Loki Friggson

t. also becoming the joker

He says “I’m not your brother”.

He doesn’t disown Thor. He disowns himself from being Thor’s brother.

This is how Promo is being made, yes :3

Wei Wuxian knows he should be grateful that Lan Xichen is here now, smiling at them from behind Lan Wangji’s shoulder, that they’re not going to be forced to wait outside the entrance of Cloud Recesses in a humiliating manner. But mostly he’s just pissed off, at Jin Zixuan for being a jerk, and at Lan Wangji for the same reason, for thinking forgetting an invitation was an appropriate reason to treat them like this. Shijie and Jiang Cheng are clan heirs, just like Lan Wangji is. He’s pretty sure the idea is for them all to get along here.

It’s an insult, plain and simple, and Wei Wuxian isn’t willing to let the Jiang enter Cloud Recesses like this.

“You are most generous,” he says to Lan Xichen, making a subtle hand gesture behind his back that causes all the Jiang disciples to freeze and fall back, no longer walking towards the entrance. He can practically hear Jiang Cheng grinding his teeth from here, but he doesn’t protest. Rank is a tricky thing with them and the disciples and the best solution they’ve found is to never, ever contradict each other when it counts, even when they think the other person is being an idiot. “However, before we enter, I must request you put up your regular wards. I understand the entrance is currently being guarded,” he inclines his head to the two Lan at the gates like he hadn’t been giving them shit thirty minutes ago, “but that’s no reason to be complacent.”

Pointing out Cloud Recesses nonsensical security system is petty, and a bit of an easy target, but it’s better than nothing.

Except Lan Xichen raises an eyebrow and asks, “What do you mean?”

This is just asking Wei Wuxian to trash his clan’s decisions, which makes no sense. Or he genuinely doesn’t know what Wei Wuxian is talking about, which is concerning enough that this is no longer about making a token protest. “You shouldn’t put up weaker wards just because you have guards here now. Even if it’s an energy drain, you should always have your strongest wards up.”

Lan Wangji is giving him a super bitchy look, which is at least what he’d been expecting. Lan Xichen’s voice is still perfectly pleasant when he says, “We do not alter the wards for shifts. I assure you that our wards are constantly set up to provide maximum protection.”

Uh.

Um.

He looks behind him, partially to hide whatever his face is doing, and partially to look at his siblings. Jiang Cheng shrugs and Shijie presses her lips together and gives a slight shake of her head. Okay, wards are his thing, he hadn’t exactly expected his siblings to notice, but from Shijie’s reaction the Lan brothers aren’t messing with him right now.

“I can’t let my shijie stay here if this is your maximum protection,” he says apologetically. He will march them all down back to Caiyi and put them on the first boat to Lotus Pier.

Lan Xichen’s smile becomes a little fixed. “Our wards are put in place by our clan elders. You have nothing to worry about.”

He could stand here and argue with them about it, but. He sketches a talisman in the air, not even bothering to ink it on paper, and sends it forward with an arrogant flick of his hand that he learned from Madam Yu.

As soon as it hits the wards it fizzles, then it all dissolves, the barrier breaking down like a string being cut.

The Lans all turn to it, incredulous. He didn’t know they had facial expressions, but that’s shock if he’s ever seen it. “They are inadequate. They are ancient and predictable and weak.” He starts sketching in the air again, and this is something that he should grab talisman paper for, but it’s easier for them to see this way. “You use silver as your grounding base, right? The air around it tastes like it. Copper is basic and old and resists meddling better, although iron will give you more flexibility for modifications. Your also weakened by using a continuous line rather than a feedback loop. Once one section breaks, the rest follow suit, which means someone only needs to find one weak spot to bring it down.” He has to put his weight into this one, shoving the glowing characters into the nearest pillar and watching his red spiritual energy flare across it. The warding barrier is back up, but different than it was before. Better. “That’ll do for now. The Jiang are happy to provide aid in updating your wards.”

If they don’t accept that help, they’re going home. He cannot handle the stress of being worried about all his martial brothers and sisters all the time because the Lan haven’t updated their practices since Lan An.

They’re all staring at him now. He shifts his weight from one foot to the other, not liking their stares, because he’s not sure what to do with them. They’re not hostile, he doesn’t think.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Shijie says, voice sweet and full of false politeness. “We may have neglected to introduce ourselves properly. This is Wei Wuxian.”

Those stares are sharper now. “Wei Wuxian,” Lan Xichen repeats slowly. “The Jiang’s first disciple is Wei Wuxian.”

“That’s me,” he agrees cheerfully.

“You are – young,” Lan Xichen settles on finally.

“The invitation said all disciples below twenty one,” Wei Wuxian says, blinking. “I’m fifteen, so I’m here. I distributed my duties among the senior disciples before I left.”

“I encourage you to accept his aid. Senior Brother Wei is a master of talismans.” Ooh, Jiang Cheng must have been more pissed off by all this than he let one. He never calls him Senior Brother.

Lan Xichen looks back at the barrier he’d just put up and says, “I see that.” His smile when he looks at them is somehow both more fixed and more genuine. “I will discuss it with my uncle, but perhaps we do need a bit of an update.” He bows and gestures to the gate. “We welcome the Jiang to Cloud Recesses.”

Lan Wangji finds Wei Wuxian to be infuriating.

His attitude and his rule breaking and his – everything is bad enough all on its own, but it’s not the worst part.

It’s how skilled he is.

If anyone thought to question how someone as young as Wei Wuxian could be named the first disciple of a major sect, they don’t have those questions for long. He holds his own against over dozen Lan sect elders and even Uncle, arguing against their wards and proposing new ones, thoughtlessly sketching complicated talismans in the air with nothing but his own spiritual energy as if it costs him nothing, as if his golden core is a bottomless well of power that he can borrow against indefinitely.

It’s the complete opposite to how he acts in class, to how he jokes around with the other classmates, to how he stands in front of Lan Wangji and laughs and practically dares him to do something about it. How can someone this powerful be this immature?

He finds another piece to the puzzle one morning before classes when he and Xichen take an out of the way path and end up stumbling across a clearing filled with Jiang disciples.

It’s early still, not even yet time for breakfast, and now Lan Wangji realizes why the Jiang are forever running late to the first meal of the day.

Wei Wuxian stands there in his dark practice clothes, leading all the Jiang in a complicated sword sequence. Even Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli are there, following along perfectly but clearly following instead of leading.

“Good,” Wei Wuxian says, breaking form even as the rest of the clan keeps going. He walks through them as they glide through one form then the other, focus tilting his mouth into a frown and darkening his eyes. He adjusts some disciples posture and movements, easily moving around the flashing blades. “Enough. We’ll get started on the next part of the sequence tomorrow morning.”

Groans arise from the disciples, except for the Jiang siblings who are amused.

Wei Wuxian tuts and shakes his head. “Look, just because we’re away from home-”

“We can’t slack off. What would Madame Yu say?” one disciple pipes up.

Another one adds in a poor imitation of Wei Wuxian’s voice, “Why waste a perfectly good excuse to show up your seniors! Think of how impressed they’ll be with all your progress.”

“What if after a couple months here you forget how to hold your sword properly and I have to beat it into you? No one wants that,” pipes up a third one in a slightly better imitation of Wei Wuxian’s voice.

Jiang Cheng is laughing so hard leaning on his sister’s shoulders to stay upright while she’s busy smothering her giggles into her sleeve.

Wei Wuxian scowls. “Quiet, all of you! I get no respect around here. Off you go. If you hurry, some of us might actually get to breakfast on time for once.”

As one, they all bow to Wei Wuxian and say, “Thank you, Senior Brother Wei,” which Lan Wangji has never heard them call him after that first day, and then they’re breaking rank, laughing and sweat soaked and grinning as they hurry to change.

Lan Wangji sees when the first of them notice him and Xichen, their eyes going wide as they reach out to frantically slap the disciple next to them. Xichen lets out a soft exhale that in other circumstances would be a laugh.

Wei Wuxian notices them soon enough, his face cycling through several emotions before settling on forced cheer. “Lan Xichen! Lan Wangji! I hope we didn’t disturb you?”

The disciples continue to edge out of the clearing, except for the Jiang siblings who come to stand at Wei Wuxian’s back.

“Not at all,” Xichen says politely. “Do you do this every morning, then?”

“Pretty much,” Wei Wuxian answers, which is a yes.

“Why are you keeping this a secret? Why not explain the reason for your late arrival to the first meal?” Lan Wangji asks. The Jiang had been the subject to several lectures and punishments and they’d never offered up any defense to their actions.

Wei Wuxian shrugs. “Well, we do arrive late, so. Besides. What does it matter what other people think? We know what we’re doing.”

That leaves Lan Wangji speechless. How can Wei Wuxian believe this level of dedication, this amount of extra work and effort, is simply unremarkable?

“I see,” Xichen says, and something in his brother’s voice makes Lan Wangji’s spine stiffen. That tone of voice usually means that Xichen is about to do something that Lan Wangji is going to regret. “We should spar sometime, Wei Wuxian.”

Xichen wouldn’t spar against a foreign disciple normally, the difference in skill level too great, but. Wei Wuxian isn’t just a visiting foreign disciple. He’s the first disciple of Lotus Pier.

Jiang Cheng scowls but a spark enters Wei Wuxian’s eyes. “I would like that, Lan Xichen.”