#who dotes on jc

[factsilike]

Controversial maybe, but I don't understand why people give so much preference and love to JC and WWX's non existent "brotherly" relationship (their relationship was more akin to a sect leader and his subordinate, or a master and his servant. Jiang Cheng certainly thought of him as so, however different he may have claimed him to be). JC in the novel not once called WWX his brother, and I don't think he ever said a word that wasn't harsh or critical to him either.

Why not show some more love to the actual loving and healthy sibling relationships in mdzs? Where both siblings loved and supported each other? There are plenty and they are so underrated!

Wen Qing and Wen Ning. (I don't think I need to elaborate on how sweet and cute their relationship is. Wen Qing being all stern and strict one moment and then all doting and fussy over her younger brother. Wen Ning being all meek and mild in nature and in awe of his big sister, and he's obedient and looks up to her so much. I'll never forget the impact the first Qiongqi path massacre had on me when Wen Qing, exhausted, starving and terrified for Wen Ning, faints upon learning the sheer tragedy that happened to her brother, and WWX had him seek bloody, brutal revenge on his own behalf.)

Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji. (Probably the most healthy sibling relationship in mdzs, imo. They're supportive of each other and quite close from a young age. Lan Xichen being one of the only few people who could read Lan Wangji and his emotions, awwww. His understandable rage at thinking WWX was playing with his brother's feelings led to an angry outburst that was quite unlike his usually mild, gentle temperament.)

Jiang Yanli and Wei Wuxian. (This one is adorable and sweet and so heartwarming! Jiang Yanli is the only other person besides LWJ WWX lets himself be silly and goofy with, because he knows she'll fondly indulge him and laugh with him! The way she firmly stands up for him and declares him as her brother in front of the Jin sect! The way she has stated all her life, by her everyday acts of service towards WWX, that he's her family!)

Nie Mingjue and Nie Huaisang. (Theirs was a bit of a complicated relationship but they still loved each other, and Nie Huaisang all but abandoned his morals in his quiet quest to avenge his brother's death.)

I'm not hating on people who love JC and WWX's relationship and write reconciliation fic after fic, or saying that they're wrong to do so. I'm just tired of seeing so many people portray their relationship this way as if it's canon, when JC and WWX in the novel have severed ties and don't want to be in each other's lives anymore, when the character development JC goes throughout the novel ends with him finally learning to leave well enough alone and let WWX live his life in peace with the one he loves, when there are actual sibling relationships that this fandom is sleeping on, when Jiang Cheng is canonically homophobic and will certainly never hold a wedding for WWX or anyone in Lotus Pier.

[thatswhatsushesaid]

do you think NHS will ever be satisfied with the way things have turned out in the end? or is he already? I've seen polar opinions on this one and honestly can't decide which one I like more

oooh, what crunchy questions, anon.

short answer: I think he thinks he's satisfied.

the tl;dr answer: I don't think it's possible for us to know with any degree of certainty how nhs feels about anything post-canon, because the text gives us almost no insight into his interiority outside of wwx's speculation in the aftermath of the guanyin temple sequence. but I think we can make some educated guesses based on what we do know about his character.

rather than just rewrite stuff I've already written on this subject before, I'll drop some links to previous posts that I think are relevant to your ask:

nhs took so long to enact his revenge quest because he could not make up his mind about what he wanted to do. also this one, which includes discussion of his cql performance as well. indecisiveness is as core to nhs's character as his desire for vengeance, and I think that extends to his feelings about his situation post-canon, too.

this is definitely more within the realm of headcanon and speculation but I went deep on this the magnus archives-mdzs fusion reblog speculating on why I think nhs would be an avatar of the hunt, and a big thing about the hunt is that once the hunt is over, the hunters... don't really know what to do with themselves. womp womp.

now on to the point I don't think I've spilt much digital ink on yet:

nhs is, and always has been, a people person. this is extremely obvious when you dip back into the gusu lan summer camp for wayward young cultivators chapters, where nhs is at his most effervescent when he is bopping around the cloud recesses as wwx and jc's bubbly tag-along, lamenting how much lwj and lqr clearly hate wwx while cheerfully offering to give wwx more porn to make up for what he's lost. (it was nhs's porn, too! he'd be justified in being a bit cheesed off about it, but he really isn't!) if he sees a didi-shaped hole in a prospective friends' group, he sees an opportunity to make himself lovably indispensable as the court appointed littlest brother no one asked for, and quite frankly who could blame him? he loves to be spoiled and doted on, but imo there's some clear self-awareness and reciprocity at work in these dynamics that goes beyond a desire just to be pampered and looked after. I suppose an uncharitable read on teen!nhs would be that he's lazy and manipulative and finds easy marks to do the heavy lifting for him so he can sleep and paint and catch birds for his private collection, but tbh I think that interpretation does his character dirty. most people who end up spoiling and doting on nhs in the text are clearly happy to do so and seem to get something out of making life easier for this charmingly incompetent dandy. good for him--and for them!

...and then, post-canon, he is a people person without any people around him. sure, we can presume the existence of some unnamed nie sect subordinates who are stuck dealing with a sect leader who allowed his sect to languish and decline in the years after nmj's death, but I think if any of those unnamed subordinates were inclined to be people nhs could rely on to fill the 3zun and/or wwx and jc-shaped voids in his life, we'd at least know their names. I think it is telling that we don't, and that the last meaningful interaction we see between nhs and the characters who used to be his closest friends in the text amounts to an interrogation. whatever affection wwx used to feel for nhs has clearly withered on the vine and has been replaced by mistrust and suspicion--to say nothing of lxc's dead-eyed silence as soon as he begins to put the pieces together.

also: the last glimpse we get of nhs in the text before he disappears from the story altogether is him picking up jgy's hat and walking off with it. why does he do this? why is this the very last thing we see him do in the story? there are a few different possibilities:

"he's taking the hat to keep as a trophy!" I mean. maybe? I suppose I can't entirely rule out this possibility, but it is the least interesting one to me because it glosses over the complexity of nhs's pre-existing relationship to jgy.

"nhs doesn't know why he picks up the hat and takes it with him. he just does it." this is the idea I vibe with the most because it is most consistent with my read on his character--namely that he is never 100% sure about anything (except what qualifies as good erotica). but I think the part of him that still cares about jgy (it's there! it's tiny and shrivelled and warped by his transformation into the wuxia version of montresor, but it's still there) does not want to see his hat abandoned in the mud and dirt, and also does not want to interrogate his feelings about why he feels that way that closely.

"nhs can't abide littering! he's doing his part to keep the city streets clean." doubt.jpeg

[add1ctedt0you]

hi! zhanchengxian for the ask game?

Ship It

What made you ship it?

Awful people should stick together <3. No, seriously lol, initially I didn't ship them, but I read one fic that made me consider them as a thing ( pillow talk by sugar_shoal). And I figured out that I enjoy their dynamic!

What are your favorite things about the ship?

Putting in a room people who have caused each other great harm and watch what will happen is my jam tbh. I like how all of them have to struggle to be together! We have jc's insecurities and grief, wwx's aversion to open vulnerability and his resentment, lwj's stubbornness and pettiness... So juicy!

Like, how do they get there? How do they reach a point of balance? How do you reconcile wwx's deflecting mannerisms, jc's snapping attitude and lwj's selective mutism? imo wangxian works so well (novel canon) because there isn't history, there aren't dead bodies or broken promises or broken comradeship. But, with jc in the mixer, we have it all! They can get on each other nerves (lwj, jc), bring the worst out of each other (jc, wwx) and enable each other worst traits (lwj, wwx). We can have interesting dynamics! They can heal each other wounds or they can cut deeper each other even more... It's so interesting!

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

Mmmm. Idk even know what is unpopular here lol, but, I do think that if zhancheng happens during wwx's death, canon is different! While I emphasize with the desire of skipping the hassle of changing canon, and like, people can be into whatever, imo, to have the characters ring true to me, things have to be different!

If lwj has an affair with jc, I don't think he won't fall in love/be softer with him! If they have occasional hook up, fine, but a whole ass (sexual) relationship? He's going to catch some feelings! My interpretation of lwj's character is that, despite his cold demeanor, he's soft and squishy inside! He's prone to love! He's going to understand and emphasize with jc! Cql!lwj is already doing an half attempt at encouraging a yunmeng bros reconciliation, but a lwj who has been ball deep inside jc? Who knows that jc is cruel and snapping, but who knows that jc is much more too? Canon changes imo. (again, I fully understand people who don't want to touch canon)

(I am not talking about jc because it's obvious that he's having feelings for lwj. He's also very mad at all of them!)

(and, if they have a relationship but jc -feeling too much exposed, not used anymore at someone really watching him, doting on him- lashes out and breaks their 'arrangement'... Then yeah, lwj could be even worse than in canon imo lol)

Also, mmm, while zhancheng is mostly about wwx (and it should be like that!), lwj was very much dumped back then during the war. jc was his first real friend! They understood each other! They were a team! They were on the same page! And jc dumped him :-/

[sasukimimochi]

me and my friends @yuzanrath and @mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess were casually brainrotting today and we came up with a pretty funny prompt (who knows if I may eventually write it but I do really enjoy it and I don't write enough funny things) For some context, this prompt started as a joke where JC single-handedly invents non-sexual dual cultivation cuz he's so chronically single, but this is a separated idea more focused on wwx haha (no warning cuz no real pregnancies are had, just shenanigans)

TLDR will be at the bottom.

Let's say this is like, 2 years post-canon or more. So the 'juniors' probably aren't all juniors at this point but i'm still gonna call them that.

-wwx gets cursed with some sort of bloating while on a night hunt with the juniors but it doesn't start showing until the next day. wwx teases/jokes with the juniors about various forms of innocent touches/staring and points out he and lwj were holding hands the day previous before he left on his trip and kissed him goodbye and so everyone starts to believe he really IS pregnant from such a little thing. (the juniors are ofc horrified at the prospect of such easily acquired pregnancy AND FOR A MALE, and lsz is secretly excited about the prospect of getting a sib)

-Wen Ning (as part of the night hunting party who is still around rn) is kinda doubtful, but he also ends up believing bc the juniors getting excited (mainly lsz) is infectious. And, wwx really does have abdominal swelling; so, as is the theme here, he ends up believing too despite his doubts.

-lxc is informed via a junior and wwx shows that he is in fact not stuffing his shirt and lxc is stumped, can't defute, so decides it's best to go along with it for now just in case, as to not stress out the potentially pregnant brother-in-law.

-lxc and the juniors are babying him a little bit but wwx finds it funny and enjoyable so keeps it up for now since the curse is something he can easily fix and doesn't really hurt.

-LWJ comes home and at first thinks "wei ying what have u done now" but then sees the swelling is actually attached to his body and falls for it too, cue the doting husband who becomes his shadow. No more spicy food while he's 'expecting', no sex cuz he's too rough, no liquor bc bad for the baby.

-wwx handles this for a couple days, the super healthy food, lack of everything he likes, and a subtle pain in his gut from the swelling getting worse too quickly (skin isn't meant to stretch that fast) before he can't do it anymore and confesses that it was him teasing the kids and kept the joke going too long. (He cures the curse in front of him perhaps and lwj is just devastated but in his lwj way. That or LWJ cures it with something simple like cleansing idk)

-They tell lxc & lqr and lxc looks disappointed bc he likes children but mainly bc lwj is sad too (and of course lqr is celebrating oh thank god it was fake)

-they tell lsz & Wen Ning and that's the final straw, the sad subtle puppy-eye looking disappointment makes wwx drag the three on a journey out of the cloud recesses; They find a little bebe orphan to take in, perhaps they have a goofy journey of offering parenthood to orphaned kids who don't trust/don't want it before they find a local single mother died giving birth or something and they end up having a real connection with the baby, including lsz who gets insta attached, and so its decided one way or another that this is their baby.

-They go back to cloud recesses and the juniors are all like "WHERE DID YOU GO WHILE YOU WERE PREGNANT AND THEN LXC SAID YOU WEREN'T AN- OH" baby reveal. and thus wwx grins and the baby joke continues, says that he just had the baby etc etc and lxc was mistaken they just wanted a private birth or smth blah blah blah

-lsz immediately goes along with it because he is extra happy he has a little brother/sister now and he's feeling mischievous too, and says they need to take the baby to the nursery etc etc and wwx needs to rest (he is a bit tired tho after running around and getting rid of that curse n stuff)

-JC comes storming bc of the rumors bc even in gusu they can't shut their traps and sees baby, deflates but still has grumpy face like wtf happened (probably Jin Ling's fault that he finds out)

-wwx would probably joke a bit then tell him the truth immediately instead of trying to make him believe it too to avoid confrontation but asks for him to keep it secret for the joke, and Jc is like "..." cuz its an opportunity for the two to joke around together again even if he's grumpy™️ about it and so he doesn't dote on wwx but he does play along with the joke in his own way for a bit until maybe jc says something crazy and/or outrageous that couldn't be true to jin ling and he goes to wwx in a panic and so the jig is up but he tells all the juniors with 100% honesty that they did just adopt a baby and that part wasn't a joke but he didn't give birth himself and he was OK and then its just cute baby and junior interactions

bonus that came up later:

-lwj gets drunk and ends up going out again with wwx tailing close behind. they come home with another child, and thus when lwj is sober again he's suddenly a father of two young children. Cue cute timid wide-eyed bunny mode lwj while wwx comforts him (but laughing and teasing him like haha you made me pregnant again what a scandal! one look and I instantly gave birth! lwj you're so insatiable) and lsz not-so-secretly celebrates their suddenly growing family.

-JC is extremely pouty in his JC way about all these nephews he only gets to know about after they're already adopted.

-lxc is feeling quite a bit better getting to baby the babies and help his brother with raising children again, and thankfully with wwx also by lwj's side.

It was too wild a ride not to share 😌💖✨

TLDR; wwx tricks the juniors, the jades, lqr and even jc temporarily into believing he's pregnant as a way to beat the boredom while lwj is out of cloud recesses (and continues until he can't stand the doting/guilt because he succeeds in his joking too well.) wwx and lwj end up actually adopting bc wwx can't stand the disappointed faces.

[jgyapologism]

send a ship ask game xiyao chengyao and chengxian

oooh another one thank u!!

xiyao

my otp tbh. i mean, i wrote an entire fic series about an alternate universe where jgy lives, just so i could keep them together. i think that answers that question lmao. but no, like, you don't understand. these two are such a tragedy: they love each other so deeply, yet are kept apart by duty and circumstance, and lxc is someone who jgy is probably the most honest with - but he still withholds - and him withholding from lxc is the one thing that lxc cannot forgive. so when guanyin temple happens, and lxc finds out the truth, he feels betrayed and rejected and like everything between them was a lie and god, he thought that he knew jgy better than anyone else. he thought he was the exception. but jgy can't afford exceptions. can't afford to let anyone too close. experience has taught him to keep people within arm's distance but no closer than that and lxc had thought he was the exception but he wasn't. except that he was - in jgy's eyes - because jgy had never allowed himself to hope for love, to be loved, before lxc.

lxc wanted to know jgy - even the monster bits - but jgy thought he had to wear a mask in order to be loved by him. but lxc just wanted him, darkness and all.

chengyao

ohoho i mean, i love the concept of chengyao as like "two men who are bad at emotions are thrown together by force to help raise this child together" and i just, like to think that over the years, jc had grown to respect - maybe even admire - jgy for his resilience and persistence. b/c those are two traits that jc values highly - and he knows what it means to be resilient and persistent and to build something from scratch. so he admires jgy, and jgy grows to admire jc too, because he sees the way jc had rebuilt his sect from the ground up and how he holds his own against other sect leaders and - there might be a little bit of jealousy there.

so they respect one another, and they have this kid they have to raise together, so they do their best. and maybe jc thinks jl likes jgy better, so there's some hidden resentment, and maybe jgy thinks jc is too harsh on jl, so there's judgment. and they never see eye to eye, but they do their best - for jl.

but then guanyin temple happens and jgy puts the garrote around jl's neck - his own nephew - and jc loses every ounce of respect he has for jgy. even if all of his other atrocities didn't seal his fate - him using the garrote on jl did it for him.

but man. before all that - these two raising jl together?? peak comedy. 100/10 never getting over it. they are a small, broken family but jc and jgy are both tenacious as hell and like hell they're gonna let this boy suffer like they did. that's why jl is so spoiled rotten - b/c jgy and jc just can't stand to see him suffer.

chengxian

oh anon. you just opened the floodgates. what can i say about chengxian, the twin prides, the two brothers who have always been at odds, yet refusing to let each other go?

chengxian is the most tragic ship in the entire show. we watch jc and wwx grow up together. we see their brotherhood and their friendship. we see how loyal and dedicated and fond they are of one another. but we also see the cracks and fissures between them: the way jfm dotes on wwx and the parallel hatred yzy has for wwx; the way jc always felt responsible for wwx; the fact that jc may have been wwx's superior in title but everyone who saw them knew wwx was smarter and stronger ; and the resentment that dug its way inside jc's chest and made him bitter.

but jc had always thought - believed - that wwx would choose him over everything else - except maybe jyl - and he clung to their brotherhood like a lifeline. he thought wwx was his ride or die.

but then the wen's destroy the jiang sect. they kill jc's parents. and jc blames wwx for everything - but still, even then, he sacrifices himself to save wwx, and they tear out jc's core (and wwx saves him too late and sacrifices his own core to save jc but jc doesn't know this until years later and its too late and everything is festered and ugly between them) and the wen's throw wwx into the burial mounds and he thinks wwx is dead and that it was all for nothing.

wwx goes to the burial mounds - and that, that changes things entirely. it changes wwx, b/c now he's coreless and weak and he's had to survive.

and then they meet again - after jc spends months with someone he hates just looking for his brother, clinging to some shred of hope that he's still alive - and wwx is different. but they still try to act like everything is the same; that nothing has changed. except that everything has.

and then wwx chooses the wens. he chooses the wens - the very same sect who murdered their family - over jc. over family. and something inside jc finally breaks.

he gives up on wwx. gives up on their brotherhood. meanwhile wwx has been begging him to let him go this entire time. and he thinks wwx doesn't care when it's the farthest thing from it, because all wwx wants is for jc to rebuild his sect, and being associated with wwx will only destroy them.

but, these two are Class A noncommunicators. they sacrifice everything for each other time and time again, without any thought to what the other one wants, and if not for wn, wwx would have died holding onto the core secret (edit: hell, he fucking DID in his first life); just like jc will probably die without ever telling wwx that he was the one who distracted the wen guards. that he was the domino that led to all the broken things between them.

this...has gotten impossibly long. but i'll end with this: jc and wwx will never stop loving each other. beneath all of the layers of resentment and bitterness and hatred, there is brotherhood and love and care.

they may be too broken to be fixed in their entirety, but a broken vase can still be glued back together.

[stoatafloat]

Mdzs candy that I want to consume pls.

- More jc and wwx rebuilding their relationship and doting on jl

- Wwx and lqr relationship at cloud recesses. It’s so sweet seeing wwx stay himself while also trying to be respectful to his uncle in law because wwx doesn’t want lwj to have to sacrifice any more of his family standing than he already has. (That and he owes him a life debt for raising that perfect cabbage for him)

- More wwx and lxc bonding. I think wwx would sympathize to being manipulated and hurting people he loves indirectly (nmj, burial grounds electric boogaloo, killing jgy). I think mainly lxc loving someone the world hates and someone who hurt people he loves - and wwx being a person the world hated and hurt people that lwj loved would give them some solidarity. I think lwj would be jealous of someone having wwx’s time and attention but I think he wouldn’t be horny jealous of his wing man. (Things he is horny jealous of - wwx’s sister, wwx’s brother, a jacked dismembered torso…)

- How lsz handles being a wen and if he and jl real talk about it since jl sort of said they should all be exterminated in front of lsz before

- More ning and the juniors ❤️

I don’t have the focus to write fan fiction so I shout ideas into the void. Like how I can’t cook but I know so so bad what I want to eat haha.

[i-used-to-wear-the-fedora]

Mama Claudia AU, In Comes Steve

"So when were you going to tell me that your stepbrother's trying to seduce my mom?" Dustin slammed his hands on the table Max and the rest of his friends were sat at inside Scoops Ahoy. The redhead choked on her milkshake at the accusation. Coughing and hacking as Lucas pat her on the back in an attempt to help her breath again.

"Excuse me? What?" Max asked incredulously, watching Dustin wedge himself in the booth on the other side next to Mike.

"Your brother. I came home to find him at my house with my mom doting on him!"

"Oh." The girl rolled her eyes. "For a minute I thought you actually saw them kissing or something."

"They might as well have! She was feeding him casserole!"

"She's been doing that for a couple of weeks dude." Mike said, semi annoyed as he grabbed some napkins out of the dispenser to wipe off the mess caused by Dustin shoving him.

"Weeks?" Dustin gaped.

"Yeah he keeps bringing leftovers in Tupperware home." Max added.

"Don't know why you're surprised." Lucas shrugged at his friend. "She's been doing it since you went to camp. You know how she gets."

Mrs. Henderson was famously overprotective. Mike's mom always mentioned something about Mr. Henderson being the reason she was like that but none of the kids understood what that meant. She drove Dustin, and subsequently them, everywhere. Joining the PTA, crossguard and almost anything else that involved her son. It was smothering sometimes but Dustin still loved her.

"Face it Dustin." Mike gave up on wiping the ice cream off as he turned to his friend. "You've been replaced."

"Shut your damn mouth." Dustin snapped and Mike defensively threw his hands up. "I have not been replaced. She was just lonely. But now I'm back and he can stop showing up."

"Nah little dude, I don't think it works that way." The group turned to see Steve leaning on the front counter, head on his palm. "Couldn't help but listen in and I kind of agree with Debbie Downer over there. Your mom is really attached to Billy. I saw her going through the JC Penny's clearance rack to buy some clothes for him. Asked her about and she said she wanted him to have something nice to wear for o-er, a date he was going on."

"Are you shitting me?"

"Can't say I am. Now are you going to actually buy anything or are you going to stick around all day and take up space like the rest of the shit birds?"

"Hey, we bought ice cream!" Mike protested as a timer on the counter behind Steve began to ring.

"And that's my break. Robin! Your turn to man the front counter." Steve called out as a girl came out from the back and the kids turned to each other when Dustin asked.

"Since when did Steve start to use the term 'shit bird'?"

~~

"Hey! No running!" Billy blew his whistle from where he was perched atop the lifeguard chair. God he hated Saturdays. Too many people thought the public pool was a free babysitting service, parents dropping their kids off and fucking off to wherever they wanted to go. They didn't even get paid to do it like with swim lessons.

"Hey blondie," a knock on his chair made the teen look down to see Heather leaning against the wooden tower, "your shift's over. Boyfriend's waiting for you outside."

"He's not my boyfriend." Billy said as he climbed down. Despite the oversized sunglasses, the blonde knew she was giving him a disbelieving look.

"Okay well your sugar daddy is parked in his BMW outside and still wearing his little sailor uniform so have fun with that. Meanwhile I'm going to be dealing with little Willy Horowitz who, despite having almost drowned twice this week, has yet again been abandoned by his father who is currently hitting on single moms at the pool side."

"Yeah, sucks to be you." Billy smirked as she flipped him off. Plus side of taking morning shifts was getting off just before shit started hitting the fan. Heading into the locker room, the boy punched in the time clock and he was officially off. Shrugging on his red jacket, Billy made his way out to the parking lot where Steve was indeed sitting in his new, white BMW. Waving to the blonde as he got in the passenger seat. "You're early." Billy glanced around to make sure there was no one else in the parking lot before leaning in for a kiss.

"Yeah, managed to convince Robin to let me take a longer break if I did all the closing duties."

"Really? Well I'll have to give her a personal thank you. How's she feel about tater tot casserole? Mrs. Henderson has once again given me far too many leftovers to actually eat." Steve snorted extremely loudly at this. "What?"

"Dustin stormed into Scoops Ahoy, shouting about how you were seducing his mom and getting her to make you food."

"Yeah. I know. He freaked out when he saw me yesterday." Billy revealed. Pulling out a cigarette and trying to light it before Steve snatched it out of his hand. "Hey!"

"What did I tell you about smoking in my car?" Steve asked as he put the car in gear before beginning to drive. "Besides that shit is bad for you. Gonna die early if you keep that up."

"Who says I don't want that?"

"Me, asshole." Billy laughed at how serious Steve sounded. "I'm serious, could you at least try the nicotine gum I gave you? Or...I could tell Mrs. Henderson about your nasty little habit."

"You wouldn't."

"I would. Come on, for me." Billy knew if Steve wasn't driving he'd be giving him the signature Harrington look. Big hazel doe eyes pleadingly looking up at his not so secret boyfriend. Even imagining it made Billy seemingly relent.

"Fine. I'll try it. But next date night? You'll have to do something special to convince me."

"Don't worry, I've got a few things planned."

[reileinaxiu]

Yiling Siblings vs Yunmeng Siblings

The winner? Obviously...

Warnings: Some curse words. I have tagged this anti Jc, and Anti Jyl, and anti jiang in general If you like this then feel free to read and if not I will question your priorities and why are you looking for these types of metas when you stan the jiangs. Also I was lazy to look for factual references in the translations and I was busy with studying so not a lot of complete arguments or thought. So yeah comment if I've got some facts wrong or if you can link to me proper evidence. I wrote this for pleasure so please keep unconstructive or mean comments to yourself. I've been wanting to get this of my chest and out there.

Now!

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Let's talk about WWX two sets of siblings again!

About how Yiling Siblings are superior in every way and how Yunmeng Siblings are overrated and not as fluffy as all those screenshotted moments people like to claim as "proof" of their "pure" sibling bonds.

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One, WQ compared to JYL

This is not a competition, but if it was WQ would take first place in the big sister of the year award and JYL would take 5th.

It's a little difficult to write this without sounding downright mean and dismissive to JYL, but compared to WQ her acts as a big sister pale in comparison. Don't get me wrong both of them grew up in toxic environments WQ lived under fear and filial duty to a power hungry tyrant and his baby bro more or less a hostage along with the rest of her branch(depends on the adaptation). While JYL lived under a (verbally abusive) mother, who physically abuses the one you consider a brother, and a passive father. And they endured to raise their brothers mostly with absent parental figures.

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In terms of parenting their blood brother, WN and JWY couldn't be more opposite than China and Argentina.

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“You’re born with a smiling face. Always smiling, never mind too much about sorrowful things, no matter how worse the situation you’re in, you can always be happy.“ CQL Yanli.

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This can describe WWX's surface traits but there is more to him than being able to carry burden with a smile. It's admirable to face the world with optimism but that doesn't mean you should suppress the things hurt you or that you should endure it or that it is okay to experience such things

(btw this is one of the top lines in cql that I hate with a passion and not just because it was said by a Jiang)(also where else did this line come from again? If this was only found in the cql if so nevermind but I can def see JYL saying this type of things too)

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WQ can see as clear as day when WY is hurting and scolds and pesters him to take better care of himself and lets him know that she will be there to help.

.

Towards WWX, their isn't much to say about JYL, we can't fault her for her limitations in the mess of dynamics that is her family. She tries to be kind and treats WY like she would her brother. The only reasons she's pretty high up in WWX's heart is because he was young and impressionable when he joined Yunmeng Jiang. A small act of kindness in a toxic environment will seem so much more in terms of significance to him. Interactions with JYL are more playful than anything substantial. They are playing the act of the clingy little brother and the doting older sister.

.

WQ brings realistic thorough thoughts for WY's well-being. She scolds him to take care of his health and doesn't praise him but at the end of the day even if WY hides his hurts with poor bandages WQ will rip off those bandages and rewrap them more expertly and make him drink potent remedies.

.

What is soup compared to effective medicines when you are hurting(physically and emotionally that is)?

.

PS. Don't hate on me for my horrible metaphors.

.

Two, WN compared to JWY

To start off let's begin with the POV of side characters or extra or whatever gossip mongering people there are in the MDZS universe.

WN was the Ghost General, the right-hand man to Yiling Laozu WWX.

While to JWY, WWX was supposed to be his right-hand man and subordinate.

.

Already there's a glaring difference.

WN would accept LWJ as a good partner for WY. And as long as WY is happy and cares for that is all he asks.

.

JWY didn't last one minute before sneering in disgust at LWJ and WWX's relationship after stalking them through Lotus Pier. Why do people need to ask why he is a homophobe?

Also I find myself insulted to even compare WN to JWY.

Between a backstabber and the most loyal friend even beyond death how could that compare.

Too many times has JWY turned his back and averted his eyes and directly harmed WWX .

While WN has stayed through thick and thin with WWX.

.

Three, WN compared to JYL

Okay! The quiet supportive sibling comparison.

Yeah there is no comparing. Hands down WN is the winner. The man committed treason for WY. While JYL couldn't even drag an apology out of JZXun's fat mouth.

.

Four, WQ compared to JWY

Are people comparing WQ strictness to JWY's so-called tsundere personality? Newsflash tsunderes don't actively gut their loved ones and declare them the enemy of the world.

.

Five, the DafanWen Family.

Let's be real the Wen Remnants were the probably the nicest most normal family there is in MDZS who just got roped in to suffering under the Cultivation World's politicking, and wars and aftermath of wars, just the entire Cultivation World bullsh** shebang. In fact, they were probably the most resilient and family oriented which was actually the foundation of their ancestor Wen Mao's teachings. Compared to the tally of all the broken complicated family relationships we have by the end of the book.

.

Six, the Jiang Family and all their general sh**

Its mostly in my How I became Anti JC and Anti Jiang in General.

Check it out for more reasons to say that this family is the byproduct of a trainwreck and a plane crash on a stormy day.

.

Seven, WWX's true family in the end.

I count 3 main family members of WWX's and a lot of adopted ducklings. Those would be: his husband, LWJ(obviously), his little radish son, and his best friend/brother in all but blood who stood by him through some of his most harrowing moments, and that is

.

.

JC

.

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Just kidding 😂 it's Wen Ning who else deserves that honored spot?

.

Let's not forget our favorite Baby Lan, Jingyi, and our romantic Ouyang Zizhen, and our real tsundere Jin Ling (ok he might have stabbed WWX too but at least he looked to regret it and didn't mean to hurt him. I headcanon a post-canon apology and heart-to-heart between JL and WWX).

.

Eight WWX's matching personalities with WQ and WN.

Righteous, Protective, Talented, Mold breakers.

Righteous, while we know WY is the moral compass of the story, to see wrong and seek to do what's right despite society's disapproval, WQ and WN are surprisingly the same. WN saved WWX and JWY because WWX was kind and supportive to him and for nothing else in return and that it was the right thing to do and he knows that WC and the rest of the rotten side of his family is doing wrong. WQ may have helped hide them to protect WN from the consequences of his actions but she didn't have to heal them diligently, and shelter them. She could have sent them off immediately with supplies especially after JWY 🤬 hurt her precious brother and spat vitriol everywhere he went.

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All three of them are super protective, and super loyal to their family. (WY considered the Wens his family and absolutely despaired when they left to be executed (aftermath of this is the Bloodbath of Nightless City), WN and WQ sacrificing themselves to the Jins for the rest of their family and WY)

All three of them were geniuses in their own right. WY as a genius inventor(he invented his own path in 3 measly months!), prodigious cultivator (late start became ahead of everyone). WQ, genius doctor recognized by WRH. And WN, recognized by WY as a prodigy in archery.

They were the mold breakers of their current society but mostly WY and WQ. WY for mastering and understanding resentful energy and adapting his knowledge to Cultivation. And WQ, for conceiving the idea of a Golden Core Transfer. They were the definition of heretics to everyone but that's what made them amazing and unfortunately feared.

.

I don't see any mentions of JWY being righteous(definitely not), nor talented, JYL too she was always average and never done anything notable that is to be mentioned besides the praise that comes from WWX and JWY.

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Lastly this is just an aesthetic preference but Wen Qing, Wei Ying, and Wen Ning rhyme in pinyin, even if their Chinese definitions are different. You know how we like to shortcut MDZS characters to their name initials like WWX or LWJ.

Guess what! Their intials are still similar you could write the Wen adopting WWX or adopting his name and there initials would remain the same! So I could comment WQ and WN somewhere but in my heart they are Wei instead of Wen. The three were meant to be siblings! MXTX probably planned this too.

Although fate has WWX grieving both older sisters in his first life.

.

Guess which little brother is still more than welcome in WWX's second life?

I'll give you a hint: It's not JC.

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References(mostly):

https://modao-zushi.fandom.com/wiki/Grandmaster_of_Demonic_Cultivation_Wiki

Exhiled Rebels Translations

The Untamed

[pharahsgf]

i:m sad lwj gets such a bad rep from jc fans and non wangxian fans in general. he's so good... i struggle to put into words why i like him but he's such a good character. he deserves to not be made ooc in fandom stuff :,|

g-d fr. anyway here's my incomplete list of things i like about lan wangji in no particular order

his resting bitch face and intimidating icy exterior hide a soft and romantic heart but also he is genuinely a bitch and intimidating and would stab someone for disrespecting his husband

the fact that he would stab someone for disrespecting his husband

very strong 'would get rained on to hold his umbrella over a tiny stray cat' energy

when jin zixun tries to peer pressure him into drinking only for lan wangji to 1. not care 2. make the gayest most openly homosexual expression humanly possible when wei wuxian swoops in to save him, no shame whatsoever

every time a social event occurs you see lan wangji sitting somewhere by himself just staring peacefully into the middle distance and thinking lwj thoughts and i always get the distinct impression that lan xichen went to him beforehand like "wangji i know you don't like to socialise but you should really try talking to some people today, it'll be good for you and you might make some new friends" and lan wangji was like hm and proceeded to not do any of that

it's such a stupid cute detail that lan wangji buried a'yuan in a pile of bunnies. like what the hell. i am on the verge of tears

conversation: *gets personal* lwj: *leaves*

his little smirk when he calls wwx boring in ep8 like you can almost see the photoshopped sunglasses and hear denzel curry's ultimate

he's considered an unequaled prodigy when it comes to guqin abilities and inquiry specifically like he can communicate with ghosts by playing music and they're not even physically able to lie to him how is that not the coolest shit ever

HE SAID BYE TO THE BUNNIESSSS

wwx doesn't even expect to be doted on and treated like a princess after coming back lan wangji did that entirely on his own volition. wei wuxian just exists in peace and lan wangji will start picking him up and throwing money at him and composing soaring love ballads dedicated to his beauty

the fact that despite all this he will hesitate for exactly zero seconds to make fun of wwx when he's acting stupid

very strong emotional inertia causing his character to be in a near-constant state of mourning as represented visually by his white clothing and the frost/snow motif that accompanies the respective apotheoses of said mourning. which, in addition to being genuinely heart-wrenching, FUCKS as an aesthetic

associated with rabbits and dragons, easily two of the coolest animals

episode 43 drives me insane. lan wangji with his hair down dressed down domestic as fuck bringing wwx emperor's smile and setting out tea and playing their song, laying no expectations on wwx but making it clear that he's welcome and wanted and offering his love and warmth for wwx when he's ready... augh romance, tenderness, throwing bouquets and roses

"you are not qualified to speak to me"

he's canonically good at math which isn't relevant to anything but i do feel like it adds a new dimension to his character

he wrote a gentle, soul-baring, beautiful song that silently confesses his love for a person who remembered the melody even decades after first hearing it and then made its title a portmanteau of their names

kneel.

*spends 3 years in seclusion to learn from & reflect on his grave sin of defending and siding with wwx the evil demonic cultivator* *returns to immediately add wwx the evil demonic cultivator's inventions to the core curriculum*

was a cute baby so you know he's blessed

he's one of the best if not Thee best cultivator of his generation yet refuses to indulge in the narcissistic posturing his peers engage in and instead uses his privilege and access to exclusive resources to serve lower class people completely for free.. yes lord

*grips sword handle to communicate emotional issues*

very polite and well spoken and clearly well-versed in all kinds of etiquette but if he hates you he has no qualms about being as rude and disrespectful as he reasonably can (pov you are jiang cheng)

he is very fundamentally misunderstood by almost everyone he's ever met and when wwx starts figuring him out and realising what makes him tick he's entirely resistant and hostile to his intrusions despite deeply craving that intimacy and acknowledgement.... mortifying ordeal of being known in its purest form truly. i want to study him in a lab

how he slowly goes from being distant and frosty and rejecting all of wwx's offers of friendship to being so warm and attentive towards him and you look at those gifsets of early lwj vs later lwj and it's like the first rays of sun after a long winter like he's radiant

ally to bi women (nice to mianmian)

when he was punished alongside wwx jc & nhs the first blow landed and he didn't even FLINCH, he sat there back straight and chin up with the dignity of a king and wwx was so impressed he caught himself mid-overreaction to follow lan wangji's example. absolutely iconic

188cm

the fact that he spends the entire gusu lectures arc in an ongoing emotional crisis bc wei wuxian is too attractive and he doesn't know how to deal w it

there have been zero small animals who didn't immediately trust lan wangji with their life so again. blessed

[truly-morgan]

[WRH doting on JC]

RuoCheng | Mo Dao Zu Shi 07-04-2021

[#ruocheng] (I forgot wrh canon personality a bit, so let's roll with what I have here)

What if wrh started kind of doting on the ymj heir after seeing the potential he had? Like the kid is pretty good and really hard working, why isn't jfm talking more about him? So anytime jc is at a sect conference with his father, wrh check on him, ask how is training is doing, even train a bit with him if he has the time. jc is not used to this kind of attention and loves it.

Most sect leaders are a bit wary of this attention given to jc, wondering why the man was putting such attention on the heir of a different sect when he barely acknowledges others.

This left an impression on jc, where his opinion of wrh is softened because of it. he couldn't be /that bad/ if he can be this nice and friendly, right?-

then around studying at CR, jc just get really sick of /everything/. jfm won't even acknowledge any of the improvement he does, his mother nearly only focus on telling him to "Do better"/"This could have been better"/"wwx did it, why can't you? you will be the heir" And he remembers the suggestion wrh had given to him of helping train and studying the same way he was doing at CR before going back to LP.

So he goes, figuring it would be a good change of air. he has to reassure wwx and jyl that yes, he will come back in one piece, no he is doing alright, he just needs to be away for a little while. He has for too long lived on scraps of love and barely anything, he just needs someone to give him /some/ attention and praise, and he knows wrh doesn't mind giving him just that. So he goes, getting /personally/ trained by wrh, to the surprise of many who didn't think the sect leader would do so himself. jc of course doesn't see anything wrong since the man has basically been training with him since he was young, he just listens to what wrh as to show him. he doesn't like much the idea that the wens are better than everyone, sometimes even daring to disagree, yet to everyone, surprise wrh only laugh it off a bit amused rather than ready to beat him as he would to anyone else. and so jc who isn't used to any of this kind of falls for wrh, which he poorly tries to hide from the older man. at first, wrh doesn't do anything of it, he had a wife and was happy and isn't looking for anyone else.

yet jc is a breath of fresh air, he love his pretty cute and something pulls him to the young man. So he just let him dance around as he clearly doesn't know what to do with his feeling for wrh.

wrh decides that he won't try anything unless jc approaches him first and it doesn't take long before jc decides to test the water, trying to seek more affection from him, daring more physical touch when they are alone. his most bold move is when he believes wrh has fallen asleep sitting in his study. he dare a shy kiss on his lips, only to jump when he sees wrh open eyes, flushing deep red. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean, it just" he tries to apologise, unsure what to do if the man was to take it badly. he is instead pulled into wrh laps, receiving another kiss, this time a bit deeper. "this is alright". then a relationship settles between them, slowly getting a bit more intimate than it was at first.

then I see two things happening in the future:

a) jc manages to make wrh not try to basically take over the cultivation world once he's basically his new wife helping to direct the wen sect at his side as he also will take his sect leader place later in the ymj sect (happy ending yay)

b) the sunshot campaign still happen because the wen caused some kind of problem and this ends up with jc having to either choose between all the other-

great sect and wrh. he would most likely try to calm everything down until he sees some of the other cultivators turn their back to someone who basically "protects the wen dogs".

wrh tries keeping him out of the war, knowing it would hurt him more than anything otherwise if we feel angsty enough wrh get kill and it jc who has to take over the sect and he manages to settle thing down as he changes thing in the wen sect (which does not please wc, but who cares about him). he probably also take his right at ymj, leading both clan in a mix of how jfm and wrh were, taking the iron grip needed to keep people in place, but nice and diplomatic when needed to not have everyone on his back.

let's say I prefer option A, the idea of Sweet jc somehow managing to tame wrh to not basically kill everyone and take over the cultivation world seems rather funny. He doesn't mind showing it off too, how wrh listen to him. They are both very "See how great jc is, you clearly missed out" to jfm.

Original

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

Heya! Just curious, do you have any favorite ship with yanli? I really dislike JZX and I would much rather find someone else for her bc he doesn't deserve her

┬┴┬┴┤(･_├┬┴┬┴

Jiang Yanli/Lan Xichen

Here, I'll share a rough outline I have simmering just for this, also featuring Wangxian heavily lol!

LXC/JYL PLOT POINTS

LXC instead of being near Yunping finds shelter near Meishan Yu’s territory

Due to this it's JYL who ends up finding him and worrying because he is obviously a mess

She has no idea he's LCX but knows that he is a Lan

He keeps it on the downlow about who exactly he is for safety for everyone and JYL doesn't take no for an answer since he has nowhere espe to go for recuperating

They begin to bond a bit about wanting to protect their siblings and worrying about what may have happened to them since both YMJ and GL were attacked

Eventually LXC confides in JYL about who he is and they begin a correspondence during war as he is eventually able to reunite with GL and she begins helping in the camps

Eventually during one of the war counsels for the clans LXC hears JZX griping about JYL and WWX essentially feeding into nasty rumors

LXC is the one to lose it and ends up starting a physical fight (THE SCANDAL)

JYL hears about this and asks him why he had done that, LXC goes on about how she is too good to be talked of that way as well as WWX who LWJ does respect

The Sunshot Campaign does end, but the eventual twist is that LXC announces his intentions to marry JYL (SHOT GUN WEDDING)

LQR has an almost Qi deviation about all of this but rescinds and gives in because “whatever happy nephew”

WANGXIAN PLOT POINTS

Golden Core transfer still occurs

However the biggest turning point is it being LXC having attacked JZX for the way he spoke to JYL

Due to this, LXC and WWX actually strike up a sort of friendship because of their care of JYL

This affects the way WWX begins to become slightly less guarded in regards to his opinions about LWJ since LXC is a doting brother who speaks well of LWJ

Because those 4 begin to strike up a weird little friendship again it becomes common for others to inquire about it all

JC of course gets progressively jealous about this once the war ends which leads into accusations of WWX siding more with Gusu Lan after the war to “steal what's Yunmeng Jiang” a.k.a WWX and JYL

This leads to some big fight between them that is heavily palpable when the clans are together

WWX is able to occasionally confide things in LWJ, who is still careful now in the way he listens to WWX before discussing ideas together

Wen’s being saved still happens but, due to JYL having ties with Gusu Lan instead by marriage and because of LXC’s better knowledge of WWX it is suggested that they do not provoke further desperation or resorts for this

JC is not happy about this, aka, let LWJ punch JC after the meeting because JC’s temper gets the better if him, and it mirrors what LXC did to protect JYL earlier

Instead of JC being the one to go meet and make demands of WWX, LWJ secretly goes on the request of JYL, WN is revived slightly earlier which leaves LWJ suggesting he will speak to LXC more on what can be done to let the remaining Wens continue living peacefully without the shadow of being threatened or WWX being labeled a threat

Somewhere down the line due to this it is suggested that the Wens themselves that are left be allowed to choose where to live and set up their own establishments, as under Gusu Lan’s neutral opinion and observation they aren't obviously building up a new “sect”

Not listed are the finer points of romantic build up for both and side character effects to the plot of all this, needless to say, Lan Qiren is a stubborn goat that is another hurdle to overcome. As well as the Jins trying to poke for ways to upend the very precarious peace established from this deal between Gusu Lan and Wen Qing as the remaining spokesperson of the Wens. There is an eventual core reveal as well, a la thank you Wen Ning since JC is now harassing not only Wangxian, but Lan Xichen and Jiang Yanli by accusing LXC of ulterior motives to undermine Yunmeng Jiang.

[viterbofangirllovestheuntamed]

cont of my liking characters based on trusting them w/ baby, LXC 7/10 wouldn't trust to NOT bring baby around JGY even if I told him not to, LWJ 5/10 my baby is not WWX or WWX's baby so even odds he'd just hand my baby off to someone else and maybe remember to tell me who he gave my baby to, JL 7/10 he is a baby but would trust for afternoon of babysitting bc good w/ fairy, LJY & LSZ 6/10, WN 5/10 same as LWJ, OYZ 8/10 bc has sibs so can help JL for afternoon of babysitting

(2/2) cont of the who would I trust with my baby, JFM 0/10, can't even trust him with his own kids, YZY 1/10 if she likes me well enough and she understands my baby is no threat to her baby's position, JGS -100000/10 keep this thing away from my baby, LQR 9/10 has good track record, WRH 0/10 my baby is not a Wen, WQ 4/10 wouldn't trust not to do experiments for science, WN 4/10 but goes to 5 if sis helps, JYL 8/10, don't go to battlefield and leave baby behind!

JZY: 1/10 (pre-marriage) blue-screens the instant he is entrusted with a child and cries harder than the baby, 9/10 (post-marriage) doting himbo father who is loving but still responsible, one point deducted for refusing to move out of Koi tower

WWX: 9/10 for short periods. Any longer and he'll get distracted and lose the kid

JC: 8/10 very dedicated but shouty so no recommended for sensitive babies

NMJ: 7/10 see above (deduct additional 10000 points if having a qi deviation)

NHS: 1/10 immediately gets into who's-the-baby contest with infant and flips out when baby spits up on his robes

LJY: 3/10 (alone) won't get the child killed but something in the kitchen WILL be on fire when you get home

LSZ: 15/10 (alone) the most perfect babysitter imaginable... and you are never able to book him because everybody ELSE wants him to babysit too

Sect Leader Yao: 10/10 endless droning will put immediately put baby to sleep, too cowardly to put the baby in any danger, portly physique indicates good cooks on staff, and clearly has competent lieutenants since his sect is still standing

[sect-leader-jiujiu]

yu ziyuan will always have a special and complicated place in my heart.

you know, while i was reading the novel for the first time, i understood her so well. man, if my neglecting husband brought home a random child i would be annoyed. if my neglecting husband brought home the child of his long-life crush i’d be PISSED.

i think that she might not have hated wwx at first. from what i gather of chinese historical settings, she would have scorned wwx as a default, most likely, just because he was the protagonist and he needs to have the cinderella factor. but i don’t think she hated him at first…. not until she saw how blatantly her husband preferred him.

and this is what i find most painful, because jc and wwx got along well! they became friends, and then brothers, and they loved each other. so for yzy to hate wwx hurts me, it adds to the tragedy. i don’t know to what extent wwx would have been a real threat to jc’s position, especially without actually killing jc to replace him in the succession line. but to yzy, proud and accomplished as she was, to have her son ignored while her husband dotes on this other kid…. it makes her blood boil. not because her children are perfect, as she shows awareness of, but because they are their children. the children they legitimately made together. and jfm can like wwx as much as he wants, but he is not allowed to dislike his kids. that’s what yzy’s bitterness is about.

i have read some takes on yzy being hurt because she loved jfm and it was unrequited. and idk, i can’t see her loving a man who neglects her babies. i can see her wishing that they loved each other, and i can see her being sad that they have to fight a losing battle against the wens. i don’t think she would have been happy to see jfm die. but she just… must have had so much anger and bitterness inside her. and still, it’s not that easy to claim that she did or did not love her. seeing how jc operates, i can connect the dots for yzy having similar struggles to conciliate her love and anger for the same person.

ultimately, i still understand yzy. being in fandom has exposed me to many different takes:

yzy was an abuser to her husband

yzy was an abuser to her children

yzy exhibits typical asian drama parenting, and it isn’t abusive

yzy exhibits typical asian drama parenting, and it is abusive.

i don’t care much for which one is the correct one. we aren’t discussing a real person’s actions, and so whether she is or isn’t abusive doesn’t take away from my understanding her motivations and sympathizing with her. but what i’m getting at, is that wwx’s arrival to her family was an offense, and i see that. mdzs world doesn’t seem to have the concept of concubines when talking about sect leaders, and we know that jgs’s adultery was frowned upon. being that the case, bringing wwx into the family home, making him share living quarters with jc, being nice to him and noticeably kinder than he was to his own son… i see how yzy was worried about wwx replacing jc. i don’t think jfm would have been able to do it, not with wcz being the official father. it would have opened an old can of worms, disputing fatherhood to a dead man.

but! that doesn’t mean that yzy can’t be scared of the possibility. as they say, chances of dying in a giraffe attack are low, but never zero.

and yzy is undeniably cool af. i wish she had survived the novel, i wanted to see more of her.

[remindersofgrace]

Beloved Imitators

“Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” - Ephesians 5:1-2

A couple weeks ago, our family had the opportunity to travel to Zakopane, Poland for Pioneer’s Euroconnect Conference 2023. My husband Eden is a board member of the US branch of Pioneers, which is an organization that sends missionaries to plant churches and make disciples in unreached people groups around the world. Being part of this organization has shaped us in such huge ways, and we’ve been so encouraged and inspired by these men and women who are humbly and wholly surrendered to God no matter the cost, who abide in and embody the love of Christ in such a beautiful way. Pioneers invited board members and their families to attend a regional conference for missionaries working in Northern Europe, and we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to attend. After an 11 hour flight to Munich, and another hour flight into Poland, we arrived and spent our first few days in Kraków. 

The next day was Easter Sunday, so Eden found an evangelical church nearby our hotel, where we joined up with Steve (the president of Pioneers-USA) and Arlene Richardson (his wife and my hero) to spend Easter morning worshipping with an international church, singing in both English and Polish, and unexpectedly running into a Pioneers team working in Manchester, England. We spent the day with this team, eating pierogi’s in the Market Square and  grabbing gelato with the Richardsons. 

We got to explore the market at night, with sizzling meats, huge vats of sauerkraut, yummy Polish pizza called zapiekanki, and Kürtöskalács Chimney Cake with nutella inside. 

 The next day, we took a 2 hour bus ride to Zakopane with a team from a church in Ohio who was coming to the conference just to take care of our children (God bless them!). The conference began the next day and it was such an incredible time of seeing the beauty of the global church expressed in so many cultures and languages. Our kids were so incredibly loved on and were the most social that I’ve ever seen. To be in a room with 150 people who were living out their faith in humility, boldness, love, and surrender to whatever God desired for them - my heart was so filled up and encouraged. 

Moments I don’t want to forget: 

- meeting the Oliviera family on Easter Sunday - a vivacious, loving Brazilian family with a daughter and two sons who were some of the greatest kids I’ve ever met. They doted on any kids and I am praying my kids grow up to be like them one day. So much love from this family. 

- meeting the Parodi family - JC, Gema, and Sarah. Loved watching this family worship with such joy and passion amidst hardship and loss. Sarah and the worship team led us in such beautiful multicultural worship, in so many languages and styles. I literally could not stop crying during every worship service, it was so powerful to witness and God’s presence was profoundly felt. There is something about knowing the history of suffering in some of these missionaries and to see them pouring out their praises, declaring the goodness of God - it built up my faith so much. 

- being stopped by a young Australian man in a Turkish kebab restaurant in Zakopane. He asked us what we were doing in Poland, and I responded, “Oh, we’re here for a conference.” He asks, “Oh, is it a Christian conference? Do you know Steve Richardson?” The Richardsons had just told us the day before about how they had met such a wonderful random group of young people while waiting in line for hours to visit Auschwitz. The odds were just too crazy! 

- listening to Jenn Chen’s beautiful talk about living as God’s beloved. Realizing how many strongholds I have just allowed in my heart that are rooted in fear, barriers that have often kept me from receiving God’s love in its fullness. 

- taking a cable car up to the top of Mount Gubalowka and getting to share a meal with Eric and Ellen Peters. I look up to this couple so much, and hearing story after story from missionaries whose lives were so impacted by their care and prayerful presence was just so powerful. 

- Running into Sandro who graciously carried my son up the entire mountain to where we were staying

- staying up until almost midnight with a group of ladies who invited me to let Eden put down the kids and to join them for tea, meeting Aselia, a lovely Kazakh missionary whose testimony impacted me deeply. 

- getting free babysitting (woot woot) and getting to have a dinner date with Phil and Ann Baur, hearing about their lives and just enjoying them so much. 

- having a time of multigenerational prayer with the youth, hearing the testimony of a 12-year-old who was assigned to pray for the parents in the conference, and her having such a profound intimate moment of God speaking that moved her to tears as she shared. Watching young people worship God with their hands raised, knowing how many of them have dealt with isolation from being the only Christian in their community, of pressures without and within, but having a deep, living, sustaining relationship with God that isn’t just riding on the coattails of their parents’ faith. 

- A powerful message from Kefas, a Nigerian pastor turned missionary in England. Him sharing the story of Amadu. 

- getting to share intimately with a group of 2 other ladies about some of the things we were having a hard time entrusting to the Lord. Was so encouraged by their vulnerability and got to pray together. 

- getting to have lunch with John and Jenn Chen (another couple that are my heroes, do you notice a theme here?) and getting to connect and share our lives together. 

- learning about each of the needs and opportunities in the countries in Northern Europe, praying in our small groups. 

- Had a less than gracious moment with Talitha after she made a mess. Had a time of apologizing to her, that I wanted to be more calm and less reactive, that I will always love her no matter what and she said ever so sweetly that she loves me so much. I told her that I’m so glad I’m her mommy, and she said she’s so glad she’s my daughter. 

- sharing in our small groups about the people that have been vessels of God’s love for us. So powerful to see the impact that consistent and faithful love and care can have on a person. 

- Our kids starting to have hangry meltdowns while waiting for our lunch and how Arlene quickly jumped into action, cutting off a large piece of her burger and insisting that we take the majority of her fries which just communicated so much love and care to us. 

- Hilder giving our family a sweet little photo session, sweet time of connecting with her

Takeaways that I want to Remember:

- From Jenn’s talk: 

- We don’t need to make our life work on our own.

- Vulnerability is letting others see the gospel at work in our lives 

- What if we saw ourselves as we really are? As beloved? 

- God wants us to keep pulling off the layers and taking off the masks that are keeping us from experiencing him fully

- What would it look like to let go of our ego and our fear? To just be so consumed by God’s love? 

- Our God is a global God - He can be praised in every language, no culture is outside of Him. It was so beautiful to see a different side of God as people all worshipped in their cultures. 

- We are all Amadu’s. Kefas shared a story about a man named Amadu who, in an effort to get the missionaries out of his area, invited the missionaries to a meal before a pot of soup. He then defecated in front of them, wiped himself with his hand, and put his hand in the soup. Somehow, Kefas was able to stay, to actually take the soup and drink it, and that single act of gracious response melted Amadu’s heart and he gave his life to Christ. We are all those who did heinous acts, and yet the love of Christ pursues us. His grace overwhelms us and will not let us go. 

- Jenn, during our meal, confirming to me after I shared about my insecurities and struggles with comparison that “you will glorify God in the Carolyn way.” 

- From Alan’s talk: 

- We are the visible portrayal of the invisible.

- We both obey and portray Jesus, we are a pointer to who He is. 

- Mediate means to be a vessel 

- The way we can impact others is by imaging Christ in their lives. We are in God’s family, so we are part of the family business. 

- Loving others with God’s love is the fulfillment of our priestly duties. We must legitimately reveal Christ to others. 

What a privilege to meet these men and women and to be able to see into a glimpse of all that God is doing in hearts and lives around the world. I couldn’t capture it the way I wanted to in writing, but this will do for now. 

[greywoodrpg]

𝕓𝕒𝕚𝕝𝕖𝕪 𝕢𝕦𝕚𝕟𝕟 𝕔𝕒𝕝𝕚𝕟𝕒𝕠

she appears as though she was born twenty-five years ago but is actually forty-five, is a vampire and lives in downtown and is currently unemployed, and is in no coterie. She looks an awful lot like hailee steinfeld

“For a girl with such a dark mind, you're a little too in love with the sunrise.”

tw: abandonment, prostitution, death

The year was 1978 when Bailey Quinn Calinao entered this world. During the beginning of her childhood, Bailey could remember being doted on constantly by her father to the point of jealousy rising in her mother who in return showed her little to no affection. Around the time she was eight, Bailey noticed her parents arguing more about finances and hearing her name in the mix often. Until one day, her father kissed her on the cheek and told her that he loved her and he would be back for her soon…yet that day never came.

After her father left, her mother started to spiral and started going through men while picking up that bottle more and more. There was no love in that house and as Bailey grew older and her father never coming to save her, she became jaded. By the time she was fifteen, she dropped out of school and started living on the streets of Los Angeles. It didn’t take long to learn the necessary tools of the trade on how to get by, whether it was pickpocketing, going in stores to steal or even resorting to using one’s body to get what you need.

It wouldn’t be until she was about nineteen when Darius, an owner of this hole in the wall bar, gave her an opportunity. The man had lost his daughter in a car accident a few years prior and happened to catch Bailey in the back alley, sifting through the dumpster when he offered her an opportunity. At first, things were rocky between them. Bailey would find anything as an excuse to walk out, but hours later would come back for another chance. Eventually over the next few years, Darius became the father figure in her life until one day they were working beside each other and he collapsed. The EMTs arrived on scene, but they couldn’t bring him back. She followed the ambulance to the hospital and when she got there they declared him dead.

Although logically, she knew it was not his fault. It felt as if another man abandoned her in this harsh world and she harbored a lot of resentment and anger towards him over several months, completely torn from her loss.

Without Darius out there watching out for her best interest, Bailey went wild and started drinking, doing drugs and partying. The woman bounced from job to job, barely making ends meet when she ended up at this dive bar flirting with this peculiar man who called himself JC. It was ludacris, he claimed to be a vampire and was extremely outlandish, but everytime he spoke she was enchanted by his words. Until eventually, she called him out on it and told him to prove he was indeed what he claimed to be.

Bailey had a light buzz going when the two stumbled out of the bar and walked down the back alley. At first, she figured the intentions were sexual…after all it wasn’t her first rodeo. Everything appeared normal at first, but when she pressed her back against the cold brick wall and her honey colored eyes stared up into the man’s eyes, her breath got hitched in her throat. To this day, she remembered the anticipation and excitement as he leaned in to reveal his fangs and how every inch of her felt on fire.

All of it happened rather quickly, she only remembered fainting from the blood loss to be awakened with a new hunger. Many in her position would have been angry, hurt even. But this stranger gave her a new lease on life. Over time, the two grew close to the point they were practically siblings traveling the world together.

In the last few years, JC found his home in Greywood while Bailey was still trying to find something out there…at least until now. It was finally time to come home to her brother.

“what power did she attain when settling in greywood?”

Bailey has the power of dream walking, she is capable of entering someone’s dreams and manipulating it to her own will. The power is limited though, she has to have met the person and know the vicinity of where they are located. For example, she cannot just enter someone’s dreams thousands of miles away.

penned by... amber

[bloody-bee-tea]

JC Love Month 2020  Day 7

Family’s Obligation

Day 7 of JC Love Month brings some modern Lan Qiren feels, who doesn’t even try to hide that Jiang Cheng is his favourite student. Warning for some shitty, shitty parenting from JFM and YZY, I guess.

Jiang Cheng is sitting in Headmaster Lan Qiren’s office and he really wishes he could be anywhere else.

“Are you in pain?” Lan Qiren asks him and Jiang Cheng looks down at his bandaged wrists.

The nurse thinks it’s broken, so she recommended a trip to the hospital to get it checked out even though she already bandaged it and Jiang Cheng is just waiting for his parents to pick him up.

Or at least Lan Qiren is waiting for that.

Jiang Cheng knows better than to expect them to come for him.

“It’s okay,” Jiang Cheng says, even though it’s still throbbing painfully.

Lan Qiren seems to be able to look right through him, because he gets up and hands Jiang Cheng another cold compress. Jiang Cheng doesn’t even know where he got it from, but he gratefully takes it anyway.

“You should speak the truth if you are in discomfort or pain,” Lan Qiren chastises him as he sits back down and Jiang Cheng shrugs.

It’s not like people in his household usually care much if he’s hurt or not, his siblings not counting.

And speaking of siblings—

“Where’s Wei Wuxian?” Jiang Cheng asks and he thinks that he can see a vein throb on Lan Qiren’s temple.

“That hellion ran away after what he did,” Lan Qiren presses out and Jiang Cheng is just about to protest, because there was a whole gang of Jin’s after him, when Lan Qiren pinches the bridge of his nose. “And it was probably the smart thing to do as well,” he sighs. “Still, he’ll have to come in eventually and I’ll have to punish him for what he did.”

Jiang Cheng would protest that as well—Wei Wuxian was only defending him after all, and he was not the first one to throw a punch—but Jin Zixun has been kicked out of the school, so whatever punishment Wei Wuxian will get, it will probably be a lot better than that.

“Thank you for kicking Jin Zixun out,” Jiang Cheng mutters and Lan Qiren levels him with a look.

“He attacked three different students, was entirely disrespectful towards your sister and your brother, seriously injured you, threatened your family and broke so many rules that I won’t bother reciting them all now. Of course I wouldn’t tolerate that.”

“And Wei Wuxian—?” Jiang Cheng dares to ask, because Lan Qiren seems to be in a talkative mood at the moment.

“As much as I don’t like him and his insolvent behaviour I have to admit that it was good of him to stand up for you and Jiang Yanli. He certainly has the right values, unlike other people in this school,” Lan Qiren spits out and it’s no secret that he holds no love for the Wen or Jin heirs.

“He’ll have to copy the rules,” Lan Qiren says after a moment of deliberation and Jiang Cheng raises his eyebrow.

That seems like a very lenient punishment, especially coming from Lan Qiren.

“I guess Wangji will have to oversee it,” Lan Qiren goes on and suddenly Jiang Cheng’s eyes burn.

Everyone in this school knows that Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian are so very desperately in love with each other and it must have reached Lan Qiren’s ears as well.

This is no punishment at all. It’s a reward.

And since Lan Qiren holds no love for Wei Wuxian this must be a reward for Wei Wuxian because he came to Jiang Cheng’s defence.

It’s like an unspoken secret that Lan Qiren holds a soft spot for Jiang Cheng, even though Jiang Cheng himself could never figure out why the hell that would be the truth, but it seems like everyone else was right. Jiang Cheng never dared to believe it, even when Lan Qiren checks in him personally at least once a week, and when Jiang Cheng’s parents forgot to pick him up, Jiang Cheng got to do his homework in Lan Qiren’s office.

Still, Jiang Cheng always thought he was just being a decent person to a sad, lost boy, but it seems like everyone was in fact right when they say that Jiang Cheng is Lan Qiren’s favourite.

“Thank you,” Jiang Cheng whispers and Lan Qiren strokes his goatee, clearly uncomfortable with Jiang Cheng’s expression of gratitude.

“Where are your parents?” he asks instead of letting the moment turn more awkward than it already way, and every warm feeling flees Jiang Cheng’s body.

He had called them from the infirmary, but he hadn’t reached them. Jiang Cheng suspects that they chose to ignore him, rather than missed his call, because he called both his parent’s work phones.

“I don’t know,” he admits. “I couldn’t reach them.”

“Are they at home?” Lan Qiren demands to know and Jiang Cheng shrugs.

He hasn’t seen either of his parents for the past few days, but he’s not going to mention that to Lan Qiren now.

“I think they are at work. There is some big deal going down if I’m not mistaken,” Jiang Cheng finally says and Lan Qiren nods, though he seems anything but happy about it.

“I see,” he says and then reaches for the phone.

It’s enough to startle Jiang Cheng into motion, because if Lan Qiren calls them then his parents will think Jiang Cheng did something wrong and he doesn’t want to hear their reaction to that.

“Please, don’t,” he says, before Lan Qiren can dial a number and he freezes in his movement.

“What?” he asks.

“Don’t call them. I can just go home by bus, it’s no problem,” Jiang Cheng desperately tries.

“You’re supposed to go to the hospital, not home,” Lan Qiren sternly tells him and then simply dials the number.

“They won’t come,” Jiang Cheng mutters, and Lan Qiren’s eyes snap to him.

“Headmaster Lan, what did Wei Wuxian do now?” Madam Yu’s voice rings out from the speaker and Jiang Cheng tries his best to melt into the seat.

“This is about your son,” Lan Qiren says and there’s a beat of silence.

“What did he do?” Madam Yu asks and whereas she sounded annoyed the first time, there’s real anger in her voice now.

“He got hurt,” Lan Qiren says with a frown and Madam Yu sighs.

“Is he alright?” she asks, and Jiang Cheng’s hand clenches around the cold compress.

His wrist hurts, and with his luck it’s more damaged than just bruised, and his mother is not going to care beyond the fact that he can’t work at his intern job in the company.

“His wrist got injured. A trip to the hospital is advisable,” Lan Qiren tells her.

“If it’s only his wrist, he can take the bus. My son is not so weak that he needs to be coddled. He can take care of himself. He better got that by beating someone else up,” Madam Yu says and Jiang Cheng wishes she would stop talking.

“Madam Yu!” Lan Qiren says in outrage but Madam Yu doesn’t seem to care that much.

“Is he there?” she asks and Lan Qiren expectantly looks at Jiang Cheng.

“Yes, mother,” he dutifully says.

“What happened?” she asks and Jiang Cheng tries to hide his wince but going by the twitch in Lan Qiren’s brow he doesn’t know how successful he is.

“Jin Zixun said something mean to Yanli so I tried to make him stop,” he sums it up and Jiang Cheng goes cold at the answering silence.

“And?” Madam Yu icily asks after a moment.

“And then Jin Zixun almost broke my wrist,” Jiang Cheng goes on.

“Wei Wuxian?” Madam Yu wants to know and Jiang Cheng shrinks even more in on himself.

“Came to my help.”

“Is he hurt?”

“Not that I know of,” Jiang Cheng says and he knows what’s coming next.

“Then you are not, either. I expect you at work later this afternoon,” Madam Yu says and Jiang Cheng hangs his head.

“Yes, mother,” he agrees and Madam Yu hangs up without another word.

There’s only the beeping sound for a horrible long time and then Lan Qiren lets out a long, long breath.

“Does that mean she’s not coming?” he then asks, voice carefully controlled and Jiang Cheng nods miserably.

“Your father?” Lan Qiren asks then and Jiang Cheng is quick to shake his head.

“He will go looking for Wei Wuxian, claiming that it’s more important since we know that I am fine, but the same can’t be said about Wei Wuxian,” Jiang Cheng predicts and is very grateful when Lan Qiren doesn’t pick up the phone to verify.

“Is it always like that?” Lan Qiren carefully asks and Jiang Cheng is very ashamed when he bursts into tears.

But it’s just all too much; the whole day has been a rollercoaster of emotions starting with the anger towards Jin Zixun and the adrenalin and then he got hurt and Wei Wuxian came to his rescue and now this whole mess.

Jiang Cheng doesn’t know how to handle any of this at all.

He startles badly when someone awkwardly pats his shoulder but when he realizes that it’s just Lan Qiren he almost leans into him. Jiang Cheng wonders which one of them feels more awkward about this, but he can’t bring himself to care, at least not right now.

“Jiang Wanyin, is it always like that?” Lan Qiren asks again and this time Jiang Cheng nods.

“I haven’t seen either of them for a couple of days. I know they are home sometimes, but mother goes to talk to Yanli and father goes to talk to Wei Wuxian and then there’s simply no time for me. Father would drop everything to search the whole town for Wei Wuxian but driving me to the hospital would be a chore. Caring for me is an obligation neither of them know how to handle, and by now I am not expecting anything anymore,” it bursts out of Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng doesn’t get much for his position as an intern, but what he gets he saves. When he turns eighteen he’ll be out of his family home immediately and he doesn’t think his parents will notice for at least a week.

It’s a thought Jiang Cheng tries to push very far away.

Lan Qiren is very quiet at his side and Jiang Cheng is afraid to even look at him, too scared to see what his reaction is to that, so when Lan Qiren puts his hand more firmly on his shoulder, Jiang Cheng is startled.

“Get up, we’re driving to the hospital,” Lan Qiren says and Jiang Cheng is left staring after him, because immediately after his declaration Lan Qiren left the office, talking to his secretary.

Jiang Cheng isn’t entirely sure how he ended up in Lan Qiren’s car, but he’s there before he can gather a coherent thought.

“I wouldn’t want to impose,” Jiang Cheng says as Lan Qiren already starts the car and Lan Qiren silences him with a look.

That does nothing to Jiang Cheng. Madam Yu is his mother, he’s used to much worse.

“Really, you must be busy. There must be other things you need to do,” Jiang Cheng insists, but Lan Qiren shakes his head.

“There is nothing more important than making sure that you are alright, do you understand me?” he wants to know and Jiang Cheng has nothing else to say to that, so they spent the rest of the drive to the hospital in a tense silence.

Lan Qiren stays by his side through the whole examination and when the doctor asks Jiang Cheng if it’s okay to tell him the results in front of Lan Qiren who is neither a parent nor a guardian, Jiang Cheng simply nods.

Lan Qiren feels very much like both of these things in the moment and Jiang Cheng is not at all sure how to deal with that.

“Your wrist is broken,” the doctor tells him then and Jiang Cheng slumps, because of course it is.

Nothing can ever be easy for him.

They put a cast on his arm and then Jiang Cheng is back in Lan Qiren’s car, when Jiang Cheng’s phone rings.

He accepts the call when he sees that it’s Wei Wuxian.

“Where are you?” is the first thing Wei Wuxian asks him and Jiang Cheng snorts much to Lan Qiren’s dislike it seems.

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?” Jiang Cheng gives back but Wei Wuxian sounds worried and Jiang Cheng is not liking it.

“Listen, I managed to run away from the Jins but I had an encounter with Wen Chao,” Wei Wuxian says and Jiang Cheng winces.

Wen Chao is nothing more than a slimy bastard, but he always has Wen Zhuliu around and he’s a real piece of work.

“Are you alright?” Jiang Cheng asks, because of course Wei Wuxian would go straight from the fire into the frying pan.

“A little roughed up. Got a nice shiner. Do you think Lan Zhan will kiss it better?” Wei Wuxian asks and Jiang Cheng wonders if Lan Qiren will pop a vein with how angry he seems at hearing that.

“What do I care?” Jiang Cheng gives back, but if Wei Wuxian is hurt, he can guess where this is going.

“A-Cheng, I don’t think you should be coming home today,” Wei Wuxian says just on cue and of course.

His father thinks it’s Jiang Cheng’s fault Wei Wuxian got hurt, and his mother thinks the opposite, so they are fighting again.

“Bad?” Jiang Cheng wants to know even though he damn well knows the answer.

“I’m going to stay with Wen Qing tonight, and shijie is with Jin Zixuan, so—,” Wei Wuxian trails off and that means it’s more than bad.

“Fine, I’ll find a place to stay,” Jiang Cheng sighs, even though dread curls in his gut.

He’s not quite as lucky as Wei Wuxian or Jiang Yanli with his friends. His only real friend is Nie Huaisang and he and his brother are out of town at the moment.

Jiang Cheng guesses he could beg Jin Zixuan to let him take the couch but he doesn’t want to ruin his sister’s evening and Jiang Cheng would rather sleep on the streets than room with Wen Qing and Wei Wuxian.

“Take care,” Wei Wuxian says and then simply hangs up on him.

“What was that?” Lan Qiren demands to know and Jiang Cheng startles, because over his own dilemma he almost forgot that they are in his car.

“The usual,” Jiang Cheng tries, but Lan Qiren levels him with a look and Jiang Cheng deflates.

“My father thinks Wei Wuxian’s injury is my fault because I started it, so he is mad at me. My mother can’t stand it when he is mad at me instead of Wei Wuxian, so she gets in these really vicious fights with him and if that happens it’s really best if none of us are home,” Jiang Cheng says with a shrug.

“Where will you stay?” Lan Qiren asks and Jiang Cheng admires him for everything that he so clearly wanted to say and still swallowed.

There’s no way that was his first thought to this.

“Don’t know yet,” Jiang Cheng gets out with a desperate smile. “I’m gonna find a place.”

Lan Qiren looks at him as if he can tell exactly that Jiang Cheng is most likely not going to find a place and then he sighs.

“You’re coming with me,” Lan Qiren decides and Jiang Cheng gapes at him.

“I’m sorry, what?”

“You’re not going to sleep on the streets or whatever you are thinking,” Lan Qiren almost snaps at him as if he’s offended even thinking about it. “I have a guest room and you’re going to use it.”

Jiang Cheng opens his mouth to argue, but then he realizes that there isn’t much he can argue against. It will most likely be awkward as hell, but Jiang Cheng is out of options, so really, what is he going to say to that.

Jiang Cheng tries not to gape when they come to stop in front of a huge house, because this neighbourhood is even nicer than Jiang Cheng’s own, and he only drags his eyes away from the house when Lan Qiren turns towards him.

“Jiang Wanyin,” he starts and Jiang Cheng dreads whatever comes out of his mouth next. “I have a spare key and you’re going to take it,” Lan Qiren tells him then and before Jiang Cheng can protests, a key is being pressed into his uninjured hand.

“What?” Jiang Cheng very dumbly asks but he doesn’t understand what’s happening right now.

“If that is a regular occurrence, I never want you to fret over where you’ll stay,” Lan Qiren says with vehemence. “If you can’t stay at friends of yours, then you’ll come here. I have a spare room and no one who uses it and if I hear you’re sleeping on the streets or something equally outrageous then I’m going to drag you here by your ear.”

Jiang Cheng has to blink very fast at that, because his vision gets blurry and he thinks bursting into tears right now is only going to make Lan Qiren retract his offer.

“And if you ever need a place just to get away from your parents, even for just an hour, you also come here,” Lan Qiren goes on and Jiang Cheng is quick to nod, because if he already accepted, Lan Qiren can’t take it back anymore.

“Alright,” Lan Qiren says and squeezes his shoulder once before he gets out of the car.

He gives Jiang Cheng some time to compose himself, but when he finally follows Lan Qiren into the house and has to use the key to enter, Jiang Cheng bursts into tears again, because a very small part of him thought that maybe Lan Qiren was just fucking with him.

It’s almost not at all awkward when Lan Qiren hugs him, and even if it was, Jiang Cheng wouldn’t mention it.

Link to my ko-fi on the sidebar!

It’s really nice to be held.

Next part