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eleanorfenyxwrites · 2 years

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Soldier, Poet, King

Part 1

[AO3] [Masterpost]

Should I have started a whole-ass multichapter Pacific Rim/Iron Widow inspired 3zun fic when I have multiple writing event assignments I also need to be doing? I dunno, y'all tell me 😅

-/-

There will come a soldier who carries a mighty sword, he will tear your city down, o lei, o lai, o lord

There will come a poet whose weapon is his word, he will slay you with his tongue, o lei, o lai, o lord

There will come a ruler whose brow is laid in thorn, smeared with oil like David's boy, o lei, o lai, o lord

-/-

“Did you hear the broadcast this morning?”

“You know I can’t hear shit out on the bay floor, I’ve been working on repairs all damn day. What’s up?”

Jin Guangyao calmly eats his awful canteen food as he listens to the stream of gossip flow around him, one ear permanently listening out for anything he can use. Of course he knows what the latest gossip is bound to be about - it’s big news in the shatterdome to acquire new pilots at all at such an advanced stage in the war against the Kaiju, and this latest is no ordinary set. Naturally, Jin Guangyao had spearheaded the efforts to recruit them, though just as naturally all the credit for doing so will go to the shatterdome’s benefactor instead of him.

No matter. He has his eye on a bigger picture than simple recruitment, though he knows not to neglect this crucial first step, either.

“Oh fuck off,” the mechanic snorts in disbelief. Jin Guangyao turns his head enough to get a glimpse in time to see the man viciously stab at some indeterminate mushy vegetable on his tray. “There’s no way in hell they got the Jades to come here, you’re so full of shit!”

“They did!” the first person retorts loudly enough to be heard clearly over the clatter of cutlery and the rumbling of too many voices in the echoing space. “I swear, they announced it this morning! And not just the Jades but over half the crews from Tokyo - I’m talking pilots, researchers, ground crew, everybody. Jin Guangshan finally threw enough of his money at Wen Ruohan to get him to agree to it, I guess.”

“Hey, keep it down,” the mechanic hushes instantly. “I’d like to keep my job, if you don’t mind.” They lapse into silence and Jin Guangyao returns to eating his own meal in peace. “How in the hell did they get the Jades?!” the mechanic suddenly bursts out a scant few minutes later and Jin Guangyao sighs, resigning himself to getting involved. He stands and turns, the pair’s eyes immediately landing on him as he offers them his best, most dimpling customer service smile.

“I asked very nicely,” he tells them with a sickening honey-sweet tone, and then he turns to go without another word. The smile drops from his face the moment he’s in the hallways, relatively deserted at this hour, and he doesn’t bother worrying about word of his involvement spreading.

He spends the rest of the evening in his room preparing mentally for the plan finally stretching out ahead of him, the first move on the chessboard already made. It’s only a matter of time now until he can get what he wants, and he goes to sleep that night at lights out with satisfaction sitting comfortably heavy in his chest.

-/-

Lan Xichen has never truly been comfortable with the hero worship of Jaeger pilots. He understands it, naturally, and were he not a pilot he would likely be caught up in a little bit of it himself - he has never once claimed to be immune to dashing men who are good with their fists or their brains (fighting the Kaiju is about strategy as much as it is brute force, after all). But he is a pilot - one of the best in the world, according to numerous lists of such things - and so the glamor of it is long gone. There is nothing at all glamorous about ripping sentient beings limb from limb, or contributing to the destruction of millions of homes and jobs on the rare occasions their fights leave the safety of the ocean.

Still. He knows that the citizens protected by their newest shatterdome have their reasons for the awe they express when he and the rest arrive from the Tokyo ‘dome. They arrive in armor, as the easiest way to transport the Jaegers from one ‘dome to the next had been to pilot them, and Lan Xichen knows that he and his brother cut an intimidating figure in their snow-white Jaeger suits, hair long and unbound down their backs. It’s an unavoidable irritation for the both of them to be made a spectacle of, but Lan Xichen handles it better than Lan Wangji ever has.

He smiles, smiles, smiles into camera flashes and cheering crowds, Lan Wangji a serious, stone-faced pillar at his side, and neither of them breathe a word of Lan Wangji’s fast-approaching retirement when asked about their plans to help lift the Shanghai shatterdome out of its recent slew of lackluster battles.

Though they’re the stars of this latest news development, the attention eventually moves from them to their fellow pilots who have left Tokyo with them, and Lan Xichen can finally breathe a sigh of relief as Wei Wuxian grabs the attention with deft hands, his gregariousness and charming arrogance a finely honed tool for exactly this purpose. His siblings flank him, the three of them a novelty of their own in their matching purple and black armor, and as they stop for their own photo-ops Lan Xichen slips away with his brother in tow to get inside away from the crowds.

“Zewu-Jun, Hanguang-Jun,” a smooth voice greets as soon as they’re under the cover of the warehouse roof, and they turn in unison to find a young man standing in front of them in a pale yellow jumpsuit he somehow manages to make look as smart as a suit and tie. “My name is Jin Guangyao. Welcome to Shanghai.”

The name taps at something in the back of Lan Xichen’s mind, and after a moment of chasing the sensation he smiles more genuinely and folds into a shallow bow, Lan Wangji doing the same beside him. “Ah of course, I heard we have you to thank for our transfer orders. We appreciate your trust in our capabilities.” Jin Guangyao’s expression is openly surprised for less than the space of a heartbeat when they straighten again, but Lan Xichen has had a lifetime of reading his brother (both from outside and inside his head) - there likely aren’t many microexpressions he could miss.

“I assure you I had only a minimal hand in the effort, but your accomplishments speak for themselves, of course.” Jin Guangyao recovers smoothly. “As soon as the others join us I will show you to your new quarters and introduce you to the powers that be - Jin Guangshan’s duties would not permit him to greet you in person, he sends his apologies.”

Lan Xichen, who has heard nothing good about Jin Guangshan’s work ethic, merely smiles and nods his understanding. He’s fairly sure Jin Guangshan couldn’t give two shits about whether they were greeted or not, but he knows all about maintaining appearances. They don’t have to wait long before Wei Wuxian is ushering his siblings into the building ahead of himself, turning to say one final goodbye to the reporters before the doors shut and seal tightly - and all three Jiang siblings practically melt with relief.

“Good gods this place is insane,” Wei Wuxian laughs as he stretches his arms above his head and then behind his back, his attempt to touch his elbows together at his spine making his outdated suit creak ominously. “You’d think they’ve never seen a pilot before! Doesn’t the Peacock go swanning around town regularly enough to keep them all satisfied?”

“Fresh meat is always of interest,” Jin Guangyao reports, clipped and businesslike. Lan Xichen coughs gently to hide a chuckle that doesn’t hold much amusement anyway; ‘fresh meat’ is a very apt descriptor for how they’ve been treated in Tokyo under Wen Ruohan’s brutal hand, and he’s very much looking forward to feeling perhaps slightly less like convenient Kaiju bait. “Zi Zhizhu, Sandu Shengshou, Yiling Laozu. My name is Jin Guangyao, I will be your main point of contact while you settle in. Welcome to Shanghai.”

Lan Xichen blinks a few times as he watches Jin Guangyao turn smartly on one heel and begin marching off into the warren of dripping pipes and echoing clangs of the shatterdome, leaving them very little time to process what he’d said. He jerks into step quickly when he realizes Jin Guangyao doesn’t intend to wait for them. The others fall in behind him as they tend to do, and for the first time in his career Lan Xichen gets an inside look at the Shanghai shatterdome.

It’s obvious that it was once an ostentatious display of wealth. Were it five years ago, minimum, the tech they can see as they traipse through Jaeger bays and pass by various control rooms would be state of the art. As it is, everything is clearly in good repair and still more than usable, but it’s not at all the top of the line tech that Tokyo boasts. He says nothing, but the look he shares with Lan Wangji requires nothing to be said aloud. Lan Wangji turns his head to glance over their shoulders at Wei Wuxian walking between his siblings, and Lan Xichen can easily visualize his judgemental raised eyebrows that must accompany the low-pitched whistle their companion lets out at what they’re seeing.

If Jin Guangyao is aware of their opinions he doesn’t let on, he merely points out various items of interest as they pass through the ‘dome with (thankfully) minimal gawking from the people they pass.

“This is the main communications tower,” Jin Guangyao says when they’re all standing in an elevator that ascends in jerky jumps that would make the average stomach swoop (it’s got nothing on the sensation of their drops into the ocean, but Lan Xichen knows that’s not exactly a normal comparison to make). “You will report here for all Kaiju calls, whether you’re on deck or not. The current pilot rotation is exhausting, it is likely you will be called upon for emergency backup until the new roster is established and it’s best to receive orders and deploy from here rather than someone attempting to hunt you down wherever you might be. Questions?”

Jin Guangyao fixes them all with a piercing stare that leaves Lan Xichen a little winded, but he seems to be the only one so affected.

“Can I be candid?” Wei Wuxian asks and Lan Xichen’s entire mouth goes dry when Jin Guangyao gives the man a crooked smirk.

“I understand you typically are, don’t be modest. What’s your question, Wei-gongzi?”

“Jin Guangshan is richer than the gods - why is everything in this shatterdome fucking ancient?”

“Wei Wuxian!” Jiang Wanyin hisses in warning with a sharp clang of his elbow guard hitting Wei Wuxian, most likely somewhere around his armored ribcage.

“I invite you to attempt to negotiate a more appropriate distribution of resources with Jin Guangshan when you meet him. For now, financial concerns can be tabled in favor of dealing with the Kaiju attacks you are here to assist with. Any further questions?”

Lan Xichen finds himself fighting back a genuine smile the likes of which Lan Wangji would be all-too-easily able to interpret if he were to notice; Jin Guangyao’s tone hadn’t slipped anywhere close to rude, but his less-than-favorable opinions on that matter couldn’t have been more obvious. Lan Xichen himself has never had the ability to manage such a thing - he’s always polite to a fault, with no hints of his displeasures visible like that - and he can’t deny that he’s..intrigued.

“Will we be meeting with Jin Guangshan now?” Jiang Yanli asks with understandable trepidation (Jin Guangshan’s stomach turning reputation is infamous and Lan Xichen doesn’t blame her at all for her nerves, world respected Jaeger pilot or not).

“No,” Jin Guangyao reassures, which just serves to make Lan Xichen wonder just who the ‘powers that be’ are, then, if not Jin Guangshan. Shanghai Shatterdome is notoriously tight-lipped about their inner workings, even amongst the other ‘domes, and Lan Xichen’s curiosity just keeps rising higher and higher the more he sees of it.

Any further questions are cut off by a loud clang as the elevator comes to a stop and the gates clatter open to spit them out into the top room of the control tower, the two largest Jaeger bays spread out beneath them. Immediately visible through the windows over the bays is the famous peony-engraved golden breastplate of Sparks Amidst Snow, gleaming and spitting arcs of pure warm light as mechanics suspended in front of it work on repairing enormous gashes in the plate from her last Kaiju fight, only a week or so ago. In the other bay is the silent, hulking form of -

“Oh my god,” Wei Wuxian breathes, he and Lan Wangji stepping forward in the same instant with reverence clearly etched into every line of their faces despite how differently they wear their expressions. “Bright moon and gentle breeze.”

“Distant snow, cold frost,” Lan Wangji finishes for him, the pair of them suddenly so wistful Lan Xichen nearly can’t bear to look at them.

“She is currently without pilots,” Jin Guangyao tells them with a shrewd look in his eyes. “But Jaeger assignments will be discussed at a more appropriate time. For now, allow me to introduce the martial leader of Shanghai Shatterdome - Chifeng-zun, Nie Mingjue.”

Lan Xichen’s gaze swings sharply from the abandoned Mach 1 Jaeger in the darkened bay to their more immediate surroundings. It can’t be -

But it is. Nie Mingjue, a living legend ostensibly long-retired with the rest of the few (very few) surviving Mach 1 pilots, stands straight and proud, towering over everyone around him and exuding an air of leadership that Lan Xichen can only admire.

“This everyone?” he asks Jin Guangyao and the man nods as he strides forward only to turn and settle at Nie Mingjue’s right hand as easily as breathing.

“From Tokyo Shatterdome, Twin Jades Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji, pilots of the Mach 5 Jaeger named 'Jade Dragon'; and their peers, Yunmeng Heroes Jiang Yanli, Jiang Wanyin, and Wei Wuxian, pilots of the Mach 4 Jaeger 'Lotus Spider'.”

“Well. Welcome to Shanghai, then. Come in and pay attention, I don’t have time for pleasantries.”

Lan Xichen glances at his companions and then turns forward again resolutely to join his new commanders with a shiver of something curiously close to excitement slipping down his spine.

-/-

Nie Mingjue goes through their latest reports automatically, the information too deeply burned into his brain to require him to pay too much attention to what he’s saying. He’s much more interested in studying his new pilots - he’s seen his fair share of pilots in the years he’s been at the front of this war, and he’s pretty damn good at getting a read on them these days.

The dynamics they present are favorable enough...on the surface.

Two brothers near enough in age and looks to practically be twins, their temperaments both steady and their fighting grounded in martial arts and spiritual development they’ve clearly been practicing rigorously since they were children.

Three siblings, two blood one adopted, all of them close enough that no one would know their family situation without the different names - and the scandal Yu Ziyuan had whipped up into an international frenzy when Wei Wuxian had joined his martial siblings in a triple-pilot Jaeger he’d altered himself for purpose by using scraps of older abandoned machines dumped in the Yiling scrapyard. Their fighting is wild and unpredictable, inventive, favoring both surprise and strength over the elegance exhibited by the Jades.

But it’s clear almost immediately to Nie Mingjue that there are fault lines everywhere, in danger of very quickly becoming fractures. He doesn’t miss the way Lan Wangji looks first to Wei Wuxian for his thoughts before he looks to his own brother and copilot, or the way Jiang Wanyin glares at the pair of them whenever he catches sight of it. Jiang Yanli focuses more on her brothers' tension than the intelligence Nie Mingjue and Jin Guangyao are presenting them with, and Lan Xichen seems determined to act as if nothing is out of the ordinary at all.

He’d known as soon as they’d made the deal with Tokyo that Wen Ruohan wasn’t doing this out of any goodness in his heart, he hadn’t been foolish enough to think he’d be getting the best Tokyo has to offer, so the high-performing pilots had been a nice surprise. He just hadn’t expected that he’d be getting not one but two world-class pilot teams on the verge of falling apart.

Well, he supposes, it’s not like everything else in this damn shatterdome isn’t falling apart as well. They might as well make the best of it until they can’t go any further.

“You have one free day to recover from your traveling,” Nie Mingjue tells them when Jin Guangyao has finished explaining the general layout of the shatterdome for their convenience. “You’ll report for combat training with the rest of the pilots the following morning immediately after breakfast - of course should a Kaiju pop its ugly head up in the meantime you’re to report here and receive assignment no matter what else you’re doing. All clear?”

Satisfied with the affirmatives he receives in response, Nie Mingjue dismisses them all with a wave and turns back to the supply reports he’d been reading when they’d come in. He finishes one and begins on the next despite the ache starting up behind his eyes, and he’s still trying to slog his way through it when Jin Guangyao returns from showing the pilots to their quarters nearby.

“You’re all dismissed, go get something to eat,” Nie Mingjue tells the few technicians still hanging around tinkering with their dying comms system, and once the room is silent save for the two of them Jin Guangyao steps forward to begin unpicking Nie Mingjue’s braids to try to help his headache.

“You should take your own advice sometime,” Jin Guangyao muses. Nie Mingjue just grunts and waves him off, still squinting down at his reports though the numbers have started to swim nauseatingly.

“What’s your take on the Tokyo group?” Nie Mingjue asks to distract himself.

“They’re awfully…shiny,” he says, and it’s not a compliment. Nie Mingjue snorts a laugh and flips to the next page of the folder, though this one’s just as badly covered in cramped handwriting making the most economical use of the limited space. “On the one hand I think they’ll all be fine piloting Jaegers other than their own if need be - they’ve all been in the field long enough to be familiar with older tech...”

“But?”

“The second we try to split them up they’ll fall apart.”

Nie Mingjue sighs and nods, unbends enough to rub at his forehead tiredly. “My thoughts exactly. Has to be done, though. I need more teams than we’ve got and we can’t be spared for anything that’s not the literal fucking end-of-the-world apocalypse. They’ll have to get flexible fast if they’re going to last here.”

“We can talk about it in the morning. You need to go lay down before this turns into a migraine.”

Nie Mingjue ignores the admonishment in favor of relaxing backwards into the chair and tipping his head forward a bit to get Jin Guangyao’s hands where he needs them more. “Any chance Jin Guangshan is planning another ‘business trip’ that’ll keep him away long enough for us to Drift again?”

“With new faces to show off in front of?” Jin Guangyao retorts with a bit of acid in his ever-pleasant voice. “He won’t leave for anyone but Wen Ruohan for the next six months at least, and Wen Ruohan won’t send for him now that he’s offloaded all his problem children on us. He’s probably going to focus on training up all the Wen reserve pilots now that they’ve got free reign of their ‘dome, we’re stuck with Jin Guangshan for a while.”

“Don’t forget that I know you,” Nie Mingjue reminds Jin Guangyao, his voice low. Jin Guangyao’s hands go still in his hair for a moment before he continues his slow untangling. “I know you’ve got something up your sleeve - I’ve been in your head, A-Yao. There’s no way in hell you’re about to let your chicken-shit father get in the way of becoming a pilot.”

Jin Guangyao stays quiet for a few long moments before he leans over the back of the chair and tips Nie Mingjue’s head back far enough to force him to look up at him.

“It’s not just my father - nothing is going to stand between me and becoming a pilot,” Jin Guangyao corrects him. “But I’m extremely good at playing the long game. Just be patient and help me babysit the new disasters, and when the timing’s right we’ll get back in a Jaeger. Alright? I miss being in your head, too.”

Nie Mingjue sighs long and slow but has to admit defeat; he concedes the point with a hand curled around the back of Jin Guangyao’s neck to pull him down into a languid kiss unfortunately cut short by a pained grimace as his headache spikes.

“Bed. Now.”

Nie Mingjue knows better than to ignore the suggestion a second time so he lets Jin Guangyao pull him to his feet for the pair of them to leave the tower and retreat to their ‘separate’ quarters a few hallways over, on the same corridor as the pilots. Nie Mingjue dresses down for bed by taking off his boots and collapses onto his mattress just in time for Jin Guangyao to open the hidden door that connects their rooms.

“Can’t you at least strip down to your t-shirt?” he grumbles as he clambers into bed beside him but Nie Mingjue says nothing, he just makes room for the smaller man against his side under his arm, and then hits the light switch to plunge them into darkness. He lies awake for a few long minutes listening to Jin Guangyao’s breathing and the distant clanging of the shatterdome that never fully sleeps, and then he’s tugged into unconsciousness full of dreams that are their usual mix of his memories and Jin Guangyao’s.

#the untamed fanfic #3zun #Jin Guangyao #Lan Xichen #Nie Mingjue #Pacific Rim AU #This is my first time trying to write a whole fic with so many characters right there in the action #this is hard lol #I foresee a lot of extras in my future 🤦🏽‍♀️#Title is from 'Soldier Poet King' by The Oh Hellos #Also it's not quite a Pacific Rim AU nor is it quite an Iron Widow AU #It's a bit of both but it's also neither hope that helps

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