JINGHUAN YOU TAKE THAT BACK ABOUT CONSORT JING OR BY GOLLY I'LL MAKE THE NARRATIVE TAKE IT BACK FOR YOU-

propaganda (SPOILERS) under cut

Jin Guangyao: All his mother ever wanted was for him to be in his rightful place by his father's side. Everything he's ever done, it's just to keep himself and the memory of his mother alive. He's honouring her, honouring her memory. If his father orders him to do something awful, then how can he say no, and disrespect his mother's memory? And if his father continues to disrespect his mother's memory... how can he be allowed to live?

Xie Wang: He was rescued from the streets, raised up from nothing. How can he not give his yifu everything he asks for? Do everything his yifu asks him to do? Become everything his yifu wants him to become? Yifu is the only one who loves him. Yifu is the only one who cares for him. Yifu is the only one he loves. Yifu... yifu doesn't care about him at all.

Prince Yu: You could be the emperor, they told him. Of all your brothers, you're the most like your father, they told him. All you have to do is play the game and wait for it to be your turn, they told him. He played the game, and he played it well, and it was finally his turn. He was finally chosen. Except, he wasn't. He was a front, allowing his pathetic younger brother to steal what was rightfully his out from under his nose. You have one last chance, they tell him. And what other choice does he have?

Shulin: His mother (the one who raised him) told him that she found him, abandoned. Asked him if he wanted to know where he came from. He was just a child. Of course he wanted to know where he came from. And then his home, his people (the ones who raised him) were destroyed. Destroyed by his mother (the one who swapped him for another child, the one who left him to die). Of course he wants his birth mother, his birth people to suffer the same fate as the only people who ever really cared about him. It's a kinder death than they deserve.

Xiao Yu: He is not his father's favourite son. Everybody knows that. As a child, he had liked to think he could compete, but he should have known better. Even with Chuhe gone, even as the only possible candidate, the title of crown prince is still not his. What's worse, though, is that he is not his mother's favourite son, either. She sits and she sighs about some other child that he has never met, as if he isn't right here, not loved by either of them. No matter. He'll use whoever he has to to get the power he deserves.

Ye Zun: He is nothing, he knows. You have no power, they jeer as they spit at him and beat him. His master laughs at his downturned head, taunts him with the knowledge that his own brother sold him to his life of misery. He has never had power… until he does. And once he’s found his strength… why would he give it up? Why wouldn’t he make them pay?

Shen Jiu: He was plucked out of a ditch as a child, with nothing. No food, no home, no parents. Only an older brother, and for years it’s enough. Then, not even that. Later there's power and prestige, but alongside it hatred, mockery. And then he dies, unmourned, unnoticed, unloved. Even his so-called older brother doesn’t notice. This is a secret he has always known - the only way that the story can end happily is without him.

Runyu: He has been pushed to the side in favour of his brother, but he can’t hate him. He is the only one who has stood by him. If that means stepping into the shadows as he strides into the light… well, it is no hardship. Until he meets her. His future wife, their fates intertwined since birth. The one shining promise that has kept him warm through the tormented millennia. And so, for the first time in his existence, he chooses to be selfish. Is that so wrong?

Yin Pei: Dear tumblr user. If you’ve made it this far, I’ll be real with you. I don’t remember what happens in tv shows unless I become obsessed with them or have watched them recently, and neither of those apply here. I can’t remember anything about Yin Pei except he had daddy issues and we referred to him as Kylo Pei in the group chat. Make of that what you will

many thanks to @nemainofthewater for writing ye zun, shen jiu, runyu. I don't know who they are

Please note that Mei Changsu is automatically excluded from this poll by virtue of him being able to blow every single one of them out of the water with his scheming :')

Prince Yu in Nirvana in Fire, ep. 44

the intensity! the armor! he has lost! and here is his brother to take him prisoner.

I was hoping that you’d notice my despair

Oh No!!!, a Prince Yu vid

rumour has it (x)

an ascended painting warmup! his inner robes had colors too pretty to resist

now do prince yu

OH BOY

I swear, like.... I obsess over Seon-ho and MCS on an intellectual level and write fanfic about them and stuff but is there anyone that makes me go "ITS HIM, THE GUY" like Prince Yu??? I really don't know.

Some notes:

-I'm sorry I made almost all the slidey things in the middle but listen, he's... a moderate guy.

Prince Yu is great company most of the time. He's polite, even flattering. He likes to chat and give presents. But then when he's discouraged he sits around and mopes and gets drunk and I feel kind of bad for Banruo dealing with it. That said, an angry or discouraged Prince Yu is honestly still easier to deal with than pretty much anyone else in the royal family, possibly including Jingyan. Like, he'll hear you out. He enjoys the feeling of being benevolent and gracious, he likes people to like him. So yeah I'd hang with Prince Yu. Any day.

Everyone SHOULD love Prince Yu but in fact many ppl do hate him. It's just bad taste. (Yes, MCS, I'm talking to you!!!!)

See below on trauma.... he has a lot of trauma but until he gets wrecked he also has a lot of good times and less tragedy than some in canon. Until. But let's not get into that for now, I'm in denial.

Prince Yu is sometimes very smart but I also almost filled in the box for himbo bc he can also be Pretty Dumb. This is a man who needs trustworthy strategists.

He tried really hard to play by the "rules" of court to become Crown Prince but when it failed, ahaha, we see that breaking the rules is hardly anathema to him. (And yes I am calling corruption playing by the rules; this is a very corrupt court where bribery, embezzlement, etc are honestly expected.)

-All things considered his tragic backstory isn't as bad as the backstory of many on the show but you do have to consider that being a prince in this royal family sucks for everyone. Constantly fighting for power and Daddy's love, constant paranoia. And then your dad kills your brother and makes you deliver the poison (which, opinions may differ, but I don't think Prince Yu was super happy about this, even if he benefited from Prince Qi's death in the long run). There's his parentage and his Hua heritage, of course, although Prince Yu didn't know that until way late in the game (does it count as a tragic backstory if it's a secret you didn't know about? maybe if it affects your current life despite your knowledge). Not to mention how he was tragically in love with Lin Shu who never realized his affections and then died (okay, I'll shut up).

-He does not give me violent urges in the sense that I want to hurt him but thinking about him does make me want to bang my fist against a table while wailing, "HE COULD HAVE HAD IT ALL, DAMN IT!!!"

PRINCE YUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!

jinghuan voice i lost focus and had a consensual workplace relationship

17 is my favorite number

You get one of my favorite fanvids of all time because it is fun to watch Prince Yu suffering :D

Oh No!!! by findmeinthealps

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: 琅琊榜 | Nirvana in Fire (TV) Rating: Mature Warnings: Major Character Death Relationships: Lin Shu | Mei Changsu | Su Zhe/Xiao Jinghuan Characters: Lin Shu | Mei Changsu | Su Zhe, Xiao Jinghuan, Lin Chen (Nirvana in Fire) Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Identity Issues, as in mcs’s complicated relationship with his concept of self, Grief/Mourning, jingyan is still dead, mcs is coping, OR IS HE, suicide ideation, Self-Esteem Issues, everybody loves mcs except for himself, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, emotionally fraught sex, Hopeful Ending, NIFTREAT2022 Series: Part 2 of training vipers Summary:

Mei Changsu is not taking his medicine.

Hello again! (Asking a second question at once to make up for the delay, sorry.) Do you have a favorite character? Or anyone you're partial to, since all the characters are so lovely. What are some things you love about them?

Xiao Jinghuan, Prince Yu!!!

He’s such a well-written and well-acted character!! I just love his inherent contradictions. He’s cunning but so easily manipulated. He’s persistent but impatient. He seems to judge everyone by how useful they can be to him, but his nerdboy obsession with Sir Su transcends something there. (Part of me wonders if Lin Shu was familiar with this tendency of Jinghuan’s, and crafted his persona and reputation accordingly.) He’s ridiculously capable but never seems to use his powers for good.

My favorite, favorite scene of his, though, is when he accepts the Crown Prince’s illicit crackers during Tainainai’s mourning period. That look he gives his brother. Then an acknowledgement of his own hunger. It’s very human of him, and it makes me laugh.

While I'm here, though: Mu Qing is also the best! So enthusiastic! So loose with propriety! So protective of Nihuang, who absolutely does not need it. Also #1 shipper bro 😭.

It's chance that has Jinghuan spot Mei Changsu in conversation with Jingyan on his way out of the palace, a few days after the affair with Mu Nihuang and the drugged wine. It's chance that has Jinghuan glance their way just in time to watch the way Jingyan stiffens and shoots Mei Changsu a hard look, saying one last sharp thing before turning and striding away. And that would be nothing, Jingyan has always been stiff and bad tempered, seeing him in a mood is no more worthy of note than watching the sun rise in the sky, except-

Except-

Except in that moment, Jinghuan sees the expression that crosses Mei Changsu's face as he watches Jingyan storm away. It's there and gone in a flash, but for a single moment there is something like exasperation in Mei Changsu's eyes, something like irritation, riled and resigned and annoyed and utterly irritated, and Jinghuan has only ever seen a single person look at Jingyan like that before. The thought strikes like an arrow, embedding itself in Jinghuan's chest and driving the breath from his lungs.

Lin Shu.

-

A moment of chance clues Jinghuan in to Mei Changsu's true identity. It changes everything.

This years NiF exchange fic for Kasasagi based on the prompt:  A fic where Prince Yu finds out MCS's identity before Jingyan does, and it has Consequences. I'm leaving it to you what kind of consequences those are, but I'd like to see some shippy stuff between Prince Yu and MCS if possible.

Yes I know this isn't all the princes that is on purpose

"When you die, no one will remember you, and no one would clear your name for you, because you are not innocent." ...

"I was right in my guess that you were a member of Prince Qi's household."

"You will never know who I am."

(Nirvana in Fire, ep. 46)

Slightly more balanced poll compared to my previous schemers one (thanks for all the comments):

*Mei Changsu is once again excluded by virtue of him being able to outmaneuver every single person here

*Nie Huaisang also excluded bc he won by such a wide margin due to fandom popularity so I want to see what the poll would look like without him