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#Jin Ling gets mad at him
twistedappletree · 5 months
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when you’re trying to argue with him but he goes on a nerdy, detailed tangent about how he’d humanely catch and release a rat 🐀
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hannigramislife · 6 months
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Controversial take ahead!!
Will never forgive Jiang Yanli for walking into an actual battlefield, with no weapon (!!!) looking for the man who widowed her while leaving her literal baby son home.
Like. Did you truly never consider you'd die??? Leave your son an orphan??? Neither thought came into your mind even for a second?? Really???
Okay.
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haru-with-mdzs · 2 months
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Reblog this post and state your favourite mdzs character + reasons in the tags
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incarnadinedreams · 2 months
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This isn't really new or anything but the more I reread random passages the more convinced I am that there's something very unique about the way Jiang Cheng reacts to Wen Ning and it's just so interesting!
I'm convinced it's more than just being angry. It's more than just hating him, or blaming him for Jin Zixuan's death or his sister's life. It's more than being a Wen, and it comes long before so many of those tragedies unfold anyway.
There's a sort of urgent, visceral reaction to Wen Ning's presence that just has this different feeling to it than how he reacts to any of the other characters. Even characters he has strong emotional responses to, it's never with the same panic or recklessness. It's not the same as the whole "vengeful wrath, fathomless hatred, or raving ecstasy" situation he's got going on with Wei Wuxian (sexy as that might be).
When it's Wei Wuxian, it's all "...well, well. So you're back?" and "Haven't you got anything to say to me?" Even when he's not being very nice, even when he's throwing teacups and furious at Wei Wuxian, there's still an edge of calmness in the way he lashes out. He's fucking mad but he's had more than a decade to think about this and he's got things to say and he's trying so hard to get a reaction from Wei Wuxian that he just won't give him.
But he can't tolerate having Wen Ning anywhere near him. Much of the time he instantly lashes out, physically, in ways to create space between them. He's mean to Wen Ning, but he doesn't really have much to say to him; he just wants to get away from him.
It really stuck out to me how instinctive and instantaneous and emotional that reaction is when I was reading this passage from chapter 81 (ExR translation since I've got it on hand in digital text form), when Jin Ling returns Zidian and rushes back into the fray during the Second Siege:
When Jiang Cheng was unaware, he stuffed Zidian's ring back into his hand and sprinted toward the crowd, all the way up to the most dangerous area before the mouth of the cave. Jiang Cheng was about to chase after him when he managed to slice a few corpses, staggering. He felt that Sandu was no lighter than hundreds of pounds. Two female corpses threw themselves at him from both directions.
Jiang Cheng cursed. As he lifted his sword again, another pair of hands tore the two corpses into pieces, "Sect Leader..."
Jiang Cheng lost his temper as soon as he heard the voice. He kicked Wen Ning away and cursed, "Get the fuck away from me!"
Obviously that is not very nice and poor Wen Ning didn't deserve a kick for being legitimately helpful there, but the point is that not only does he lash out - the reaction happens even when he's clearly got higher priorities going on in a chaotic situation. Throughout that entire event he reacts in a somewhat more even-keeled way to almost everything except Wen Ning being in his vicinity.
And it's not just after Wen Ning's death, not just after he became Wei Wuxian's greatest weapon, not just after he was forced to kill Jin Zixuan - it's specifically a pattern established from the moment he woke up in the Supervisory Office without a core:
Before he could say anything, those sun robes reflected against Jiang Cheng's eyes. His pupils suddenly shrunk.
Jiang Cheng kicked Wen Ning, toppling over the bowl of medicine. The black liquid all spilled onto Wen Ning. Wei WuXian wanted to take the bowl of medicine. He pulled up Wen Ning as well, who had been shocked speechless. Jiang Cheng roared at him, "What's wrong with you?!"
At this point he doesn't even know how he was rescued, since he was unconscious for all of that, and thinks they're in a Wen trap and likely going to die (or worse). But there's so many echoes of that interaction again, and again, and again between them.
And combined with Wen Ning's remarks during the scene just before this, where he tells Wei Wuxian about the discipline whip injuries and how Jiang Cheng 'should have other injuries as well', the way the narrative is so deliberately ambiguous on what exactly occurred, it all makes me want to crawl up the walls and gnaw on the light fixtures wailing WHAT DID YOU SEE, WEN NING?! WHAT DID YOU SEE?
At a minimum, Jiang Cheng knows that Wen Ning was there at Lotus Pier prior to his capture by the Wen guards, because they'd both seen Wen Ning examining Jiang corpses on the training field before they fled for Meishan.
But everything after that is only implication and subtext and suppositions and speculation, not directly stated in the text. But based on his reaction, you can pry my headcanon from my cold dead hands that that Wen Ning probably witnessed all or much of what happened to Jiang Cheng after he was captured, and Jiang Cheng knows it.
I've also posted before how I think there's an at least nonzero chance that Jiang Cheng was never directly told that Wen Ning wasn't actually there with Wen Chao when they saw him early on, but came later to try to help (because when Wen Ning gives Wei Wuxian that information Jiang Cheng isn't conscious, and nobody tells Jiang Cheng anything. I don't think that headcanon changes much either way, but there is a slight difference, at least emotionally, between 'I helped you while I was there to slaughter your clan and destroy your life' and 'I came when I heard my crazy cousin was slaughtering your clan and tried to help you' and I think it's a juicy thing to add to the pile of misunderstandings they each have of the other's motivations and actions).
Which, if I go with these two ideas together, really drives home what a bespoke and specific nightmare the way the Golden Core reveal played out - not only the substance of the reveal, but the fact it was Wen Ning who revealed it.
He was already furious that they were even there at Lotus Pier, particularly Wen Ning. But the way it all happens it feels like it's not just echoes of the amplified emotions of the confrontation with Lan Wangji & Wei Wuxian in the Ancestral Hall, it's not just Wen Ning being a Wen, or even Jin Zixuan's death, the way the narration calls out. It feels like there are deeper layers to it.
I also feel a bit stupid for not noticing before this probably extremely obvious to literally everyone else who isn't a dumbass like me parallel of Wen Ning getting a gruesome scorching whip mark across his chest at Lotus Pier in the course of saving Wei Wuxian (more or less, sort of - we know as readers Jiang Cheng was intentionally trying not to hurt them with Zidian, but I don't think Wen Ning knew that when he jumped in).
Jiang Cheng looked to find that the uninvited guest was Wen Ning. Immediately, he raged, "Who let you inside Lotus Pier?! How dare you!"
He could manage to tolerate others, but definitely not Wen Ning, the Wen-dog who put his hand through Jin ZiXuan's heart and ended both his sister's happiness and her life. Just a look, and he felt the urge to kill him right there. How dare he step foot on the earth of Lotus Pier—he really was looking for his death!
Because of the two lives and many other reasons, Wen Ning had always felt guilty, and so he'd always been somewhat scared of Jiang Cheng, consciously avoiding him all the time. Right now, however, he blocked Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi as he faced him, taking the hard lash. A gruesome scorch climbed across his chest, but still he didn't flinch.
I don't know that it actually means anything but it's making me FEEL THINGS incoherently at this specific moment, so. Also I find it legitimately sad that Wen Ning has to live with guilt over things that happened when he was controlled by someone else, though the scene before the Ancestral Hall when Jin Ling starts crying on the boat is probably a better example of that. Anyway.
It's just there's so, so many layers to how uniquely horrible it is for Jiang Cheng that he not only finds out about the Golden Core transfer this way, but also that Wen Ning, specifically, directly witnessed this life-shatteringly huge deception and sacrifice too - while Jiang Cheng was unconscious, no less.
And, well, we know how everything got capped off in that scene...
Obviously the shock of the information was going to get a huge reaction no matter what, no matter who or how he found out. Even without the Wen Ning element, it already hits every one of his deepest weaknesses and insecurities and fears.
But to come from the guy who'd witnessed his family being slaughtered, who'd witnessed who-knows-what humiliations heaped on him (who also happens to be the same fucking guy that Wei Wuxian thought it was worth leaving Yunmeng Jiang for, breaking his promise for...), the guy he blames for his sister's tragic fate (whether that blame is misplaced or not), the guy he exhibits a panic response towards even decades later, and goddamn.
There are just so many layers to this perfect little nightmare reveal on so many different levels aren't there?
There's just SO much meaty stuff for these two to dig into post-canon and all we get is an extra with a 'oh yeah sometimes Jiang Cheng yells on night hunts and Wen Ning is there' about it?!
I should probably just shut up and go read some Jiang Cheng and Wen Ning focused fics or something (whether romantic or platonic that's probably an area I really haven't explored enough vs. the amount of sheer interesting hints and material the novel gives to work with! If by some miracle anyone made it to the end of this beast feel free to drop any recs that explore them, especially that 'what did Wen Ning see?!' aspect of the whole situation because that is the current little brain worm haunting me right now).
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shanastoryteller · 1 year
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💕Happy Valentines Day! Heaven Officials Blessing or MDZS? 💕
Jin Ling has had it.
He loves his parents. He loves Uncle Wanyin. But they're all busy training for their own competitions and they've stuck him the Nie Huaisang as his coach, which he really thought was a joke up until the first practice. This is his first year competing as a senior skater and this is the best they can do? Come on.
"This is shit. Why did my old coach have to retire? I hate this," he complains to Jingyi.
"At least Lan Qiren isn't your coach," he points out.
He pauses, considering. "I guess it could be worse."
Poor Sizhui, honestly. Jingyi at least gives as good as he gets.
It's not like anyone can say anything about his effectiveness, with Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen fighting each other for the top spot every year. He's glad that Uncle Wanyin pair skates with his mom because he feels like the two of them on the ice would end in bloodshed. They hate each other for some reason that no one has ever bothered to explain to him.
"Why are you mad about Nie Huaisang anyway?" Jingyi asks. "He placed really well until he retired, and his footwork is great, unlike yours."
"Shut up about my footwork," he says automatically. "He's annoying, and I hate his choreography, it doesn't work for me at all. Screw this. I'm going to go to my uncle's and make him train me. It's not like he's doing anything anyway."
"Um, Jiang Wanyin is very busy practicing which is why you're with Nie Huaisang in the first place," Jingyi points out.
Jin Ling rolls his eyes. "Obviously I'm not talking about him."
"Mo Xuanyu doesn't even skate? And Meng Yao never even placed, which is why he's a manager," he continues.
"Uncle Yao had his own reasons for not placing," he says defensively, "but no, obviously not them either, are you being deliberately obtuse?"
"Are you?" Jingyi pokes him in the side. "Do you have another uncle?"
He has to be joking. "Yes? Obviously? I'm going to fly to Uncle Wuxian's and make him do it instead."
"Who?" he blinks.
Unbelievable. "My uncle? My mother's brother? Wei Wuxian?"
Jingyi's jaw drops before it snaps shut and then he's screeching, "YOUR UNCLE IS WEI WUXIAN? Like, the only person to ever beat out the Lan brothers Wei Wuxian, the one who won gold in the Grand Prix Final three years in a row and then disappeared into smoke Wei Wuxian?"
This is ridiculous. "He didn't disappear into smoke, he just moved to the coast. I don't know why you're acting surprised by this, I visit him every summer."
"You said you were going to visit your uncle in the summer!" Jingyi says accusingly.
Jin Ling blinks. "Yeah? I was."
Jingyi mimes strangling him then says, "Okay, you know what, we'll put that aside for right now. I fully support your decision to go and harass Wei Wuxian, who is apparently your uncle, and I'm coming with you."
"You are not, Lan Qiren would kill me," Jin Ling says, but Jingyi clearly isn't listening to him.
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piosplayhouse · 1 month
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Brony Jiang Cheng
I think he'd be one of those "earlier gens sucked and are ugly because they were for girls 🤢" idiots but if he watched g3 he'd love princess wysteria
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He found out abt the show through Jin Ling who was hate watching it because of 4chan, but jl ended up getting unironically into it (I think his favorite character would be Spitfire but I'm open to other ideas too). Jiang Cheng walked in on him watching it and called it gross and weird and jl blew up at him and went and cried in his room for the rest of the night. Jc felt so guilty that he ended up setting up a little movie night for them to apologize without apologizing bc he's awkward like that and he also got hooked watching it.
When wwx found out he drew jc a ponysona as a joke to make fun of him and jc got mad in the moment but he still kept it and takes it out to look at it and imagine himself as a pony every so often
Lwj is also a brony but he's a chill early gen collector so naturally he and jc have crazy beef about it. While lwj loves the hair play of early gen toys (so soft ponies/flockies are his fave) JC thinks they're too girly and instead has like. Funko pops like a freak.
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restingdomface · 2 years
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I just want a fic where Lan Sizhui gets anxiety the first time Wei Wuxian gets sick, because poor golden core means he overestimated himself and what he could do that winter and got a cold lmao, they just wanna isolate him so he doesn’t spread anything around, the healers say they’ll have him fixed up in a few days. But LSZ doesn’t understand why he’s being told he can’t see Xian-Gege right now??? He wants to talk to him and curl up against his side and try to help heal him?? Let him see his dad?? Lan Wangji is allowed in, so now he’s pouting, when the other juniors (the terror juniors, Jin Ling and Ouyang Zizhen and Lan Jingyi, of course) find him sulking in the bunny field with a couple rabbits in his lap and glaring at a tree.
This startles all of them, LSZ rarely glares at people, and there’s no one around even, who’s he got to be mad at rn??? They ask him and he sadly tells them he’s not being allowed in the healing halls right now. They all take offense at him not being allowed to see his dads, and immediately hatch a buuuuunch of hairbrained schemes to get him in to see his dads.
Eventually, after many many failures and rule copying, Lan Qiren finds them trying to sneak into a window and sighs so hard his soul leaves for a moment, and tells them they can see WWX, but they have to wash their hands and not disturb him. LQR is slowly warming up to the brat by way of his grandkid being absolutely adoring of him, and also the fact that the worst thing the man does these days is being shameless and wandering around with rabbits in his robes.
So. That’s how WWX woke up, almost filled healed, with a little radish on his tummy (curled up around his side so LSZ can put his head on WWX nice stomach) and JL pouting cause he has to hold the bunny basket (yes, they brought the rabbits with them, obviously, that was half the reason they kept getting told to go away) and OYZZ and LJY arguing about a book on the other side. He hasn’t felt this loved while being sick in a long time, if ever. And that’s saying something cause LWJ has barely left his side either, and now he’s petting both LSZ and WWX’s hair and giving them affection blinks of love. WWX is spoiled.
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This is a chance to post your not-posted chengxian ideas if you have any. Please gimme gimme gimme gimme-
nonnie you've come at the sort of the right place. i'm like so late to fandom strolling without starbucks because in this house we boycott, and i'm sure this idea must have been done before. but. still. thanks for the ask, i put actual effort into this, hope you like it!! <3<3
A) to the point of invention AU
literally "i love you to the point of invention"
jiang yanli is at lotus pier and she dies :(. wwx and jc proceed to go absolutely feral and codependecy skyrockets
golden core melted-wwx in total breadown canon followed
until golden core transfer fails. fuck. dealers choice how
maybe smthing smthing jiang cheng wakes up to see he's being operated on. his brother lied to him about baoshen sanren and he's about to lose another sibling. #traumatised
both wwx and jc lose their core. they mad angry abt it, at the others throat- codependecy spirals. maybe they fuck. maybe they don't. anyways.
wwx invents demonic cultivation with the intent to protect-- he's mad about it being safe coz his shidi is gonna have to learn it to rebuild lotus pier and take revenge. they'd do it together. cue mad frenzy! wwx, jc handling it with the same ease he's done for years, and wen sibs watching this absolute clusterfuck wondering if these freaks are brothers or lovers or a secret third option.
demonic cultivation being so op and still mad safe because that's his shidi who he has to protect! . maybe they figure out how to power zidian through resentful energy
so you have DEMONIC CULTIVATORS! JC and WWX, both of them. rebuilding lotus pier, taking in E.V.E.R.Y.O.N.E that passes their dodgy moral code. unconventional sect numero uno. super-effing-powerful. No. 1 power couple #lifegoals.
nobody knows whether these two are fucking or not. even i don't. parasitic relationship but like lichen.
Jin Ling don't exist (sad face) but Jiang Yuan, sect heir, new gen demonic + spiritual cultivator, all around powerhouse. his xian-gege and wanyin-ge are so so proud.
where's the rest of the world, isaac? where's lan zhan. oops. forgot about them. pretend they're avoiding the demonic cult. (baby there's so many holes in the plot that it's practically cartoon cheese.) I just know there's gonna be a lot of cultivation science. and politics. and worldbuilding. and wwx being shidifucker extraordinaire.
B) blur on the horizon AU
title from Lady Lazarus by Slyvia Plath. //my brother is still alive. still dead. was brought back with a lazarus shot and a slap to the face// when visibility's poor, i'm the blur on the horizon//
wwx dies. and wakes up. not in mo xuanyu's body.. but in some random cultivator's body. like. and year or two post siege or burial mounds
he travels straight to jc. lotus pier still be recruiting. the recruiters take in this shady man.. let's be real. everyone here is just as shady.
he get's the intro. gets shown the rebuilt pier, the rules and The List. The List being how to defend gongzhu from shitty people and shittier politics. he's so fawking proud bit also resentful and angry because he should have been there. twin prides on yunmeng, remember? (for once in my life let wwx be the more bitter one abt yunmeng shuangjie yeah?)
WWX tries to stay away from JC. but he can't. let's be real he cant.
he climbs up the ranks fast... everyone can see this man would give his life for sect leader jiang. cue Second in Command being WWX 2.0 . wwx, for his part is so bitter but also incandescently happy. man never met an emotion he couldn't twist.
Jiang Cheng is wondering why this random cultivator seems so familiar. it get's so bad that he uses zidian to check this one whether he's wwx every once in a while.
but Jiang Cheng is also so tired of seeing ghosts from the corner of his eyes. and jin ling likes this new SIC when he barely likes anyone apart from his jiujiu. he lets go a little. wwx can wait, for once in his life.
cue wwx gaslighting jc into thinking there's no way this one could be wwx. also him being conflicted because on one hand jc's starting to trust him, and this life is almost everything he's dreamed of, but on the other, he's doing this as Random Cultivator and not WWX, how could you forget me, Shidi?
again, for once in my life let wwx be the more bitter one abt yunmeng shuangjie yeah?
idk i havent resolved this one. but there's a scene where wwx finds out abt chenqing, and jc in a fit of anger, after a hell lot of provoking, talks abt how SIC should have been his brother's (the feared yilling laozhu's) and not some strangers. and jc thinks this guy's gonna run far away from the madman his sect leader is but he's only more loyal more sticky more everything? is everything alright up in his head??
C) digging your grave AU (attempted sexual assault tw. it fails and the man's dead.)
title from Richard Siken's / our father who art in heaven / our father who art buried in the yard / someone is digging your grave right now. /
all of jiang cheng's life, he's never been wanted first, yeah? His father prefers his elder, adopted brother. His mother prefers her work and if she has to interact with someone it's his elder sister. His elder sister's got her own life- a boyfriend madly in love with her- a future mother-in-law who's more of a mother than her own- and sometimes Jiang Cheng thinks even she prefers Wei Wuxian more than him. (jin guangshan was rich, and is dead, good riddance.)
the only one who's cared about him is Wei Wuxian- JC's always been his person for wwx. and that matters so much... here's the person who loves Jiang Cheng for himself, someone for who he isn't a disappointment.
so when one day, on the day of wei changze and cangse sanren's tenth death anniversary, jiang fengmian, drunk out of his mind, tries to kiss wwx, saying how he looks so much like his parents and jc watches it happen. he sees how wwx is so fucking scared.. his brother, his person, the only person who has ever mattered is terrified.. and he just. sees scared and so fucking angry that he doesn't think. it's red. grabs his mother's favourite vase, and smashes is against his father's head
there's a dead man on the floor, bleeding into the carpet. baby jc going hysterical that he killed his dad. and wwx is cold. he can think it through. he's been betrayed by a man he thought as a father... and there's no one he can trust anymore. he has to save jc.
they bury jiang fengmian in the backyard, and run. they dont look back.
years later, jiang fengmian is a homicide case, wwx is a deranged kidnapper and murderer still at large, and jiang cheng is presumed dead. meanwhile, there's two lovely men living in a backwater town, bickering like old married couples do, and it's so nice to see love is in the air. nothing strange about them, yeah? they must have had those old-fashioned prejudiced people for parents. good on them for running away.
@jcs-singular-slut-strand come see what i wrote!!
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add1ctedt0you · 3 months
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Novel quotes: wei wuxian having feelings/thoughts about jiang cheng
Under the cut because it's long
However, Jiang Cheng was gone. Holding steamed buns, flatbreads, and fruits in his hands, Wei WuXian felt his heart skip a beat. He forced himself to calm down. Even after he searched through the neighboring streets, he still didn’t see Jiang Cheng. He finally began to panic. Grabbing a cobbler on the side, he asked, “Mister, there was a young master about the same age as me sitting here. Did you see where he went?” The cobbler licked the thick end of a thread, “The one that was with you?” Wei WuXian, “Yeah!”
The cobbler, “I was in the middle of doing something so I didn’t really see. But he kept on spacing out, staring at the people on the street. And then when I looked up at where he was again, he suddenly disappeared. Maybe he left.”
Wei WuXian murmured, “... He left... He left...”
He probably left for Lotus Pier to steal the bodies!
As though he had gone mad, Wei WuXian sprinted immediately toward the direction that they had come from.
[...]
He gave himself a harsh scolding in silence—he was stupid, useless, ridiculous, it was bizarre, unimaginable. Yet, he was alone, without a sword or any tools, and on the other side of the wall there were thousands of Wen Sect’s cultivators, perhaps Wen ZhuLie as well.
He wasn’t scared of death. He was only scared that after he died, he wouldn’t be able to save Jiang Cheng and betray the trust that Jiang FengMian and Madam Yu left him. In such circumstances, the only one he could place his hope on was a person of the Wen Sect whom he had met only three times in total!
[...]
Wei WuXian’s gaze turned from Wen Ning toward Jiang Cheng, whose body was covered in blood and eyes were tightly shut. His fingers couldn’t help but clenched into fists.
Chapter 59 Poisons—Part Four
Jiang Cheng’s expression was rather strange. It was calm, almost too calm. He stared at the ceiling, as though he wasn’t at all interested in the situation that he was in, as though he didn’t care about where he was either. Wei WuXian didn’t expect him to react in such a way. Sadness, happiness, anger, shock—he had none of these. His heart skipped a beat, “Jiang Cheng, can you see me? Can you hear me? Do you know who I am?” Jiang Cheng glanced at him. He didn’t say anything. Wei WuXian asked him a few more questions. Arm supporting himself, he finally sat upright. He looked down at the mark of the discipline whip on his chest before laughing bitterly. If the discipline whip struck, it’d be impossible to wipe away the mark of shame. Wei WuXian comforted him despite this, “Stop looking at it. There has to be a way to get it off.” Jiang Cheng slapped him. His strike was so weak, so powerless that Wei WuXian didn’t even flinch, “Hit me. As long as you’ll feel better.”
[...]
If Wei WuXian were the one injured or if somebody else had saved them, he’d immediately say farewell and leave at once, full of determination. However, right now, Jiang Cheng was the one who had been injured. Not only was he injured, he had lost his core as well. He wasn’t in his right mind. No matter what, Wei WuXian couldn’t find any determination.
Chapter 60 Poisons—Part five
Out of the blue, Jiang Cheng spoke up, “Not to do what?” Wei WuXian paused in surprise, turning to him along with Lan WangJi. Jiang Cheng covered his wound with one hand, his voice chilly, “Wei WuXian, you’re such a great, selfless person. You did the best things possible, and you swallowed all the suffering and didn’t let anyone know. What a touching story. I should kneel down and cry in gratitude, shouldn’t I?” Hearing the mocking tone that lacked any courtesy, Lan WangJi’s face grew cold. Jin Ling saw the displeased expression and immediately stood in front of Jiang Cheng, scared that Lan WangJi would kill him with one strike, “Uncle!” Wei WuXian’s expression worsened as well. He never expected Jiang Cheng to make up with him after he found out the truth, but he didn’t think his tone would be as unkind as ever, either. With a moment of silence, he replied, voice muffled, “I never asked you to thank me.”
[...]
In the beginning, it was precisely because he didn’t want to see such a Jiang Cheng that he decided not to tell him.
He remembered every single thing he promised Jiang FengMian and Madam Yu—to help and take care of Jiang Cheng. If someone as unhealthily competitive as him found out about this, he’d be dispirited his whole life, too tortured to face himself. There’d always be something he could never overcome, reminding him that he could only reach where he was because of another’s sacrifice. It wasn’t at all his cultivation and his achievement. No matter if he won or lost, he’d long since lost the right to compete.
Afterwards, it was because Jin ZiXuan and Jiang YanLi died for him that he had no face to let others know. To tell Jiang Cheng after what happened then would be like shirking responsibility, hurrying to demonstrate that he’d contributed as well. It’d be like telling Jiang Cheng, don’t hate me, look I’ve contributed to the YunmengJiang Sect too.
Chapter 102- Hatred - Part Five
At this point, somebody on the side suddenly called, “Wei WuXian!”
Wei WuXian answered immediately, “What?”
Only after he answered did he realize that the one who called him was Jiang Cheng. Wei WuXian felt somewhat surprised. Jiang Cheng didn’t respond directly. Instead, he took something out from his sleeve and tossed. Wei WuXian caught it by instinct and looked, only to find a black, gleaming flute along with a crimson tassel.
It was the ghoul flute, Chen Qing!
As he felt the flute that he was more than familiar with, Wei WuXian didn’t even have the spare time to feel surprised.
Chapter 108: Concealment - Part Two
After a pause, he asked again, “How have Sect Leader Jiang and Jin Ling been?”
Lan JingYi pouted, “They seem pretty fine. Sect Leader Jiang is the same as before, always lashing out at people with his whip. Young Mistress’s temper has been getting better. In the past he could talk back thrice to his uncle after he scolds him once. Now he can do ten times.”
[...]
Hearing Lan JingYi say so, Wei WuXian relaxed slightly. In truth, he knew that these weren’t what he really wanted to ask. But as it sounded like Jiang Cheng and Jin Ling had been doing quite well, there was nothing left to say.
Chapter 116: Extra—Banquet - Part Three
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Thank you
I, of course, respect democracy on this blog, so since the overwhelming majority voted for me to write this terrible, heavy angst, here you go <3
"Da-jiu, what did my mom look like?"
Wei Wuxian sighs, nostalgic, a distant ache throbbing behind an only slightly forced smile. "She was... beautiful, elegant. You got her eyes, you know? When we were children, we would always compare them to chocolate or roasted chestnuts... She had a very warm smile, a soft voice, but even so, she could be incredibly fierce when she wanted to..."
"How did she wear her hair?"
"In all sorts of ways, but she liked braids the most. She practiced on me and your jiujiu a lot."
A snort. "You probably looked ridiculous."
"I did! But it made your mom laugh, and that was more important than me getting made fun of!"
Wind rustles through the falling leaves of the forest trees, the chill warning that winter is a mere few weeks away. The moon shines bright, at its zenith, and wildlife howls and groans in the distance.
"Da-jiu..."
"Hm?"
"Do you think jiujiu will be mad at me?"
Wei Wuxian's smile trembles at the edges. "No, he's never actually mad at you. That's just how he is."
"But he will be mad at you, though..."
"He's always mad at me."
"He shouldn't be... And I shouldn't either."
"Jin Ling-"
"No, listen... Back then, my parents were collateral victims... at the wrong place, at the wrong time. I don't want to be too late telling you this, so... I forgive you. It wasn't your fault."
Wei Wuxian's eyes fill with tears as he reaches to move a few bloody strands away from the boy's face.
"And... I'm sorry I stabbed you back then. I was angry and didn't think..." Jin Ling takes a deep, painful breath. "This isn't your fault either."
Wei Wuxian's eyes try so hard not to trail over the mess of bloody, golden robes on his nephew's clothes, doesn't want to see the extent of the damage anymore. It's all too familiar.
"You... need to tell that dumbass Jingyi that I don't actually hate him." Jin Ling continued, his own eyes filling up, "And... and tell Sizhui that I'm sorry I've been so insufferable back then... I didn't really know what having friends was like and I was... an ass to him even if he only tried to help..."
He blinks, heavily, his eyes starting to glass over. "And... I owe Zizhen... 400 coins for the last book he sent me..."
Wei Wuxian brings the boy close, holds his body against his own, tears endlessly falling down his face as he feels the blood seep into his robes. Jin Ling's growing heavier in his hold, heavier and cold.
"I... really admire you...' His voice comes out as barely above a whisper, raspy and distant, almost like he's talking in his sleep, "...and Hanguang-Jun... and I'm thankful... for having met you..."
"A-Ling..."
"And... thank you... for..." a heaving, last breath, "...staying with me... I really... hate... being alone..."
Jin Ling slumps against Wei Wuxian, lifeless.
There is a smile on his face even so.
He looks so much like his mother.
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wangxianficrecs · 1 year
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it's a long road but we're not alone by Stratisphyre
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it's a long road but we're not alone
by Stratisphyre
M, 61k, Wangxian
Summary: In his madness, they say, the Yiling Patriarch stole into Koi Tower and abducted the widow of Jin Zixuan and her young son, only for all of them to die in a fire in the Burial Mounds shortly thereafter. Sixteen later, Lan Jingyi runs into two rogue cultivators during a night hunt.
Mojo's comments: Such an amazing premise and a well-written story! I'm a little breathless after that ending, and just so happy I dove in. POV moves around, (as does the point in time) and so there's a broad focus over everyone's perspective on the events of the 16 years following wwx's 'death'. I'm particularly fascinated by lxc, whose perspective is so distorted, bless him, but you can see how it all happened and how each step of the way he had only the best intentions. The plot divergence is massive enough that everything is different, and Author is very creative in pulling all the strings together. So. In which jyl kidnaps her wreck of a mourning Yiling Patriarch and forces them both into healing for the sakes of their sons. Lwj mourns, adopts the orphaned kid who reminds him of wwx, and finds a new focus until jingyi literally stumbles over sizhui and jin ling… who all get along like a house afire. So there's reunion, friendship, family feels, treachery and danger, grief, mourning, healing and love. Great story.
canon divergence, somebody lives/not everybody dies, jiang yanli lives, adorable juniors, parenthood, grief/mourning, canon-typical violence, family feels, reunions, golden core reveal, background songxiao, getting together, recovery, sect politics, happy ending
~*~
(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for this hard-working author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)
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justaghostingon · 2 years
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The Yiling Laozu’s Lost Spells part 2 AKA Chaos in Canon
 part 1 
Wei ying and mo xuanyu were originally planning to just run away, but alas, the Mo family plus the lans plus a freaky hand get in the way
Seriously, what was with that freaky hand? Mo Xuanyu’s used to working with weird stuff but nothing like that. Was that what normal cultivators deal with?
He tries to ask Wei Ying, but Wei ying is to busy freaking out over Hanguang-jun showing up, and what if he saw me???!
Mo xuanyu (excited to see his OTP happening): If you’re worried about looking your best, I can help with that.
Wei ying: I don’t want to look my best! I’m the fourth most handsome master! He’ll recognize me! I want you to make me look so different he’ll never guess it was me! Can you do that?
Mo Xuanyu, who both the soul of a theatre kid and literal years of petty frustrations to work out, was more than willing to take up the task. (But not too bad, he does want his OTP to reunite after all) Thus Wei Ying becomes his “Poor old senile grandpa.” Complete with artfully drawn wrinkles and a shawl for warmth.
Wei ying is having way to much fun pretending to be senile though, so Mo Xuanyu guesses he lost there. 
As they travel Mo Xuanyu asks him about the talismans. The Radishes, the release statements, the grass butterflies, he’s had literal years to study these talismans and he doesn't know how they work fully, he has questions. 
Wei ying is thrilled to see someone respects him for something other than his demonic cultivation or the sword path he can no longer follow. He is happy to tell him what he remembers, but its not much, he wrote most of them in a sleepy haze at 2 in the morning, and he kind of suspects Mo Xuanyu knows more than he does at this point.
Is Mo Xuanyu mad that his whole job is the result of a guy’s sleepy 2am ideas? A little. But at least the Yiling Patriach seems mostly interested in sticking around and helping him instead of going off to form his own cultivation path with all his fake-ass fans. Take that Xue Yang. They’re gonna do their own thing, and it’s gonna be awesome
Then they run into Jin Ling
Jin Ling does not take well to seeing his Uncle who one day was there, serving him tea with a peacock tail, and the next day was gone and everyone started calling an incestuous cut-sleeve. He didn’t even say goodbye!
 Wei ying does not take well to Jin ling not taking well, and proceeds to insult him. 
Mo xuanyu slaps a hand over his mouth and says to ignore his “poor senile grandpa”
Wei Ying: Yeah! Respect your elders kid!
Mo Xuanyu: shut up I am begging you
Wei Ying then tries to use a talisman to release little apple but grabs the wrong one
It was the peacock tail one
Mo Xuanyu tackles Wei ying
Jiang cheng comes into the scene to see his nephew and his nephew’s weird uncle have peacock tails, the latter of which is wrestling an old man under a donkey still caught up in the nets.
Jiang Cheng: ....Weird shit?
Jin Ling (nodding): weird shit
As if it couldn’t get any worse, Hanguang-jun appears to free Little Apple, and see Mo Xuanyu and “the old man” rolling around in the dirt.
There’s no way Mo Xuanyu can reveal to him who the old man is now, Not when he saw him rolling in the ground with the love of Hanguang-jun’s life. The assumptions he’ll make!
Mo Xuanyu: I”m taking my very old and totally senile grandpa back on the night hunt now! Bye!
Lan Sizuhi: A night hunt? With a senile elder? Are you sure you don’t want us to look after him until its over? We have Tea!
Mo Xuanyu (shoving Wei ying forward faster): NO thanks! We’re good!
They should have left right then, but they didn’t want to draw any suspicion. That was a mistake
“Did you make this?” Mo Xuanyu yells to Wei ying as they are running from the giant fairy statue.
“No! Why would you think I made it?” Wei ying yells back. “I don’t make every weird thing that happens to us!”
“Yes! Yes you are!”
The statue grabs Jin Ling, and to save him, MO Xuanyu pulls out his most dangerous talisman: the cooking one. 
Now the statue is trying to cook and use jin ling as an ingredient.
Wei ying summons Wen ning just as MO Xuanyu tries again.
Now Wen ning is hit with the cooking talisman. 
There’s a cook off, Wen Ning is winning. Wen Ning makes rock soup out of the statue. Wen Ning is now trying to force the juniors to eat it. The juniors are crying. So is Wen Ning.
Mo Xuanyu realizes one of the is going to have to hug the ghost general to make this stop. He is not doing it. Even if the ghost general is kinda hot for a corpse. He’s not risking getting fed rock soup.
Wei ying does it.
And jiang sheng comes in. Again.
Jiang Cheng: Wei WuXian! 
Mo Xuanyu: NO it was to release the spell I swear!
Jiang cheng whips Wei ying. Mo Xuanyu watches with baited breath, terrified he’ll have lost his friend before he even really got to know him. Hanguang-jun jumps in to Wei ying’s side but its to late, he’s hit. He goes down, But to the shock of all of them, Wei ying gets back up.
“You whipped me!” He says in his absolute worst old man voice. “Unfillital! No respect for your elders! Hitting old men who can’t defend themselves, what has this generation come too? Humph!”
Hanguang-Jun gently helps him to his feet, placing himself between Jiang cheng and wei ying. Wei ying blushes
“Oh now here’s a polite young man,” Wei ying leans into Lan zhan’s space. “And so handsome too! I could eat you up!”
Wei ying thinks he’s being that annoying type of elder who pinches your cheeks and makes lan zhan want to leave quicker. Mo xuanyu wishes Wei ying would stop flirting with his boyfriend before he gets them caught.
“Mark your words,” Goes Lan Zhan, sweeping up Wei ying in his arms.
Mo xuanyu wants to faint.
“why is Hanguang-jun taking that old man?” one of the juniors mutters
“It’s a cutsleeve thing!” MO xuanyu blurts out. “We like older men!” then winces at the very stupid excuse. 
“You would know.” goes the junior nastily. Mo Xuanyu wilts, remembering for the first time in a while what all these people think of him.
Jin ling proceeds to hit said junior in the back with his bow. No one insults his uncle but him. 
 “You’d better come with us,” Lan Sizuhi offers, slipping beside Mo Xuanyu. “You'll be a welcome guest at Cloud recesses, and you’ll want to be with your grandpa of course.”
“I’m allowed?” Mo Xuanyu asked, remembering that Lan Xichen was close to Jin Guangyao. He’d been certain they’d heard the rumors and didn’t want him anywhere near their precious pure cloud recesses. 
“Of course,” Lan Sizuhi smiles. “As if we’d ever ban the brave hero who saved Hanguang-jun and all those rabbits.”
“And the flowers,” Mo xuanyu reminds him, and follows. 
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lanbichenbunny · 1 year
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MDZS Characters at a protest
Wei Ying: He starts the protest but forgets to make a sign.
Lan Zhan: He stands next to Wei Ying and fetched a sign that reads: I’m with Wei Ying. No one knows if he’s protesting or just stating publicly that he’s in a relationship with Wei Ying.
Lan Qiren: Saw Lan Zhan at the protest and was like. Nooo my good nephew!!! (He thinks Lan Zhan is being corrupted to protest by Wei Ying.) Lan Qiren starts a protest against protesting.
Jiang Cheng: Was on his way past and saw Wei Ying protesting and had to disagree with Wei Ying. He joins Lan Qiren protesting about protests, but he’s mad about it, because it’s not what he wanted to do with his day.
Lan Jingyi: He glues himself to the road. No one is sure if he even knows what the protest is about, or wether he just saw it and decided to do it do it because someone always glues themselves to something. (Wei Ying was going to do it, but Lan Zhan said no.)
Jin Ling: He fought with Lan Jingyi to glue himself to the road. He thinks it’s a dumb idea. He just wanted to be the first person to do something. Jiang Cheng saw what he was going to do and yelled “I’ll break your legs get over here!” He’s now stood with protesters against protesting, but he thinks it’s stupid and hopes no one sees him with them.
Lan Xichen: hands out soup and blankets to the protesters, because protesters have rights. He wants to make sure they’re well cared for and their rights are respected.
Jiang Yanli: makes the soup Lan Xichen is giving out.
Lan Shizhui: He tried to stop Lan Jingyi but didn’t get there in time. He fetches Wen Ning and Wen Qing to get him off the road. He also helps Lan Xichen and Jiang Yanil to look after the protesters.
Jin Guangyao: He called the cops of course and tries to smooth it over with Lan Xichen. “I didn’t want anyone to get arrested, I called them in for safety, how was I supposed to know the police would arrest people?”
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mqfx · 5 months
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unfortunately my most prominent jyl thoughts start with the soup. & im no expert on ancient chinese kitchens, but given that lotus root & pork soup is something that simmers for hours, i think that as much as the soup is an act of service & a tried and true "we dont have to talk about it" comfort tactic, its also... a great excuse to duck away from everything going on. the kitchen being the safe space, so to speak! and overall jyl seems more avoidant than confrontational? i havent read mdzs for the details in years can you tell but i think theres a good chance under the right circumstances she could have become jfm 2: shijie edition, in which she can read emotional cues fairly well and she doesn't want anyone to be unhappy, but how proactive she might be about resolving a situation is entirely based on how secure she feels. im not forgetting her valiant defence of wwx "i take insults against him seriously" moment! but theres a difference between an eroding stagnant unhappiness & a situation that is more clear cut. im just not confident about how she would raise jin ling in the whole (waves hand) jin situation if she had not been collateral damage. is this making sense 😭
this is all true but let me make clear that my problem with how the fandom conceptualizes jiang yanli is NOT the soup. I'm not mad about the soup and in fact since it's one of basically three things that we even know about her at all, it stands to reason that when we think about her we're Gonna Have To Mention the Soup.
and one can (if one cares enough about her, which I'm sure you do anon) draw reasonable conclusions about her character based on this thing that she does. after all, everything is (supposed to be) important in a given text. I don't disagree with anything you said. she is a careful, conflict-avoidant person due to her tumultuous childhood with abusive/neglectful parents; despite this, she possesses strong morals and protective instincts. I don't think she would've been bad at raising jin ling because unlike her parents, she and her husband actually loved each other and communicate instead of willfully misunderstanding each other then bottling it all up (if she had married someone she didn't love, then yeah she might've been jfm 2. either way we'll never know because guess fucking what mxtx did)
my ISSUE, which fandom can barely acknowledge let alone address, is that "soup" has become a convenient shorthand to refer to her, but it's not a quality. it's a thing that is associated with her, not her personality. this isn't fair! "avoidant" is a trait, "comforting" is a trait, "kind" is a trait, "average" is a trait, soup's not a fucking trait! and some of that is just the general fandom trend of flattening characters in fanon, but the fact that she's a woman and therefore not paid as much attention compared to the ~Complexities~ of the men doesn't help
and I get that sometimes it's not that serious, sometimes it's for Joaks, but why is it that even when joking people can come up with all sorts of qualities for the men but when it's her it's just that she cooks soup? and in more serious discussions, why is her sole purpose apparently to be emotional support or tragic motivation for her brothers? (because mxtx herself wrote her that way!)
why did mxtx not delve into her reactions or point of view (mdzs is the only one of her novels with switching pov, so she could have)? or even just written more scenes with her? (CQL notably gave the women more scenes. the book is abysmal on this regard.....and in others)
tl;dr mxtx did a shit job of developing her character and that of the other women, and fandom makes this problem worse by not giving a shit. the feedback loop continues. your ask and my answer combined are already more words and effort than mxtx spent on writing her
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incarnadinedreams · 1 year
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What do you like about jc?
Oh my goodness what don't I love about him!
Well, first and most importantly, he has a purple lightning whip.
Secondly, you know how the elements of a tasty dish are salt, fat, acid, heat? Well he's salty, he's acidic, he's a spicy Yunmeng boy, and some sources of mixed repute claim he's got a nice fat ass. All the elements for a delicious snack are right there!!! He has the range, the depth, the complexity!
Jokes aside, a lot of it really is just based on vibes. I just... liked him pretty much immediately. My heart was won at "I'm his uncle. Any last words?" and it only got better from there. He's got most of my favorite lines in the book - whether funny or completely heart-wrenching, both directly in his dialog or about him. His sarcastic comments are always hilarious, and he's often enough actually a voice of reason and responsibility (promptly ignored). The vast majority of the time when he's not in some absurdly extreme and traumatic situation he's being pretty normal and seems perfectly likeable to me.
I enjoy that from the start he's mostly pretty practical. One of the first times we see him, he desperately wants to smack Lan Wangji but he's run the cost-benefit analysis in his mind and it's not worth it, so (grumpily) he does not. Some people point out his 'definitely don't start a petty fight unless you know you can win' reasoning as some sort of point of cowardice, but my reaction to that scene was thank god, finally someone in a fantasy novel has some common fucking sense!
Except, of course, on one very specific topic: Wei Wuxian. And then there's like a 50/50 chance all that consideration goes out the window instantly. A little pinch of unhinged obsession adds so much extra flavor! With the amount of overtime he's pulling in sect conferences he deserves a little derangement from time to time, as a treat. And that intensity goes both ways.
That fervent certainty that Wei Wuxian would be back some day, that not even death could hold him - a conviction bordering on madness, except in the end he was right? Hot.
On the other end, he's willing to sacrifice himself for Wei Wuxian and other people who loves over and over and over again throughout the story (even if he's mad about it), until he can't do that without throwing other people he's responsible for under the bus.
To the point that when we get to the big reveal after Guanyin Temple about how he was captured by the Wens... once the shock fades, you step back and think 'wait, why was that even a surprise to me at all?' The guy just took a sword through the chest for Wei Wuxian like an hour earlier (even if it was unnecessary and therefore mostly embarrassing), and was about to run back into that cave at the Second Siege with no spiritual power and a sword he couldn't even lift three days before that, and yet we're surprised he gave himself up back then?
And of course, the same goes for his nephew and I just love them so much. He doesn't hesitate for a moment to offer himself as a hostage instead of Jin Ling at the temple. He may sometimes struggle to express his love in a way that's more palatable than the prickly sharp thing it can sometimes be, but it's undeniably there. When Jin Ling is crying after the Second Siege, it's Jiang Cheng he goes to without hesitation - and that "Who did this to you?!" line, the way he doesn't hesitate to pull him away somewhere private and stick by his side.
Even things that are meant to cast him in a bad light, like his 400 spirit nets fiasco, show him also anxiously helicopter-uncling his way through baby's first "solo" night hunt, complete with undercover agents just in case, is proof that he at least cares very deeply. I think if you look beyond the surface, it's also pretty obvious why he'd spare no expense and use any method to give his bullied nephew the best debut night hunt possible in a society where talent and prestige are incredibly important to his future ability to consolidate power as the Jin heir. He wants to shield him from the same insecurities and pain he felt, especially where being overshadowed was used against him in ways that had specific negative impacts on his ability to protect people he cared about.
Another of the reasons I love him so much is because his grief is so intense that it's palpable. Those scenes post-fall of Lotus Pier where he's oscillating between numbed shock and fury, just... feel so real, and relatable, and resonate in way that's just horribly accurate. It's like his grief jumps off the page, you can feel the hurricane of horror and loss crashing into him. The scene at Nightless City, that moment where he says "Didn't you say that you could control it, that it would be fine?", where the last of his faith in Wei Wuxian shatters and the fracture is complete, like two halves of a whole have finally snapped apart and there's nothing left... I just love the intensity and desperation.
But even more, he keeps going after. He's stubbornly alive, despite it all, and I don't think he gets nearly enough credit for the fact that he's actually able to handle things pretty well, considering the situations involved. He has a breakdown about it and then he picks himself up and gets back to work. He's remarkably resilient, in ways that aren't necessarily flashy or obvious at first. Too much is made out of the ways he's broken or bitter when for the most part he's actually remarkably functional in the face of horrible traumas!
I have been trying very hard not to just spam my favorite quotes in here but this is really my favoritest favorite (from chapter 61) because it just sums him up so beautifully:
... the most laughable one was the YunmengJiang Sect, the people of which either had been killed or had scattered, leaving only Jiang Cheng, who was younger than even Lan XiChen and was still a child born yesterday, who had nobody in his hands but still dared call himself sect leader, holding up the banner of rebellion as he recruited new disciples.
Because he does the hard work, day in and day out. The boring, tedious, constant work - the endless late nights dealing with the constant problems. But he does it, and he mostly accomplishes what he sets out to do.
It's so sad that all the things he does very well get overshadowed by his insecurities, because in the end, hasn't he done incredible things? Hasn't he survived? Hasn't he gone from the youngest sect leader with nothing and nobody that Wen Ruohan could only laugh at, to "No matter which clan you choose to offend, you shouldn't offend the Jiang clan, and no matter which person you choose to offend, you shouldn't offend Jiang Cheng"?
He might be a little scarred, but isn't he succeeding all the same?
(He should probably hire a PR firm to handle the rumors his resting bitch face causes though.)
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OK so tiny goofy idea. in GW2, one of your character's friends reveals that he bets on each of your battles. Because he's personally *seen* the bullshit you can pull off, he always bets in your favor no matter how long the odds are (you have a reputation, but most people assume you've got to lose *eventually*). By the end of the latest expansion, he's won *millions* off your battles and has opened his own casino, where you get free lodging, drinks, and food for life.
Imagine Wei Wuxian finding out someone has made a tidy sum for the same reason. No one knows who it is, but he finds out it's Nie Huaisang. At first, he's mad, until Nie Huaisang reveals that he'd been setting aside a good chunk (at least 35-40%) of each bet in case he ever came calling.
It's... a *lot*. Like, more than Jin Ling and Lan Wangji's allowances *combined* a lot.
"How many times have you bet on me?"
"Only eight so far."
*So far.*
The bets are being conducted among the gentry (and considering how many people must have been betting *against* him for Huaisang to get this much on only eight bets...), so it's not like he'd be taking money from farmers if he allowed it to keep going, and this way, he would be able to give his husband gifts in return instead of always relying on his money.
But... still...
"I'm well aware of how many times you've refused payment for a night hunt. Just think of it as back pay."
Okay, then. That he can do.
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