#trying to be a father and an older brother to Huaisang

[thebiscuiteternal]

I love your larger age gap Nie Bros au! I want to float the idea of a role reversal larger age gap au where Nie Huaisang is the much older sibling of the pair, and Nie Mingjue is the baby brother.

Whew.

Honestly, it would lean more towards the "bitter" side of bittersweet, because Nie Huaisang has spent his entire fourteen/fifteen years of life knowing that even if his father has tried to love him, even though he has tried to be a good son, he's not the kind of heir his father or the sect wants and never will be. He's sharp and clever, but also small and sickly and exhausted easily and will never be a good night hunter or battle leader. He's so very un-Nie-like that only the fact that he shares his father's eye color and a few of his facial features keeps people from making accusations about his parentage (and even that doesn't stop them sometimes).

But at least his father never tried to replace him or his deceased mother, right?

And then, right after his father has just died, a midwife shows up with a strong healthy baby and a bundle of paperwork declaring the child fully legitimate, and Huaisang has to grapple with the realization that his father did very much try to get a replacement, and since the paperwork is all nice and legal, the elders and senior disciples likely knew about it and said nothing.

He wants to scream or vomit or break things or hit someone, but he does none of the above and just sits beside the crib and stares at nothing while the elders debate his future like he's not even present.

Then there is a little tug on his hair, and when he looks down, little Mingjue has a fistful of it stuffed in his mouth and is staring up at him with big green eyes and... dammit, he can't hate this kid. Mingjue doesn't know what's going on, has no idea how he's destroyed what little of a life his older brother had just by existing. It's not his fault.

Huaisang sighs and gently tugs his hair free, then reaches in to let Mingjue clutch his hand and giggle and gnaw on his fingers.

It's eventually decided that Huaisang will be (a puppet) sect leader, with provisions that as soon as the sect has decided Mingjue is old enough, he will abdicate and leave, so as not to complicate his brother's position by hanging around.

Needless to say, this does not make Huaisang feel the slightest bit better, but he has no choice other than to at least try to do well by his new title, which proves to be more difficult than it has to be because literally every single one of his decisions gets argued and debated and he's constantly being patronized even though it's apparent he's not as stupid as people expect him to be.

Ironically, the son who will replace him winds up becoming his only refuge. Since they didn't have the years of being brothers from the Reverse Nie "canon" timeline, Mingjue never grows up absorbing the disdain everyone else has for Huaisang. Rather, Mingjue has already imprinted on him and throws unholy fits when people try to keep them apart.

It's more common than not that Mingjue sleeps cuddled against his brother's chest in Huaisang's bed instead of his own crib. He starts developing a fierce protective streak before he even knows how to walk or talk, scowling at anyone whose tone he doesn't like when they talk to his brother and trying to grab for hair or throw things at them when he gets really upset about it. People learn quick that if they want to badmouth Huaisang, they have to do it out of earshot of Mingjue, and that only holds more true as he grows up and begins grasping language and starts becoming aware of the disparity between how hard his brother is trying versus the things people say about him.

Everyone else better start watching their insults before they find that Mingjue has grown to have more loyalty to the brother who loves him and does his damnedest to care for him despite all his other duties versus the sect who wants to split them up.

And that's as far as I've currently gotten with this idea.

[allthelittlecreepycrawlies]

Tonight in "Things I Will Probably Never Write!" it's a yokai AU based on the new official merch art (that finally gave us Nies).

----------

Huaisang grows up very much not wanting to be an ox yokai. Everybody knows he's never gonna be as strong and intimidating as his father and brother, so they have no qualms making fun of the "slow, stupid cow" to his face.

His brother's not much help because Mingjue is solidly in the "ignore it or beat the mockery out of them" camp, and gets mad about Huaisang disrespecting their family if he ever voices his hopes that he's mortal like his mother (supposedly was).

When his horns and tail start growing in, fully cementing him as an ox, Huaisang is inconsolable (and in a lot of pain, tbh). Mingjue is caught between mad that he's taking it so hard and worried because his health has never been great and the transformation might genuinely be fucking him up. He spends most of the transformation period in the worried stage, but when it ends and Huaisang's still alive, he slides over into the mad stage because Huaisang is still distraught and attempts to hide his new demonic appendages.

So they're already constantly at each other's throats over their heritage when Meng Yao enters the picture.

---

Meng Shi was a mirror who ascended into a yokai, and Meng Yao winds up taking after her rather than his father.

He's very precocious, too, developing his first soul mirror, a tiny compact, at a very young age, and Meng Shi is both impressed (her clever boy!) and relieved (a compact is very easy to hide and protect).

As he gets older, he refines his mirror into more elaborate shapes, but he hits a bottleneck when he's fourteen, because he's already reached the point where he'll have to start binding other souls if he's going to improve.

Meng Shi worries, because while she had tethered some of her long-term clients to her own mirror, the general atmosphere of the brothel meant she couldn't have many or tether them too tightly, and most of them were mortal besides.

If her son is going to survive the weakness that is slowly killing her, he needs to get out in the world and start finding other yokai to snare.

So, knowing that it will be the last time she'll see him because her power will run out and her "human" form will fade before the time limit's up, she directs him to spend five years finding yokai souls to tether.

He suspects what she's up to and doesn't want to leave her, but he is a dutiful boy, so he goes.

Naturally, his first instinct is to look into his father's clan, though, on his mother's orders, he's careful to hide what kind of yokai he is.

It goes badly. Very badly.

He winds up being picked up (literally) from the stairs by the visiting Nies after Huaisang saw him fall (and almost shatter!). As they help him to a local healer, he secretly checks his mirror, both to make sure it's still holding up and to see if it will let him glean any more useful information about his rescuers.

He is very surprised when Huaisang's reflection doesn't show an ox, like his brother.

It shows a bird.

---

After he's been handed over to a healer, he winds up eavesdropping on what sounds like a very old argument between the brothers, because just before the stairs incident, Mingjue had caught Huaisang trying to hide his horns and tail again.

And Meng Yao, being very well-read and very good at putting pieces together, realizes he's stumbled on an exceptionally rare opportunity.

Yokai whose types became misaligned across incarnations, like… say… a bird soul being born to an ox body, are a particularly potent power source for mirror yokai, both because the clash between soul and body constantly leaks power, and because their dysphoria and misery make them easy to snare.

More than that, Meng Yao could even take the risk to seal Huaisang away within the mirror itself, rather than having to rely on the tenuous tethers his mother used, because if even half of what Mingjue snaps at his younger brother is true, Huaisang going missing won't be an actual problem.

It would be a win for everyone, really. Inside the mirror's little pocket dimension, Huaisang can live as the species he should have been, Mingjue will no longer have to deal with such an inadequate heir, and Meng Yao will have a permanent companion and an almost endless power supply to further his growth.

He just has to arrange the right moment to make his move.

[lilapplesheadcannons]

Nie MingJue, the unintentional kidnapper

Or that time A-Yuan almost got adopted into the Nie Sect

Nie MingJue is starting to get slightly uncomfortable. Sure, it has been decades since HuaiSang was a toddler (two decades, to be more specific), but surely toddlers need to blink more? The child is looking at him like he is the most mesmerising vision it has ever seen in its entire 4 years on earth.

He tries to glance through the door without being too intruding. He understands there is a touching reunion happening somewhere inside, and God knows he doesn't want to interrupt the Jiangs screaming and crying and hitting and hugging their wayward prodigal demonic cultivator, but surely someone else can take the child? Is it not a cousin of the Ghost General and her terrifying sister? Now he thinks about it, he is not so sure they are very fit guardians if they are willing to abandon their charge to any random cultivator. And the worst part is A-Yao, the person best suited to deal with this situation, has left with them, presumably trying to find a quieter resting place for the Wen remnants away from the chaos that is the 100 days celebration of the newest Jin baby.

He flinches when a soft finger cautiously pokes his cheek. The child grins guilelessly at him and says, "Pretty gege!"

Nie MingJue blushes to the root of braids. That's it! This child is obviously surrounded by unreliable people who would teach him utter nonsense or dump him in the middle of enemy territories, so as a responsible adult, it is his solemn duty to adopt the child (a boy? It is dressed as one, but who knows with Wei Wuxian?) and take it to Qinghe. He stands up with the child under one armpit, the child seemingly unbothered by being dangled like a sack of potatoes.

"He's mine!"

Lan Xichen's baby brother looks just as angry as he did on the day they first met, when he ended up biting HuaiSang. Except now he is almost as tall as MingJue, and he has already put the tip of his finger on his sword.

Rude!

Nie MingJue, a sect leader and the chief cultivator, is an older brother first and foremost. How can he resist ruffling Lan Er-Gongji's already ruffled feathers even more?

"I didn't know Wangji had a child."

Wangji bristles even further, reminding him of the time he accidentally stepped on Second Mother's cat's tail.

The child waves at him from his precarious position, "Rich Gege!"

Does Wangji's eyes soften a little? Nie MingJue can swear he saw a crack of smile in his lips. Surely, he is just hallucinating. The child chirps out again, "Pretty Gege!" pointing at MingJue. The room temperature plummets several degrees.

"GIVE HIM TO ME!"

If Wangji doesn't want to take over from Lan Laoshi, he can easily earn his living teaching enunciation to rich masters. Nue MingJue heard every syllable distinctly, including the single exclamation mark at the end. Is he serious?

Nie MingJue stares at him. He has heard rumours. The light bearing lord! The war has done awful things to the cultivators. Once kind, just men have been reduced to butchers with enough trauma to last a few lifetimes, but surely it hasn't changed the upright young man in front of him to such an extent that he was willing to...

He moves the child from underneath his arm and settles him down on the ground behind him.

"Look here, Wangji, he is just a child..."

He gets interrupted again by the same clear, obstinate tone.

"Give him to me! Now!"

Has Wangji lost it? Does he want to kill a child, practically a baby, to avenge his father and his sect? Does he really think he can get away with killing the adopted child of Wei Wuxian when Wei Wuxian himself was just a few doors away? Not to mention the Ghost General and the Jiang sect leader in the vicinity?

You can probably cut the tension with a blunt sabre. That's the first thing Lan Xichen notices when he walks in, the second thing being his brother and his best friend locked in a staring contest. Wangji looks like he is ready to start a fight, and Da-Ge has that little mocking smile, which means he is happy to indulge. Behind him, little A-Yuan is studiously examining the pattern on the carpet.

Wangji breaks the stare first. He turns to his big brother and says, almost petulantly,

"He's not giving A-Yuan back!"

Lan Xichen smiles and shakes a deprecating finger at MingJue in mock sensor,

"Now, now, what do you mean by not handing over my nephew to my brother? Da-ge! If you indeed want a child,..."

Wait a second! The jibe about the child being Wangji's, that was purely a taunt. Is it true? Did Wangji really have a child? A 4 years old? But, he begs your biggest pardon, Wangji is a child himself! How can he have a child? When? With whom?

Having his sympathetic brother on his side seems to encourage Wangji to speak further.

"A-Yuan called him pretty!"

If only people could see their Light bearing Lord pouting! Xichen tuts.

"For shame, Da-Ge!"

But before Nie MingJue can demand explanation, A-Yuan decides he has had enough of the carpet and stands up, then walks over to Lan Wangji in a brisk, businesslike manner, who bends down to pick him up without breaking eye contact with Nie MingJue and pointedly kisses the child's forehead.

Nie MingJue is pretty sure he is having a Qi deviation right now. Ah well, there are worse ways to go, he supposes.

[jaimebluesq]

hiiiii. remember that post we discussed where jin guangyao mistakenly gets the idea nie huaisang is the same kind of libertine as his father and is trying so hard not to let his feelings about it show that he just keeps stressing himself out more? and then it turns out the brothel workers aren't sex partners, they're novel/art collaborators?

(i swear im not asking for a full fic. one little scene is *plenty*.)

Yes! I'm more than happy to oblige :D I hope you enjoy this, and happy birthday!

~ ~ ~

Meng Yao was seriously questioning all of his life choices.

It has seemed a good idea to come to Qinghe Nie after his efforts to join Lanling Jin had been thwarted. At first it had seemed the Nie were just as bad as every other cultivator, judging him for his mother’s profession, until Nie Mingjue had proven to be above such things. Meng Yao had happily taken advantage of the new opportunity presented to him to try and make himself invaluable to his sect leader, hoping that under Nie Mingjue, his hard work would speak for itself. And his life had been going well! Even when he’d been assigned to occasionally wrangle his sect leader’s little brother, what had first seemed to be a punishment became a boon because he soon discovered that very few people were trusted enough to allow close to the Nie brothers. Nie Huaisang had almost immediately adopted Meng Yao as another older brother, despite them being quite similar in age, and Meng Yao came to realize he actually enjoyed doting on him in return.

There had only been one problem: the sweet boy he’d taken a shining to was a Jin Guangshan in the making. At first it had been subtle, him noticing Nie Huaisang’s occasional lustful and lascivious glance toward women and men alike, though his looks were always well-disguised so as not to clue in the object of his affections. Then there had been the spring books – so many spring books – that always seemed to be open to the most lewd images whenever Meng Yao visited his young master’s bedroom. Finally, it had been the brothel visits. That had been the last straw for Meng Yao, the moment he’d truly begun shaking his head at his charge’s future and wondering what he had gotten himself into coming to Qinghe Nie. Had he adopted a ‘didi’ only to watch him become his father? One time, Nie Mingjue had asked him to accompany Nie Huaisang on one of his visits to the Scarlet Veil, but Meng Yao had found an excuse to remain in the Unclean Realm. After Meng Yao had refused two more such requests, Nie Mingjue had stopped asking, which suited him just fine.

Until today. Technically, his sect leader had not asked him to accompany Nie Huaisang to the brothel – because Nie Huaisang was already there, and was late coming home. The disciple that had left with him had returned an hour ago, drunk and reeking of alcohol with no memory of having been accompanied by anyone, let alone his young master. And thus Nie Mingjue had come to Meng Yao and asked him to retrieve his brother because there were few others he trusted to do so while keeping his brother’s reputation intact.

How could Meng Yao refuse?

And now he stood before the brothel’s doors, dreading what he would find when he entered.

He hadn’t been to a brothel since he had left Yunping. They reminded him far too much of his childhood, walking down corridors to hear moans of pleasure and the occasional scream of pain when a client abused the courtesan who had taken them to bed, worrying every day that his mother would meet such a client and she would be taken from him. Fear that he would be forced into the same line of work despite his mother’s efforts to keep him from it. He respected the courtesans who worked such places – their clients were the ones who deserved his derision.

And unfortunately, sweet little Nie Huaisang was one such client.

He took a steeling breath before entering the Scarlet Veil and speaking to one of the ladies, introducing himself as a representative of Nie Mingjue and asking to speak with Nie Huaisang. He expected to be told to wait while they retrieved him – instead, the woman gave him a knowing smirk and waved for him to follow her down the corridor. He kept the disgust from his face as he imagined the worst, of walking in on Nie Huaisang in bed with a courtesan – this was a side of his young charge he did not want to see in person, but if it was what he needed to do to retrieve him, then he would suffer through it.

They approached a door at the end of the corridor and the woman told him that Nie Huaisang was inside, then she turned and left. She didn’t even have the courtesy to stand by as moral support as he entered whatever den of depravity lie beyond this door. He sighed and knocked to advertise his presence.

After several moments, the door was slid open just enough for a head to peek through. “Yes?” the woman asked, looking Meng Yao from head to toe. She was still fully dressed in silky green robes, her hair coiffed to perfection and her makeup immaculate.

“I’m here to retrieve Nie-gongzi,” he said with a smile to mask his displeasure.

“And you would be?”

“This one is Meng Yao.”

“Just a moment.” The door was slid shut and he could hear voices murmuring on the other side, but soon enough it was slid open all the way and the woman gave him a small bow. “Please come in. Nie-gongzi is just on the other side of the screen.”

The door was shut behind him as he moved into the room. The screen was rosewood with paper panels, each painted to portray an erotic act between two or more participants. He closed his eyes a moment as if that could prevent him from seeing whatever was in the room beyond the screen, but he had to open them eventually. He sighed and walked around it-

He froze.

“I know I’m late,” Nie Huaisang called out from a low table on the floor. “But I’m so close to being finished, I didn’t think Da-ge would mind too much.”

Nie Huaisang was kneeling and holding a paint brush, fully dressed in the same clothing he’d worn upon leaving the Unclean Realm. There was a courtesan seated to his left wearing black robes with lavender piping, and she held in her hand an ink stick which she ground in a bowl to produce a silky dark grey ink. Before them stood another courtesan, bare save for a diaphanous sash that was strategically placed to cover certain parts of her body, and she held still as if she had been a dancer caught mid-movement.

This... wasn’t what he’d expected.

He approached Nie Huaisang’s table and looked down to find several pieces of paper, all of which had been painted to show the three courtesans present in various poses and states of undress. The detail was exquisite – he had appreciated Nie Huaisang’s artistic talents before, but nothing Meng Yao had seen compared to what he was currently working on.

“I found the story!” The courtesan who had admitted Meng Yao approached with a sheaf of papers in her hand. “We wrote this one a month ago, and I think it will work perfectly with this set of paintings.”

Nie Huaisang excitedly took the papers from her hand and looked them over, then grinned. “You’re right, this one’s perfect! Do you think we’ll be able to get it finished in time?”

The courtesan nodded and sat to his right. “We promised the publisher a new book before the season was out, and this should satisfy him until we finish some of our more intricate pieces.”

Publisher? Story? Meng Yao’s mouth opened and closed like a fish.

“Ah, where are my manners,” Nie Huaisang muttered, then looked up to Meng Yao. “A-Yao, these are Lady Zhou, Lady Yang, and Lady Wong. Ladies, this is Meng Yao – I’ve mentioned him before.”

The woman who had been grinding ink – Lady Yang – placed the ink stick onto the grinding bowl and wiped off her hands, then she stood up and bowed to him. “It is an honour, Meng Yao. Would you like to sit? We have some tea, if you like.”

Nie Huaisang tsked. “What did I tell you about there being no bows in this room.” He smiled at her affectionately and she giggled, then turned to fetch the tea.

Meng Yao slowly lowered himself to the table opposite Nie Huaisang. “May I ask, Nie-gongzi... what exactly is going on here?”

“What do you mean?” Nie Huaisang asked, pursing his lips as he lifted his brush to make another stroke upon his paper. “You’ve seen my spring books.”

“I’ve seen spring books in your room, yes...”

“Honestly, the first few I acquired were so badly drawn. Limbs out of proportion, bodies in unnatural positions... you would think the artist had never seen a naked woman before.”

“Neither had you, at the time,” Lazy Zhou teased with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes, but at least I had the sense to see one before putting ink to paper to draw one.”

“So...” Meng Yao paused, feeling as if he needed to reevaluate his entire worldview. “You’ve been coming to the brothel to paint.”

Nie Huaisang nodded.

“He’s being modest,” Lady Wong said from above – she shifted from where she’d been standing and stretched out her limbs. “He paints and writes most of the stories-”

“The three of you help!” Nie Huaisang protested.

“-and it was his idea to publish our own spring books,” Lady Wong finished.

“Now who’s being modest?” Nie Huaisang returned. “We all know the three of you are the sexual experts here – none of the sex scenes would be remotely legible if it weren’t for your experience.”

Lady Yang returned with the tea set and distributed cups, then patted Nie Huaisang’s head. “We keep telling you we’re more than happy to help you get some experience as well.”

Nie Huaisang’s face turned bright red. He picked up a cup and drank to avoid replying.

“He’s a romantic,” Lady Zhou said in an aside to Meng Yao. “Says he’s waiting for that special someone.”

Meng Yao blinked and looked to his charge. He had greatly misjudged him, and he swallowed down a small ball of guilt in the back of his throat. “And do the profits get back to the Unclean Realm?”

“Only a little,” Nie Huaisang replied, looking thankful for the change in subject. “Some of it pays for my visits here – sadly a courtesan’s time isn’t free, even if there’s no ‘business’ involved. And the rest they split among themselves.”

“Another year,” Lady Wong said with a hopeful smile, “and we might be able to buy our way out of here. We’re saving up, and... I can embroider, Lady Zhou paints fans, and Lady Yang has met a young man that wishes to marry her, but he’s poor and cannot buy out her contract.”

“She won’t let me do it either,” Nie Huaisang pouted and looked to Lady Yang. “But you can’t stop me from buying the fabric for your wedding robes when the time comes.”

Meng Yao looked from one person to another, then settled on Nie Huaisang. “You do know what people think you do here.”

Nie Huaisang nodded, a rare serious look upon his face. “Honestly, I prefer it that way. You know how people look down on me for my painting and for liking poetry and hating training my saber... I can just imagine what they’d think if they knew I’ve been coming here all this time and was still a virgin.”

The three courtesans looked at Meng Yao, and he realized they were protective of Nie Huaisang. They were waiting to see how he would react, to see if he would look down on him for his interests and what he did here, and perhaps for helping them.

Meng Yao took in a deep breath and reached out to take Nie Huaisang’s hand in his, and he could feel the corners of his eyes beginning to grow wet. “I knew your brother was more open-minded than most of his station, and I’m sorry for doubting you were as well. I wish there had been someone like you in Yunping, to help my mother when she needed it most.”

Nie Huaisang’s hand squeezed his back. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I know you’ve never judged me for my interests, but... I guess I’m just used to keeping it to myself. It’s nice to have secrets, sometimes.”

They shared a look, and all was well.

“So,” Meng Yao said, releasing Nie Huaisang’s hand and picking up the ink stick to take over grinding the ink, “what can I do to help?”

(The End!)

[remma3760]

Consequences

Chapter 11

Summary:

Lan Qiren takes his son and nephews to the Unclean Realm while Wen Ruohan starts to impose his authority as Chief Cultivator.

Again, we know very little about the Nie parents so I have made up whatever I want. According to Wiki, Nie Mingjue's mother died and he raised Nie Huaisang's mother - a concubine - to the position of wife. Not a lot to go on, so I have filled in missing details. Names - father is Nie Jiahao, sword is Qiangda, mother is Nie Min, Nie Huaisang's birth name is Nie Ming and he is 8. Nie Mingjue is 13. By this chapter, everyone has had a bithday an are now Wei Ying - 7 Lan Zhan - 8 and Lan Xichen - 11.

Their carriage pulled up to the massive gates of the Unclean Realm, Wei Ying leaning precariously out of the window to gape at the impressive structure. Lan Qiren pulled him back in so they could get out and announce their presence. He would have preferred to fly the sword, but couldn't carry both the younger boys and wasn't comfortable with anyone else taking them. It was also a little far for Xichen, proficient as he was with his sword. 

He ushered his son and nephews through the gates while their disciples dealt with taking the carriage and horses to the stables. He could see Nie Jiahao standing with his wife and older son waiting to greet them, smiling broadly. He bellowed loudly once they got close, pointing at Lan Qiren. "Ha! You finally shaved off that ridiculous goatee. About time. Made you look like an old man."

"That was rather the point, Jiahao. I was tired of being dismissed for being 'too young.' Now that I'm raising three children I no longer feel the need. Besides, A-Ying didn't like it."

Nie Jiahao turned his gaze to the smallest boy, clinging to Lan Qiren's hand. "You got taste, kid. Good job getting rid of that eyesore."

Wei Ying bounced with pleasure, nodding. "Mnn, now. A-Die is the most handsome."

Lan Qiren could feel his face heat. "A-Ying."

"But you are, A-Die. The most handsome. Isn't he, Lan Zhan?"

"Mn. Shufu is most handsome." 

Nie Min knelt in front of Wei Ying, beckoning him closer so she could hold his hands. "Your A-Die is very handsome, A-Ying. And so are you, little One."

Wei Ying giggled. He liked her. 

A small voice piped up. "But Mama, what about Baba? Don't you think Baba is most handsome?" Wei Ying looked around for the source of the voice but at first could see no-one. The, the top of a small head poked out from behind Nie Mingjue.

Nie Mingjue huffed, raising his arm so they could all now see the small boy dangling from his sleeve. "This is my annoying Didi, A-Ming." 

Nie Ming wailed as he was shaken about by his brother. "Mama, Mama, Dage is bullying me."

Nie Jiahoa laughed, holding out his arms. "Here, A-Jue, to me."

Swinging his arm back, Nie Mingjue tossed his small brother to his father, who instantly lifted Nie Ming onto his shoulders. 

Wei Ying was open mouthed. He had never seen anyone behave like this before and was enjoying himself immensely. He stared up at Nie Ming. "You're so high."

Nie Ming nodded down at him. "I know. My Baba is big."

"He is," Wei Ying agreed. "You are. Very big."

"And you're very small."

"I am, but I'll grow. Your sword is huge."

"Saber."

Wei Ying was confused.

"Qiangda is a saber. They're the traditional weapon of Nie cultivators. Would you like to see?"

Wei Ying nodded enthusiastically so Nie Jiahao put his son down and drew his saber to show the interested boys. Wei Ying oohed and ahhed in appreciation, nudging Lan Zhan to make sure he was included. "Look, Lan Zhan, see how big. How many people can you fit on at once, Nie Zongzhu?"

Nie Jiahao chuckled at Wei Ying. "Do you know, I've never tried that. I could get all you children on easily if you wanted a ride. Do you want to try."

They did. Wei Ying nodded, clutching at Lan Zhan's hand in excitement. 

Lowering the saber, Nie Jiahao stepped on, lifting Nie Ming on next to him before gesturing that Wei Ying and Lan Zhan should climb on. As soon as they were in place, he rose slowly and began to circle the yard. He gradually increased his speed and was soon swooping around to the delight of all three boys. Finally, dropping lower, Nie Jiahao tipped the children off the saber, Nie Ming and Wei Ying falling into the dust, rolling around and squealing. Lan Zhan, of course, landed on his feet with perfect grace and poise. He bowed to Nie Jiahao. "Thank-you. That was enjoyable."

The big man gave a bark of laughter. "Qiren, are you sure your boy is only Seven, and not a short fifty year old?"

"I am eight."

"Oh, well, if you're eight."

"Husband, you shouldn't be keeping our guests standing out in the sun. Pleas, come, there are refreshments prepared, then we can talk."

***

"This is my room. Look. There are my toys. There are my books, and I keep my clothes here."

"Ooh, it's big. I share with Lan Zhan but I have my own bed and my own trunk to keep my toys and special things in. I like sharing with Lan Zhan because if I have bad dreams he's right there and he sings to me so I don't be scared anymore."

"Mn. Will keep Wei Ying safe," Lan Zhan agreed.

"That sounds nice. My Dage sleeps through there," Nie Ming pointed to a door in the far wall, "so if I get scared I can go and sleep with Dage. Or I can shout really loud and he will come to me."

Nie Mingjue huffed from where he sat with Lan Xichen, putting on a high pitched voice, "Dage, I want a glass of water. Dage, I can't find my doll. Dage, I'm cold, I'm hot, I can't sleep. Dage Dage Dage. I should just tie you up an gag you when you go to bed."

"Dage! You wouldn't."

"No, but I should. Now find something to play with so I can talk to Xichen in peace."

Insulted, Nie Ming pulled out some paper and paints. Wei Ying was impressed. "That's a lot of colours."

"Yes. I have all the colours. Dage brought them back for me after his last night hunt. We can draw, or read or play tea party."

"I like drawing. Lan Zhan, do you want to draw, too?"

"I will read." He chose an interesting looking book and settled on a cushion as Nie Ming and Wei Ying chatted about the masterpieces they would create.

***

Nie Mingjue watched the boys for a minute. "How do you like having a cousin, Xichen?" 

"Mingjue, he's so sweet. Easy to love. Everything's been so much better since he came. A-Zhan has been happier too. He was so quiet and sad after Mother died, but now he smiles and plays and even lets me hug him. It's wonderful."

"I'm glad. We've heard the rumours, even here. Is it true that Madam Yu nearly killed Wei Ying with Zidian?"

Lan Xichen was hesitant. was it gossiping to tell his friend what he knew?

"Come on, Xichen. It's not gossip if it's true. Tell me."

"Well, I wasn't in Lotus Pier so I don't know exactly what happened there, but I have never seen Shufu as angry as he was when he came back. And poor little A-Ying was in the infirmary for weeks. I did hear Lan Baojie say that if she had hit him only one more time he would have died."

"So your little brother saved his life? That's brave. I've met Madam Yu and she's terrifying. And A-Zhan is so small. To think, he had the courage to stand up to her like that."

"I know. Mingjue, A-Zhan is so good. He doesn't even think it's brave. It's not for show, like with some people. Justice matters to him. For him, Madam Yu was being unfair so it was his duty to point that out."

"I wish I could have seen that."

"Me too."

"Is Wei Ying really Baoshen Sanren's grandson? Did you get to meet her?"

"Yes, and yes. She showed up just before the adoption. Mingjue, she didn't even know that Cangse Sanren was dead or that she had an orphaned grandchild. No-one had told her. Her own daughter and she didn't know."

"That's bad. Was she angry?"

"Not with us. She was glad Shufu was adopting A-Ying and taking care of him."

"I can't believe you've met an Immortal. What's she like?"

"She's...fun."

"Fun?"

"Yes, she really is. She plays with A-Ying and A-Zhan, and she tells the best stories. If it was anyone else it would seem like boasting, but with her it's just how she is. She sat and talked cultivation with me for hours. Mingjue, she knew Lan An. Actually knew him. I've heard so many stories about him and he always seemed so intimidating but when she talked about him he felt real. He felt like someone I could be friends with. Knowing he was sometimes uncertain too, well, it made me less scared of having to be sect leader one day."

"She sounds awesome."

"She is. She lets us call her Laolao."

"Even you?"

"Yes. A-Ying, obviously and of course he asked if A-Zhan could too, so then when I got there she said I might as well call her Laolao too."

"Wow. You have an Immortal Laolao. You're so lucky."

"I know. So many things are changing because of her. She was the one who suggested revising the rules, going back to the basics as Lan An intended."

"I heard that. It's a relief I won't have to learn all those thousands of rules when I come to the lectures."

"You'll have to meet the bunnies then, too."

"You have pets now?"

"No, not pets. They're wild and just showed up one day. Something to do with Laolao, but I'm not sure how. They love A-Zhan and have come to tolerate A-Ying but completely ignore everyone else. It's so funny. Other disciples have been to the meadow to try and tempt them with treats, but the bunnies refuse to have anything to do with them. But just let Lan Zhan step foot on thr grass, and they swarm him, jumping up and trying to get his attention. The minute he sits down they're fighting to be in his lap, and A-Zhan just takes it all as his due. He's like their rabbit Emperor."

Nie Mingjue could picture it. The composed little boy ruling over his fluffy minions. He was still laughing when they were called for dinner. 

***

Lan Qiren watched the children go as he sipped his tea. It was a little bitter for his taste, but good tea nonetheless. Once the boys were gone, he turned back to his hosts, surprised that Nie Jiahao was fidgeting. That wasn't like him; he was usually so direct. Something must have happened. "Jiahao? Is something wrong?"

"No, no, well, maybe. Not sure. First, why don't you tell me why you chose to visit now?"

"Partly I wanted you to meet my A-Ying. He's finally settling so I thought it might be time to introduce him to his peers. I suspected he would get along with Nie Ming, which seems to be the case."

"Well, I hope so. A-Ming could use some friends his own age. You said partly?"

Lan Qiren paused, reaching to stroke his goatee which of course was no longer there. "Jiahao, how much do you know about the Yin Iron?"

"Don't tell me that abomination has emerged again? I thought it had been suppressed permanently."

"For almost a century, yes. Not permanently. We had a shard at Cloud Recesses, bound by strong wards and guarded by Lan Yi."

"Hasn't Lan Yi been dead for decades?"

"Ah, well, what we believed to be only the remnants of Lan Yi's spirit turned out to be rather more solid that we expected. Baoshen Sanren sensed her presence. They are old friends, apparently. The upshot is, Lan Yi was transported to the Celestial Mountain where her spirit can fully heal and Baoshen Sanren took our shard of Yin Iron and went to hunt down the rest. I have heard from her. She has it all and intends to destroy it as soon as possible."

"That's good, right? Why are you still worried?"

"She also sent a warning. To be wary of Wen Ruohan."

"Hah! Don't need her to tell me that. I haven't trusted that man in years. Why did we even elect him as Chief Cultivator?"

"Because you and I didn't want it, and he was better than Jin Guangshan or Jiang Fengmian."

"True. Low, low bar. So anyway, about Wen Ruohan."

Nie Jiahao was fidgeting again. This was not good. "Jiahao, what have you done?"

"Nothing. It wasn't my fault. I'm not even sure what's going on."

"Just tell him, Husband." 

"Right yes. Well, I got a summons from Wen Ruohan. Very strange. Someone gave him a saber and then someone else suggested mine was more impressive. So now he wants to examine Qiangda. Sounds crazy, right? I thought it was a joke at first, but no. He's serious."

Lan Qiren was staring at him. It really was quite bizarre. "He wants you to go to Nightless City to compare sabers?"

Nie Min had been laughing behind her sleeve but now was openly cackling. "Lan Qiren, who would have though you would make such a joke."

Puzzled, Lan Qiren reviewed what he had said. What joke? "What joke?"

Nie Jiahao, too, was howling with laughter. "Compare sabers. With anyone else that would be a euphemism for you know what."

A euphemism? Lan Qiren was so confused. He most certainly did not know what. "But isn't that what he wants to do? How is that funny?"  

His confusion only brought more peals of laughter until finally, Nie Jiahao was able to get himself under control. He dabbed at his eyes, shaking his head. "Maybe it's better you don't know, Qiren. But anyway, that wasn't what I wanted to bring up with you. I think I may have landed you in some trouble."

"How? I don't have a saber."

That set them both off again so Lan Qiren decided on another bun while they calmed down. 

"I'm fine, I'm fine. See, the thing is, Qiren. I didn't want to go. So I told him sorry, but I was expecting a visit from you so we could meet your adopted son and now he's annoyed that you haven't taken the boy to meet him. Oops."

Lan Qiren was not happy at having Wei Ying brought to the attention of Wen Ruohan, but it was done now. "So what does he want?"

"You're to come with me and bring the boys so he can meet them."

"All of them?"

"No, only Wei Ying and Lan Zhan." 

"Why A-Zhan?"

"Didn't say. He must have heard the rumours of how little Lan Zhan thwarted the evil Madam of Lotus Pier in her attempt to murder the grandson of an Immortal. There's a song about it."

"There is not. Is there?"

"There is. Also an epic poem and a play in the works."

"Gods. I had hoped it would blow over."

"Not a chance. Way too good of a story."

Lan Qiren shook his head. So much drama. Well, nothing could be done about it now. They would simply have to go and hope for the best. 

***

I hope it's not just me who knows what sabers can be a euphemism for. I just thought it was funny that Lan Qiren would make a sex joke and not even know it.

[cuckoo-among-beasts]

Verse: Honkai Star Rail

GENERAL

Location: The Xianzhou Luofu

Race: Xianzhou Native

Age: 366

Path: Harmony Destruction

Type: Imaginary

Weapon: Fan

IMPORTANT CHARACTERS

Nie Mingjue (aka da-ge) - older brother, Cloud Knight Captain, died of extremely early on-set Mara (was actually murder) at only 312 years of age.

Lan Xichen (aka er-ge) - Mingjue’s childhood friend, an officer at the Divination Commission

Meng Yao (aka san-ge) - friend of Xichen and dragged into a friendship trio with Xichen and Mingjue, an officer at the Realm-Keeping Commission

BACKSTORY

Nie Huaisang is the youngest son of Nie Shuangnao and Li Mao. Mao, unfortunately died from childbirth. It’s not common, but it happens. Like that wasn’t enough, he also lost his father when he was ten. He was killed in action, since he, like Mingjue, was a Cloud Knight. Nie Shuangnao was just a little over 400 then and left his two sons orphans. Mingjue was sixteen at the time and already prominent among the Cloud Knights and became his younger brother’s legal guardian after he himself became emancipated. Thankfully, their family was rich, so money was not a problem.

Mingjue quickly rose through the ranks and became a Captain, which also meant more job and more time away from home. Or rather, Huaisang spending way too much time among the Cloud Knights. Though, most of the time, he tried to make him stay at home with their two servants.

This also meant that Huaisang got pretty spoiled by his brother and that they also became very close, being the only ones in the family. They had been close before their father’s death, but this made them closer.

Unlike his brother and father, Huaisang had no interests in warfare or physical activity in general, unless it was dance or taking care of his pet birds. Huaisang’s love was for art, especially poetry and painting, and birds. Although he does have smarts, school was never a thing for him and he often struggled and when Mingjue tried to teach him swordsmanship, he usually broke down crying. Huaisang also lacked skills in cultivation (combat type). This wasn’t too pleasing to Mingjue, but he also noticed his brother’s strengths. How he could tame and calm any bird, a bit of a bird whisperer, how his calligraphy was amazing at an early age. Mingjue also noticed that Huaisang was indeed very observant and clever, even if he wasn’t academically smart.

Another thing Huaisang lacked though, were friends. This was partly due to Mingjue being very overprotective, not wanting to lose his younger brother and having seen what people can do due to his job, but also due to Huaisang being a tad eccentric in personality. His passions weren't the most common and he was also very sensitive and emotional, tears not far away when in discomfort. Most boys were not like this. Fortunately, Mingjue’s own best friend, Xichen, had a younger brother that he brought along sometimes, though Wangji and Huaisang didn’t get along that well, they also didn’t dislike each other.

Meng Yao, though, was a different story. He was the result of his father’s infidelity and not very well-liked in his father’s household, having only begrudgingly taken him in after the boy's mother died during an assault.

Men Yao was a polite and hardworking young man and quickly gave Huaisang the attention he needed, being knowledgeable and interested in the arts, unlike Mingjue (even if he did try his best). Unknown to Huaisang, Meng Yao wasn’t all that he seemed and had a hunger for power (and safety) that no one could fully predict. Even Mingjue, who didn’t fully trust Meng Yao, got shocked when he found out that his friend had dealings with The Disciples of Sanctus Medicus. Friends or not, this was something he couldn’t ignore, he had to report it. Unfortunately, he never got to do so, because Meng Yao found out about him knowing this before he could report it and made him Mara stricken. Since he somehow managed to make it look natural, even if very early, this was not a spur of the moment solution. Meng Yao had had a plan on how to deal with Mingjue if he found out something he shouldn’t.

Huaisang was, of course, heartbroken by his brother’s death and for the first ten years, he was just a shadow of himself. The servants as well as Xichen and Yao had to make sure he ate, slept and took walks. At the beginning, Cloud Knights working under Mingjue came to visit, but they quickly left, seeing the ghost of Huaisang. He was very different from the lively person they used to see. Perhaps this would’ve been how the rest of his life would have been had Huaisang not discovered one thing, someone was tampering with his tea, making sure he stayed in a... submissive state. From there on, he began investigating things and also looking up the records from Mingjue’s death. Slowly, but surely, a picture was painted for him: Meng Yao had killed his brother and Meng Yao needs to suffer.

From that moment, Huaisang’s only goal is to make a plan and to give Meng Yao what he deserves. No one will ever suspect him, since he kept up the charade of being anxious and incompetent (although that is partly true). It has not been about sixty years of scheming.

Nie Huaisang spends his days reading, painting and taking care of his birds. He has an inheritance he can live from, but also earn money from his art and breeding birds. He usually doesn't venture where there are many people and most sees him as a fragile man. His main sources of sustenance are wine, tea and revenge-fueled emotions. Not just towards Meng Yao, but also the Cloud Knights, especially Jing Yuan, who didn’t notice that it was in fact murder and not a freak natural thing (if Jing Yuan  does know something was odd or not, I leave up to any Jing Yuan I’m interacting with).

[tragcdysewn]

was that wang yizhou? oh no no, that was just nie mingjue, a canon character from the untamed. they are twenty six years old, use he/him, and are aware that they are not actually from washington dc. too bad they can’t stray from this city for long.

how long has your character been here:

about two years, physical age is about twenty eight

what is your character’s job:

he's a secret service agent, assigned to kirei monsula

where has your character been pulled from in their fandom:

right after his death

has any magic affected your character:

he's alive again, and the saber spirit affecting his mind is muted

and any other information you might find useful for us and the other members to know:

nie mingjue is the first son of the nie clan leader, and the heir to the clan. he was raised to be the leader, to master the clan's techniques and become a perfect example of their principles.

his mother died when he was four years old, and his father remarried and had his half brother, huaisang, a few years later. mingjue doted on his little brother, even from childhood. his brother was very soft and artistic, the opposite of mingjue in every way, but mingjue adored him

when mingjue was only fifteen, their father died in an attack orchestrated by wen ruohan, and mingjue was suddenly the clan leader far earlier than expected, as well as tasked with taking care of huaisang in their parent's place. he took it in stride, and became a solid leader for the clan

as he grew older, the nie clan saber techniques began to mess with his mind, and he started trying to prepare huaisang to take over in his place. but before he could make many preparations, the wen clan declared war on the cultivation world, and he took charge of the armies and led cultivators into battle. this was both a personal vendetta for his father, and a desire to keep the wen clan from overtaking the traditions of every other clan

during the war, he witnessed one of his closest friends kill a general from his armies who'd been cruel to him, and he kicked the man out of the sect. to him, this was a mercy, banishing him rather than executing him for the crime, but he never even asked meng yao about why he'd done what he'd done, and that was the beginning of his downfall

at the end of the sunshot campaign, he was captured by wen ruohan, and meng yao claimed himself as the wen leader's close confidant. he was then revealed as a spy for the clans once wen ruohan was killed, but mingjue's trust in him was entirely broken by that point, despite his dearest friend placing his faith in meng yao

he assisted in the campaign against wei wuxian, believing the man to be harboring war criminals who would one day attack and restart the war, and was present at the man's death, hoping it would bring about a time of peace

for a few years after the war, that was, in fact, the case, but soon after, the saber spirit began taking a hold on his mind, making him more and more volatile. unbeknownst to him, it was hurried on by meng yao, now jin guangyao, under the guise of helping him

eventually, he snapped entirely, and attacked jin guangyao, who then revealed what he'd done, before killing mingjue and cutting him into multiple pieces that he scattered across the country, his disappearance left unsolved for years until his body parts began to attack innocents, and they were rediscovered by lan wangji and wei wuxian and reassembled by his little brother, his spirit sealed in a coffin with jin guangyao to fight for the next century

in dc, he holds no memory of his spirit's actions, but has been informed of how he was deceived in life, both in terms of wei wuxian and the saber spirit, and is attempting to make amends for the crimes he committed against he innocent wens, as well as balancing his mental state before he hurts anyone else

[hello-galad]

His father’s death, after those agonizing three months, felt as a relief. At least now, Nie Mingjue thought, their father was not in pain anymore. He squeezed his didi’s hand tighter and stood straighter, but the wouldn’t stop the tears from falling…

[robininthelabyrinth]

Inspired by your 'Xichen is the master manipulator' - Qiren really IS the power hungry brother that the Lan elders always feared he might be

“Could you at least tell me why?”

“Why not?” Lan Qiren asked. He sounded genuinely puzzled, as if he really had no idea why anyone would object to everything he’d done. “There was nothing else I could have done.”

“What do you mean?”

Lan Qiren shrugged. “I love my sect,” he said, and the offensiveness of hearing that after everything – after all the secret machinations, after all the scheming, the traps, the tragedies that had been wrought perhaps not by this man’s hands but at the very least from his mind – was almost breath-taking. “I love my sect more than anything else. More than anything, you understand? My Lan sect deserves the best, and only the best…was I supposed to stand aside and watch as it was driven into the ground by the mismanagement of others?”

That provoked a bitter taste, welling up on the tongue.

“It was not wrong, when everyone described my older brother as a cultivation maniac,” Lan Qiren said thoughtfully – slipping instinctively into a lecture, ever the consummate teacher. “A shining star, beautiful, but he burnt out so quickly, too quickly. He fell in love with a woman who didn’t love him and promptly fell apart when she didn’t return his affections; he forgot everything, even the sect, wasting our resources and mismanaging our affairs. Should he have been allowed to lead us all into destruction, just because he was born first and me second…? No. Our ancestors wouldn’t have wanted that.”

They wouldn’t have wanted a second son to scheme against the first, either.

“After he was put aside with that wife of his – and really, I barely did anything there but present the two of them with opportunities for their own self-destruction, you can scarcely hold it against me – after that was done, I governed the sect well for many years,” Lan Qiren continued. “I was good and fair, I did what I had to, avoided what I didn’t. I protected our reputation and made us proud, and when the time came, I stepped down and handed over power just like a good son the Lan sect should…”

“Did you? Did you really?”

Lan Qiren arched his eyebrows. “My help was not only needed but wanted, was it not? Xichen always asked for it. He was still young, still unsure, and I was after all right there, ready and available to assist. Surely you cannot hold that against me? Of course, he did keep the power for the big decisions. Like asking the Jin sect for help rebuilding.”

“And we could not permit that.”

“It was tantamount to turning our great Gusu Lan sect into mere subsidiary petitioners of Lanling Jin,” Lan Qiren said coldly. “I sought to dissuade him, but he wouldn’t listen to me. Just like his father before him, he was blinded by love, and misused his power as a result. What could I do, then, but act…? The Jin sect could not be allowed to remain at the top.”

“You…what about Nie Huaisang?”

“A clever boy, though a poor student. He wanted revenge for his brother, and wasn’t picky about what he needed to do to get it; he was more than willing to play his part. And it all worked out in the end, did it not?”

“How can that be?! I – the entire world has been torn apart! Now Xiongzhang is in seclusion, and I –”

“Wangji,” Lan Qiren sighed. “Ah, Wangji, Wangji. You have your love, do you not, your new husband? You broke all our rules, not once but twice, for him…you were always my favorite, or else I would not be so generous with you. Be satisfied with what you have, and do not seek more than that.”

Lan Wangji’s hands tightened into fists. “Or else…what?”

“Don’t be so ungracious,” his uncle rebuked. “Tell me now: do you think you can lead our sect, and lead it well, and still be Wei Wuxian’s devoted husband? If you say so, I will step back and let you try.”

Lan Wangji swallowed. “And if I fail…?”

Lan Qiren’s eyes upon him were as chill as any glacier. “You may be my favorite, Wangji. But if you think you will ultimately fail our sect and me, then I would strongly recommend that you not even try.”

[stiltonbasket]

i know they’re currently at war but can we see lxc and jc competing to be spiritual baby a-yuan’s favourite uncle?

“Zewu-jun, seventeen; Jiang-zongzhu, twelve,” Li Shuai whispers in Nie Huaisang’s ear. “I don’t think Jiang-zongzhu’s going to beat him by the time you leave, Nie-ge.”

Nie Huaisang pulls out his fan and wafts a few strands of hair away from her neck. He would have dealt with his own sweaty neck first, but Li-guniang is a lady, and Nie Huaisang knows what chivalry demands of an upright young master, even if his low cultivation prevents him from being gallant as often as he would like.

“I don’t know about that,” he muses, stroking his chin in a reflexive imitation of Lan Qiren. “We’ve only been here three days, and Xichen-ge wants to stay for another two weeks.”

“You mean Hanguang-jun wants to stay,” Maiden Li reminds him. “Now be quiet, or they’ll hear us.”

The two of them are hiding in Lotus Pier’s expansive rose gardens, cultivated by Li-guniang and Jiang Yanli after the end of the Sunshot Campaign. The rose trees have grown up quickly, nourished by the abundant lingli in the earth, which means that the place is perfect for spying: namely, on Zewu-jun and Jiang Cheng, who set up their lunch table a few yards away. A-Yuan is with them, because Hanguang-jun and Wei-xiong had things to do in town, and the two uncles have been fighting over A-Yuan’s favor since they left--although it doesn’t seem to be much of a contest.

“A-Yuan,” Nie Huaisang hears his brother-in-law coo, followed by the tell-tale jingling of A-Yuan’s little hands playing with Xichen-ge’s ornaments. “Do you like bofu’s necklace? You can have it when you’re a little older.”

“Isn’t that the necklace Chifeng-zun commissioned for your betrothal?” Jiang-xiong asks. “You can’t just give it to A-Yuan.”

“My husband will understand,” Xichen-ge says tranquilly. “If I ask, Mingjue-xiong will make me another.”

“Spoiled,” Li Shuai mutters under her breath. “Tian ah, he’s more bewitching than a huli jing.”

“He is,” Nie Huaisang agrees. Married life suits Lan Xichen beautifully, and da-ge refuses to let his new husband leave their chambers without covering him in jewelry: earrings, necklaces, delicate bracelets, sparkling chains affixed to his hairpins, and even a silver and white-jade ring which was said to have belonged to the Nie sect founder’s wife.

The trinkets have been Xichen-ge’s greatest weapon in the battle for A-Yuan’s affections, since babies love playing with shiny things, and Jiang-xiong doesn’t wear any jewelry but his father’s old guan. In Nie Huaisang’s opinion, Jiang-xiong could easily do better with Yuanyuan if he borrowed a few of Jiang-guniang’s old zanzi, but Jiang Cheng insists that resorting to such tactics would be playing dirty: he is the uncle that A-Yuan sees every day, he says, so Zewu-jun’s use of pretty baubles to win the child over will mean less than nothing in the long run.

“Yuan’er,” Jiang Cheng says again, a little closer to Huaisang’s hiding place this time. “Come here so jiujiu can give you some lotus milk pudding.”

A-Yuan nods and squeals in delight, clapping his little pink hands together before rolling off Lan Xichen’s lap. “A-Yuan pudding!”

“There!” Jiang-xiong exclaims, dragging A-Yuan into his arms before Xichen-ge can try to pick him up again. “Good child, Yuanyuan! Jiujiu will put extra sugar in your pudding, just the way you like it.”

“Sugar will rot his teeth,” Lan Xichen objects. “At his age, he should not be eating anything sweeter than plain fruit.”

“He barely has any teeth, Zewu-jun. And anyway, Pan-daifu says lotus curd is medicinal. It’s good for him.”

Xichen-ge laughs and bows his head in defeat. “En, very well. I would not lightly contradict another healer, especially one with so many years’ worth of experience. Good afternoon, Jiang-zongzhu!”

With that, the two part ways, leaving Nie Huaisang and Li Shuai to extract themselves from Jiang Yanli’s favorite thornless rosebush. Nie Huaisang got his robes caught in a knot of roots, so Yu Zhenhong has to be called in to render assistance; and after that, their little band of schemers retreats to Huaisang’s guest pavilion to discuss the events of the day.

“That brings us to seventeen for Zewu-jun and thirteen for Jiang-zongzhu,” Li Shuai says triumphantly, while Yu Zhenhong pours her a cup of lotus tea. “We might catch up to him yet, Brother Nie.”

“Not if I have anything to say on the matter,” Nie Huaisang retorts. “After all, it’ll be difficult for Jiang-xiong to pull ahead after Wei-xiong and Yuanyuan move to Gusu.”

Li Shuai drops her cup of tea.

“What?” she screeches, driving a flock of blue-crested herons out of the water at their feet. “Seriously? Da-shixiong’s agreed?”

“According to my sources, yes,” Nie Huaisang drawls, retreating behind his fan. “You see, Nie Zonghui went out to buy himself a new summer cloak last night, and he heard Wei-xiong and Wangji-xiong talking on the roof near the training court when he came back. Wangji-xiong was confessing his feelings, and Wei-xiong accepted them and promised that he and A-Yuan would move to the Cloud Recesses by Yuanyuan’s second birthday.”

“In the middle of the night? When none of us were around to hear?” Li-guniang says indignantly. “How can da-shixiong call me his favorite shimei, when he treats me like this?”

Yu Zhenhong laughs. “He’ll have to announce the engagement sometime, A-Shuai. And since we already know, we can start preparing da-shixiong’s wedding gifts early.”

“With what money?” Li Shuai demands, springing up to her feet. “Oh, I hope shixiong plans his wedding before Jiang-shijie’s! Jin Zixuan’s been sniffing around lately, and we won’t be able to afford a fine wedding for Wei-shixiong if Shijie gets married first.”

“Jiang-guniang is older,” Nie Huaisang reminds her. “She should be married first.”

“Well, yes, but Jin Guangshan should cover her expenses. It’s not as if he’s good for anything else.”

Li Shuai and Yu Zhenhong trade significant looks over Nie Huaisang’s head, too obviously thinking of Jin Guangshan’s latest message asking Wei Wuxian to surrender the Yinhufu to Lanling. He doesn’t know that Wangji-xiong is Yuanyuan’s father, or that Gusu Lan holds stronger ties to Yunmeng than Lanling has to anywhere else; but he clearly believes that he should be sitting on the throne Wen Ruohan left behind, and Gusu’s new marriage alliance to Qinghe will only have accelerated his plans to obtain it.

“Da-shixiong will be safer in Gusu, too,” Yu Zhenhong murmurs. “We cannot claim full sway over our own private affairs while Jiang-shijie hopes to marry Jin Zixuan. And it will happen sometime, so Wei Wuxian must leave Yunmeng Jiang as soon as possible.”

Nie Huaisang nods. After Wei-xiong marries Lan Wangji, matters concerning Wei Wuxian will be the Lan sect’s business: and through Da-ge’s marriage to Lan Xichen, the business of the Nie sect as well. But for now, making demands of Wei-xiong will do nothing but inconvenience Yunmeng Jiang, and compromise the youngest, weakest zongzhu among the four great clans.

“Brother Nie,” Yu Zhenhong says gravely. “Now that da-shixiong and Hanguang-jun have sorted out their feelings, the wedding preparations must be handled with the utmost speed and discretion. Not one word of this should reach the Jinlintai.”

“That I can do,” Huaisang promises. “We’ll give no more than a month’s notice before the wedding, and Nie Zonghui and I will handle all the tradesmen’s orders. Now, scram! I can see Jiang-guniang coming this way.”

So they scatter, sprinting in different directions before Jiang Yanli can turn the corner and catch them. Li Shuai activates an air-beneath-water talisman and jumps into the lake, while Yu Zhenhong darts down a side passage leading back to the kitchens; and Nie Huaisang takes a transportation talisman to Lan Xichen’s guest quarters, where he finds his brother-in-law eating loquats on a luohan bed with one of Huaisang’s myna birds.

“Well?” Xichen-gege asks, with a sly glint of mischief in his eye. “Do we have a plan, Huaisang?”

Nie Huaisang opens his fan and covers half of his face with it.

“Oh, Huan-ge,” he smirks, “do we ever.”

[thebiscuiteternal]

I love your Nie bros concepts! How do you think the story would've been affected if Nie Huaisang were significantly younger - fifteen or sixteen years younger than Mingjue, perhaps born right before or even right AFTER he became sect leader. On one hand, you'd have Mingjue toting a baby around. On the other, you'd have Huaisang as a baby/young child DURING THE SUNSHOT CAMPAIGN.

Oooh, that has potential! Fandom (especially me) has gotten a whole lot out of Nie Mingjue having to balance between older brother/parental figure, but getting tossed into the teen parent deep end immediately after losing his father and being handed a sect? At fifteen? Whew.

Okay, so I am brainstorming this as I type, (which is pretty much how I post all my twitter concepts :p) so bear with me.

Let's start off by saying that Papa Nie and Huaisang's mama didn't marry by mutual agreement. They loved each other deeply and he took very good care of her, but they both knew she couldn't fill his first wife's shoes and weren't going to try and force it.

She doesn't live inside the Unclean Realms, so he and two healers he'd assigned to her were the only ones who knew she was pregnant.

And when it becomes evident that the shattering of his saber is turning him homicidally insane, the healer isn't about to let her anywhere near that whole mess.

But this becomes A Problem in and of itself when her health inexplicably begins to nosedive late in the pregnancy. Nobody can figure out why. She's eating fine and taking care of herself, but she keeps getting weaker and is losing weight despite the fetus continuing to grow.

Does it -somefuckinghow- have to do with his inevitably terminal decline?

Seven months in, she's bedridden and fading fast, and when the healer asks, she makes the call to induce labor. It might save or kill one or both of them, but if nothing is done, they're both definitely going to die.

Five days after Papa Nie's violent death, as the Nie sect is preparing for their previous sect leader's funeral, one of the two healers shows up at the gates bloody, distraught, and cradling a thick bundle of blankets, trying to shield it from the unseasonably chilly winds.

Let's say no one believes his(her? I don't really have a clear picture of these two yet, except I'd assume one is a midwife?) story. After all, Papa Nie had kept the pregnancy close to his chest.

But the arguing wakes up the -small, sickly, disturbingly quiet- baby in the blankets and he blinks up at them with the unmistakable green eyes of a bloodline Nie.

I am assuming that there are ways of telling parentage in this world, since as many fake pearls as Jin Guangshan seemingly gave out, one would have to know which kids are actually his bastards, so the test is run and yes, the baby is Papa Nie's.

Which puts forth a new dilemma, because the baby is a bastard child.

A couple of people in the room voice the opinion that it should just be gotten rid of, either by finding a parent well away from the sect or... other means, if necessary.

But Nie Mingjue happens to walk in and catch the tail end of that argument and demands to be caught up on the situation.

On being told he has a (very unexpected, very illegitimate) half-brother, he turns to the healer, who reflexively gives the baby a defensive squeeze and steps back.

Nie Mingjue's exhausted, red-eyed, and so pale that he practically matches his mourning robes. He looks like hell.

The moment the baby lays eyes on him, he giggles and reaches for Nie Mingjue's hair, and everyone sees the moment his bruised, grieving heart latches on to the infant. They can just tell the baby's not going anywhere, that Nie Mingjue refuses to lose any more relatives right now, even one he's only just met.

"Did she give him a name?"

"Huaisang. She wanted to name him the same way we do," the healer clarifies when Nie Mingjue gives her a questioning look.

"Okay, then. Hello, Sang-er."

[allthelittlecreepycrawlies]

For day four - cats

While being held a guest/captive somewhere because of something, Huaisang is given a stray cat that came too close to the kitchen as a kindness/joke. It's a tame, thin, very unimpressed looking cat.

When their father had fallen and they had been taken prisoner, he had been separated from his brother.

The underground bedroom he'd been locked in was nice enough, but it had come with orders.

"Behave, and your brother will be treated well. Cause a fuss, and he dies."

The parameters of "behaving" apparently included enduring the cruel mocking whims of the Wen sect leader's second son.

He had only ever met Wen Xu before, who had mostly ignored him in favor of goading his da-ge into dangerous dares and competitions, but Wen Chao was an entirely different, more direct and petty, flavor of cruel.

His only regular companion -"An assistant for you," Wen Chao had said mockingly- was a boy of barely five who'd been offered up like a sacrifice by his father, Jin Guangshan, about a year after Huaisang's own capture.

As much as they both hated it, Yu-er was the one who had to go fetch meals or ask the servants for baths and changes of clothes, since the spelled chains and collar Huaisang had to wear prevented him from climbing up to the exit of their shared room. Though they always got what they asked for, Yu-er frequently came back with bruises or scrapes from guards or servants annoyed by having to care for them, and Huaisang would have to spend what little spiritual power he could access healing them up.

So it went for another year, the two of them enduring and doing their best to endure Wen Chao's taunting gestures, until the sound of yowling drew their attention to the upper opening.

"Brought you another present," Wen Chao called with a sneer as he dropped a rough-cloth bag through the door.

Huaisang caught it before it could land on Yu-er's head, then promptly regretted it as the hissing, spitting thing bit him through the cloth.

He managed to swallow back a yelp and not throw the bag on the floor, which seemed to annoy Wen Chao enough that the older boy huffed and slammed the door shut, leaving them alone again.

"A- are you okay?" Yu-er asked as he carefully coaxed the jaw clamped on his hand to let go.

"I will be. Help me and untie the knot, would you?" Huaisang replied, indicating the rope holding the bag shut.

The bag went surprisingly quiet as Yu-er struggled to do so, the contents having apparently realized they were trying to release it. When the cloth fell away, Huaisang was left holding -as he'd already guessed- a cat.

It was scruffy from having been handled so roughly, and far too thin, but it was still a surprisingly beautiful cat. Its -his, Huaisang amended after checking, much to the cat's apparent dismay- fur was a pale gold with darker gold splotchy stripes that would be brilliantly shiny after some brushing. The cat regarded them both with distrustful orange eyes, but made no more attempts at biting or clawing now.

"Pretty," Yu-er murmured.

Surprisingly, the cat seemed to understand and accept the compliment, managing to preen a little despite being dangled in Huaisang's hands.

"Well... I guess we've got a cat, now," Huaisang said, nonplussed. He couldn't imagine why they had a cat. It being sent as an actual gift was entirely against Wen Chao's character, and he couldn't see the jerk being ordered to give them an actual gift.

The cat meowed at him as if in agreement with his confusion, and he couldn't help the smile that pulled at his mouth at that.

"Hm, what should we call you? Perhaps Ming?"

"Or what about Fu?" Yu-er suggested.

"Chen?"

"Huang?"

"Yao?"

"Mrrowl!" the cat replied vehemently, making them both stare at him.

"Huh. Okay, Yao it is," Huaisang said, tucking the cat into his arms as Yu-er ran over to the lunch tray he hadn't yet taken back to the kitchens to get their new pet something to eat.

Neither of them noticed when Yao nosed at the shackles around Huaisang's wrists, nor when their power dimmed slightly for just a moment when he did.

[ibijau]

Prompt: Nie Huaisang finds out by accident that Wei Wuxian really was Jiang Fengmian's illegitimate child with Cangse Sanren. It's up to you what you want Huaisang to do with that information.

Nie Huaisang looks like his mother, and at age sixteen is about the same height as she was.

It's probably why Sect Leader Jiang, who made the mistake of drinking with Jin Guangshan at this banquet, had now grabbed Nie Huaisang and is talking to him as if he's an old friend. After all, his mother is from Yunmeng. She was the illegitimate daughter of a former Jiang disciple and the daughter of an official stationed in the area for a few years. A Jiang disciple who already had a wife, and a son who, upon learning he had a half-sister, had invited her to visit sometimes. She'd become friendly with her half-brother, and with the lady he would someday marry, and then because he was always around she'd also become friendly with Sect Leader Jiang, who had eventually introduced her to Nie Huaisang's father, eventually leading to the birth of Nie Huaisang himself and then her marriage to Sect Leader Nie, in that order.

Technically, this all means that Nie Huaisang is actually Wei Wuxian's cousin.

Or so he thought until tonight. Because tonight, Sect Leader Jiang is drunk enough to think he's talking to an old friend, and the things he's confiding to poor Nie Huaisang are...

Well, first of all it's making him a little sad, if he's honest, because he doesn't particularly like his Nie cousins, so it was a comfort to think that he secretly had a real cool cousin who is fun to hang out with.

But mostly those confidences are making Nie Huaisang impossibly uncomfortable. It's not something he should know. It's not something he wants to know. And although he's not exactly the brightest person in the world, there's a little voice in a corner of his mind telling him that this is information that could cause a lot of chaos if he repeated it to the wrong person. It certainly would hurt Wei Wuxian a lot, who takes great pride in the people he believes to be his parents. It would also ruin Sect Leader Jiang's marriage. And it would destroy Jiang Cheng.

Nie Huaisang, at age sixteen, hates the thought of hurting people who haven't deserved it.

He announces loudly that Sect Leader Jiang needs to rest, and with the help of a Nie disciple takes the man to his room, where he won't force unwanted confession onto unwilling boys who didn't even want to be at this stupid banquet in the first place.

In the morning, Sect Leader Jiang has a terrible hangover, as expected. But when Nie Huaisang greets him, the older man shows no fear, no regret. He must have forgotten what the wine made him say.

Nie Huaisang pretends he's forgotten too, and doesn't share this secret with anyone, not even his brother.

Nie Huaisang, at age sixteen, would rather not bother with anything more complicated than matching patterns for his next outfit.

-

Nie Huaisang, at age eighteen, is cheerfully ignoring all the complexities of the world around him, happy to know that with the Wen sect gone, everything is now at peace.

He's aware that things aren't so simple, but he's happy to pretend otherwise. The Jins don't bother him, personally, so he doesn't care that they're clearly trying to grab power for themselves in the aftermath of the war. Jin Guangshan is very unpleasant and dresses like a nouveau-rich who thinks gold goes with everything, so of course nobody is going to fall for whatever it is he's trying to do.

It is vaguely concerning to see Wei Wuxian be the target of much Jin ire. Even knowing what he knows, Nie Huaisang still somewhat considers him to be family. He should have been family, if not for some old people being complete idiots when they were young (unlike Nie Huaisang, who is also young and an idiot, but in a very cool and fashionable manner that he will never, ever regret). Sometimes, Nie Huaisang feels like he should try to help, only to invariably remember that there's not really anything he could do. It's such a messy situation, and there's just a lot about it that he doesn't understand.

Even this damn secret he's been carrying for an entire two year probably wouldn't do any good. It might make the Jiangs hold on even more dearly to Wei Wuxian, or it might upset Jiang Cheng so much that he'll kick out his first disciple on the spot, and won't that be a mess.

Nie Huaisang, at age eighteen, just doesn't feel like getting involved in anything political, because ultimately none of it concerns him.

-

Nie Huaisang, at age twenty-five, is wondering if there's anything to be gained from destroying Jiang Cheng.

It'd be a very easy thing to do, and he sometimes think it might be a useful one, too. If he could make it seem like the rumour is coming from Lanling... Jin Guangyao and Jiang Cheng have a tolerably good relationship in general, but the recent death of Jin Rusong has disturbed their careful balance. All of a sudden, they find themselves both needing little Jin Ling as an heir, and while it doesn't seem likely that they would normally get in a fight over that, perhaps with the right encouragement, perhaps if Jiang Cheng were already angry about something else...

In the end, Nie Huaisang decides against it. Not out of kindness, he doesn't have an ounce of that left in his bones, but out of fear. That plan is too risky. Jiang Cheng could surprise him by taking the news better than expected. Or else, Jin Guangyao might well turn the reveal that Wei Wuxian was Sect Leader Jiang's true first-born to his advantage, robbing Jiang Cheng of his hard earning reputation until Yunmeng Jiang loses the power it fought so hard to regain after the war.

Nie Huaisang, at age twenty-five, discards yet another plan and resumes his patient watch, waiting for his enemy to show a weakness he can exploit.

-

Nie Huaisang, at age thirty four, doesn't know if he'll ever share that secret revealed to him almost two decades ago.

He doesn't need that to keep Jiang Cheng on his best behaviour now that he's risen to being Chief Cultivator, and he doesn't think that it's something he could use against Wei Wuxian, who apparently doesn't care about anything except whatever fun is to be had in Lan Wangji's bed.

It is frustrating sometimes to have such a weapon in his possession and be unable to use it. After all Nie Huaisang has far more than Jiang Fengmian's drunken confession to prove the truth. He's found letters to his mother from Wei Changze and his wife which mention 'a certain incident' before they left, and how 'they will still raise the child away from Yunmeng' because 'it was a mistake, never to be repeated, and if Fengmian knew, he'd try to take their child to replace the one from that woman he was forced to marry'.

Nie Huaisang, at age thirty-four, almost wishes that Nie Huaisang, at age sixteen, had just accidentally revealed the truth one day, so he wouldn't still be burdened with yet another secret he cannot share with anyone.

And of course he could just say it, just tell Wei Wuxian the truth and be done with it, but...

But a secret is a weapon, and Nie Huaisang hasn't survived this long by wasting the weapons life threw his way.

Nie Huaisang, at age thirty-four, continues to wait for the right time to strike.

[plan-d-to-i]

Has mxtx ever mentioned the relative ages of the characters in mdzs? Is Lan wangji birthday before/after Wei Wuxian’s in autumn? The 7/8 days age gap between Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian an 11 months gap? Same with Jin Zixuan and Jin Guangyao? Just curious

She mentions them a few times but usually as estimates so it's hard to pin the down exactly.

Ex: "Jiang FengMian fed [WWX] a piece of melon, and he let Jiang FengMian carry him back. Back then, Jiang Cheng was also around eight or nine."

Chapter 13 however confirms WWX and jc are the same age:

At a later time, Wei WuXian pondered upon the reason why his relationship with Lan WangJi wasn’t good. Getting to the root of the matter, everything started when he was fifteen, coming to the GusuLan Sect with Jiang Cheng to study for three months.

and

In that year, aside from the YunmengJiang Sect, there were also the young masters from other clans, sent to study here from parents who heard of the reputation. The young masters were all around fifteen or sixteen.

LWJ is also the same age:

Nie Huaisang said, “Is there another Lan Zhan? Of course it’s him. My gods, he’s the same age as us, but he doesn’t have a bit of the lively energy people are supposed to have at our age. He’s so stiff and severe—he’s even worse than his uncle.”

The point is any difference is negligible. People just tend to try & use jc's age to infantilize him and justify his shitty behavior, and they ignore WWX's youth in order to burden him with maximum responsibility.

As for JGY and Jin Zixuan, I'm afraid I don't know the exact difference. I just know JGY says this :

“Why is it that even though we were born on the same day, Jin GuangShan could host a grand banquet for one son, and watch with his own eyes how his subordinate kicked his other son down Koi Tower, from the first stair to the last!” (106)

and we also have this:

The title “Lianfang Zun” referred to the current head of the Jin Clan of Lanling, Jin Guangyao. He was the only illegitimate son recognised by Jin Guangshan. He was also Jin Ling’s youngest uncle, and the younger half brother of Jin Ling’s father Jin Zixuan. At the same time, he was also the older half-brother to Wei Wuxian’s present persona, Mo Xuanyu. (chapter 11 taming wangxian)

So Jin Zixuan seems to be older but we don't know by how much exactly.

[darkandstormyart]

Xicheng fic recs

(figured i might make a list of my own)

(to be expanded as i dig out more treasure/remember stuff)

in no particular order:

Deep as the Yearning Night by FreckledStarKnight

“At first, it was pure chance. The second time was accidental. And the third time? Well, they say the third time’s the charm, after all. Lan Xichen discovers that Jiang Wanyin sings beautifully and is immediately enamored by it. His pursuit of Jiang Wanyin’s secret talent leads to a discovery and a series of events that he did not anticipate at all. Not that he’s complaining, of course. He got what he came for and more. Or, how two sect leaders get together through the song called love. CQL-verse.“

post-seclusion lxc

trying to get jc to sing

bonus lxc & jin ling feels i hadn’t considered before

cute

Always use protection by hesselives

“In which Lan Wangji attempts to hire a new bodyguard for his older brother, a well-known traveling exorcist. Jiang Wanyin doesn’t even make his carefully considered list of Top Ten Candidates, and yet here he is.

Lots of wandering in the countryside, distant yelling, and mildly inconvenient spirits.”

bodyguard au

honestly just really intersting worldbuilding

Rewrite the stars by Arashii

“Five great kingdoms have been fighting for years and when the kingdom of Yunmeng is destroyed, the Crown Prince Jiang Cheng vanishes.In Gusu, Lan Xichen makes an offer impossible for Jiang Cheng to refuse. His life or revenge? There’s only one option and Jiang Cheng swears loyalty to the man he hated the most his whole life, the Crown Prince of Gusu, Lan Xichen himself.Written for XiChengFest2020 - Day 4“

ROYALTY AU ROYALTY AU

enemies to lovers!

flashbacks! i love flashbacks so much ohmygod

No paths are bound by Arashii

“In seclusion, Lan Huan has the support of a ghost no one has seen since the massacre of Yunmeng Jiang. His feelings start changing with the often visits and conversations they share. Before Lan Huan can confess though, he ascends, leaving everything and everyone behind him.

Two hundred years later, back to the Human Realm and without powers, the Martial God Zewu-Jun has a mission to uphold. His Heavenly Calamity started. The clues are little and the support comes in the most unexpected form, the current Ghost King: Sandu Shengshou. Now they need to stick together to contain a menace that is slowly growing.“

TGCF AU TGCF AU

ghost king jiang cheng come on

doesn’t follow tgcf plot, just the setup so no spoilers

jiang cheng gets the dogs and the xichen he deserves

once upon a dream by cafedeolla

“Xicheng soulmate AU

An au where your dreams are small snippets of your soulmate’s day. They’d show small things like buying coffee, reading a book, or hanging out with people from their perspective.

The problem was that people always have expectations and Jiang Cheng knows he always falls short of them. Time and time again.“

soulmate au, but being soulmates is more a problem than a solution

misunderstandingssss all over the place

now with a squel (in progress?)

Lan Furen series by jagaimocchi

“Jiang Cheng leaves Lotus Pier before the Wen Internment Camp and before the destruction of his home. When he meets Lan Xichen on the run from the Wens after the burning of Cloud Recesses, his plan to live a peaceful life away from cultivation sects is quickly derailed. Now, free to make his own choices, he cannot find it in himself to leave the other man's side.

With love, patience and time, Jiang Cheng finds his own happiness and peace with his past.“

have you ever wanted a fic where jiang cheng peaces out from home in search for a better life, bc he’s Had Enough??? jags got you covered

adorable xicheng

good uncle-dad-figure Lan Qiren

ongoing <3

Just around the riverbend by JungleJelly

“One day.

Jiang Cheng just wanted one day of peace and quiet, away from home, away from his responsibilities, away from his idiot brother and his nutcases of a mother and father. Just a few hours alone — him and a boat and nothing else.

Clearly, that was too much to ask for.”

now with a new story in the series which is adorable too!!!

mermaid!lxc need i say more?

Bad ideas (where they lead) by JungleJelly

“Jiang Cheng is a busy man. Fortunately, he is also a huge pushover when it comes to his sister, so when she recommends that he start doing yoga, he agrees pretty easily.Featuring Lan Xichen in yoga pants, Jiang Cheng’s inability to handle a crush, and, perhaps most importantly, a big fluffy dog.“

done for 2020 MXTX MiniBang

yoga instructor Lan Xichen

Jiang Cheng is: struggling with a crush on the yoga guy from youtube & very angry about that

If there’s a price for rotten judgement by TheWanderingHeart

“All Jiang Cheng wants to do is, well... his job, really. Other than that? Keep the city safe, keep his nephew alive, keep his sanity intact (if possible).

So when his brother calls with unexpected news, he knows all of that is about to fly out of the window.

***

[Every instinct is telling him don’t ask, you don’t want to know. By this point, Nie HuaiSang has scooted closer to listen. Jiang Cheng takes a steadying breath and pulls out his antacids. “What did you do?”]”

superhero au, come on

jc just trying to do his job in peace

(he can’t)

i love it so much oh my god *sobs*

The Form of Boneless Ice by TheWanderingHeart

“Mythical beasts have long ago been driven to extinction by the gentry — hunted for sport, but more importantly for their magical cores. Since then, there remains only one creature that has never been caught. The Jiang’s retreated a long time ago. Abandoning land altogether, they sought safety where the humans could not reach.It all comes to a head though, purely by chance. (Or is it by fate that a spontaneous decision allows for them to meet? If fate were a rock!) Jiang Cheng suddenly finds his whole life balanced on the head of a pin — on the flimsy promise of a human boy. In his opinion, things cannot possibly get worse!(But then they do when the Wens decide it’s finally time to search for the elusive merpeople, and suddenly nowhere is safe.)“

there she goes again, with another beautiful xicheng story full of awwww and mythology

actually one of the first xicheng fics i read

i chose it because there were mermaids

painfully accurate takes on Jiang family dynamics

kids! lots of kids!

Let me Slytherin to Your Heart by TheWanderingHeart

“Jiang Cheng never thought he'd return to Hogwarts, but in hindsight, he probably should have known that someday he would.With his nephew about to start school, he reluctantly takes his good friend's bad parenting? career? advice and ends up tumbling head-first back into the madness that he hoped he'd left behind... and rediscovering some feelings he thought he'd left behind too.“

Harry Potter au!

just really fecking cute

lots of snakes

[I am not going to link all of Jo’s fics, though I probably could, just my 3 favourites. UOSB is there by default]

Talent Hunt Crew Finds Angry Guy Shouting On College Campus, Recruits Him For Vocal Projection Abilities by oh_fudgecakes

“Jiang Cheng, resident Angry Guy and heir to a conglomerate empire, has never been the apple of his father’s eye. Quashed under the shadow of his brilliant brother, the music prodigy Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng sees his chance to turn things around when he is recruited by the All-Stars Lan Talent Hunt. One problem: he can’t sing to save his goddamn life.As he struggles to develop his nascent singing abilities, Jiang Cheng finds himself sucked into the whirlwind drama of reality TV, helped along by his adoring siblings, his irritable vocal coach Wen Qing, and strangely enough, the unfairly attractive host of the All-Stars Lan Talent Hunt, Lan Xichen. Somewhere in the glare of the stage lights and an unexpected first love, Jiang Cheng stumbles upon the thing he was searching for all along: the courage to dream — and to attempt the impossible.“

done for 2019 MXTX Big Bang

uuuuuuuuuuh i might have cried maybe

heartwarming? painful at times? lots of family love?

slowburn xicheng being lovely

The Provenence of Hope series by velithya

“A chance meeting on a night hunt sets a course of events into motion that will change everything. Featuring Xicheng getting together, recovery for Lan Xichen, healing for Jiang Cheng, and always, always, hope.“

got everything. feels. hope. love. ~~healing~~

A Small Measure of Peace by Sandstone112

“With his brother in seclusion, Lan Xichen finds himself in temporary custody of his nephew with little to no expertise in the child-raising department. Uncertain and alone, Zewu-Jun is willing to do everything to be the person Yuan needs—even if it means inviting Sandu Shengshou to a playdate.“

a loooot of adorable family times with jc and lxc taking care of their nephews

good grandpa lqr!

canon but fixed and less painful

🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋if you wish to avoid scurvy:🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋

Some day I’m gonna make you mine series by locketofyourhair

xicheng getting together through the years

friends with benefits but the real benefits are the friends we made along the way

Take me over (take me tonight) by velithya

jiang cheng has a tattoo and lan xichen doesn’t stand a chance

i'd be the sweet feeling of release (mankind now dreams of) by piyo13

two bros, chilling in a cave, no feet apart because they don’t want to lose their cultivation powers what are you gonna do

haven’t read yet and shame on me, but AM GONNA:

Upon Our Silver Bridge by TheWanderingHeart obviously

““When the path ignites a soul, there's no remaining in place. The foot touches ground, but not for long.” ― Hakim Sanai

**

Lan Xichen's sorrows have caught the attention of something. Unlike the adventures and foes they have faced before, there is no obvious enemy here to defeat. If this is the same thing they thought had taken Nie Mingjue's life, then he believes it is fated for him to die as well. Nothing can stop the black fire when it wants to burn.Jiang Cheng is sure his part in this is over. Wei Wuxian is back, his grand adventure concluded, and he'd never been at the centre of it anyway. So what does it matter what happens to him in the end? Slowly, he will come to realise that there will always be a battle to fight, a story to tell, a choice to make, and there is no such thing as an end to anything.“

it was difficult to do things in 2020 and few i regret not doing more than not reading uosb yet :’(

i will tho

Emergency Help Wanted by piyo13

“EMERGENCY HELP WANTED I lied when I got my job. I told them I had a kid so I could leave early from work to pick him up from daycare, take him to doctor's appointments, and occasionally miss a day when he's sick. Long story short, I'm in too deep. I didn't think it through. Looking to rent a kid for bring your child to work day. Must be a boy ages four to six, longish dark hair, likes soccer. Must also be artistic as the macaroni noodle paintings I made seem a little advanced for his age. Also, I will pay extra for someone willing to play the role of husband when dropping him off. He's a prosecuting attorney who often brings his work home. Message me for further details. Serious inquiries only.“

Running Our Hands Through Embers by MarvelousMar

“If asked, Jiang Cheng would compare falling in love with Lan Xichen to a moth inevitably drawn to a flame.It burned.***In which Jiang Cheng discovers that even death can't help him escape from his trauma, so he embarks on a quest to save the people he loves, fix what he can, make the love of his life fall for him, and maybe, somewhere along the way, do a little bit of healing.”

The Beginner’s Guide to Moving On by InvincibleMel

gone from ao3, but i think there’s a link with a pdf going around

[scarletjedi]

So, I’ve been stuck on this Mingcheng dynamic for a while now- I started to get to it with my mingcheng time travel not-fic, but it’s not quite what has my attention.

this got long and kinda half-ficced?, so cut for length

Imagine this: post-canon Jiang Cheng rekindling a friendship with Nie Huaisang, and a night of drinking/reminiscing turns into accidental(?) slipping into the past. But not transmigration! No- their adult selves end up in the past.

Insert time-travel Sunshot fixit shenanigans. Maybe Lotus Pier burns, maybe it doesn’t. Maybe young JC becomes sect leader young- maybe it’s because his father dies, maybe it isn’t. But they change *something* and Yunmeng Jiang does not fall as far, his people are not so completely wiped out.

His younger self doesn’t need to sacrifice himself to the Wen for Wei Wuxian. Wei Wuxian doesn’t sacrifice his core for Jiang Cheng. Wei Wuxian still plays with fire, still gets burned, still has Lan Wangji to bandage his wounds.

Wen Ruohan falls, and Nie Hauisang, the headshaker, gets to work. They need to keep Jin Guangshan from simply stepping in and taking over. They need to keep Meng Yao from becoming the Jin Guangyao against whom Huaisang waged quiet war for over a decade.

This is where we narrow in: Nie Huaisang was accepted readily into Qinghe Nie, slotting into place as another Nie Brother, still Mingjue’s didi even though held older, but trying to be a good older brother to his younger self. It is…complicated. His younger self has still only the potential for the type of double speak and subtle control that he himself has had to grown adept at, and he often finds himself frustrated at himself.

Jiang Cheng, The senior Sandu Shengshu, laughs at him when Huaisang confesses over tea in Qinghe when Jiang Cheng comes to visit.

Lotus Pier was less prepared to accept the elder Jiang Cheng. With his parents, and his younger self, still alive, tensions run high in relation to hierarchy and succession. Despite his very presence proof that Jiang Cheng achieved the impossible and rebuilt these piers himself, bringing the Jiang sect to the forefront of the cultivation world— he is still not his father’s son, and while his younger self has grown more into his confidence, he’s not there yet. (Wei Wuxian is, though, and it helps and hurts thay this Jiang Cheng has the dream of the twin heroes realized while his own— it doesn’t matter. He just hoped it’s enough. Wei Wuxian’s eyes follow Lan Wangji, and Lan Wangji follows back). Jiang Cheng offers his expertise, his talent at training new recruits, and his labor at rebuilding— but they’re not *his* piers. They’re not even the piers he remembers. It’s something new. Something for his younger self. As it should be.

Once again, Jiang Cheng has no home.

So— he visits Nie Huaisang (sr) in Qinghe.

And, in Qinghe, there is also Nie Mingjue.

Jiang Cheng remembers Nie Mingjue- they fought together, leas in the aftermath together, but he was already on the decline, already trapped in the spiral that would end in his murder, and Jiang Cheng doesn’t remember much that isn’t replaced by the image of his fierce corpse.

So, the elder Huaisang and the elder Jiang Cheng are drinking in Qinghe, reminiscing over their misspent youth at Gusu, when Mingjue walks in.

He stops, clearly not expecting to find them, when Huaisang waves him over with a “Da-ge! Drink with us!”

Mingjue looks st Jiang Cheng, as if confirming his welcome, and whatever he sees has him walking over to join them.

It’s a good night- Mingjue is funny, when he lets himself relax. And he smiles when Jiang Cheng is cutting, all dimples when Huaisang is a fluttering fan. It’s not a very long night, but it is a fun one, and Jiang Cheng finds himself looking forward to the next one. And the next. And the next.

Eventually, Huaisang is delayed and Jiang Cheng finds himself alone with Mingjue. It’s not awkward, like it could be. Jiang Cheng isn’t old, it he’s old enough to not bother with awkwardness, and with Mingjue it seems to be much the same- they’ve seen too much, been through too much. It’s a very pleasant evening, especially when Mingjue flashes those dimples, laughing at the jokes Jiang Cheng cracks that never seem to land with anyone else. It’s not the last time.

***

And that’s what I have! This is the set up! The dynamic between post-canon Jiang Cheng and post-Sunshot Nie Mingjue. I am *obsessed* - what *is* the dynamic?! Does Jiang Cheng jiujiu Mingjue? Does Mingjue da-ge Jiang Cheng? Do they switch? Does Mingjue like having an older man submit to him? Does service-top Jiang Cheng take care of Mingjue? How does Huaisang (either of them) react to their relationship? How does younger Jiang Cheng? How does this relationship save Mingjue’s life?

(Also, I see a lot more conversations on Twitter these days- should I cross post this?)