#the one Jiang Cheng could COUNT on
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Underrated element of where Jiang Cheng is re: wwx after everything is that they always had a sort of dual relationship. Two different relationship premises, superimposed on one another.
There's the one where they grew up together, as close as brothers, beating each other up and complaining and being one another's closest companions, sharing a bedroom as kids and eating at the same family dinner table, actively encouraged by Jiang Fengmian to interact as equals.
And then there's the one where Wei Wuxian was in service to Jiang Cheng's family. Not as a servant--Jiang Fengmian absolutely refused to do that, even if he couldn't adopt him. But as a disciple of Jiang Cheng's father and recipient of his charity, as Jiang Cheng's future right hand and most trusted subordinate.
It's a vertical relationship, intimate in its own way but with very strict expectations about what obligations flow in what directions; they are not identical and reciprocal as between friends and equals.
(It's my opinion that Jiang Fengmian's core deal was a deep-seated discontent with the hierarchies he was at the top of, without access to any way to actually deconstruct them or even coherently articulate his opposition. Wei Changze was his dear friend, and no one thinks that's a good enough reason for him to treat Wei Changze's son like his own, because Wei Changze was also his servant, and you can't make that circle square. That's not a way you're allowed to love.)
Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian were like brothers; Wei Wuxian served Jiang Cheng.
The personal relationship was always the most important one. To them, in their hearts. But it was the other one that was real, that had weight in the world.
And it's important to understand that neither can be held up as more factual than the other, even though they conflict. Both relationships existed, and had power.
So then when Jiang Cheng chose to hate Wei Wuxian and articulate his grudge against him, he chose to do it in the language of fealty. Because as far as he knew, his case there was secure, watertight, and it wouldn't expose him emotionally or politically.
And those are the terms in which he's been condemning him all this time: for abandoning the Sect, for ingratitude, for lack of loyalty.
For fuckups, too, and poor judgment, but some of that now turns out to have been justified and some of it was mostly the fault of enemies behaving badly, or even Jiang Cheng himself allowing himself to be pushed into making unworthy choices.
And it was all for his sake.
The thing, the thing in my opinion, about what Wei Wuxian did, about the core transfer and his silent self-destruction around keeping it secret, is that that is a hideous thing to have done between two people who love each other, as an act of love. Beautiful, but awful. As the man who was like a brother to him, Jiang Cheng has a great deal of standing to object to it.
But as an act of vassalage, it's basically perfect.
If Wei Wuxian were only what he formally was to Jiang Cheng, if he is interpreted through a lens of fealty and obligation, he did exactly what he should have done, and went beyond what duty actually required. And went to his death silently, allowing himself to be judged, taking all the burden on himself rather than let harm come to his lord.
Like, obviously Jiang Cheng was harmed by the part where Jin Zixuan got manslaughtered and Jiang Yanli walked into the line of fire in situations where Wei Wuxian was resorting to violence and probably shouldn't have, but those are one step removed from the core issue. In terms of Wei Wuxian's intentional choices around Jiang Cheng himself, at the times he was feeling betrayed and abandoned Wei Wuxian was in fact being impossibly, poetically loyal, an absolute cliche about it.
But only in terms of the hierarchical form of their relationship.
Which means that even though Jiang Cheng has a lot of reasons to still be mad at Wei Wuxian, his actual complaints that he's centered for thirteen years are basically wiped out by the revelation of Wei Wuxian's sacrifice.
Wei Wuxian was in fact doing the tragic hero loyal vassal thing, which very much includes being misunderstood and slandered by the world. (Chenqing as a name choice absolutely references this expectation, and the idea that Jiang Cheng specifically will never understand that Wei Wuxian was trying to help him first and foremost all along; he is not subtle.)
The debts Jiang Cheng has been spitefully calling in and considering defaulted were already long paid.
So if at this point Jiang Cheng keeps pursuing that same line of rhetorical attack, now that he knows, he'll be putting himself morally in the wrong, and he knows it. But if he pivots to something else, he'll both be signalling the shape of that secret to the entire world and looking like a prize idiot.
Which is already how he feels.
To actually address the remaining grievances between them, which are considerable, would require releasing those safe, open grudges to Wei Wuxian's face and then reclaiming him as a loved one. Which is, one could fairly say, more than anyone could expect.
Which is why Wei Wuxian told him he didn't have to.
Which leaves Jiang Cheng at something of an impasse.
#hoc est meum#jiang cheng#wei wuxian#mdzs#meta#their vertical relationship was always the secure one#the one they could put into words#the one Jiang Cheng could COUNT on#and it's gone and it's what destroyed everything between them#the other relationship could be salvaged in some form#but jiang cheng would have to WANT to#and ofc he does but does he want it enough to choose to?#when wei wuxian isn't choosing him?#and ofc wwx doesn't feel jiang cheng is his to choose#the timing of the revelation is so ironic because imo#wwx spends a lot of the book processing his grief for himself#and the life he had before#and his relationship with jiang cheng#and he let it go and accepted he could never have it back after the debacle at Lotus Pier#only for jiang cheng to be forced to reexamine everything basically immediately lmao#but like wwx is not in a place where he can meet you halfway anymore jiang wanyin#he JUST got closure#it's too soon to go cutting open scars on a man who never lets himself grieve if he can help it#because if you grieve you stop and when you stop you die
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Inquiring Minds
holy shit, i finished a thing. well, a draft of a thing, but still counts!
based on this post about wwx being just dead enough be susceptible to the compulsion of inquiry
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It was, in retrospect, the stupidest possible way to be found out. Wei Wuxian will readily admit that. Unfortunately, the level of stupidity was not a determining factor for the level of reality — as was the case for so much of Wei Wuxian’s life.
It all happened because one of the two dozen Jin disciples who bothered to show up to the war got a little drunk and a lot prideful and ended up starting a fight he couldn’t finish. Or, that was the going theory, anyway. The Jin leadership — such as it was — wanted an investigation done. As if they had nothing better to do. As if there weren’t reasons to be conserving spiritual power and not wasting it playing Inquiry for a guy who had decided to pick a fight — hopefully, hopefully it was a fight — with a Nie disciple who, granted, did not have the startling musculature of some of her shixiongs, but was still a fucking Nie disciple!
This guy was not worth their time. This guy was not worth Lan Zhan’s time. Or his attention, or his spiritual power, or the stress it would put on his guqin strings— okay, maybe Wei Wuxian should have taken a moment to purge some of his resentment before walking into the tent.
But he didn’t. This is important.
Because then Lan Zhan began to play.
And there was this strange… tugging sensation in the pit of Wei Wuxian’s gut, right where his golden core was supposed to be, pulling him toward Lan Zhan, or toward the empty space in front of Lan Zhan.
Wei Wuxian shouldn’t have ignored it. He gets that now. He does. But he always wanted to be near Lan Zhan, and his body had been doing all kinds of weird shit since he’d had his core cut out, and who was to say this wasn’t just another weird side effect.
Well. It was. A weird side effect. After a fashion.
But that’s not the point!
He should have noticed then. He should have left then. But he didn’t.
The melody changed and the tugging sensation stopped. Which was great!
Until something else started. It felt like a kind of drunkenness, light and hazy in his head, loose around his tongue. Three or four bowls in.
He shook himself to dislodge it, but the motion only drew a sharp glare from Jiang Cheng.
The tent was full of spectators. At least two representatives from each major clan were present, plus several “close friends” of the victim -- like four of the fifteen total Jin disciples -- who probably just wanted something else to do outside of eat, sleep, and fight. Wei Wuxian couldn’t blame them, exactly, war was remarkably boring most of the time, but it was getting awfully stuffy in there.
Lan Zhan changed the melody again, something almost lexical about it. Wei Wuxian could almost hear the question being asked, even before Zewu Jun’s voice chimed in, translating for anyone who didn’t know the qin language — which was pretty much everyone else in the tent besides the Twin Jades — “What is your name?”
Wei Wuxian caught his own response between his lips, pressing them together tightly, as the guqin sounded three distinct notes which Zewu Jun reported as Jin Zixin.
So, good. It was the right guy. That was great. Nothing weird at all.
He should have left then. He didn’t.
Lan Zhan played again, and again Wei Wuxian thought he understood the phrase, the question, even before Zewu Jun said for the tent, “How did you die?”
Wei Wuxian felt the answer fly to the tip of his tongue and bit his teeth around it, through it. His cheek bled with the force of keeping quiet.
It was weird. So weird. But maybe, Wei Wuxian justified to himself, maybe it was just an effect of holding a secret inside for so long and having someone actually ask the question out loud. Maybe, it was just the same automatic reaction of answering with your name when someone asked for it. Maybe he was just too fucking tired, and the resentment under his skin just wanted something to laugh at, something to entertain itself with. Like the five of ten Jins standing in the back of the tent. War was boring, okay?
The notes from Lan Zhan’s guqin hung in the air, resonant and waiting. The moment seemed to stretch out too long. It dragged and Wei Wuxian gradually felt the words stop fighting him to escape.
But the Jin ghost didn’t answer either.
When Lan Zhan played the same phrase over — “How did you die?” echoed on Zewu Jun’s tongue — the compulsion was much stronger. This time it was like Wei Wuxian could feel Lan Zhan’s spiritual power pouring through him; the strongest of wines, several jars of it.
He couldn’t fight it.
His mouth opened.
I fell. I fell. I fell.
“I fell.”
All eyes in the tent turned to him.
Jiang Cheng’s elbow caught him in the ribs. He didn’t even bother to glare. He said, “Not you, Idiot.”
The qin sounded and everybody looked back to Lan Zhan and Zewu Jun, waiting to hear the Jin disciple’s answer.
Zewu Jun hesitated for the barest of moments, stuttering into the start of his translation before finding the confidence of his voice once more, recounting whatever it was that the ghost had strummed out.
Wei Wuxian didn’t hear a word he said. He was, instead, pierced on two sides.
On one: Jiang Cheng muttered to himself, “Wait,” and then his eyes went wide as he looked back at Wei Wuxian.
On the other: Lan Zhan’s fingers froze above the strings of his guqin and he turned to stare over his shoulder at Wei Wuxian with something like horrified understanding dawning within his gaze.
Wei Wuxian finally realized he should fucking leave. Immediately.
He wanted to run. He knew better. Knew what that would look like.
Instead, he was going to simply walk out of this tent as he had walked out of so many already during this campaign. Gravel crunched under his heel as he turned.
But his brother knew him too well. Jiang Cheng’s hand clamped tight around Wei Wuxian’s bicep, his grip unyielding. With his golden core, Wei Wuxian might have been able to break it. But the real bitch of it was that it was his golden core that was holding him in place.
Jiang Cheng tensed as if readying for a fight, but Wei Wuxian already knew how that fight would end. So he let himself be restrained.
He turned back to face the Inquiry.
Lan Zhan was still staring at him when Zewu Jun finished speaking. He was still so stuck in place that his brother had to prompt him into finishing the ritual. Which he did, with all the grace and skill expected of him. He really was just so beautiful to watch.
All the while, Wei Wuxian listened to the music and bit through his tongue to keep it silent. The questions continued to drag at him -- “Do you know who killed you?” Wen Chao. “Do you have any last requests?” To leave this fucking tent. -- though the pressure to answer eased significantly as the Jin ghost became less stubborn about it. Wei Wuxian settled for reciting the answers to them in his head until they no longer felt pressed against the thin seam of his mouth.
It took approximately sixteen-hundred years.
All seven Jin disciples supporting the war effort left the tent after the ghost had recounted his final moments. The attempted sexual assault was not unexpected, judging by their faces, but still disappointing to hear about. Clearly not the entertainment they were hoping for. Luckily for Wei Wuxian, they were apparently too wrapped up in their Jin nonsense to realize new entertainment was fidgeting in the corner and trying not to sever the tip of his tongue completely.
The Nie, represented by Nie Mingjue and Nie Huaisang, left shortly after the ritual concluded. If Nie Mingjue had to tug his brother away, Wei Wuxian was too busy keeping his mouth shut to comment on it.
And then there were just the four of them. Plus the corpse. But they were like six months into a war, so the corpse didn’t actually seem to bother any of them. It hadn’t even started to smell yet. It was still pretty intact, too, and now that it was verifiably a criminal, Wei Wuxian wondered idly if the Jin would let him use it in their next battle. Probably not.
His idle wondering ceased abruptly as his brother’s fingers bit deeper into the meat of his arm.
“Wei Wuxian,” he said, all of his surely filial worry for his gege boiling over into a spitting, incandescent fury. He never had to say he loved his brother, Wei Wuxian could always tell. It was the teeth gnashing that gave him away. “What the fuck do you mean you fell?”
Right.
Wei Wuxian played it as cool as he could with a definitely-not-bleeding tongue. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Jiang Cheng.” He shrugged, but his arm didn’t move very far.
“You answered Inquiry,” said Lan Zhan. Succinct as ever.
“No!” Wei Wuxian said, maybe a little too loud, but not at all childishly.
Zewu Jun narrowed his eyes and pulled out his xiao. Wei Wuxian tried not to flinch about it, he did. But Zewu Jun only played a short, non-Inquiry melody, and a shimmering, blue barrier manifested around the interior of the tent.
“No,” Wei Wuxian said again, this time at a totally normal volume. “I was just… messing around. You know how I do that, Lan Zhan. Always a rule breaker.” He grinned, desperately trying to play it all off. Realizing faster and faster how very badly this was going for him.
Lan Zhan surprised him, then, saying, “Not when it matters.”
“What?”
“Wei Ying doesn’t break rules when they matter.”
Wei Wuxian didn’t know where the fuck that was coming from. But he couldn’t say he hated it.
Except that he did, because it was going to be a problem for this whole I’m just a silly rascal defense he was setting up.
Jiang Cheng still hadn’t let go of his arm. His fingernails were starting to split the fabric of his sleeve. And worse, his eyebrows were scrunched together in the way they do when he’s thinking through all the angles of a problem.
Zewu Jun still had his xiao in hand, and he was looking at Wei Wuxian like he was deciding whether to perform an exorcism or an execution.
But Lan Zhan… Lan Zhan hadn’t moved from his seat on the mat. He had turned his body so that he was facing Wei Wuxian, giving him his full attention, and was looking up at him with… pain in his eyes. Shining, wet pain.
“You died?” he asked. “Are you dead?”
“I don’t…” Wei Wuxian trailed off. He couldn’t find the words.
He didn’t know. Which was, possibly, not the best sign.
“I can’t be dead,” he said, looking over at Zewu Jun, Jiang Cheng, then back to Lan Zhan. “Can I?”
Zewu Jun, still wary, said, “You responded to the compulsion in Inquiry. Inquiry is a song that speaks to and compels answers from the dead. It does not generally work on the living.”
“Well--” Wei Wuxian started, defensive and scared. But again, he didn’t really know where to go with that.
“Where were you, Wei Wuxian?” Jiang Cheng asked him. “Why didn’t you meet me at the bottom of the hill?”
Lan Zhan and Zewu Jun shared a look. They didn’t seem to know what Jiang Cheng was talking about. But Wei Wuxian really, really, didn’t want to get into that whole mess. If anyone was going to see right through him and his flimsy tale about suddenly remembering the location of Baoshan Sanren’s mountain, it would be Lan Zhan. Actually, Zewu Jun would probably figure it out, too. And then maybe even Jiang Cheng. Now that he wasn’t all broken and desperate and gullible.
Fuck. With the way Jiang Cheng was looking at Wei Wuxian, the way his hand released some of the pressure around his arm, he might already have.
Wei Wuxian laughed, hoping it came off more smoothly than it felt in his chest. “Ah, Jiang Cheng.” He brought his own hand up to lay over his brother’s. “What if I told you--”
“No,” Jiang Cheng cut him off. “No more bullshit. Where were you?”
The mirth, false as it was, drained out of Wei Wuxian as he saw the pain building behind his brother’s eyes.
There was movement in his periphery and then Lan Zhan was standing on his other side. His fingers wrapped around Wei Wuxian’s other arm with a much gentler grip than Jiang Cheng’s. Something imploring about the touch. Like he was seeking confirmation to a theory, or maybe proving to himself that Wei Wuxian was actually there.
“I…” Wei Wuxian trailed off.
Zewu Jun’s gaze was hard as steel, but aimed, it seemed, at Lan Zhan’s hand, rather than at Wei Wuxian in general.
“There was a rumor,” he said in slow, even words, “that Wen Chao had thrown you into the Burial Mounds.” He waited a moment after he finished speaking, as if trying to reconcile the words himself, before he looked up to meet Wei Wuxian’s eyes.
Of course, Wei Wuxian didn’t want to meet Zewu Jun’s eyes. He didn’t want to meet any of their eyes. He wanted very much to be out of this tent and away from knowing gazes altogether.
Unfortunately, he hadn’t quite figured out how to teleport using resentful energy yet. So in the tent he remained.
He looked down at his feet. His boots were crusted with dirt and blood and other bodily fluids. War really was super gross, in addition to being largely boring.
“That’s ridiculous,” he said, still looking down. “Everyone knows that nothing leaves the Burial Mounds.”
Lan Zhan’s hand tightened around Wei Wuxian’s arm. Jiang Cheng’s loosened, but didn’t let go.
“Yeah,” said Jiang Cheng, like an accusation, “it would be impossible.”
Wei Wuxian still didn’t look up from his feet which meant that he missed whatever silent conversation happened between Jiang Cheng and Lan Zhan that had both of them tightening their grips on his arms just before fingers were pressed to the pulse points of his wrists. He struggled, flailing as much as he could, but against Lan Zhan’s golden core and his own, he stood no chance. He could barely budge them.
He screamed but the sound only reverberated inside the tent.
The only thing he could think to do was to call up the dead. The dead man still lying in front of them. The Jin. Rapist. Criminal. He could use that wicked corpse to fight off the people holding him down, taking his secrets. Smoke curled out of his sleeves and he--
He stopped himself.
It was over anyway.
Even if they couldn’t read his spiritual energy, or lack thereof, his fighting them was confirmation enough.
He went limp in their grasp. His knees buckled.
It really was the stupidest possible way to be found out.
“Where is it?” asked Jiang Cheng. But it was clear from his voice that he already knew the answer.
Lan Zhan was silent.
Zewu Jun looked to his brother for an answer, not understanding what they had just discovered.
“His golden core,” said Lan Zhan. “It’s gone.”
“Wen Zhuliu?” Zewu Jun asked.
But Jiang Cheng made a sound that was somehow both a laugh and a sob.
Wei Wuxian regained control of his arms. He sprawled himself out on the tent floor, exhausted from his struggle. He laughed, too. “After a fashion.”
Jiang Cheng fell to the ground next to him, hands cradling the place where Wei Wuxian’s core now spun. “What the fuck?” he said, quietly, to no one in particular. Then, loudly, to Wei Wuxian in particular, “What the fuck!”
His cheeks were wet. Jiang Cheng’s, his own. He looked over to confirm, and yeah, Lan Zhan’s too. Zewu Jun had nothing to cry over, except maybe confusion, but he was too cool for that, so he just stood in the middle of the tent, shocked, presumably, as his brother, another sect leader, and a demonic cultivator broke down around him.
Wei Wuxian stared up at the tented canvas ceiling and cursed himself for not leaving the tent when he first noticed something wrong.
“Jiang Cheng,” he started, but Jiang Cheng cut him off with a wet yell.
“Why would you do that, you fucking idiot?! What the fuck were you even thinking?! How did you-- How--”
He seemed to lose steam trying to figure out what happened on “Baoshen Sanren’s mountain” and potentially also why Baoshen Sanren’s voice sounded so familiar.
Zewu Jun’s voice was remarkably calm for a man witnessing-- whatever he made of what he was currently witnessing. He said, “Wei Wuxian, I believe your Sect Leader would like to know how you lost your golden core.”
Wei Wuxian laughed at that. Because yes and no.
“No, Zewu Jun,” he said, still laughing. He tried to stop, but it was just too funny. “No,” he said again, slightly more sober, “he wants to know why and how he now has my golden core.”
He didn’t really mean to say it. He felt drunk again, like he did when Lan Zhan was playing Inquiry. Ready to spill all his secrets at only the slightest provocation. Zewu Jun could probably ask him just about anything right now -- Lan Zhan and Jiang Cheng too, for that matter -- and he would answer it. It wasn’t exactly a safe mindset to be in. But he couldn’t really do anything about that now.
At least there was some kind of privacy barrier over the tent.
Zewu Jun stood. Speechless.
Lan Zhan’s tears fell silently.
Jiang Cheng glared, hands clutched tight against his lower dantian -- whether to hold something inside or to tear it out, Wei Wuxian wasn’t sure.
Wei Wuxian felt light as a feather. Drunk and dizzy with it. A weight had been lifted, he supposed, but one he was never supposed to let go. His laughter died down to the occasional press of his lungs. Tears collected in his eyelashes until everything was blurry.
Emptiness yawned inside him, but it was gentler somehow. As if the secret itself had been clawing away at his slowly healing wounds.
“Fuck,” he said with a hiccup of a laugh. And again, quieter, “Fuck.”
He really should have left the fucking tent.
Also, wait. Was he dead?!
#wei wuxian#lan wangji#jiang cheng#lan xichen#inquiry.mp3#mdzs#the untamed#cql#fanfiction#my writing#inquiring minds#hey look i wrote a thing!#i actually finished a draft of something!#now if only i can aim this energy toward projects that other people actually care about...........
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The real-life Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng - A tale of two brothers
I’ve been asked this before when talking about topics such as Qiongqi beast and its symbolism in Wei Wuxian’s death, the various hints that Wei Wuxian might be long lost royal, the historical background behind the Yin tiger tally, and why the tiger symbol seemingly being bad juju for Wuxian.
It’s all connected, of course, through a historical basis. I have some free time today, so let’s get!
Meet Wei Wuji, also known as Lord Xinling, the second Prince of Wei Kingdom (circa 2nd century BCE), the first person in recorded history to handle a Tiger Tally, and very very likely to be the real-life basis for Wei Wuxian.
How very likely? Well, there’s no word of god, of course. But I’ll just let the facts speak for themselves, and you be the judge.
1. Let’s start with names:
Wei Wuji 魏無忌
Wei Wuxian 魏无羡
Wei 魏 = Wei 魏. An exact match. As a matter of fact, Wei Wuji’s Wei kingdom is the first kingdom to bear this Wei name in recorded history.
Wu 無 is the traditional form of Wu 无. In the Japanese, Taiwanese, and traditional Mandarin versions, Wei Wuxian is also written with this Wu 無.
The original meaning of Ji is ‘envy, hatred’ in ancient times (as per the Kangxi dictionary and the original text of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms). In modern times, the meaning of Ji has morphed to represent ‘fear, avoid’ more than ‘envy’ and ‘hatred.
The meaning of Xian is envy in both ancient and modern times.
So Wei Wuxian is effectively an alternate way to write Wei Wuji.
2. The life and death of Wei Wuji and the first Tiger Tally recorded in history:
a. Genius second son, a friend of many, the brightest 4th Young Master:
Wei Wuji was born the second son of King Wei Zhao and the second prince of the Wei Kingdom. He had an elder half-brother: Wei Anli, crown prince and, afterward, King of the Wei Kingdom.
Despite being the younger brother and not the heir to the throne, Wei Wuji eclipsed his elder brother in talent, courage, military and political acumen, and sheer popularity.
Wei Wuji was also unique among his period peers for being very open-minded when it came to castes. He lived during the warring state period, during which there existed an extremely strict caste system where the lower and slave castes didn’t even count as humans and could be executed for silly things like being in the presence of their higher caste masters and ‘tainting the air’ they breathed. Not only did Wei Wuji give no thought to this caste system, he would often go out of his way to listen to the lower castes and treat them with respect as if they were of the same caste.
In one legend (Sima Qian Historical Records, circa 135 BCE), Wei Wuji walked away from a banquet raised in his name to go sit and talk to an old, wise prison guard (Hou Ying). He would then invite this prison guard to his banquet with the highest of honor, even giving the guard his seat (noble seat) and driving the chariot in his place. When other noble banquet guests protested this lowly guard’s presence by vilifying the old prison guard for not knowing his place, Wei Wuji stood up for him and gave him the highest of toasts, thus silencing the guests.
In another legend, Wei Wuji hosted over 3000 guests in his princely fiefdom. He famously declared that so long as a person had ambitions and a will to do good in his heart, then Wei Wuji would receive him in his hall as a guest and friend regardless of what caste he was or from where he came.
For this, Wei Wuji was known as Lord Xinling and held the loyalty of many in his own brother’s kingdom.
He was one of the Four Gongzi of the Warring State Period (lit. Four Young Masters, Four Noblemen, Four Princes. During this period, Gong was a distinct noble class comparable to Duke. So this can also be understood as the Four Dukes). He was seen as the brightest among the Four.
b. The tale of the first Tiger Tally in recorded history:
Sima Qian Historical Records told the tale of the first Tiger Tally as such. It was a time of chaos where the strong trampled the weak, and big countries gobbled up small ones. Wei Kingdom was one of the seven strongest of the time. This meant that their position was precarious.
Around this time, Wei Wuji’s elder brother, Wei Anli, had ascended the throne and adopted a policy of avoidance. Despite the ferocious fighting, the political struggles, and the easily foreseeable threats, Wei Anli was of the thought that if he did nothing and just closed his door, then trouble wouldn’t come knocking at his door.
But this was not so. In 260 BC, the state of Qin (of Qin Shi Huang, yes) besieged the state of Zhao and captured the King of Zhao (who was related to the Wei through marriage). Zhao sent for Wei’s help. But King Wei Anli didn’t want to be Qin’s next target, and so refused to send aid.
This was where the Wei brother’s opinions diverged. Wei Wuji saw that Qin was growing unchecked in power, and if not stopped, then Wei would be next on the chopping block anyway. So not only was Wei politically and morally responsible, but from a long-term strategic standpoint, Wei must respond if they didn’t want Qin to grow too strong and eventually be invaded and absorbed into Qin itself.
The only problem: Wei Wuji had no right to make this decision. And regardless of his insistence and explanation to his elder brother, Wei Anli would not be moved. Meanwhile, the state of Zhao sent ever more desperate pleas for help (from the Wei’s sister who was Zhao Queen at the time no less).
Pressured from all sides and with no alternative, Wei Wuji made a decision that would go down as a first in history. He would steal the Tiger Tally from his King’s hand, commandeer the army, and ride to answer Zhao’s pleas for help himself.
This would eventually become the historical example of military brilliance that required the usurpation of the immediate superior. Wei Wuji’s own name would go down in history as brilliance that eclipsed his station.
I’ve written on the tiger tally before. So I won’t write more about this now.
To summarize things, Wei Wuji’s plan worked. Zhao was saved. But at the cost of a rift between brothers. After lifting the siege, Wei Wuji stayed in Zhao for ten years.
He would only go back to Wei Kingdom when Wei was besieged by Qin in purported retaliation, bringing with him the 3000 guests that stayed loyal to him and went to Zhao for help. Wei Wuji successfully lifted the siege of Wei and the two brothers reunited after a decade of not seeing each other. They cried and embraced one another. Wei Anli made Wei Wuji the Grand General of Wei, and he then took over the safeguarding of Wei against the onslaught of Qin.
c. The tale of two brothers. Or, as the Chinese say, the King has no brothers. The King has no equal. Fool is he who dares think himself the King’s brother and equal.
Despite the fact that the brothers reunited, this tale does not end well.
Wei Wuji was a brilliant general and a ferocious warrior. But more than that, his reputation far eclipsed his elder brother the King. Ever since they were young, Wei Anli had had to suffer being under the shadow of his little brother, despite his being the heir and then King.
Wei Wuji not only successfully repelled Qin, but he also started making a plan to counterattack and nyx Qin Empire before it could take shape. Because his reputation was such that countless warriors and scholars answered his call to arms. Five other kingdoms also answered his request for an alliance.
The King of Qin was deathly afraid of Wei Wuji. Violence did not work, so the Qin King attempted the other way: through schemes and manipulation. The Qin King sent enormous fortunes and gifts to Wei Anli under the guise of normalizing relations between the two kingdoms and potential peace. Along with his gifts, he would send people, spies of all ranks and castes, to infiltrate Wei Anli’s court and territory. These spies would continuously do things to increase the friction and gap between the two brothers.
Some of them would falsely congratulate Wei Wuji for having ascended to the throne.
Some more would treat Wei Wuji with more deference than Wei Anli.
Some would then whisper into Wei Anli’s ears: “Prince Wei was away from his own Kingdom for 10 years. And yet when he calls, thousands in Wei Kingdom answer him. Why is it him and not you, the King? Do your people only know Wei Wuji and not Wei Anli. Are you sure it’s still you who is the King? He should know his place!”
Wei Anli… fell for their tactics. So he demoted Wei Wuji and effectively isolated him from the court. He would then give this position to someone else. So, of course, the plan to counterattack Qin with the 5 ally kingdoms fell apart miserably.
Wei Wuji was heartbroken by his own brother’s action. He descended into alcoholism and purportedly died from depression and failing health. In other words, he died from the betrayal of someone who saw as a brother but that same brother saw him not as a brother but as a rival and a carrier of problems.
Wei Anli died in the same year as Wei Wuji, purportedly from illness.
18 years later, just as Wei Wuji predicted, Wei Kingdom was conquered and subsumed by Qin. Qin would then go on to become the first true Empire in Chinese History.
Wei Anli was not technically the last monarch of Wei. But it’s historically agreed that he’s the one who laid the foundation for the fall of Wei due to his suspicion of his own brother and removing the one person capable of turning the tide of Qin.
So, I will leave this here for you to come to your own conclusion and come back another day for analysis on the parallels between history and story and a few other somewhat ironic anecdotes that I didn’t include here (Like the fact that between the 2 Wei brothers, it’s the real-life Jiang Cheng, Wei Anli, that was the gay one. How gay are we talking about? So gay he’s the origin of Chinese gay porn)
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Hi! i’m new to chengxian. so i was wondering, do you have any recs please? preferably long one shots (10k+) and set in the original location (i don’t like modern aus mostly as they are based in the us or uk). sorry for all the stipulations!
HELLO ANON AND WELCOME TO CHENGXIAN!!
I am DELIGHTED to be a source of fic recs, and I have JUST the fics for you.
First of all, I highly recommend checking out the various ao3 collections of past chengxian events, such as Chengxian Happy Ending Fest, or Chengxian Minibang 2023, Chengxian Week 2020, Chengxian Week 2021 , Our Meeting is Inevitable or The Chengxian+ Collection, which are a goldmine of wonderful fics. I'm sure you'll have no trouble finding something to your taste among them!
Now, on to my personal recommendations, under the read more because this got LONG.
Based on what you said you'd prefer, the fic all my dreams have come and gone a half a million times by iri_vail sounds like something you'd enjoy. It's a lovely post-canon shuangjie reconciliation fic, 10k words, with wonderful art. There's frogs too!
consider rivers by Lirazel, 9k, canon divergence fic with no war that rewrote my brain chemistry. Jiang Cheng wants Wei Wuxian to marry Jiang Yanli: lots of yunmeng trio feels, lots and lots and lots of pining.
after the sun sets by Artemis1000, 12k words, it's an amazing fic set during sunshot campaign, lots of hurt/comfort, lots of love and understanding and softness between our two favorite miscommunicators.
electricity between both of us by zyprexd is an absolutely incredible series of two fics that make me go feral. Past w4ngxian, tentative shuangjie reconciliation with long overdue communication, lots of feelings aknowledged and accepted, Wei Wuxian introspection.
Turn Back, Dull Earth by groundwiremantaray, 8k, canon divergence, a whole lot of fluff (with a delightful twist). Though not a oneshot, if you like to read happy times with chengxian, this is absolutely the fic for you.
this love that I most fear by Runespoor, 25k words divided in three chapters, in which a coreless Jiang Cheng has to aknowledge Wei Wuxian as his bastard brother in order for him to become sect leader, with all the relative implications. An angsty delight!
Little Sesame by Rurtle, which is an absolute must read. In which the summoning ritual goes wrong and Wei Wuxian reincarnates into a dog. Shenanigans ensue.
born of waters like blood by Artemis1000 (same Artemis as before) which is one of my absolute favorite fics of all time. Chengxian baby made of resentment and lake waters! Chengxian being dads! An unspecified number of eyes!!!! This fic is a bit shorter than the others I've recced, but absolutely worth reading.
letters from inside the storm by serein, in which everyone has a very bad time (not me though, I enjoyed this IMMENSELY), double whump with a very tentative reconciliation.
if tomorrow would ever come... by Midori_99, 17k, a reincarnation fic in which Wei Wuxian after his death reincarnates into a playful little fox and, despite his best efforts, finds himself once again in Lotus Pier, beside Jiang Cheng (and, really, there's no better place for him to be). The good, GOOD, cathartic angst right here, good food for the soul.
If you'd like EVEN MORE chengxian fics, my bookmarks are open and the fics are all ready to receive lots of love (and of course, if you like, there's my fics too, but they're only open to registered users)
Alright, that's definitely not all the fics I would like to rec, but that's about all I can fit in a single post before it becomes too long.
I suggest of course that you check out other works by the authors I listed, as they are all incredibly talented (and I really really wish I could put more of them here but I tried to contain myself with word count and setting as per your request)
Thank you for the ask anon, I hope you'll enjoy your stay in the chengxian side of fandom and I wish you a wonderful day!!
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Things I think people forget about my favourite angry grape boy from the book canon
1. Jiang Cheng nearly killed himself to get to help in time for Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji when they were trapped in the cave
2. He had to be physically restrained to stop him from trying to save Wei Wuxian from the whipping at Lotus Pier
3. He was disassociating hard when Wei Wuxian left him in am alley for food and in that state he sacrificed himself to protect Wei Wuxian and he has still never told him that
4. He gathered the Jiang sect back into existence on his own in the 6 months Wei Wuxian was trapped in the Burial Mound and still looked for Wei Wuxian the whole time AND helped Lan Wangji liberate all their swords
5. He does not know that Wei Wuxian does not have a golden core until the very end of the book. Which means he didn't know that Wei Wuxian didn't have a golden core to help him heal from injuries or why he wouldn't use his sword or why he waa acting so erratic
6. In the book he doesn't have any real interaction with the Wen siblings. Especially not when conscious or aware of it.
7. He is a teenager and a leader of a sect that he had just rebuilt before Wei Wuxian dies. His decisions that went against Wei Wuxian were made with his entire sect in mind not just their relationship. Which really is what he's supposed to do as a leader. I don't agree with all his decisions but I do understand why he made them
8. Wei Wuxian was the one who suggest the break between them and chose not to explain the significance of the Wen siblings in any detail
9. Jiang Cheng trusted Wei Wuxian and his ability to control his demonic cultivation until he ended in the death of their sister
10. Child Jiang Cheng didn't dislike child Wei Wuxian at first because he had to give up his dogs but because his father picked up Wei Wuxian which broke his tiny heart because he could count on one hand the times his father had held him. Jiang Fengmian sucked as a father
11. Jiang Cheng, after that night when they both broke their legs, protected Wei Wuxian from dogs and treated him like his brother
12. Jiang Cheng was not the one to buy Jin Ling fairy and from what I can tell does not keep dogs
Like yeah. He's an asshole with anger management issues and a hard on for torture and communication problems but he does love Wei Wuxian and make decisions that he believes are right for his people
And Jiang Fengmian was a horrible father to him. That combined with his mother telling him that the reason his dad doesn't love him is because he's a failure...there are reasons why he's the way he is
But he's clearly a successful leader with a strong sect that he built up single-handed while trying to help raise his nephew
Still an asshole but this is all why he's my favourite asshole
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everyone is like: if wei wuxian told everyone he gave his core to Jiang Cheng, all of this wouldn't have happened!
me: if he told jiang cheng, it would be WORSE.
consider these points:
Jiang Cheng was a newly appointed sect leader, hell-bent on revenge, finally surpassing others. He would emotionally break if he finds out it's all because of Wei Wuxian's core. He wouldn't want to lose it; but Wei Wuxian holding that over his head will make it terrible for him; rage, tantrums; in that war-time would have literally robbed him of his senses.
This is a war. If some people find out Wei Wuxian doesn't have a core, what's stopping the enemy from finding out? Even so, there would be people who wish to kill the ever-powerful son of a servant. The hundreds-hole curse could only succeed because Jin Zixun had low cultivation. Think of how many enemies (Wens, and the others) Wei Wuxian had. They don't dare curse him because 1) they believe he has superior cultivation and 2) if he comes for revenge with his stygian tiger seal and chenqing, it simply wouldn't be worth it. So, high risk and low reward. but in actuality, if someone did curse him, without a core to cleanse him, it would be fatal!
As the "son of a servant" and "wielder of immense power," his place in the cultivation world was already unstable. If they find out he doesn't even have a core, he cannot stay in the cultivation world! If he leaves, then there's no protection guaranteed for him from those who wish to claim his power anyway!
Literally, the only ones who would genuinely care would be Lan Wangji and Jiang Yanli. And what could they do? Lan Xichen would be sympathetic, but when has sympathy saved lives when there's no follow-up action? Nie Mingjue would commend his sacrifice, but will he save the Wens? Nope. Nobody would magically go like, "oh, let us help wei wuxian who doesn't have a core tragically."
Among the general public, would anyone look at it as anything other than a grand sacrifice for his superior? "Wei Wuxian is really loyal," and when he saves the Wens, it would go down the path of, "Can't believe he betrayed the Jiang Clan."
The only one who wished to know the why's and the how's and the reasoning behind it all was Lan Wangji. Lan Wangji, who would try his utter best; but Wei Wuxian himself was so powerful. Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan were powerful. Wen Qing and Wen Ning were also powerful. All the righteous people had tragic ends - if Lan Wangji was allowed to know, he would push harder at Wei Ying. But will Wei Ying accept it? Will he feel a certain disregard of respect? A lack of trust from Lan Wangji because they dont have the fundamentals down?How can it magically make things alright, when their issues go deeper than Wei Wuxian being on an "unorthodox path"? So, who's to say, even if Lan Wangji realized it all, somehow forced himself into Wei Wuxian's space when Wei Wuxian did not want it with some OOC syndrome, but even then what can he do? In the end, rather than just one, both would die. The odds are bad when it's 1 vs 3000, but is it much better if it's 2 vs 3000?
Wei Wuxian's arrogance protected the secret that would've signed him out of the war, out of the cultivation world. The fear people had for him protected him. Even after his death, they only noticed the annihilation of minor clans because "oh no yllz is here to take revenge!" If he acted weak and approachable and sad, just how few would hold true empathy compared to all the many that would see an opportunity to strike? Whoever wields power, speaks out, and is from an unproveleged background yet sitting among the gentry is already an outcast.
The only way he wouldn't have died were if he were someone who bowed to servitude, if he kept quiet, if he counted his losses and gains like Jin Guangyao. Will this harm me? Yes. So I cannot do it.
That's not Wei Wuxian.
"Let gains and losses remain uncommented upon." If the whole world wishes to kill innocents to satiate their own hatred then the whole world is wrong, and he won't stand up for it - whether or not, he has a romantic relationship with Lan Wangji early, or if he's actual siblings with the Jiangs (like actually adopted.)
Whether he wields a sword or his flute or nothing at all; whether he's loved or hated, he is bound to be resented by those who are hypocrites. The loss of his golden core won't shake them with empathy, but mockery not just towards him, but towards Jiang Wanyin as well.
"Congratulations, Jiang Cheng, for killing the man who killed your entire family (false, but you know) and was unrighteous!"
"But isn't the Jiang Clan only alive because of Wei Wuxian's core?"
"Jiang Wanyin is such a loser; he took his servant's core."
That would be a fucking literal nightmare. That is why, Wei Wuxian doesn't say a word or whine or cry. He probably thought he could wait until Jiang clan is in a better spot and tell only Jiang Cheng, but by then, he'd already been caught up in the Wen's situation.
#mo dao zu shi#mdzs#wei wuxian#canon jiang cheng#jiang cheng#golden core transfer#golden core reveal#mdzs meta#my meta#my essays
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Elle! for the fandom trash questions ask game, 10 &16?
Hello!! Thanks for the ask :)
10. What is the worst thing you want to become canon (character death, trash ship, etc.)?
I don't think any of my ideas are like... worse than what happens in canon in MDZS. Ms. MXTX has me beat by a mile. I'm simply not on her level.
In terms of Fandom Controversy, though, probably the Great Post-Canon Wangxian Rough Patch, where Wei Wuxian's trauma catches up with him and he self-sabotages in the standard way (avoidance, lying, alcoholism, etc.). You think Jiang Cheng could have done better dealing with Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji? Great! Here's your shot.
I'm very soft-hearted, so they probably work it out, but, like, in my heart, it's extremely messy and the gossip is brutal (which is nothing for the canon with the nonconsensual magic surgery and necromancy).
Alternately, Wen Ning and Song Lan get to die and rejoin the reincarnation cycle? I don't know if that counts as bad since they're already dead?
Truthfully most of my desires involve Jiang Cheng figuring out how to be happy.
16. What is your favourite ridiculous AU?
I'm blanking on this, so let's say the universe a half-step to the left where Lan Wangji has had a hate-boner for Jiang Cheng the entire time, fuelling their mutual dislike. He's never forgiven him for the one sex dream where Wei Wuxian did not appear. (He's reconciled to his matched set Yunmeng Shuangjie dreams, since he can accept anything if Wei Wuxian is there.) Jiang Cheng has no idea about this.
Ask me fandom trash questions!
#asks#fandom trash ask game#wei wuxian#lan wangji#jiang cheng#wen ning#song lan#wangxian#zhancheng#zhanchengxian#mdzs +#least-carpet thoughts#ask game
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY Shana!!
I love love love your writing. Thank you for blessing us with it. <3
I am invested in all your prompts at this point but, could you do some more lady Mo or JYL & WWX run away? Thanks!
a continuation of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Jiang Cheng seems a little less brittle than when he'd stomped away from them and Wei Wuxian doesn't bother to suppress the wave of relief. He considers giving his brother the space he clearly needs, then decides that he's spent the past thirteen years giving him enough space to last the rest of their lives. Wei Wuxian bounds across the room and hangs off of Jiang Cheng's shoulders like they're teenagers again. He stiffens, but doesn't push him off, which Wei Wuxian counts as a win, even if he misses the easy way Jiang Cheng used to melt into his side.
"What did you to Shuchun?" he demands. "She was such a sweet little girl and you've turned her into a menace!"
Shijie snorts and then tries to hide it with a cough.
Okay, maybe Shuchun was always a terror because she was possibly following in her favorite martial brother's footsteps, but that's not the point.
"Try saying that to her face," Jiang Cheng mutters.
It's the closest he's come to sounding like the brother Wei Wuxian remembers and it makes his eyes sting and his throat close up.
"Leave Shuchun alone," Shijie scolds. Wei Wuxian isn't sure which of them she's talking to. "We have to talk damage control. I hadn't intended for our return to occur in front of both the Jin and Lan and I don't want it getting out before we decide how we're going to spin it."
"It won't."
Wei Wuxian blinks, thrown by Lan Zhan and Jin Zixuan speaking in unison. "Uh. Okay."
"They will say nothing without my permission," Lan Zhan says firmly.
"Even the loud one?" he asks. A-Yuan seems to be getting along with him rather well, from what he saw. Maybe he can stick around and they won't have to worry about him straying and blabbing to the wrong person.
Lan Zhan's lips twitch into something that's almost a smile. "Even the loud one."
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⚠️merji/cultivator Wei WuXian
"Come on, Wei-Xiong, the old man will end up hitting us again!"
Wei WuXian chuckled as he jumped onto the boat, "So what? I'm always the one getting beat up, so don't worry."
"Last time we got it too. Let's take what we can and leave."
Wei WuXian broke the leaves and threw the seeds into his mouth, carefree, "Don't be like that, Shidi. Come here, I'll give you some of mine."
The Jiang Clan's young cultivators sat on the boat, eventually relaxing because of Wei WuXian. Still others were picking lotus and cooling off in the water, struggling to survive that hot day.
They laughed and shared seeds, saving some for later, until one of the youngest disciples jumped into the boat as if fleeing death.
"The old man is here!"
With those words, the others started jumping into the boat like hungry ghouls or being pulled along by their mates. From afar, the old man approached already cursing the future generation of each one of them.
"Let's run, let's run!"
The old man traveled with speed counting the pods that were left. He held a bamboo stick, which was better than the paddle, even though it made every crack against the flesh.
Underneath the old owner's boat, a shadow accompanied him and that was probably why he was fast and stable, more than the juniors' boat from YunmengJiang.
That was the ghoul he fed to catch them and who wouldn't let any cultivator touch him or get a lash.
Wei WuXian shuddered at the memory.
They started to make their way back, paddling hurriedly to run away from him, when a loud thud on the boat Wei WuXian was on happened and caught the attention of the old man passing by, less swift.
"What are you all doing?!"
The juniors didn't even bother to look back, paddling as if their lives depended on it. But the boat with the old man got faster and caught up with them quickly.
Wei WuXian thought indignantly, 'That ghoul ratted us out! What a brat!'
The owner's boat approached Wei WuXian's side, and when he saw the bamboo coming towards his back out of the corner of his eyes, he closed his eyes waiting for the sting of the bamboo against his flesh.
Did not happen. Instead, his boat surged forward even faster than the old man's boat and threw everyone back, even those who were rowing.
The other boats stayed behind, only theirs managed to escape the wrath of that man and his ghoul.
Arriving at Pier Lotus, they looked at each other in confusion.
"What happened?"
"Something took our boat back!"
"And the others?"
Jiang Cheng, "Who cares? We are here and escaped."
Wei WuXian, "We'd better go back to help."
Jiang Cheng, "Do you want to get hit more? And what do you did to get us out of there?"
Wei WuXian, "Anything."
"Wei-Xiong! Look, there's something at the bottom!"
All of the juniors approached the edge, especially Wei WuXian, who could see a long silvery white tail at the bottom, snaking its way out into the darkness.
"What was this?"
"Could it be that it was some spirit that had compassion on us"
"He only acted when Wei-Xiong was get a whipping from the old man.", one of them laughed out loud.
Wei WuXian felt smug, "It must have been the spirit of a beautiful maiden who fell in love with me."
Jiang Cheng, "You don't get tired of talking nonsense, do you?"
Wei WuXian, "Hahahahaha..."
Nearby, Lan WangJi could hear the laugh that had made his heart flutter nervously ever since he first heard it.
He couldn't help but mutter a 'ridiculous' at hearing about being a maiden. That human was ridiculous and undisciplined, yet he was handsome and Intelligent. Not to mention that he always helped those in need around town.
Not that Lan WangJi chased after him, he didn't need that to hear about Wei WuXian.
Another thing about that human was that he had many scars and was constantly beaten by others and by the others without anyone thanking him or caring.
Lan WangJi would later punish himself for interfering with a deserved punishment, but he would not regret it.
Deep down, he wanted to protect that laugh.
Ears red with embarrassment, Lan WangJi sank down and returned to the place he was now.
He promised himself that he would only return to GusuLan when Wei WuXian agreed to go with him.
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I don't want to put this in the tags, since people are just having fun, but I figure you probably won't mind hearing my anon-complaints. I'm getting super annoyed by the recent influx of Jiang Chang related SVSSS crossover posts (and fics to a lesser extent).
Seeing JC interact with the PIDW world could be incredibly interesting, but the posts I keep spotting are all about the woobiefied fanon version of JC. JC and YQY are not all that much alike (JC isn't remotely loyal to WWX), and I don't think he'd get along well with LQG. The JC and SJ dynamic actually does seem like it would be fun to read, but with how toxic they both are it would be 'fun' more in the 'watching a car crash in slow motion' sort of way, rather then anything wholesome.
Anyway, mini-rant over!
Fanon: Everyone in svsss would just love Jiang Cheng!
Canon: Shen Qingqiu would take one look at Jiang Cheng and just assume that the natural state of PIDW requires a canon fodder villain to be killed. Assuming he was some previously no-named lackey, after the second time Jiang Cheng attacks Luo Binghe, Shen Qingqiu wouldn’t try to save him, anymore. Nobody else would have even cared to try.
Anyways, I know exactly what posts you’re talking about and exactly which blog keeps making them. Unfortunately for me, tumblr is trying this new thing out called “if the blog you blocked is a jc stan, the block doesn’t count,” so fuck people “having fun” in the tags. If I can’t have fun with canon on my own dash, no one is allowed to have fun with fanon on it, either 😤
#svsss asks#mdzs asks#anon#for legal purposes that last sentence was a joke#this isn’t the first time fanon jc-centric crossovers have happened#when jc stans get to feeling like the mdzs fandom is ‘too toxic’#for discussing canon jc#they start fantasizing about jc ‘escaping’ mdzs#to live out his undeserved happiness in other books#as if those characters would like him any better#please they don’t even like their OWN antagonists!#nobody’s gonna have time to baby some manchild#that they have no personal connection to to begin with#jc is dying in svsss because he raises every character flag#that that should be his ending in a typical book of that style#sqh ain’t developing him and neither is sqq!#if he survived ‘narrative destiny’ then lbh is def killing him#the first time he snaps at sqq for *anything*#but what am i even saying: no way in hell#jc gets accepted to cang qiong mountain sect anyways#he’s huan hua if he’s in any sect#so lbh is def killing him during sqq’s 5-year death nap
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Injury caused love?
Requested by anonymous: hi hi lovie!! i love your writings so much!! they are so freaking good!! could i make request please? can i request a jiang cheng x fem!reader who’s a healer from the lan clan? she mainly is brought along on most missions, acting as the head doctor/healer of most of the clans; almost as good as wen qing. reader interacts with jiang cheng a lot bc jin ling is always getting injured. reader has the motherly/older-sister vibe; always taking care and letting some of the students (mostly sizhui and jingyi) sneak into their infirmary at night for snacks or comfort. jiang cheng and reader? OBLIVIOUS HOPELESS ROMANTIC AND TSUNDERE. nie huaisang, lan xichen, jin guangyao, and wangxian all bully them for their stupidity </3 even the juniors try getting them together,,, jin ling accidentally calls the reader auntie in front of jiang cheng,,, so soft for jiang cheng…i love
Pairing: Jiang Cheng x fem!reader
Word Count: 2706 words
Warnings: none
A/N they don't get together in the end, if you want I'll make a part 2 where they get together, but only after I've finished all other requests :)
You stared at the boys in front of you, trying to wrap your head around the story they just told. Mostly you were confused at how Jin Ling happened to be the victim since the boy was usually the one to not get injured. Nonetheless, you quickly told them to sit down before grabbing everything.
"Alright. Sizhui, hold this on his arm and put a lot of pressure on it. I have to get some herbs first, I'll be back in a few minutes." You said as you handed the towel to Sizhui before walking out of the room.
You looked through your stash, not much further from your practice and got the necessary herbs before walking back too your practice, only to be stopped halfway by Xichen, Mingjue and Jiang Cheng.
"Clan leaders." You bowed your head at them and Xichen gave you a warm smile.
"This is (y/n), she's our most skilled healer." He explained to the other two, who nodded in response.
"I apologize, but I have to goo back to my practice. Jin Ling got hurt." You said, the last part a bit more to Jiang Cheng. Jiang Cheng didn't seem to react at first, but it seemed to hit him afterwards at what you said.
"Jin Ling got hurt?" "Yes, I don't remember the whole story though. Something happened with a sword and a cliff, I couldn't follow well." You explained before quickly bowing and running off.
You entered your practice again, staring at the boys who were eating snacks.
"You stole my food stock..." You mumbled and Jingyi smiled happily.
"You're lucky I like you guys." You commented to which they all smiled brightly (except for Jin Ling, who was still in pain of course). You stepped closer to Jin Ling and crouched in front of him as you started to inspect and treat the wound quickly.
"Will it scar?" Jingyi asked and you nodded shortly as you continued to wrap the bandage around his arm.
"Definitely. You should start making up a story to tell to others." You joked as you looked up to Jin Ling.
"Battled a giant demon dog!" Jingyi shouts and you can't help but laugh.
"Those don't walk around anymore, a-Yi." "But it'd be awesome!" He commented again before taking a bite of his (your) food. You rolled your eyes as you finished up the bandaging before getting up.
"How about a wolf instead?" You commented as you started to wash your hands in the bowl of water while listening to Jingyi whine. You could hear Jin Ling cuss at Jingyi while Zizhen just laughed and you saw Sizhui shake his head with a smile.
"Don't come back here too often." You said with a smile as you put everything away again.
"Now, out." You said with a smile, pointing at the door. They all quickly ran out, Jingyi managing to grab some food before leaving.
Despite that, they somehow managed to land in your practice every week. It was mostly Jin Ling who got hurt and you learned that Jin Ling was extremely unlucky and unhandy. A combination that usually doesn't go well. You spend way more time with the junior quartet, because they also came by just to hide from lessons or just to get some snacks (which you now bought double from what you usually bought).
Having Jin Ling in your practice constantly also meant that Jiang Cheng came over more often, usually to bring Jin Ling home/to his room since Jin Ling always fell asleep at the practice. Sometimes, he stayed a bit longer and you got to talk to him a bit more.
You then, of course, started to develop a crush on the man.
You were sure that it was obvious, the snickering of Jingyi said enough. Even Sizhui couldn't help but smile every time Jingyi was snickering while Zizhen tried to make them quiet down.
But of course, the visits didn't stop. Jin Ling was back again every week, joined by his friends of course. But this week was the worst.
Jin Ling was laying on the bed, leg propped up as you tried to stop the bleeding while trying to talk to Sizhui about what had happened.
"We were practicing and the sword broke." Sizhui explained and you turned your head while holding pressure on the leg.
"You got a sword in his leg?" You asked and Sizhui nodded before you turned back to Jin Ling.
"Ever heard of practice sword? You know, the wooden one." You said and he looked away in shame, not answering the sarcastic remark. You started to remove the pressure before getting a needle.
"Sizhui, go get his uncle." You said as you started to stitch the wound, after putting a cloth in Jin Ling's mouth so he wouldn't break his teeth. It took awhile and Jin Ling had passed out from the pain earlier, you couldn't blame the poor boy. Jiang Cheng arrived just as you finished the stitching, eyes cast on the cut as well as all the blood on your hands.
"Good, you're here." You said as you got up, cleaning your hands once more in the basin of water, which had already turned red. Once your hands were clean, you took bandages from the table and started to wrap it around his leg.
"He won't be able to walk for awhile, so please make sure he doesn't. I know how stubborn your family can get. He'll also need to take certain medicines every 2 hours or so for 3 to 4 days." You said before glancing at Jiang Cheng, who was still staring at his nephew and you could spot worry in his eyes.
"He's fine, don't worry too much. You're free to stay until he wakes up." You got up again when you finished wrapping Jin Ling's leg and Jiang Cheng sat down near the bed, eyes now cast towards the broken sword pieces that you had pulled out of the wound.
"What happened?" "The sword broke and hit his leg. These boys don't seem to know the consequences of practicing with actual swords." You replied with a chuckle as you grabbed some tea, offering a cup to Jiang Cheng who gratefully accepted it.
"Is getting hurt also something that runs in your family?" You asked and he looked up, shrugging softly.
"I mean, you got hurt pretty often as well. My teacher healed you quite often." You joked and you could see the wheels turning in his head before it seemed to click.
"You were that girl always watching from the side?" He asked and you nodded, smiling brightly at the thought that he remembered you. You continued to talk and for the first time, he actually tried to hold up the conversation as well.
From then on, everything seemed to take a turn.
Jiang Cheng would greet you if he saw you and sometimes he would converse in conversation , but those conversations weren't very long most of the time. Sometimes his friends (especially Huaisang and Wuxian) were with him and they often gave you a smile, but you could see the twinkle in their eyes. Sometimes the other leaders were with him, Xichen and Guangyao often gave you a sweet smiles, and you couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy every time. Even their smile seemed to hide a certain mischief. You were well aware that they all knew by now, after all Wangji's blunt comments about 'you staring at Jiang Cheng like a puppy in love' (and Wuxian and Huaisang's snickering after said comment) usually did the trick.
Now, they would always approach you while dragging Jiang Cheng behind them. They would start a conversation, trying to get Jiang Cheng to join the conversation at all cost while trying to not make it obvious (and failing miserably in your opinion). Jiang Cheng didn't seem to notice however and just curtly answered the questions thrown his way. He didn't seem particularly happy when he was near you, frown permanently shown on his face as he stood near you as he waited to leave the conversation. It was something you were quite annoyed by. Not because of him, but rather the fact that he was forced to meet you by his friends. So you asked them to stop and they did, much to their annoyance.
But you did see him a few more times again, mostly for Jin Ling's checkups. He'd just sit in the corner, staring as you cleaned his nephew's wound.
"A-jiě?" Jin Ling spoke in a whisper and you glanced up to him, giving him a small nod.
"What is it?" You whispered back and he glanced at his uncle before getting a bit closer to you.
"Uncle is staring at you..." "Don't be ridiculous A-Ling." You said, flicking his forehead softly with a disapproving chuckle before continuing to clean his wound. The boy couldn't help but smile a bit, something you couldn't help but smile in return to. Seeing the boy smile was still something new and it didn't happen that often, so you were always happy when you did see him smile.
"I'm sure about it, a-jiě. He has that look in his eyes." Jin Ling said and you looked up again, hands freezing in place before you took a glance at Jiang Cheng as well. His gaze was focused to the two of you, but you suddenly did notice his eyes shifting to you every few seconds as they lingered on your form.
"Well, a-Ling. You might be right for once." You commented, a small smirk appearing on your face to which Jin Ling smiled again.
When you finished cleaning and rebandaging Jin Ling's leg, you asked Jiang Cheng to wait for a second while Jin Ling limped out.
"You know, Jin Ling told me something." You said and he looked at you in confusion, waiting for you to continue.
"He said you were staring at me. I don't think so.... Unless you were?" You teased, eyes moving to his figure and smiling slightly when you noticed how his ears had turned red slightly as he stared in front of him.
"I'll see you later, I have to collect some stuff." You said before walking off, leaving the man standing in front of your practice.
You didn't see him for a few days after that and you couldn't help but feel a bit weird about it. Nonetheless, you continued with your routines. Taking care of some of the younger disciplines, clean your practice and getting ready to have your practice raided by the junior quartet. The food that you had gotten was gone by the end, most of it by Jingyi, and that was even after you bought extra.
"I just went to the market and you already ate all of it?" You asked as you looked in the cabinet and Jingyi gave a cheeky smile as he ate the last candy, happily eating it.
"A-jiě, when are you and clan leader Jiang getting together?" He then asked, receiving a shove from Jin Ling before looking at Sizhui for help as he tried to block Jin Ling's attacks.
"A-Ling!" The boys paused and you sighed.
"If you're going to hit him, do it where no one sees." You commented and you saw betrayal flash in Jingyi's eyes while Jin Ling just smirked before he started pocking the elder in the ribs. You just shook your head at the two before continuing your stitching on Jin Ling's robe. Then you could suddenly hear shouting and frowned, laying down your work and peaking your head out of the door. You could see Wuxian walking around, Jiang Cheng hot on his heels with an annoyed look. You were then pulled back by Jin Ling.
"Don't tell them we're here..." He begged and you looked at them, all a bit afraid of the consequences of sneaking out, and you scoffed with a smile before nodding and walking out of the practice.
"What's wrong with you two?" You asked as you looked at both men, but only Wuxian stared your way.
"Have you seen Sizhui? Or the others?" He asked and you could hear he was quite concerned.
"Why, what happened?" You returned and Jiang Cheng stepped forward.
"Some disciplines say that they saw them being dragged off and Wuxian is paranoid." He said, receiving a glare from the other (which Jiang Cheng gladly returned).
"I'm sure they're fine, a-Xian." You said and he huffed.
"You two should get married, makes bullying me much easier." He grumbled and you rolled your eyes with a laugh while Jiang Cheng just rolled his eyes.
"Very funny. You're just not thinking rationally. We both just acknowledge that." Jiang Cheng said and Wuxian just huffed again.
"You two fit each other." And then he just walked off, leaving you and Jiang Cheng alone. You looked at him and found him already looking your way, ears red once more.
"Don't be too hard on him, he's just worried." You said and Jiang Cheng nodded shortly.
"Are you not?" "Jin Ling can defend himself, he'll be fine." He answered curtly and you flicked his head harshly, making the man flinch before looking at you in shock.
"That's your nephew, at least act like you care." You commented angrily before walking back to your practice, seeing 4 pair of eyes stare at you intently.
"What?" You asked and Jin Ling spoke up first.
"You and uncle sound like a married couple..." He said and you felt your face heat up at the comment. But then you saw the terror in their eyes and turned your head, Jiang Cheng standing in the doorway with a stoic expression.
"We'll be on our way then..." Sizhui commented before dragging the other 3 with him and past Jiang Cheng quickly before they all broke into a sprint.
"Bye, auntie." Jin Ling shouted and you saw Jiang Cheng frown as he watched his nephew run out with a smile before he turned back to you.
"You lied about seeing them." "I never said whether I saw them or not nor did anyone give me the chance to say it." You said as you sat down, grabbing Jin Ling's robe up again.
"Is that Jin Ling's?" "Yes, it is. He tripped again and it ripped, so I'm stitching it. You should buy him some new clothes, some have over 20 stitch-spots. I'm losing all my thread on these, I'm tempted to use a different color to make it noticeable." You joked and Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes again, grumbling something under his breath.
"What are you grumbling about? Asking yourself how you'd fallen for me?" You teased, watching his ears turn red again and you smiled again while looking back at the stitching. You looked up when he stayed quiet, seeing that the blush had reached his face and you frowned.
"You alright there?" You asked and he snapped out his trance and nodded coldly before he turned to leave.
"You're leaving?" You asked and he turned his head around to face you. "I mean, it's pretty boring here and you chased my previous company away before I could finish..." You said and you saw him sigh again before he sat on a chair a bit further from you. Even with his annoyed expression, you couldn't help but smile that he took your joke serious enough to stay. You continued your work, glancing at him ever so often as you tried to talk to him (not to much avail). You stopped, however, when you noticed that his eyes were closed and his head was falling down ever so often before he straightened himself up. You smiled and stood up, walking his way and crouching down before gently poking his shoulder. He woke up in and instant and you flinched with his sudden movement, surprised at how close his face was to yours now.
"You should go to your room to sleep, otherwise your neck will hurt." You said as you stood up again, pulling him up with you. It was clear that he was still somewhat sleepy, eyes almost threatening to fall shut again.
"Come one, get out." You laughed and he finally looked awake at the statement, blinking a few times before looking at you.
"I apologize-" "Ah, stop it. I invited you in, no need to be so formal." You interrupted him, which startled him slightly before he simply shut his mouth.
"Feel free to drop by again." You said and he nodded, but you stopped him just before he left.
"And I don't mean with Jin Ling."
#untamed#the untamed#the untamed x reader#untamed x reader#the untamed jiang cheng#untamed juniors#untamed jiang cheng x reader#untamed juniors x reader#untamed jin ling#untamed lan sizhui#untamed lan jingyi#untamed ouyang zizhen#mdzs#mdzs jiang cheng#mdzs x reader#mdzs jiang cheng x reader#Jiang Cheng#Jiang Cheng x reader#Jin Ling#Lan Sizhui#Lan Jingyi#ouyang zizhen#reader insert#x reader#request
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fic rec meme! 🔁 💯 🛳️ !!
🔁 A fic you’ve re-read several times
Have a Nie Huaisang fic that is not only one of the better character studies I've read in any fandom, but SUCH a well-constructed story I could quite frankly count it for the next question too:
💯 A fic that makes you think #writergoals
There's a passage in here of Jin Ling watching his uncles fight together that has influenced absolutely everything I've ever written about Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian since:
🛳️ A fic that brought you aboard a new ship
Listen, it is well known that I am a profligate multishipper, so for many ships the answer is "whichever one I read first," but I must recommend this perfect sweet romance for Ouyang Zizhen/Wen Ning that convinced me not only that it could but that it should happen this way:
fic rec ask meme
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#7 Scene from my Random Mdzs Fanfiction
Prompt: What if 3zun reincarnated in modern au?
Added touch: This written with the context of Xicheng happening post-canon.
Scene: After Lan Xichen ran away from Nie MIngjue and Jin Guangyao, unable to face either of them with the emotional turmoil that has taken over him, Lan Xichen goes to the one place - the one person - that has always meant safety and comfort: Jiang Cheng.
When Jiang Cheng opened the door at eight pm on a Friday night, he didn’t know what he expected - considering he hadn’t ordered in nor were either of his siblings supposed to drop by - but it certainly wasn’t Lan Xichen, waiting outside with his eyes downcast.
“What?” Jiang Cheng said eloquently, stumped by the presence of the elder.
Lan Xichen looked up, and wow, Jiang Cheng didn’t know the Lan was capable of such a devastating expression, but here he was, fidgeting in front of Jiang Cheng and looking like a kicked puppy.
“Wanyin,” he greeted, breathing his name out like he had just run a marathon. “I’m sorry for dropping by unannounced. May I come in?”
Wordlessly, Jiang Cheng stepped aside, mulling on the familiar way the elder had referred him, while Lan Xichen walked in easily, no placating smile or hesitance in his steps as he sat in Jiang Cheng’s living room.
“Is everything alright?” Jiang Cheng asked immediately, assuming something must have gone terribly wrong. Why else would his brother’s boyfriend’s older brother show up randomly? Jiang Cheng is counting on a death announcement. Or at least, somebody was arrested.
That made more sense; Wei Wuxian would definitely get himself arrested and Lan Wangji was too in love not to stop him.
Lan Xichen opened his mouth as if to answer, then his eyes found Jiang Cheng’s and he stopped.
He didn’t know why, but Jiang Cheng had a funny feeling that something was wrong with that gaze. It was almost intimate, Lan Xichen’s eyes were searching, eyebrows furrowed and dark brown orbs pleading with Jiang Cheng for-
For what? What was Lan Xichen looking to find? The intensity of the emotions behind his stare made Jiang Cheng uncomfortable, and a familiar feeling of inadequacy came over him when Lan Xichen’s face fell, looking sadder than when he came in.
“I-I’m sorry,” he repeated, getting up. “I don’t know what came over me. I apologize for disturbing you.”
And that was not even fair- Lan Xichen showed up out of the blue, clearly wanting something from him, and what, now he was going to leave all disappointed? How the fuck was Jiang Cheng supposed to know what was going on?
When Lan Xichen made towards the door again, Jiang Cheng scowled, hand shooting to grab lan Xichen’s arm, halting him. “What the fuck, you’re just going to leave?” He asked incredulously, glaring at lan Xichen’s surprised face. “Listen, I’m not a mindreader. If something is wrong, you’re going to have to tell me, okay? You came here for some reason, so it’s officially my business now, so spill.”
Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen were not friends. Hell, he didn’t even know the elder very well. There was a polite distance between them, where they would acknowledge each other in public, but had never even exchanged phone numbers. However, Lan Xichen was clearly in distress, and he came to Jiang Cheng.
Jiang Cheng couldn’t ignore that.
Surprisingly, Lan Xichen started laughing.
It was a hearty laugh; low chuckling as Lan Xichen shook his head, almost in disbelief, before looking up to smile at Jian Cheng’s confused face.
“Of course,” he said, seemingly to himself. “You’ve never seen a problem you didn’t try to fix, huh, Wanyin?”
Jiang Cheng wasn’t sure quite what to say to that. “I-I guess, yes.” Slowly, he released Lan Xichen’s arm, feeling awkward. “So are you gonna sit, or…?”
Once again, Jiang Cheng moved out of the way so Lan Xichen could sit. Because Jiang Yanli hadn’t raised a disrespectful bitch, Jiang Cheng offered Lan Xichen food and drinks, even if the elder, as expected, politely declined. Still, Jiang Cheng disappeared into the kitchen for a couple of minutes, then came back with two bottles of water and some fruits.
“There was really no need to bother,” Lan Xichen insisted as Jiang Cheng sat on his right, in the smaller couch at the edge of the table. Jiang Cheng just hummed in a non-committal way, clearly humoring him as he peeled an apple.
“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “Now spit it out. What’s wrong?”
“It’s really not that big of a deal,” Lan Xichen said, again, looking down at his knees, face falling as he no doubt remembered whatever had driven him to Jiang Cheng of all people in the first place.
“But you’re upset.” Jiang Cheng said, not looking up from his task.
“I’m not— upset.” Lan Xichen’s declaration was not delivered as strongly as he intended it to be.
“Angry?” Worth a try.
Lan Xichen shook his head mutely
“You’re sad then.”
And ah, the way Lan Xichen’s eyes misted over, mouth clenched tight as he looked straight forward, still as a statue, told Jiang Cheng that he’d hit the nail on the head.
The elder didn’t speak.
Jiang Cheng studied Lan Xichen’s face. “Do you always do this?”
Lan Xichen gave a short chuckle. “Do what? Show up at people’s houses unannounced?”
“Well, that, too, but I meant this—,” Jiang Cheng waved the hand holding the knife in the air, indicating Lan Xichen. “—looking like a martyr while talking about whatever’s bothering you.”
Surprisingly, those words seemed to hit Lan Xichen harder than Jiang Cheng had expected. The man’s jaw dropped slightly, eyebrows furrowed like he was contemplating something particularly puzzling.
“It’s not a bad thing!” Jiang Cheng hurried to salvage the situation, because he and Lan Xichen were in no way familiar enough for Jiang Cheng to just stat throwing words around. “It’s, you know, understandable and all that—“
“No, I— no, you were right, I do- I do that, yeah.” Lan Xichen assured him, whatever had caused him to freeze having passed. “I just— someone also told me that, once. A long time ago. He called it a bad habit.”
“I’m inclined to agree,” Jiang Cheng said, slightly relieved, because while he and Lan Xichen weren’t friends, he did feel the need to not upset the other man. It had always been like that; Lan Xichen simply had that presence about himself.
Lan Xichen snorted; quite elegantly, too. Could someone be elegant while snorting? Was there anything about this man that wasn’t perfect?
Jiang Cheng stared as he wordlessly offered Lan Xichen a slice of apple.
“No bunny slices?” Lan Xichen asked, teasingly, and Jiang Cheng, for some reason, froze.
He had gotten into the habit of slicing apples like bunnies way back when Jin Ling had been a toddler. The boy had seen in a video, and had cried and refused to eat any fruits— or food for that matter— unless he had his bunny slices. Jiang Cheng had taken it as a personal mission to make them just like the boy liked, especially when Jin Ling had proclaimed proudly that his jiujiu’s apple bunnies were ”the bestest ever.”
But it wasn’t weird, right? It’s not like Lan Xichen would know about that. Where would he have even learnt of it? Jiang Cheng doubted that he was a topic of discussion between Wei Wuxian and his boyfriend’s older brother. And even if he had come up in passing conversation, he doubted it was over apple slices.
Plenty of people did it like that.
Shrugging it off, Jiang Cheng snorted, “What are you, my eight year old nephew? Why would you get the bunny apple slices? You get the adult version like everybody else.”
“Won’t Wanyin make an exception for me?” Lan Xichen said, again in a familiar and comfortable voice, as if it was perfectly normal for him to joke with Jiang Cheng.
Jiang Cheng looked at him, thinking. “Depends,” he said slowly, “will bunny apple slices make you stop looking like that?”
Lan Xichen drowned slightly. “Like what?”
“Like somebody broke your heart.”
Lan Xichen was taken aback, smile falling and eyes widened just slightly in surprise. Jiang Cheng cursed under his breath; he wished, for a moment, that he was soft-spoken like his sister, or approachable like his brother. They both knew how to coax people out and make them feel safe and comfortable. Meanwhile, Jiang Cheng’s sharp tongue only seemed to cut them open like a knife.
And then they bleed, and Jiang Cheng wonders, not for the first time, why Lan Xichen’s bright idea had been to come to him.
Lan Xichen, for his part, looked thoughtful, like he was contemplating the truth of Jiang Cheng’s assessment.
“Break my heart…he broke my-?” Lan Xichen repeated quietly, like he hadn’t even considered it, like it hadn’t even been a possibility in his mind that someone had hurt him to that level.
If there was a universal truth known by all, it was that Lan Xichen was kind. Jiang Cheng felt a twinge of pity, then weirdly enough indignant anger, at whoever had had the heart to hurt this man so.
“Did he break my heart?” Lan Xichen questioned, out loud, almost fearful, and when he turned to look at Jiang Cheng with that searching look again, like he was waiting for Jiang Cheng to tell him how he should feel—
Jiang Cheng wished he knew. He wished he had the words to tell Lan Xichen what he needed to hear. To help fix him, because the misery coming off of him was suffocating, and Lan Xichen wore it as familiarly as he would a worn-out coat.
“Sounds like he hurt you pretty bad,” Jiang Cheng said, figuring that was a pretty fair assessment, therefore safe to confirm.
“Oh,” Lan Xichen said. “I wonder when—“ he cut himself off, biting his lip as though to keep the words from spilling out against his will.
When it didn’t seem like he was going to say anything, Jiang Cheng bit the bullet, and asked, “Do you want to— I dunno, talk about it? Did you have a fight with someone?”
That seemed to have been the right think to ask, as Lan Xichen nodded soundlessly.
“Was it a lover?”
Lan Xichen frowned, and only then did Jiang Cheng notice his fists were tightly clutched on his lap, knuckles almost turning white.
“Was it a friend?” Jiang Cheng said, voice serious, thinking back to his own history with Wei Wuxian. “Friends can break your heart, too, you know?”
Or adopted brothers. Same thing, really.
“I don’t think he meant to,” Lan Xichen finally said, and his eyes were teary again. “He doesn’t— it’s not his fault, he doesn’t understand.”
“Understand what?” Jiang Cheng said patiently, knowing he needed more context, otherwise he was going to have to break out the alcohol to make Lan Xichen talk.
Lan Xichen seemed to struggle to put his thoughts into words. “He— it was my fault, really. I hurt him a lot, I hurt him first, and he d— he left, for awhile. It felt like an eternity. And I didn’t even try to see what was wrong, I didn’t— It took me a long time to realize what had happened. What I’d done. And now, I feel like we have a second chance? I have him back, but we’re not the same people and now—“
Jiang Cheng was horrified to hear Lan Xichen let out a dry sob.
“I’m afraid I’m going to lose him again.”
Yeah, Jiang Cheng was not equipped to deal with this at all.
“Alright, you’re gonna be fine, okay?” He said, an automatic response to the elder’s distress, a quick attempt to soothe. “I’m going to go grab something real quick, and then we’ll get you through this, okay?”
Lan Xichen nodded without looking up. “Okay, Wanyin.”
Jiang Cheng pushed the plate of sliced apples towards him, and stayed staring until Lan Xichen reached to grab one. He knew the other likely didn’t have an appetite, but it gave him something to focus on, so.
Satisfied when he saw Lan Xichen bite a piece, Jiang Cheng went into the kitchen, opening cabinet above his stove and pulling out a bottle of Camus wine, thought it over, then put it back, reaching for the cognac instead. He knew Lans didn’t like to drink, a wise choice if he took his brother’s boyfriend into consideration, but just in case Lan Xichen couldn’t get through this conversation without alcohol either, Jiang Cheng grabbed two glasses.
He returned to see Lan Xichen in the same position, head downcast, as if in punishment.
“Here,” Jiang Cheng said, putting a glass in front of him, and pouring the red liquid in.
Lan Xichen eyed it warily, “I don’t know if I should.”
“Does thinking of your situation make you feel like someone is stabbing you in the guts?” Jiang Cheng asked.
Hesitantly, Lan Xichen nodded.
“Then you definitely should.”
They both downed a shot like it was water, and Jiang Cheng was impressed with the Lan’s skill; he had half expected him to spit it back out, or take small sips while grimacing, but Lan Xichen drank it in one go, the only sign of the alcohol affecting him being his pursed lips and the slight pink dusting his cheeks.
“Have you considered walking away?” Jiang Cheng asked after a while, once alcohol had loosened both of their tongues. “You don’t have to stay in a situation where you’re hurting because of others.”
Lan Xichen drank some more, before letting out something resembling a bitter laugh. “I don’t think that’s physically possible.” He said, sounding amused, and if Jiang Cheng was a little more sober, he would have grilled him about his safety. “Walking away from them…would be like walking away from my own heart. I carry them with me.”
Jiang Cheng marveled at the amount of fondness he could detect in Lan Xichen’s words, despite the desperation he said them with. He felt his heart twinge in his chest with a familiar envy, wondering how it would feel to be loved that intensely, to have someone stay despite the pain, or the difficulties, to choose to stay.
“Then they’re fucking lucky,” he said, just a tad angrily. “They should know that. How lucky they are. That you’re staying. Most people would leave.”
Jiang Cheng reached for the bottle again, only to have his wrist grasped in a tight grip. Taken aback, he looked at Lan Xichen, only to have his face inches away.
“But not Wanyin,” Lan Xichen surprisingly said, eyes clouded over. “You also never leave. Even when you should. Even when people do nothing to deserve you, but rely on you for everything, you stay. Wanyin is…Wanyin is very loyal.”
“Ah,” Jiang Cheng didn’t know what to say; what could he say to the intense look the elder was giving him. “That’s- neither here or there. This isn’t about me.”
Lan Xichen frowned, lips parted slightly, and Jiang Cheng felt the warmth of his hold spread all over his body. It was…nice, being so close to Lan Xichen. Unconsciously, Jiang Cheng leaned in a little further, taking a deep breath as Lan Xichen’s fingers curled tighter around his wrist.
Lan Xichen’s knee bumped the low table, shaking the glasses and both of them jumped away from each other, Lan Xichen letting go of his wrist. Jiang Cheng shot up, wiping his hands on his pants, before he turned around.
“I- I’m gonna use the bathroom. Be right back,” he said, trying not to stutter.
“Okay,” he heard Lan Xichen say lowly, and before he left the room, he heard Lan Xichen sigh, and then, loud as a whisper, Jiang Cheng heard—
“…Why couldn’t it have been you?”
#the untamed#mdzs#mo dao zu shi#cql#jiang cheng#jiang wanyin#lan xichen#lan huan#xicheng#mdzs fanfiction#mafia au
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I’ve been thinking a lot about the MDZS ending recently, so here’s a rambly post about where I'm currently at:
Wangxian made the choice to stay a part of the Lan Sect. Their interactions seem to be limited due to the amount they travel, but they’re still at home in the sect, it’s where they have their house, they work with the juniors, where their money comes from. I’ve seen people say that because it is not a place that accepts them, and that because the Lan Sect has committed its own crimes, that this was a bad choice, one that will make them unhappy in the future, and I just sort of don’t agree.
Something I think I rambled about before is that Mo Dao Zu Shi is pretty realistic with its societal problems like homophobia and classism, they are structural problems that are part of their entire society. That kind of thing isn’t solved in a day, and short of seclusion I don’t think there’s anywhere Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji could go that’s completely free of them, and if we think of that through a realistic lens, isn’t that much sadder? I know a good portion of people in the fandom are queer or marginalized in some other way, isn’t the thought of just… Never being accepted, having to hide away forever, being made to leave society, much much sadder?
Not everyone wants to be out and proud, not everyone is safe to do that, hell I’m not. But I don’t think limiting my interactions with people and leaving all the places that bring me joy would be a form of resistance, running away feels like a tragedy in itself. Obviously I don’t mean that for every situation, it’s great and encouraged for people to leave situations that make them unsafe! You don’t have to interact with bigoted people if you don’t want to! It’s important to take care and living a happy life does count as resistance in a world that doesn’t want you to. It’s just that in their case I don’t think that's what it’d be.
Yes, some of us are tired and want to leave a society that clearly was not made for us, but there are people fighting to make it a better one and that thrive within that. That’s the kind of people I think they are supposed to read as. They’ve found a way to make their happiness and exist within those spaces they want to occupy, and it isn’t perfect, but we see signs of it getting better through the juniors, and I think it’s entirely possible that it’s not as bad as some of us fear it to be in the adult front as well. Not in the direct interactions with the Sect, but in the rest of the novel.
Most of us are in acceptance that saving the Wen Remnants was the right thing to do, and that they were not all in agreement over what was happening in the sect all the time right? If not all Wens are the same as Wen Rouhan and his closest family, then why do we make all sects be a monolith? People will have different opinions, these organizations are big places and I highly doubt everyone feels some unanimous way about Wangxian.
More on the Wens, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji both show no resentment towards that group of people, even though that had been right after the war and they had been enemies very recently. And they might very well have fought some of the people in the burial mounds settlement before! But the point is not what they did, it was that the war was over and that it wasn’t right to act in the same way as the Wen had, fostering resentment and cruelty.
It’s not about what the Wens did or didn’t do, but more about what kind of person Wangxian are.
I think the same applies here. To change people’s minds about prejudice and to encourage growth, you need to offer them a place to go when they leave those beliefs behind. Now, do I think that means Wei Wuxian should be buddy buddy with Jiang Cheng if he ever changes his mind and miraculously goes through some character growth? Become happy in-laws with Lan Qiren? No! There is such a thing as having healthy boundaries while also not holding onto vengeful feelings.
The kind of people we see they accept into their lives are ones like Jin Ling and the other kids who change their minds on Wei Wuxian over the course of the story, Lan Xichen and Nie Huaisang who are in dubious places regarding morality, those I think seem to have room to grow.
It’s admirable and heartwarming to me that they would choose to live a good, happy life and to make their world better, little by little as they help people and teach juniors and affect everyone else around them. I don’t think either of them are actively being activists in the way we would conceptualize them right now. They are simply happy and just being themselves and still their happiness by itself will have an impact on plenty of people that get involved with them. It’s not perfect, but it feels like a good ending to me, especially when I think of its relevance to the world we live in right now. It won’t change to accept us, but we can still be kind to people, perhaps change some minds, and be happy in spite of all the prejudice.
Idk, it just seems like a good message to me. One of the things I love the most about both Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji is how kind they are, and it makes a lot of sense to me that if they could give a chance to the Wen Sect Remnants, they can give a chance to Lan Wangji’s family too, and they might change some minds and make some close ties with some of them like it happened between Wei Wuxian and Wen Ning, while some people there might never change, but at the end of the day Wangxian will be happy regardless and also leave the world a better place than it was when they entered it.
I'd love to hear others opinions on this, but its just an interpretation I arrived at that makes me feel happy about the ending and where its going.
#mdzs#wangxian#i am literally just rambling rgdfsdfdxz i may be full of shit#i would love to hear others opinions on it too#but idk i tend to try to view things on the best light whenever possible and mdzs just feels so Hopeful yknow?#tw: homophobia
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Prompt for day 20 - Feathers (see other prompts here)
.✦The Thing With Feathers.
Subnautica Below Zero / MDZS crossover ✦. Word Count - 1001
Wei Wuxian climbed into his sea truck and sighed, immediately falling into his sleeper cabin with music quiet and low. He’d been chased across the purple vents biome by a Chelicerate just so he could gather up a few more lithium for his equipment and base, only to have to get out of his sea truck to squeeze under that gigantic vent garden where another one was hanging above because Lan-Zhan sent him another set of coordinates to check out.
The artifact he’d found hadn't even been anything too useful- and he didn’t have a reinforced suit so when he got too close, he got a free lobster broil- except he was the lobster. At least they were one step closer to getting Lan-Zhan his own body, but why did all of these artifacts have to be smack dab in every annoying or dangerous location on this oceanic planet?! He didn't like the sea enough for this.
Well…he didn’t hate it. In fact he rather enjoyed its beautiful side. But it didn’t like him back, and he just was running low on reserves with little progress made in the investigation on Yanli and Jiang Cheng’s whereabouts.
He just wanted a break, then a clue. It'd been too long since the last one he’d found. He wanted anything- anything at all that would give him a clue to say his siblings were okay. That it was a ruse led on by that damn corporation, that they were both okay and just hiding somewhere and not-
Ring— Ring–
He sighed softly. “Lan-Zhan…”
Another call... It could be important- if it was another artifact he should at least get the signal before he got some rest. Well, if what this was could be considered rest. Bundled up in a wet suit was not the ideal way; he missed wearing more casual clothing.
He answered the call, trying his best to mask how tired he was. “What’s up, Lan-Zhan? Got another coordinate?” He rolled over and sat up in his cot so he could properly listen, pushing his damp hair to the side over his shoulder. He still couldn’t quite get used to hearing the alien’s voice inside his head, but it was a somewhat welcome distraction right now.
“Our searches have been… useful, but… I have no evidence as to the fate of my people. The network I hoped to rejoin may no longer exist. I cannot feel it.”
Wei Wuxian sobered up somewhat as he listened to him speak. Lan-Zhan had many moments like this- he wasn’t even sure if the other knew this was from a place of insecurity, as he seemed to have lost touch with a lot of human behaviors after living the way he had for so long.
“There could be a million reasons for that. Like…what if the network had a system update? They’re on version 2001.4 and you’re still on version 14.2.”
“That would make me incompatible. How would I even begin to plan my upgrades?”
Wei Wuxian chuckled quietly, leaning over to rest on the side of his sea truck. “Okay, that’s not what I meant. Bad example. You still know how to get home?”
“Mn.”
“So don’t give up. Go there. See for yourself what happened!”
“You are expressing optimism but it is not supported by probability.”
Wei Wuxian sighed and smiled soon after, “Hope isn’t based on statistics. It’s born from a drive for something better. There’s a poem Yanli loved– Hope is human. Hope is…uhh…oh right– ‘Hope is the thing with feathers!’”
“This does not match any fauna I can find in your PDA.”
Wei Wuxian laughed, “It’s a line from a 19th century Earth author. Emily something.
‘Hope’ is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all -
I promise we’ll get answers one way or another, Lan-Zhan.”
There was a stretch of silence for a moment, before he heard his companion add one last thing:
“Adding ‘Hope’ to your database.”
Wei Wuxian’s eyebrows rose as a small notification did indeed pop up on his PDA after the call ended.
Hope is an animal of unknown origin. According to Wei Ying and a poet named Emily Dickinson, it is described as having feathers. My database found the poem Wei Ying was referring to:
"Hope" is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all -
And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -
And sore must be the storm -
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm -
I've heard it in the chillest land -
And on the strangest Sea -
Yet - never -in Extremity,
It asked a crumb - of me.
The presence of Hope seems to inspire humans to persevere in the face of adversity. Perhaps humans keep a Hope with them at all times.
From this notation, Hope appears to be a hardy avian creature. It is capable of surviving at sea and in cold climates. Having "kept so many warm," Hope might be observed to produce exothermic chemical reactions.
Assessment: find and maintain Hope.
Wei Wuxian’s expression softened and he gently thumbed the edge of his PDA. Classic Lan-Zhan… he laughed quietly as he laid down in his cot, staring at those last words. Find and maintain hope, huh? His heart was in the right place.
He would miss him…
His smile faded somewhat as he thought of their eventual separation. Of course he wanted his own body back, but…what would he do after it all? Where would he go? It's not like he had a ship to leave on, and who knows if he could go back to normal life after this.
He sighed quietly and put away his PDA. He would cross that bridge when he got to it. They were together now, for who knows how long.
He had plenty of time to think about it after he got some rest.
See my other MDZS projects here,
or check out the links at the beginning for the other prompts.
#My first writing prompt for the challenge! i do prompts out of order so this is my second one haha#Sasu's Writing/Drawing Challenge 2023#mdzs#mo dao zu shi#mo dao zu shi fanfiction#the grandmaster of demonic cultivation#wwx#wei ying#wei wuxian#lwj#lan wangji#lan zhan#subnautica#subnautica below zero#sbz#mdzs x sbz#hope is the thing with feathers#hope#“Hope” is the thing with feathers#emily dickinson#poetry#wangxian
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Wei Ying's Ten-Step Plan to Make Lan Zhan Realize He's In Love With Me
Wei Ying has a foolproof ten step plan to win Lan Zhan’s heart. The next step: get a bicycle so he can take Lan Zhan on romantic, scenic bike rides.
Wei Ying has it all planned out perfectly. Get the bike, and get the boy. There’s no way this could go wrong.
-
Xiantober Day 7 - Biker!Xian except here Wei Ying is a high schooler who gets a bicycle so he can woo Lan Zhan by giving him rides home.
Wangxian | Oneshot | 6.7K | Rated T
Relevant Tags:
Alternative Universe - Modern Setting
Alternative Universe - High School
Friends to Lovers
Fluff
Pining
Two Awkward Teens With Their Awkward Love
also posted on Squidgeworld
Preview under the cut
Wei Ying has approximately five minutes from when Jiang Cheng rushes into the bathroom to finish getting dressed for school and to when he starts yelling at Wei Ying to hurry downstairs so they can leave. This gives him just enough time to carefully count through all the stack of bills he has piled on his messy bedspread, one by one.
However, at this point, it’s purely ceremony. Wei Ying has been counting his savings every day this week, keeping track of exactly how much more he needed for his plan.
And today, finally after so many months, Wei Ying has enough to put this next step into action. He stuffs the wad of bills into his backpack, giving himself one minute and thirty seconds to spare before Jiang Cheng calls for him to get his butt downstairs.
He passes the time by flopping onto his belly on his bed and squeals into his pillow, joy and exhilaration leaking out of his pores and flooding his cheeks. He turns over so he can stare at the glow-in-the-dark stars Yanli-jie helped him put up years ago, and releases a sigh that’s so lovesick he’d be embarrassed if it wasn’t for how unabashedly happy he is at this moment.
Today is the day, finally!
Wei Ying slides down the stair banister before Jiang Cheng can call from him. He nails the landing, of course, and beams, triumphant.
“What’s got you in a good mood this early,” Jiang Cheng grumbles, grumpy as he always is every morning.
He boops Jiang Cheng’s nose and snickers at his affronted expression. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” Jiang Cheng never wants to know, of course, instead simply rolling his eyes and tugging Wei Ying out the door.
Good, Wei Ying doesn’t want to explain, not on such an auspicious day like today. Jiang Cheng would never agree with what he was doing, anyway, which is why Wei Ying has kept this plan carefully under wraps.
For the last few months, Wei Ying has been saving up his lunch money alongside every spare coin he can gather, even if that meant he’d stopped buying food for lunch.
Which was absolutely fine! At first, he got through the worst of it by stealing tiny morsels of food off his friends' plates, until Lan Zhan finally took pity on him and started bringing double portions of his lunch to share. So now, every day Wei Ying gets a fresh, homecooked meal instead of whatever swill the cafeteria is serving that day. A net positive gain.
This has all been perfectly well and good, and Wei Ying is absolutely not affected by Lan Zhan's seemingly infinite kindness and his cute little blushing ears every lunch period when he silently offers Wei Ying the red lunch box that matches his own blue one perfectly and has to be brand new since Lan Zhan has never owned anything that wasn't white, blue, or grey.
No, Wei Ying cannot let this get to him, as impossibly adorable as it is.
Because he has a plan in mind and it’s foolproof. As long as he follows it to the letter, then everything will go exactly according to plan.
It's cleverly titled: Wei Ying's Ten-Step Plan to Make Lan Zhan Realize He's In Love With Me.
(Maybe he needs a shorter title.)
Read more on ao3
#It was already 2.5K long and I was like oh I can clean this up and make it a oneshot#then i added 4K of fluff and pining#oop#mdzs#mo dao zu shi#the untamed#wangxian#wei wuxian#lan wangji#mdzs fanfiction#the untamed fanfiction#xiantober#bushy writing#lol i was supposed to post my angsty hurt comfort smut oneshot instead but that one needs editing so i am sending this into the world#i just think teen!wangxian is very precious and i love them a lot okay#mxtxnet
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