, Nie Huaisang knows that. Lan Xichen will write him a song, exactly as cliché and ridiculous as described, but because he's Lan Xichen it will still be amazing, and with a few coins well spent here and there, Nie Huaisang is sure he can arrange for it to completely replace the Romance of Qingheng-Jun. 

Nie Huaisang can’t erase years of pain, but he might be able to make sure nobody ever plays again the song which causes his husband such distress, and that’s close enough.

[llycaons]

xuanli?

THEY!! honestly I am very fond of them I know jzx was a dick at 15 but look so was everyone else literally every single kid in wwx's generation was a brat including lwj and I found his growth and awkwardness and earnest attempts to honestly tell her how he felt very endearing and I KNOW he was a good husband and a good brother too and he would have been a good father and jyl only got into him after ss BECAUSE he changed as a person and was willing to make a fool of himself and work on how he treated her and he's not perfect but she did NOT settle look he got dirty in the mud and he made that beautiful lotus pond for her bc he knows what's important to her and that she missed her home and knew that she was worried about her brother so he advocated for wwx to be at the ceremony and showed up to try to deescalate things with his cousin and I know I'm not talking very much about jyl here but we get "yeah she really wanted a family" from the text and good for her she got one and more importantly to ME as an eldest sister(TM) is that she had a life away from being responsible for her brothers like he provided that for her because he wanted her to make decisions for what she wanted and now what her brothers needed and good for her they were happy for a little while at least. simple and very sweet and cql did them MILES better than the donghua or novel. my god

I don't have much for a meta level for them I do think it rules that building a lotus pond for a jiang sibling is such a strong gesture of romantic love that it's incorporated into so many postcanon wx domestic scenes so thanks jzx for the idea though lwj does have him beat in pretty much all other grand romantic gestures

thanks!!

[theuntamednarrator]

Thank you @mika--82​ for the question! I’m sorry it took so long but since I really enjoyed plotting out my Cangse Sanren lives au, and I think a lot about the women in The Untamed who didn't get to see their children grow up, strap in for round two of TB Revives the Mothers of the Untamed. This week's episode: Save Mama Lan by killing Lan Qiren \^.^/

(Many thanks to @drwcn​ for letting me borrow her hc names for Mama Lan (Qui Baiti) and Papa Lan (Lan Cenrong). You can read more about them on her blog here and here.)

(Warning for an unsuccessful suicide attempt)

QBT has been isolated in the Jingshi for a decade. She only sees her sons once a month, she isn’t allowed her sword, and her spiritual power is kept sealed

But LWJ inherited his stubbornness from his mum and she's determined to escape, one way or another

LQR is walking by the Jingshi when he feels a massive surge of energy and breaks his first ever Discipline (no running in Cloud Recesses)

He wrenches the Jingshi door open and sees an array that wouldn't look out of place two decades in the future in an alternate universe in a dingy shed behind Mo Manor

LQR breaks his second Discipline in as many minutes (do not make excessive noise) when he screams for his brother before he grabs QBT and drags her out of the array

LQR didn't have time to think, let alone study what the effects of that might be, all he knew was that it was killing her, and that her death would kill the brother he loves more than anything else

The backlash strikes him and he keels over

QBT gathers him up, sobbing and asking why he did it, she wanted to die, why did you do it Lan-er-gongzi? what were you thinking? Your brother loves you

LQR meets his brother’s eyes as he appears over her shoulder, the terrified disciples flanking him a white blur

He smiles and says I know

Curtains on LQR

(alternatively, we can just kill JGS again because ngl that was real satisfying the first time around)

Now the Elders are in a pickle because this may have been an accident but QBT has now been responsible for the deaths of an Elder and Second Young Master Lan

It's decided that the only option is exile

QBT is forbidden from setting foot in Cloud Recesses and the territories of Gusu Lan for ten year and forbidden from speaking to any Lan disciple during that time

She bows, accepts back the plain sword she had yielded when she came through the gates to be married, and is gone before the dawn. LCR watches her leave and then goes to wake their sons

Now, QBT was a wandering cultivator long before she was Lan-furen and actually really enjoys returning to life on the road

I wandered once! I can do it again!

Five years later she meets XXC battling a ferocious demon snake and together they defeat it

QBT definitely doesn’t feel her heart beat a little faster at the youthful face, white robes, and elegant jade-and-silver sword

She answers XXC's graceful bow with one of her own and the two spend a week clearing out the fierce nests of demons on the mountain

The next time their wandering brings them together she is introduced to my good friend Song Lan and hides her smile in her sleeve

Meanwhile in Cloud Recesses without LQR to pick up the slack LCR is forced to step out of seclusion and actually run his sect and parent his children

He does a very good job

QBT has to fight back proud tears every time she hears Twin Jades of Lan spoken of with awe

Ten years to the day of her exile QBT is grinning as she climbs the long flights of stairs towards the gates of Cloud Recesses

Part of that might be the entertaining company she walks with

A young man clutching two bottles of Emperor's Smile and talking so fast she’s only half listening while she tries to figure out if he’s actually taken a breath since introducing himself

Talking at breakneck speed of the young master who had been so strict with him at the gates, aiya Auntie! He was so cold! you should have seen his stony face

QBT only grins harder as WWX climbs the wall, is challenged, and blades flash over tiles (it might bring back fond memories of her own youth)

She slips over the wall while they are distracted and once WWX is silenced she reaches out her hand

You handle your sword beautifully, may I?

LWJ can't even say why - it's too dark to see her face and the voice is roughened after 10 years on the road - but he hands Bichen over without a second thought

She sighs as she runs a finger over the blade and the steel glows, lighting up her face (solely because I think glowy Bichen is very sexy and we should have had more of it in the drama honestly)

Bichen suits you better than it ever suited me, ZhanZhan 

LWJ is emoting all over the place (so embarrassing)

(luckily his back is to WWX because if baby disaster bi WWX saw that smile he would've died on the spot)

WWX of course is still a troublemaking rule breaker and LWJ is still charged with overseeing his punishment

QBT and LXC are united in their LWJ should make friends agenda and LXC inherited his sense of humour and delight for teasing LWJ from QBT

Between the two of them LWJ soon has more friends than he knows what to do with

QBT and LXC co-captain the good ship Wangxian

Of course plot stuff still happens including accidental-marriage-before-a-Quest-Ghost

XXC and SL meet them in Yueyang and when LWJ introduces himself they're thrilled because hey we know your mum! she’s real cool!

They don't trust the clans and they might've heard of NMJ but they know Qui-jiejie and they trust her and so they decide XY will go to Cloud Recesses for judgement

N-wow the twin jades are really deserving of their reputations-HS insists on a Qinghe representative going too

oh me? no no Wei-xiong this has been quite enough adventure for me. Meng Yao you'll go won't you? Dage trusts you and Lan-gongzi admired your *delicate cough* capability *innocent smile*

my.blush.com/embarrassed/yearning agrees

QBT is delighted to see XXC and SL again and happily introduces them to her elder son

SL and LXC almost immediately get into a heated debate over ahistorical fantasy chinese philosophy and/or politics and are instantly bonded

QBT may or may not have instigated said debate with a well-timed quote from a well-known (re: divisive) text

Basically QBT shares my get LXC more friends agenda

SL is, again, the first person (apart from LXC and his parents) to laugh at LWJ's jokes

WWX still refuses to believe this actually happened (the joke and SL laughing) (XXC swears it’s true)

XY is locked in the back hills and eventually a) dies trying to use his hidden piece of the yin iron to break the seals OR b) is rehabilitated by the power of bunnies and become an outer disciple (reader's choice!)

XXC and SL accompany WWX and JC part of the way to Lotus Pier

Cloud Recesses is attacked, QBT and LCR send LXC and MY away with the sacred texts, MY promising he knows somewhere safe to hide

LWJ refuses to leave his parents. The losses are not as bad as in canon, the Wen are beaten back, but LCR and LWJ are both injured

No Good Very Bad Summer Camp with World's Worst Head Counselor WC

No Good Very Bad Turtle Cave of Love

WWX wakes post-rescue with LWJ still there

(Because his parents are holding Cloud Recesses and he knows LXC is safe so he doesn't need to rush off)

JZX, JC, LWJ, and WWX spend a day planning before they split up

(this is hilarious and JC says "fuck" not less than 219 times)

(WWX only almost punches JZX and it only happens twice honestly people should be grateful! he was so restrained!!)

They all return home, LWJ promising to bring reinforcements from Cloud Recesses to Lotus Pier (because it's the most obvious next target. no other reason. just. strategically it makes sense)

WQ sends WN to Lotus Pier to warn WWX when WZL's forces are on their way

When the Wen attack, they're met with a prepared force of 1) YZY and the Jiang Disciples 2) QBT, LWJ, and a contingent of Lan Disciples AND 3) JC and WWX and a gaggle of archers (seriously why tf show the Jiang being so good and then only give us two archery fight scene moments and it’s heart breaking sixth young master jiang dying and some rando ouyang disciple shooting WWX?)

Things get a little hairy but between YZY and QBT they defeat WZL and the rest of the Wen quickly surrender

JFM and JYL arrive just as the battle is ending, escorted by Madam Jin, JZX, LQY, and all the Jin Disciples who were at Cloud Recesses

(WWX: MianMian you came you must have been so worried about me! LQY, ignoring him: Lan-er-gongzi are you okay? WWX: ah Lan Zhan you MianMian really likes you! that’s lucky! LWJ, screaming internally: mn)

(JGS was furious when JZX announced he was joining the campaign but what could he possibly say in front of his battle ready wife without looking like the utter coward of a wet biscuit he is)

Once again WWX is left with a screaming sword, too much curiosity, and too much time on his hands (due to his adopted family being not-dead)

But worse he has now also access to a woman who created an array powerful enough to kill even with her spiritual power sealed

Poor WRH doesn't stand a chance, even without MY spying for the Sunshot Campaign

After the battle QBT&LCR and YZY&JFM shut JGS's bullshit power grab down real quick and JGS sulks like the baby he is (probably in a brothel) while Madam Jin and JZX take over Lanling Jin

JZX hears about MY and the way he helped LXC and NMJ sends a letter of support and JZX is already quite jealous of all these sibling bonds and welcomes Ziyao with open arms

(All of which goes slightly to waste when JZY marries out to the Lan clan slightly less than a year later but hey, at least it's a good alliance.)

WQ takes over the Wen Clan but tears down Nightless City and relocates the capital to Dafan

(WQ: have you been to Nightless City? It’s built on an active volcano. Do you know how bad sulfur ash is for open wounds? Do you know what medical herbs grow in lava slurry? None is the answer. My family are all fucking morons)

(WQ: Not you a-Ning you’re a delight and we’re thrilled you’re here)

Rumour has it a certain immortal was so impressed with the stories of the medical techniques of Dafan Wen that she paid WQ a visit

(Disciples are so reckless after all! One never knows when one might need to be capable of transplanting vital organs!)

Each year WWX and LWJ spend 3 months at Gusu, 3 months at Lotus Pier, and 6 months wandering with XXC and SL

They get "fake married" no less than four times in three years (for the investigation xiongzhang! absolutely no other reason shishu! no other reason at all!) before LXC, MY, XXC, and SL get fed up and barricade them in their room until they talk to each other dammit

(LXC is very grateful MY has gotten so handy with the silencing talismans because the 'conversation' gets uncomfortably loud real quick)

Side note to say Clarity works very well to avert a qi deviation when it's not being actively corrupted, thanks very much, and NMJ lives many, many, many years which would be entirely happy if only NHS would pick up his saber once in a while

He would tell NHS this if he could ever find him

Happy ending!³

[robininthelabyrinth]

Howdy! Your writing rocks! If you don’t mind, could I ask you what you think would change if Jin Guangyao had given the regard he has for Lan Xichen to Jiang Cheng instead? Do you think there’d be huge changes or little ones? This isn’t a prompt, I think your meta is super cool. Obvs if you don’t wanna answer, there’s no pressure or anything.

So this is going to be more of an insight into the rambling way I develop stories than anything else, but basically these are my (very long) thoughts:

First step: the question is not “if”. The question is “how”. How does JGY come to have a regard for JC instead of LXC?

Let us posit that JGY meets (and becomes devoted to) LXC after he’s been thrown down from Koi Tower - rescuing him after the burning of the Cloud Recesses, which presumably happened while on his way to Qinghe or after he’s arrived (or, in the Untamed, when he’s working at Qinghe already). 

So, let’s take that as our starting point: JGY doesn’t go to Qinghe. 

He goes to Yunmeng instead, probably taking a boat to get there. Regardless of when he arrives, this doesn’t really go anywhere until after the Lotus Pier is burned, after everything that happens between WWX and JC happens, and now JC is raising an army and madly recruiting for the Jiang Sect. Meng Yao shows up with a smile and a “I’m from Yunping, just down the river, I want to help here” spiel, and he’s good - he’s efficient and smart and good with people, all the characteristics that made NMJ appreciate him, and JC needs good people so badly. Especially in the beginning, when he’s alone, with WWX missing.

But here’s the difference between NMJ and JC: JC needs people. He’s not a natural leader, having been dragged into trouble by WWX his whole life, and he’s brand new at being a sect leader; he doesn’t have established likes or dislikes, he has no idea what he’s doing. He’s going to rely on Meng Yao, he’s going to depend on Meng Yao - Meng Yao says jump and JC says “good idea, how high?” and he doesn’t even notice he’s doing it. Meng Yao is all but running the sect, and he doesn’t even have to try. No prostitutes’ tricks here, no smiles, no empty flattery - most of the subtle stuff goes straight over JC’s head, but a vaguely kind word every once in a while and JC will turn bright red and look pleased as punch for the next hour. That type of power is seductive.

And then WWX shows up.

As much as I love WWX, his dynamics with JC are not the best. WWX does whatever he wants and expects JC to follow, because he always has, and JC always does - how irritating that would be to Meng Yao, who up until this point has been put into the position of big brother for the first time in his life, and who now has to tip-toe around the ticking time bomb that is Yiling Patriarch!WWX to get what he wants. Plus, Meng Yao is good with people: he doesn’t need to know all the gossip about the Jiang family (though he does) to be able to figure out that, legitimate birth or not, JC has spent his entire life being treated like the sect leader’s dissatisfying bastard son - and oh, that hits Meng Yao in the one soft spot he has left, the spot that’s almost but not entirely narcissism, the one that LXC got into by being nice and kind and treating him like an equal, the one NHS, soft and dependent, got into by being sad and pathetic, and which JC, prickly and mean, gets in by virtue of being like Meng Yao.

He doesn’t do anything about that dislike, though; JC loves WWX, and the war effort needs him, so he’ll put up with him...for now. After a while, he goes to Langya - no need to have an accidentally-not-accidentally overheard conversation here! He just says “my father” and JC is like “I totally get it, go”. And when JC finds him killing that supervisor and Meng Yao says “he deserved it”, JC believes him, because JC is ride-or-die until you force him off the ride. He’s gullible and trusting, even though he thinks he’s cynical, and he’s about as susceptible to Meng Yao’s bullshit as LXC is (as we see in canon!)

So Meng Yao goes to be a spy and (because he doesn’t know LXC in this) he sends the info to JC, who sends the info to LXC (the courier), who gets it to NMJ, and all that stuff happens about the same way. Except NMJ has no reason to know that Meng Yao is a conniving bastard that uses friendly fire to settle debts, so when Meng Yao says “I had no choice but to kill them”, NMJ is upset but has no reason to doubt it. And now you have NMJ owing Meng Yao a favor, however grudgingly.

No sworn brothers, though, not with LXC to suggest it and without NMJ wanting to put Meng Yao on the right track, and JC is pretty sensitive about family stuff so best not to even suggest it. It’s fine, Meng Yao - now JGY - doesn’t need it. Just like he doesn’t need to do all that much to get JZX killed, just a suggestion here, a little trouble there, a bit of blackening of WWX’s name that’s really mostly his own fault for being so arrogant: it’s regrettable that he has to ruin Jiang Yanli’s marriage by getting JZX killed (sad, but necessary if he’s going to be sect leader), but she was never supposed to die. He even waited until she had a son and heir so that she wouldn’t be alone! He’s very nice, isn’t he? 

(And if WWX dying and Jiang Yanli dying means that JC is all his, with no one else in the world to interfere, well, that’s all the better, isn’t it? No one can take care of JC as well as he can.)

The Xue Yang situation is easy to resolve, too. NMJ has no “in” to Koi Tower, not without a relationship with JGY, and this pushes the two sects onto the brink of war - and that’d be no good at all, especially with JC grieving the way he is, all alone and desperate. Plus, JC has father issues, and that’s a little infectious; JGY is looking at JGS through the lens of JFM and it’s a lot less idealistic. So let’s say for all these reasons JGY moves up his plans and kills JGS earlier, and the second he takes over he vows that XY will be killed...except, alas, XY must have gotten wind and fled, because he’s gone. Awkward, huh? Definitely not JGY’s fault, though. Who are you going to believe is responsible for all that gross stuff, NMJ, the dead pervert or the guy who saved your life?

And then JGY is Sect Leader Jin and he and JC can raise little Jin Ling together, and maybe even Jin Rusong (although if he kills JGS early there’s a possibility that he wouldn’t need to shore up power in the Jin sect by marrying QS, or at least wouldn’t feel like he has to get her pregnant before the marriage, though of course there’s also no reason he wouldn’t do it anyway). Now what?

The Watchtowers, of course. Except in this world, NMJ is alive and well (no sworn brothers, no Song of Clarity here - except the legitimate one from LXC) and we know JGY knows how to put on the face NMJ most likes to see. So with JC in his pocket and NMJ fond of him, and LXC as nice and friendly as always, the sects live in wonderful harmony. In large part because JGY doesn’t need to murder quite so many of them. 

(and then over in Yi City, someone sacrifices their body to bring back the Yiling Patriarch because he’s their last hope to bring XXC back, either Song Lan or Xue Yang, and suddenly WWX is back - WWX who JC loves and hates in equal measure, WWX who’s a little too good at figuring out cause-and-effect - and JGY....JGY doesn’t like that. He doesn’t like that at all.)

[a-very-fond-farewell]

Wen Yuan and the Prisoner of Koi Tower

*

the only HP!au I will consider for mdzs is the one where WWX acts as Sirius and LWJ as Remus.

also Cloud Recesses already acts as a magical school of sorts so I would not go as far as plant the entire cast in England, but a modern Chinese setting would be a very nice touch and will allow many writers to play around with both pieces of media imo.

my take would be:

*

- WWX has escaped a secret and hidden magical prison 13 years after protecting the remaining Wens from facing justice after the entire Sect had been accused of being a threat to the laws protecting the cultivation world.

- while some of the Wens (Wen RuoHan and his sons) had actively tried to oppose the allicance by messing with commoners and revealing themselves to the non-cultivation world, other Wens were completely innocent and yet they were still persecuted after the war (Sunshot Campaign) that had exterminated the rest of their Sect.

- WWX sacrificed himself by pretending to be completely unable to control his demonic cultivation and causing the explosion of resentful energy that destroyed the Burial Mounds (the Wen Remains’ hideout), turning the lush forest in a wasteland. the magical barrier dividing the premise and the non-cultivation world was compromised and WWX was accused of having sided with the Wen-dogs to jeopardize the anonymity of the cultivation world.

- by attracting all the attention on himself and destroying their hideout, WWX convinced everyone he accidentally killed the Wen Remains to allow them to escape. with the barrier growing weaker, the Wens slipped into the shadows of the non-cultivation world and pretended to be commoners for the time being.

*

- Wen Yuan (i assume he would not have a courtesy name if he were to live outside of the modern!cultivation-world, before enrolling in school) has lived 13 years in modern!Yiling with Wen Ning and he’s now 16 under a different name (idk what name, but they certainly don’t plan to be sought out by announcing the world they are called Wen). they live pretending to be commoners and can only rarely see Wen Qing, who was able to work at the “magical school” as a physician only bc the headmaster Lan QiRen is more interested in her talent than her last name.

- Wen Ning and Wen Qing decided not to reveal their little cousin about the happenings of 13 years ago. when they tried to step into the common world the first time after the explosion, A-Yuan had slipped from their grasp and they didn’t know where he had disappeared to (imagine the mishaps of the Floo Network and such or when someone disappararates). A-Yuan, “splinched” and feverish with no memories of his past, was found by LWJ who brought him back to the Wen siblings and helped their entire clan to disappear from the radar.

- upon discovering A-Yuan had, in fact, a golden core at 10/11 years old (although I would also like to see him enrolling in school at 8 or 9 tbh), LWJ offers to pay for his education but asks the Wen siblings not to reveal his identity as a benefactor. so A-Yuan only knows someone in the Lan Sect saw potential in him and... offered him a scholarship? I guess?

*

- he enrolls under the name Lan SiZhui and tries to find out more as he grows and learns. his suspicions fall on LXC at first, because he’s very kind and pleasant to talk to and he frequently visits the school even though he’s not a teacher. then he suspects LQR or one of the elders to be his benefactor. but when he enters the third year and he’s finally allowed to study with the Qin Language Master (either that or an Array Master or even Spellwork Master, you choose) LWJ... A-Yuan knows.

- so A-Yuan spends roughly two years trying to crack LWJ’s exterior... but it’s actually easy bc LWJ is very fond of him. yet, the elusive teacher doesn’t even try to talk about WWX with him. nobody does. Wen Qing looks after A-Yuan while he’s at school, but they have to pretend they don’t know each other: all the school staff knows she’s a Wen but none of the students have a suspect; if their families were to discover this fact, they would take the children away from the school in retaliation against LQR for having betrayed the alliance by protecting a Wen.

- A-Yuan spends a lot of time with her anyway, sharing meals and gossip in the medical wing late at night. he also tries to injure himself at times during night hunts so that he can meet with her and be scolded by her. it is a delicate balance and a dangerous game they’re playing, but only LWJ knows about it. not even LQR is aware that A-Yuan is a Wen: he trusted his nephew when LWJ told him he found a promising child to bring to the cultivation world and he trusted him.

- Lan JingYi was also “found” in a similar way and he adopted the Lan name and lives with LXC during the summer bc he doesn’t have a family. OuYang ZiZhen is one of the few representing his Sect while Jin Ling leads the way for his Sect and its many members. Jin Ling tries to be a rival to A-Yuan so bad (just bc A-Yuan seems perfect, not bc he’s a Wen. only Lan JingYi knows about that) but they end up being friends.

*

- Jiang FengMian leads Yunmeng as a Sect Leader while Madam Yu teaches how to wield spiritual weapons. JC was born without a golden core, but WWX sacrificed it for him with a forbidden spell and developed demonic cultivation to balance the absence of his core. LQR saw potential in him and offered him an opportunity to form another golden core... but his attempts failed miserably and WWX graduated following the demonic path before studying to become a teacher himself to explore other cultivation methods.

- Jin GuangShan’s alive and kicking [*cough*sons from staircases*cough*] at the top of Lanling and three of his bastards kids are teachers: JGY, MXY, and Qin Su.

- Nie MingJue rules over Qinghe and sent Nie ZongHui as a teacher and protector of the students from their Sects. Nie HuaiSang visits sometimes to discuss Sect matters with him

- LQR’s older brother is the head of Gusu and only LWJ is a teacher, taking his mother’s place (I envision his mother as an outcasts of sorts, similarly to Trelawney, but less............you know. we still love a cryptid woman in this house tho. basically she was kept away bc she knew too much and went mad with the knowledge she held and vowed to never speak again or something + also I like the idea of LWJ teaching in a secluded place. not necessarily a tower, but I remember Lupin’s office to be quite fetching nonetheless and the Jinghi can still keep all of its minimalist furniture and still be cooler than anything else ever existing in-universe).

*

- when WWX escapes from prison, the first thing he wants is to find the Wens. the teachers think he’s after Wen Qing and they make sure to destroy every corpse surrounding the school so that WWX cannot summon them. night-hunting is put on hold for the entire year (which would be a parallel with quidditch championship being shut down... also sports being put on hold bc of an emergency sounds oddly familiar...)

- JC still has his brother’s dizi, protected under spells in one of his mother’s cabinets at the school... but Jin Ling is a silly boy and wants to prove to his friends that he knows that his grandma Madam Yu is hiding something important in her office. so during a late exploration night after curfew, the juniors find the cabinet, take the dizi to inspect it and flee the corridors. Madam Yu finds them first, but LWJ defends them and feign ignorance when the woman demands to be the one punishing them. LWJ then asks Jin Ling to give him the dizi and the boy begrudgingly does as the teacher says.

*

- people start disappearing soon after. one by one, people from MoLing and Baling from the school staff vanish into thin air, then it’s the Jin and Jiang’s turn. By the time LXC disappears as well, LWJ gets worried but he trusts his brother.

- Jin GuangShan’s however, after his younger son’s disappearance, point his finger against the Nie Sect and its dangerous method of cultivation: why nobody of the Nie Sect had disappeared? the culprit must be one of theirs! and if MXY cannot be found, then the Jin Sect will demand reparations from Nie MingJue himself... with his life.

- when the dizi disappears from LWJ’s office, JGY suggests the Yiling Patriarch has finally made his way inside the school and that maybe he’s after the disappearance of so many cultivators and students. then, when the dizi is found among Wen Qing’s possessions, LQR expels her from the school to save himself (?) and his Sect from being accused of shielding someone hiding the Yiling Patriarch... but she is able to snatch the dizi and flee, promising A-Yuan to be back for him when nobody is watching.

*

- ...nobody aside from Jin Ling, who sees Wen Qing embracing “A-Yuan” one last time. the heir of LanLing demands an explanation from his best friend, asking him why that woman had called him with a different name and why was he talking with such familiarity to a Wen dog even though he knew what the Wens had done to his family. how JZX, his father, had died because of a Wen and how his mother had died because of WWX. on top of that, if Wen Qing was really helping WWX, then it was still a Wen’s fault if his uncle MXY was now missing!

- feeling betrayed, Jin Ling disappears on his own volition and Jin GuangShan accuses the Yiling Patriarch of having abducted even his grandson now. the rest of the juniors look for Jin Ling and they travel into the night until they find a lead: JC, apparently, has found a way to lure WWX out by calling the sword-spirit Suibian through his lend-me-down version of a golden core. feeling someone “pulling” him in, WWX was certainly bound to come back and meet with the heir of YunmengJiang , right? (is this the equivalent of the Patronus thingie? maybe not?)

- the juniors figure out that Jin Ling would follow his uncle JC and so they follow the man as well. they end up where everything started, in the Burial Mounds. but Jin Ling has arrived there even before his own uncle. the juniors see WWX holding an unconscious Jin Ling in his arms when JC arrives wielding Sandu. they duel and in the cave there are a lot of ancient corpses WWX can order around with his dizi. JC is close to have the upper hand... when LWJ enters the cave and knocks JC to one of the walls in WWX’s defense.

- [just like in the movie, I would like the narration to be hinting at LWJ having helped WWX all along. even if there were to be POV from LWJ’s part up until this moment, I would still not let it show he’s still in love with WWX. (eg: is he were to look at an old photo with WWX, maybe LWJ’s POV would show him tossing the picture aside and A-Yuan would accidentally see the scene and the POV would switch... so the kid would assume LWJ had beef with WWX instead)]

*

- A-Yuan, who up until then has never had any reason to think of WWX as anything but a menace to the cultivation world, feels winded. why does his mentor, his father figure, his benefactor... side with a criminal? and why does WWX have the dizi? did Qing-Jie really give it to him? but wasn’t she framed? the dizi must have been planted in her closet when they found it... right?

- LWJ tries to explain that WWX was not behind the disappearances. and that Wen Qing had not taken the dizi from LWJ’s office: Nie ZongHui had. After so many people disappeared, after Jin GuangShan’s accusations against the Nie Sect, Nie ZongHui panicked and wanted to protect his Sect. and since he knew LWJ was hiding something... since he knew how LWJ and WWX were close during their youth... he snooped around until he found the dizi and planted it on the only person every teacher was suspicious of: Wen Qing.

- Wen Qing, after being framed, seeks out WWX and helps him hide in the Burial Mounds, taking down the barriers the cultivation world has set around the area. she then sent a message to LWJ telling him that JC was being lured as well by WWX into the cave to talk... but that Jin Ling had attacked first.

- tired and still incredulous about being finally, finally free, WWX himself explains the truth about the Wen Remains and what he had done to save them. LWJ holds him tight as the other explains that he cannot use resentful energy as he used to and that -when he had tried to protect himself from Jin Ling’s attacks using the dizi- his first attempt had knocked down the kid. JC had found him at the worst possible moment, really.

- but then... who was behind the disappearances? then appears Su She. who had followed the juniors pretending to be invested in their well-being.

*

- the first cultivators to disappear were from MoLing after all, but not because they were abducted... but because they were the one abducting people to begin with. leaving out cultivators from the Nie Sect had been done only to satisfy Jin GuangShan’s request to find Nie MingJue at fault: the man’s only sin being that he would have never voted in favor of Jin GuangShan for the position of Chief Cultivator (something like the Minister of Magic, I suppose??) wishing to get more power for his Sect, Su She accepted to give an opening for Jin GuangShan’s plan... after being ordered as much by JGY.

- JGY... who had been very quick to “suggest” WWX was behind the disappearances after finding out the dizi Madam Yu and LWJ were hiding had disappeared.

- LWJ duels with Su She, but eventually has to take a step back after the other uses a transportation talisman and disappears himself. if they let him go he will tell everyone that WWX is back, that LWJ is with him and they they both took JC and the juniors as hostages. a siege will be called upon them and they need to flee ASAP.

*

- WWX takes them to Wen Ning’s and A-Yuan is really confused. if it’s true that WWX helped the Wen Remains, then it’s probably right to assume that WWX and Wen Ning were friends... but why did that never occur to him? why neither Wen Qing nor her brother told him anything??

- Wen Ning cries of happiness upon seeing WWX and they embrace for a long time. Wen Qing is there and has put barriers around their apartment in Yiling to protect them from being found. there are spirits (invisible to the commoners) lurking around and flying in the sky, prodding at every window and door. A-Yuan looks out for danger close to the widows, trying to find a solution... and also as a way to stay away from his family for a bit as he tries to figure the truth out all on his own.

- however, he cannot help himself from listening in on what is being told, not with Lan JingYi asking a million questions per minute to an exhausted Yiling Patriarch. Jin Ling and JC are still unconscious on the sofa and A-Yuan holds his friend’s hand by the window for comfort -more for himself than for the other boy- when he learns that Wen Ning defended WWX by accidentally killing Jin Ling’s father JZX 13 years back. and then how, in one last attempt to save her own step-brother, even Jiang YanLi had died in the explosion that should have destroyed Burial Mounds completely.

- WWX had seen her only at the very last minute, dragging her body over to the mostly ruined cave before he could lose his senses to prevent her to turn into a vengeful corpse. to preserve her body until other Sects could arrive. he had truly no idea his sister wanted to talk to him and he accepted to go to prison for it.

- (JC had been the one to find his sister’s corpse and WWX’s unconscious body in the cave 13 years ago. he cried and took both of them back. after his sister and brother-in-law’s funeral, soon after WWX’s incarceration, JC revealed his mother he had found the dizi. she decided to hide it in the school, where nobody could have found it, all to prevent the rise of another demonic cultivator. WWX’s sword was believed to have been destroyed in the explosion... only JC can feel its existence through his lend-me-down golden core. but he doesn’t reveal this to anyone.)

- WWX reveals he should have been brought to the “magical prison” (maybe on Phoenix Mountain?) but he was instead trapped within the dungeons of Koi Tower, the ancient residence belonging to Jin Ling’s family. Jin Ling had spent most of his life there... unaware that his uncle WWX was there.

- WWX also tells them that someone helped him run away, a man younger than him that used to keep him company in the shadows, listening to his stories. someone who brought Suibian back to him... even if he would not be able to wield it without a golden core (he tried in school under LQR’s tutelage a la “Legilimens lessons” you feel me?).

- WWX has met with this person for a long time, even if he cannot be sure how many years exactly. maybe five or less. still, he would like to find this person and repay him in kindness, even if he doesn’t know what his name is. when asked to describe him, WWX tells them his eyes had been shut close all along with talismans and that he would be able to recognize the man only by voice alone.

- Jin Ling is awake by the time the story ends and squeezes A-Yuan’s hand back. they both discovered horrible things about their families and they can barely share a glance between them before they start silently crying. LWJ notices and steps in to try to comfort them... but Jin Ling asks him why he helped WWX instead. demanding to know if he helped him 13 years ago in destroying his family as well.

*

- LWJ only looks back at WWX and smiles as he shakes his head. then the two of them reveal they had lived together for a while in secret before the fallout. they even got married without anyone but Wen Ning and Wen Qing knowing, just right after the war (Sunshot Campaign)... before WWX’s control over the resentful energy grew unstable and he had to flee to prevent LWJ to be caught in the aftermath of his actions.

- WWX pretended he didn’t love LWJ anymore and asked to be left alone. heartbroken but still mindful of the other’s boundaries, LWJ thought he didn’t have any right to control WWX and let him go. in the following year or two, WWX found a home with the Wen Remains and defended them until the end.

- LWJ had tried to defend them from the hatred festering the cultivation world from within... but treaded maybe too carefully in the attempt not to disrespect his father and the elders of his family.

- when the Burial Mounds exploded, LWJ disappeared to help the Wens find new homes instead of lending his hand in containing the magical power from spilling over into the non-cultivation world. this was seen as an insult from his family’s standpoint and he was forced into seclusion for years. so while WWX was trapped in a jail covered in suppression talismans, LWJ had been forced into a prison of his own, in a freezing cave where he had to focus all of his attention on developing his cultivation in order to survive such temperatures.

- this led both of them to develop a trauma they don’t know if they will ever be able to overcome, unless they learn to live with its consequences one step at a time. during seclusion, LWJ figured that WWX had lied to him, but that he had been too in love and to young to see the truth at the time. so after he left seclusion he looked once more for A-Yuan, who WWX had loved like a son, and was willing to adopt him... but the child already had a family and it would have been cruel to separate him from them.

- that was why he offered to pay for his studies and never wanted to be found out... but A-Yuan was too smart not to find out and so LWJ allowed himself to hope for a future when he could tell the boy the truth. he wouldn’t dare to hope for WWX to ever leave prison, but he could still dream to see him again.

- at the end of the touching story, JC punches LWJ square on the jaw. he was still weak and couldn’t handle the dizziness, but he had listened to everything and now is furious with LWJ. he demands to know why he didn’t tell anyone WWX and him were married; why he thought possible that such a lovelorn idiot like JC’s brother could ever not be in love with LWJ after obsessing over him for the entirety of their academic career. JC and the entire Yunmeng would have helped them! JC would have even convinced Madam Yu to wield Zidian to protect them and the Wens if necessary! why did they have to do everything by themselves?!

- WWX finally sits close to his brother and lets him punch his chest and arms as much as he wants, until the younger man collapses back on the sofa, exhausted. A-Yuan observes all of this and yet he cannot understand: he doesn’t remember WWX at all, nor to have ever lived in Burial Mounds. he will not trust WWX until he finds out the truth by himself.

- Wen Qing, ever so practical, reminds them they have the entire cultivation world breathing on their necks and that no amount of family drama will save them from execution if they keep hiding doing nothing. that’s when LWJ receives a spiritual butterfly (this is the Patronus thingie! I guess??) from his brother LXC: the butterflies goes under the radar and slips inside the barriers set by Wen Qing easily; it says that “Nie MingJue is innocent and that JGY is helping them”.

- none of them could see how that’s possible, since it was JGY the one ordering Su She to kidnap all of those people just to give Jin GuangShan an opportunity to mess with the Nie Sect. yet, LWJ trusts his brother and decides to send another spiritual butterfly in response, asking where they should meet with LXC.

*  

- while they wait, they eat and try to get along. the Wen siblings distract the kids while WWX and LWJ talk by themselves for a while. they need some alone time and they move to the guest bedroom to figure things out (i doubt they would go for the papapa after all that distance, longing, exhaustion and touch-starvation... especially because last time they saw each other WWX told LWJ he didn’t love him anymore. but... you know.... they did miss each other a lot, and WWX desperately needs a shower, so.......................... yeah.)

- Wen Qing coax the juniors close with food and tells them all sorts of stories about the infamous Yiling Patriarch and how he didn’t even know how to properly cook for the Wen Remains. she tells them how interested he was in the non-cultivation world (Arthur vibes anyone??) and how he was the one teaching the Wens how to use all sorts of common objects, like cars and toasters, washing machines and ovens. Wen Ning sadly suggests that maybe WWX had already imagined how they would need such knowledge for when they were going to leave the cultivation world for good. everyone becomes somber afterwards.

- Jin Ling is still wary of Wen Ning, but he accepts his food and doesn’t try anything funny. Lan JingYi asks Wen Qing to teach him how to make a television work and he eventually blasts the volume up until he wakes JC and receives a knock on the head for the trouble. OuYang ZiZhen starts flipping through the romance novels Wen Ning collects and gets hooked on at least three of them at the same time bc none of them are related to the cultivation world. A-Yuan spends time with Wen Ning and they promise to talk about everything that happened as soon as this nightmare will be over.

*

- the following morning: the kids are sprawled on the floor, JC somewhat surrounded by them and cushioning their heads with his limbs; Lan JingYi slips and calls him “dad” for some reason; Jin Ling boinks his head with a fist and tells him he already has A-Yuan as a cousin and he doesn’t need another one; A-Yuan sobs a little when a sleepy JC tells the kids he has enough love for everyone; OuYang ZiZhen declares he wants to be a cousin too; Wen Qing slips the equivalent of Veritaserum down JC’s open mouth as he snores and they ask him all sorts of questions just to mess with him.

- all is well and the wangxian lovebirds come out of their room: all combed out and clean, WWX looks almost a respectable member of society, but dressed in non-cultivation clothes he still looks too skin for comfort. Suibian held close, LWJ’s hand in his, WWX properly introduces himself and asks for forgiveness.

- still under the effects of the potion, JC reveals that he’s just glad he’s still alive and as annoying as ever. WWX cries of happiness and LWJ has never looked more serene and moved since A-Yuan got to know him properly.

- right then, a spiritual butterfly (a shouting one! like the Howlers this time around!) passes through the window of the apartment and only says: “they’re coming. hold onto Suibian, all of you”. the group has barely enough time to huddle around the sword when the windows of the flat explode and spirits swarms their way inside!

- the sword activates (like a Portkey!) and they get sucked in through a passage until they reach a dungeon in Qinghe Nie. WWX realizes the engravings in the metal had been slightly changed to accommodate a transportation spell that would be invisible to the eye. LWJ takes his sword and point it at their host... but he only finds his fellow teacher MXY. for a moment he had thought the butterfly had come from JGY, because that had been the man’s voice screaming at them to take Suibian... but he couldn’t be sure. spiritual butterflies only speak to the one they are directed to, so nobody heard when the message had been opened aside from him.

- but... what did MXY have to do with all of this? the younger teacher doesn’t speak, simply gesturing them to follow along. then they reach the throne chamber through a secret corridor and there they find... NHS. who finally explains to them what is happening.

* (flashback)

- NMJ and JGY had planned to stop Jin GuangShan’s plan to take over the non-cultivation world. initially they thought they could postpone the inevitable by letting NMJ voting against the Jin Sect Leader in the election for Chief Cultivator... but then the pig ordered JGY to find dirt on NMJ and to orchestrate something to trigger a new war between Sects.

- JGY asks Su She (who he knows he’s a spy under Jin GuangShan’s wing) to start taking people away from the school and help him “frame” the Nie cultivators. JGY has full permission from NMJ to do so and LXC is informed as well. LXC pretends to be “kidnapped” and protects the teachers, students, and members of the staff that had been taken away in the meantime.

- JGY needs to take one specific person out of the school (out of sight from his father’s spies): his brother MXY, who had learned how to use transportation talismans long ago. MXY gives JGY some low-level talismans for Su She and his cronies from MoLing, just to make his older brother appear more trustworthy to the spie. but he’s otherwise preoccupied with perfecting a spell to lead an activated Suibian (aka, the Portkey) all the way in Qinghe.

- JGY needs MXY to finish the “receiving end” of the spell and the array that would have welcomed the Yiling Patriarch back. and to achieve that JGY has to sneak MXY out without people from the Jin Sect suspecting him.

- Qin Su conveniently “suggests” to Su She to take MXY away for good measure: she got news from her brothers of their plan to dethrone their father and she’s on board. so her suggestion was taken seriously by Su She and he himself sneaks MXY out of the school despite the (uuuuuuuuh) lockdown (??? too soon? too soon)

- Jin GuangShan now has what he wanted: an opportunity to seek NMJ out... but Nie ZongHui panics and steals WWX’s dizi, planting it in Wen Qing’s belongings. JGY knows his father will still try to ignore the WWX situation in order to pick on NMJ no matter what... but if the cultivation world hears about how the Jin Sect didn’t care if the Yiling Patriarch was behind the disappearances... JGY knows a siege will come for his father all right, but it will come for him and his siblings too.

- so JGY suggests WWX is the one behind the kidnappings, reminding his father -this way- how the entire Sect will be under scrutiny if he refuses to acknowledge the disappearance of the dizi. JGY doesn’t want for the name of Jin to be followed by hatred and disgust just like it happened with the Wens.

- his father luckily catches up on the tension in the room and for the time being accepts to look for WWX like the others instead of trying to come for NMJ’s head (ahahah)

- while MXY works on the array to activate Suibian from afar, LXC is confident LWJ will find WWX all on his own and convince him to help them. but in case LWJ will fail in convincing him... well, activating Suibian they will still be able to summon WWX whether he likes it or not. but LXC doesn’t have time to send the butterfly that LWJ has already left the school (after receiving Wen Qing’s message). so the little butterfly looks for LWJ for the entire night before he finds him... and a bunch of children (including JC).

- which is unexpected, but LXC trusts his brother. he informs JGY and the two of them entrust to MXY the task to send another butterfly to LWJ, activate Suibian, and welcome the group in Qinghe. all while LXC, JGY and NMJ meet in Gusu to plan a siege against Jin GuangShan.

* (end of flashback)

- NHS finally reveals how he had been the one suggesting MXY to give Suibian back to WWX after transforming it into a (raw and unpolished) transportation talisman before freeing him from Koi Tower (roughly at the beginning of the school year). MXY would have needed more time to finish the work on Suibian, but rumors had it WWX was soon to be executed bc now useless to Jin GuangShan after 13 years.

- tense under the scrutiny, MXY remains silent as WWX slowly falls at his feet and thanks him for keeping him company all of those years. MXY still refuses to speak when WWX marvels at the wonderful job he had done with Suibian as he kneels in front of him and tries to take one of the younger man’s gloved hands in his.

- “Finally, Yiling Patriarch,” utters MXY as he graciously accepts WWX’s offer and takes his hand. but WWX tenses, trying to take his hand back, still kneeling in front of MXY, who is smiling down at him.

- “You’re not him,” is all WWX is able to say before Xue Yang reveals his real identity (the changing-faces thingie is apparently called “face-changing technique” and works here in place of the Polyjuice potion). XY activates Suibian (still in WWX’s hand) once more and disappears with WWX.

*

- now that he has the whole story (and the Yiling Patriarch all for himself to play with!), XY can go back to Jin GuangShan and be given his two fierce corpses back (SL & XXC), who had been held captive for experiments in Koi Tower.

- XY took MXY’s place upon discovering JGY’s younger brother had secretly let the Yiling Patriarch run away with an unfinished transportation talisman. Jin GuangShan’s ordering him to keep the traitor MXY under control and to find WWX. retracing the spell-work backwards only from MXY’s notes would have taken ages so XY hid MXY behind a mirror in a secret chamber, torturing him to force him to tell him how to find WWX. but MXY refused over and over again.

- XY transformed his features into MXY’s ones, but his missing pinky would have jeopardized his mission, so he wore stuffed gloves on both hands, shrugging it off as a stylistic choice. his acting so spot on, not even Qin Su or JGY noticed anything missing, not even NHS, MXY’s best friend, or Jin Ling.

- but JGY never told him the whole story. and now that he knew the truth about Jin GuangShan’s intention to conquer the non-cultivation world... now XY has leverage to get what he wants and flee with his (partners?? lovers?? guinea pigs??) fierce corpses.

- working on a double array to activate Suibian (whatever that means) took almost an entire school year, but in the end he got to drag WWX all the way back to Koi Tower... where the siege will soon take place.

*

- WWX gets nails in his skull (which I assume could work in place of an Imperius Curse, even if he’s not a fierce corpse) in order to defend Koi Tower from the siege by organizing the corpses against 3Zun’s army of cultivators.

- LWJ looks for his brother as the others and NHS look for more help. they still don’t know WWX is in Koi Tower or for who XY I start working, but NHS knows Jin GuangShan will not wait for the siege to take him down so he suggest they move to LanLing.

- the juniors are exhausted and yet they fly to Koi Tower in the attempt to warn LXC of what had just occurred, when they hear the dizi Chenqing summoning the dead. the battle begins, but doesn’t culminate until 3Zun show up and destroy most of WWX’s corpses.

- WWX himself is fighting against the nails in his skull and his demonic cultivation is deeply unstable, so much his corpses crumble down easily enough. still, there are so many: Koi Tower must have harvested them against the laws of the cultivation-world (XY being one of the mad scientists/magicians behind the project under Jin a GuangShan’s guidance... all in order to terrorize the commoners and eventually rule over the non-cultivation world)

- eventually, LWJ is able to face WWX and take him down, forcing him to come to his senses after taking the nails out. Jin GuangShan is captured and will face trial. Madam Jin takes over the Sect and makes JGY her General.

*

- during the battle, A-Yuan gets hit in the head and the other juniors try to use a spare transportation talisman (disapparate) to get him back to Wen Qing... but they don’t know where she is fighting and so they go back to Cloud Recesses.

- A-Yuan gets (Splinched) injuried even more and the pain reminds him of his past, of WWX and the rest of his family in the lush mountain of Burial Mounds.

- the school is empty, but Jin Ling finds a way back to his uncle JGY’s office where he knows there are medicinal herbs and talismans they can use. inside, they only find XY who’s looking for something by the desk in a hurry. XY tries to kill them (with an hex??) with a curse... but Madam Yu saves them by capturing him first with Zidian.

- Jin Ling embraces his grandma and explains what happened and where JC and WWX are, but he also insists on the need to save A-Yuan. once that is settled, Jin Ling forces XY to tell him where his younger uncle is -fearing he may be dead- by pointing his father’s sword at him.

- after getting what he wants, Jin Ling runs to MXY’s office and finds the bronze mirror... but he cannot step inside of it. he wishes and wishes and wishes, but nothing happens! he slides on the floor and cries his heart out.

*

- WWX and LWJ arrive with JC and Wen Qing at the school. Madam Yu is cold towards WWX and accuses him of destroying their family and of disrespecting the debt he owed them. WWX listens carefully and then embraces her anyway. it doesn’t last long, but he doesn’t care.

- LWJ steps inside JGY’s office and asks XY to tell him where MXY is. the other offers to tell him only if LWJ helps him find something in JGY’s room: a key to the (magical, I guess) cell where SL and XXC have been trapped.

- LWJ tells him they already freed them and that they are waiting for him downstairs. restless and eager to meet them, XY tells him nobody aside from someone with MXY’s face can open the mirror door in MXY’s office.

- tired of all that nonsense, LWJ drags XY over to the office, Zidian still cracking and squeezing him in place like a snake, and forces him to perform his imitation magic once more.

- WWX runs behind them and they find Jin Ling sobbing on the floor. WWX smashes XY’s now transformed face into the mirror and they barge inside. MXY is there, some fingers missing, a lost ear, too skinny for comfort, traumatized beyond recognition. but he immediately recognizes WWX and weakly allows the older man to embrace him and hold him tight.

- A-Yuan sees all of this, after Wen Qing got to work her magic on him and starts to cry. he too once had been too skinny and weak, he too had been saved by WWX and then once more by LWJ.

- he remembers everything now. LWJ hugs him tight as they made their way to WWX and MXY. A-Yuan holds WWX tight as MXY marvels at him.

- “Is this... is this A-Yuan? Wen Yuan?” MXY asks, smiling even in his weakened state, “Your dad told me so much about you... so it was you all along, Lan SiZhui?”

- and even if MXY had never been anything but one of his many weird teachers, now that A-Yuan finally sees him after one entire year, knowing he kept WWX company in Koi Tower for so many years... A-Yuan cannot do anything but feel a great deal of affection for him too. so he hugs MXY as well and he laughs as WWX and LWJ hold him tight.

*

[what a ride. what a fucking ride. I want 150k words for this but I cannot do it. any volunteers? anyway you can interpret the WWX/MXY thingie as strictly platonic, but you are talking to a wangxianyu shipper so........yeah. no but really, I just wanted these poor characters to be happy. also, even if this is a “HP: POA” inspired au, I’ve always loved the mindfuck that was discovering the truth about Mad-Eye Moody in “HP: GOF” so..... sue me.]

[XY will face a trial don’t you worry]

[ignore all the plot holes, Su She would be proud of me for them]

[farmerlan]

Farmer Lan’s Rewatch Guide to The Untamed - Episode 3

LOL I mean…where do I begin or end on this one??

[The Jiang gang arrive at said tavern and are told that the tavern is booked up by some rich dude. Introduce Mianmian, who is about to go put some herb sachets in the rooms. WWX teases them and does a cute pun with her name, they relent and say it’s fine for the Jiang gang to stay.]

Differences from the novel:

In the novel, JYL DOES NOT go to Gusu with JC and WWX. She remains in Yunmeng.

There is no tavern scene. They do not run into Mianmian until Chapter 52, which is the Tortoise of Slaughter flashback arc.The scene with Mianmian is in the novel. But WWX does this to obtain one of her herb sachets, really for no reason other than because it smells good and he’s a flirt. In Chapter 54, the sachet ends up coming in handy as they manage to find useful herbs in there for LWJ’s leg injury while trapped in the cave. In Chapter 112, WWX finds out that LWJ actually stole the herb sachet off his body while he was passed out in the cave out of jealousy, and has been using it as his coin purse.

[The Jiangs deduce it’s JZX coming to stay and right then and IN COMES JIN ZI XUAN, all filthy rich and snobby. (JC & WWX calls him Jin Xiao Gong Zi (Young Master Jin) which is actually the nickname used to refer to JL in the novel, not JZX.) WWX exchanges snarky words with JZX, JYL decides they should stay somewhere else. JYL and JZX run into each other again on her way out and there’s this awkward exchange of glances (I can’t tell is JZX pretending to go to the wrong room on purpose??). It’s revealed there’s an arranged marriage between JZX and JYL.]

Differences from the novel:

We do not encounter JZX this early – the first time JZX is introduced in the novel as a character is in Chapter 18, right before WWX fights him for being a Grade A snob and speaking poorly of JYL. The corresponding scene for this part of the novel is the fight that will happen in Episode 7, so we’ll talk about that then.

The drama did a really good job with portraying the haughtiness of JZX! He’s arguably more likeable in the show as the scene of him apologizing to JYL for barging into her room wasn’t even in the novel. In the novel, it’s also explained that he’s bitter because firstly, he thinks JYL is not good enough for him and secondly, it’s an arranged marriage. According to the author’s description in Chapter 18, in terms of credentials, talents and looks, JYL would not be considered outstanding, and JZX would probably have married someone of more ‘equal’ standing if not for JYL’s mom and JZX’s mom being sworn sisters. We all know he comes around later on and JYL is flawless *chef’s kiss*, but it’s interesting to note that it’s not ENTIRELY just JZX being a little arrogant shit looking down on people. 

[Jiang gang arrive at Cloud Recesses but are denied entry because they left their invitation at the tavern. WWX attempts to talk his way in, LWJ arrives (wow swoon-worthy moment), behind him comes a man on a stretcher.LWJ is insistent they are not getting in without an invite and puts a silencing spell on WWX after his repeated protests, but relents later, although WWX isn’t there because he’s off to the tavern to recover the invitation.

WWX comes back, breaks the curfew wards and scales the wall with his Tian Zi Xiao liquor, except he runs into LWJ immediately and tries to bribe him ha. LWJ is not amused and they exchange blows. WWX says I’ll just finish the liquor on the roof and begins to talk about how LWJ is a relentless and rigid guy before being silenced again lmao.]

Differences from the novel:

Yo…where do I begin lol.

There’s no invite and no entry drama, the first time WWX meets LWJ is in Chapter 13. WWX does try to smuggle in alcohol at night while LWJ happened to be on night patrol, which leads to their scuffle in the courtyard as portrayed by the drama. The next day, NHS was about to caution WWX to not get on LWJ’s bad side during his time at the Cloud Recesses and the conversation basically went: WWX: “Does he wear all white, carry a silver sword, possess good looks but also has an expression like he’s constantly in mourning?” NHS: “How did you know?! Did you meet him?? No one has seen him because he’s been in seclusion.” And WWX recounts the events of last night to him and JC. NHS and JC are like, “Good luck he probably hates your guts now” and WWX is all, “There’s no way he’s in our class/after me, he’s probably too busy meditating” right as they see LWJ glaring at him through the classroom window ha.

In the novel LWJ is described as a prodigy and apparently somewhat of a household name among sects – prior to meeting him, WWX knew of him as one of the Two Jades of Lan.

In the novel, WWX does not get silenced by LWJ until Chapter 14, when he is punished by LQR and supervised by LWJ while in the Library Pavilion. There are some differences in the novel vs. the drama as to what exactly WWX did to deserve the punishments – I’ll cover that in the next couple of episodes as we see them play out.

Overall Thoughts

I know, where did the rest of the episode go? To be honest, the entire remainder of the episode is NOT in the novel at all.

This means:

There is no corpse puppet being controlled by the Wen sect. LWJ is not tasked by LXC to investigate missing cultivators. There is no scene where WWX is apprehended by LWJ and meets with LQR and LXC. In the novel, they simply fight and WWX escapes - it is not specified exactly HOW he got out of it, but presumably the fight probably ended in a draw or WWX winning because upon hearing WWX’s account of the story, NHS says “Are you trying to get yourself killed?? I don’t think LWJ has suffered humiliation like this before.”

Sorry, this means there’s no cute scene of LXC telling LWJ to befriend WWX, although don’t worry, LXC is still their #1 shipper in the novel.

Wen Qing does not go to Gusu Lan with Wen Ning to ‘study’ while secretly searching for the Yin metal. In fact, Yin metal is non-existent in the novel. In the novel, WWX becomes the originator of demonic cultivation due to the events at the Burial Mounds, and the Wen clan has nothing to do with it. WQ and WN show up much later in the novel.

Xue Yang is an antagonist in the novel, but he had zero connections to the Wen sect. He did, however, massacre the Chang sect, for reasons similar to what was portrayed in the drama (thirst! for! vengeance!)

LWJ did not tell WWX to copy the Gusu principles 300 times. However, WWX does get punished, as we’ll see in the next episode.

The whole scene with Wen Ruohan does not happen. In fact, WRH has maybe 5 lines of dialogue in the novel total, and most of his character is revealed through actions described by the author (e.g. the sacking of Yunmeng, the burning of the Cloud Recesses etc.) He is portrayed to be a hostile megalomaniac with a fondness for torture in Chapter 49 so they’re definitely on point with the character portrayal though.

Essentially, to create a stronger story arc for the drama while still trying to maintain the interactions between characters, the drama writers had to change the Wen sect to become more of the overarching ‘big baddie’ and created the Yin metal to serve as a way to tie in all of the conflict in a way that still makes sense.

As a side note, I might start typing on individual character names because I am getting tripped up by the number of Js in the acronyms HAHA. JC, JL, JZX, JGS, LWJ...there’s a lot.

[angstymdzsthoughts]

💍AU where JZX and JYL have a perfectly normal, loving engagement without any of the "she isn't good enough for me" nonsense. Instead, it's LWJ and WWX who have the problem. YZY said that if JFM was to bring him into the sect, he might as well contribute to sect alliances with an arranged marriage, and the Lan sect had a second son, so why not? The first time they actually met was at the cloud recesses and of course, since there was no JZX problem, WWX was never kicked out, but by the end 1/?

💍AU: there was a hopelessly infatuated WWX, completely and utterly in love in the second master Lan, but an annoyed ticked off LWJ who wanted nothing more than to break off his engagement with the unruly, messy, hyper Jiang disciple. WWX, throughout his stay, tried to flirt, give gifts, quiet himself down, anything to try and make his betrothed like him, even just a little, only to be met with rejection after rejection, and later on just recided to leaving LWJ alone, much to his pleasure. 2/?

💍AU: However, it seems that his betrothed's hatred for him was stronger than he thought and after the archery competition when he mistakenly took off LWJ's forehead ribbon and was met with the look of utter rage, he went back to LP with a broken alliance and a broken heart. JC, obviously couldn't be happier, not having to give WWX over to an ungrateful man like him and was extremely reluctant leaving WWX in the cave with him and the Xuanwu a couple weeks later. LWJ felt angry, being stuck 3/?

💍AU: (I'm not quite sure how I ended my last ask. Soz if this doesn't fit right) stuck in a cave with a resentful beast, but more so over the fact he's stuck with WWX of all people. But, nothing could have stopped the odd twist in his heart when WWX treated his leg over his own brand with minimal physical contact, "just the way my Lan Zhan like things" as he had said, and then proceeded to shuffle a couple metres away from him, giving LWJ the personal space he was so fond of but detested at 4/?

💍AU: that moment for the first time. He couldn't help but feel placed at the sight of WWX lightening up after he tried to converse some words with him, and then the drowning sense of fear washing over him when his former betrothed fell into the icy waters and never came back up. He wrote off his emotions as righteous worry untainted by any affection and refused to acknowledge the pounding warmth of his heart as he sang for the fevered boy and named his unconscious longing- 'Wangxian'. He 5/?

💍AU: told himself he didn't worry about the boy when he went missing for a painstaking 3 months, and then returned shrouded in darkness, resent and a dimmed light that seemed akin to a flicker compared to the way he used to glow back in their school days. Denial came first, and later, as WWX turned his back against him and JC claimed WWX's affiliation to the Jiang sect, he could do nothing but watch the near lifeless husk of what WWX had become and think with dull acceptance- "So this is 6/8

💍AU: what love feels like". LWJ deserved nothing from WWX. He realised that after one of their many arguements- he begged him to come back to Gusu, so he could protect what was left of his love, to give their future a chance. But he remembered the petty insults he threw WWX's way back in their youth in an attempt to shake him off, remembered the way WWX shriveled up at each remark, curling in on himself even more, yet chose to smile and see the best in LWJ. He deserved nothing, so he took 7/8

💍AU: WWX to the cave and held on, even through his whispers of 'Get Lost', through the 33 elders, through 33 lashes, until his brother told him his love was gone, and he couldn't hold onto the restraint, keeping his sorrow at bay, any longer. Living was tiring. Knowing that WWX was gone was draining, only A-Yuan seemed to tie him to the material world. So he felt a breath of life enter him, when he heard familiar noted out of a poorly crafted dizi, and vowed that this time he would not make 8/8

💍AU: the same mistakes again. He would fix the damage that he caused, rebuild the self-confidence he shattered. He knew WWX still loved him, LWJ saw it in his eyes, the way that foreign face but familiar grey irises looked up at him with adoration but resigned in a hopeless way WWX showed after their engagement was broken . This time he would love him, in all the ways he never did. 9/8 (This turned out really long and much less angsty at the end but I tried to add enough sadness in the middle)