#denira

The thing about Nie Huaisang, Jiang Cheng drunkenly thought, was that he was like a bird.

The conclusion itself was nothing new. It had popped in his mind more than once, and he knew others two had drawn the comparison. What was new, however, was the realisation of what that meant.

Until recently, Jiang Cheng had made the same mistake as others. Nie Huaisang was like a bird, because he was pretty, because he was nervous, because he was small and delicate. And all that was true, of course it was true, but it wasn’t the whole truth.

Not everything with feathers was a songbird, Jiang Cheng realised that evening as the two of them got thoroughly drunk in the Unclean Realm.

Sometimes, what people mistook for a canary happened to be a shrike.

“You’re staring,” Nie Huaisang complained, pouring more wine for the both of them. Jiang Cheng knew he’d have a hangover in the morning. Even his golden core wasn’t enough to keep up with how much Nie Huaisang had started drinking since his brother’s death. “Not that I blame you. I am very handsome. Everyone should stare.”

“Shut up, you vain idiot,” Jiang Cheng grumbled. If his cheeks felt warm, well, they’d been drinking a lot.

Nie Huaisang laughed, and leaned toward Jiang Cheng with a very stupid grin.

“You,” he said, tapping a finger on Jiang Cheng’s nose, “are small and full of anger. So much anger. Amazing.”

“Takes one to know one,” Jiang Cheng retorted, grabbing him by the wrist, only to find himself unsure what to do next. Nie Huaisang laughed again. “I’m angry but you’re overflowing with rage, Nie zongzhu.”

Laughter died in Nie Huaisang’s throat, his grin freezing into a threatening grimace for a moment. Suddenly his eyes weren’t so unfocused anymore, instead staring at Jiang Cheng with frightening intensity.

This much wine, and the bastard was only pretending to be drunk, Jiang Cheng realised numbly.

It should have been a worrying thought, but if Jiang Cheng’s heart started beating harder, it wasn’t quite with fear.

Songbirds had never interested him much but birds of prey… 

I picked the nicest questions from an ask meme I saved. Every other question was asking for favorites haha

Hahahaha, yes, that’s why I asked! XD hard to find stuff that doesn’t want favorites...

Windows/tabs - about 20 or so?

I’m the leader and/or the idiot that gets stuck doing the whole thing because everyone else doesn’t care

I walked into and then fell down some concrete steps because my glasses were too fogged up to see

Hey friends! You’re too sweet! I lumped these two asks together because they kind of both address the same thing, which is the actions of the elders. On tumblr and on AO3, I’ve had a lot of friends really upset with the way the elders acted. Rightfully so, since they made our poor boy commit honour su*cide. 

However, I thought now is probably a good time to shed some light on the cultural and historical implications of their actions, and to perhaps play devil’s advocate a little bit. 

The truth is, what the elders did within context is not at all outrageous. In fact, given how I’ve set up the story, to ask Wei Wuxian to die was the only thing they could’ve done since Yunmeng Jiang was unwilling to accept a divorce. 

I will explain. 

Because historical Chinese society was very gendered, I invite y’all to imagine for one second that there is no magic in this AU. Imagine this is a historical au and imagine Wei Wuxian as a woman. (I hate the heteronormativity of it, but in the setting of the story, by marrying into Gusu Lan Sect, he essentially has cast himself in that gendered role. There are no same sex marriages historically that I can draw parallels with... as far as I know.)

I believe Jiang Yanli in part 3 explains some of this in her internal monologue. She also said that the Gusu Lan family is within their right to do whatever they want. Her last in chapter three was “.. then by the week’s end, A-Cheng could very well be the only brother she has left.” She knew right away that death was a possibility. 

You see, there is no forgiveness for any woman caught having an affair. No forgiveness of any kind. You will not find forgiveness from strangers, from public opinion, from your neighbour’s cousin twice removed. No one. In historical texts, 七出 (seven leaves) outlines the 7 reasons a man can reasonably divorce his wife. 

Reason #1 is if the wife is unkind/unfilial to her husband’s parents (Right here, you can see just how different the priorities were in ancient Chinese society, how seriously ancient society took “respect your elders”, and why the Elders of Gusu Lan have so much power. This sets the stage for some of my later points.) 

Reason #2 is no offspring. If she is unable to have children, her husband may also divorce her, although since Chinese society was polygamous until mid 1940s, this is usually not an issue because the wife can always just allow her husband to find a concubine. 

Reason number #3 is affair.   

I should also point out that “divorce” as we understand in modern society is not the same “divorce” that I speak of historically. Historically, there are two types of ending for marriages. 1) an amicable separation or so called “he-li” 和离, and 2)xiu 休. An amicable separation is almost always a huge negotiation, requiring the input of elders from both families. A man and a woman cannot just wake up one day and have an amicable separation. Also, amicable separations are typically to “save face” and is practiced by large gentry and noble families, like the Gusu Lans and Yunmeng Jiangs. As well, an amicable separation is usually done when the woman hasn’t done anything “wrong”, as in the 7 reasons indicated above. Anytime she has “committed” any one of the 7 “sins”, her husband is within full rights to “xiu” her without consulting anyone. A woman’s station in society doesn’t necessarily even save her from being “xiu”-ed, they just... take on different forms. An Empress for example can literally never be “xiu-ed”, BUT, if she does something wrong like...say for example she is a jealous lady who can’t do a good job managing the inner palace, the Emperor can “废后“ - as in abolish her of her empress status. She is probably confined to “the Cold Palace” 冷宫 (a desolated area of the palace that’s essentially a prison) for the rest of her life. If she did something VERY wrong, like say was caught having an affair, she may live (and be sent to the Cold Palace) if her maiden family is powerful/influential enough in court, but if her maiden family is just so-so, she is definitely 100% dead. She will usually be given 3 options: dagger, a white silk cloth, and a cup of wine. Basically, stab herself, hang herself or poison herself. 

Now, that’s an empress. From empress downwards, all women, noblewoman and princesses included, can be xiu-ed. 

I consulted my mother on this just to make sure I’m right, and she said, yeah, a woman divorced by her husband historically is a very serious outcome. Like.... “she could literally never face society again” kind of serious, so seriously in fact she “might as well be dead.” Her maiden family would not just...welcome her back with open arms. No. They’d send her off somewhere hidden away from sight. 

As a matter of fact, once a woman is found guilty of committing a serious infraction, affair being the most scandalous, her maiden family may not even stand up for her because....well... she did something “wrong”. It is seen as more righteous if they allow her to die because then it’s like... her death restored her honour or she at least was good enough to face the consequences of her actions (All bullshit I know, but it is what it is). In fact, some large families with good reputations they can’t afford to besmirch will actively disown her. 

Now let’s bring this back to Wei Wuxian. As Jiang Yanli mentioned in chapter 3, if Gusu Lan wanted to be a dick, they’d just divorced Wei Wuxian out right. That would’ve been the dick move. But they didn’t do that. They wanted to give the Jiangs an olive branch. As a matter of fact, had the affair just been just a thing within Cloud Recesses, the Lans would’ve allowed for an amicable separation, even though they were within their rights (technically) to divorce Wei Wuxian. But...for whatever reason (I mean... I know the reason, you don’t haha), the news of the affair became rapidly disseminated such that literally everyone knows. Now both families are in a sticky spot.  

One, Zewu-jun is a prominent cultivator. To be cheated on in historical terms is a thing to be laughed at (fragile egos of manhood I suppose). To Lan Xichen’s behaviour, you really can’t voice any criticism. He’s gone above and beyond what is culturally expected as kind. 

Two, the marriage is finished. Now that the affair is exposed, to continue would be a farce and cause more reasons for ridicule. 

I knew pretty much since I started writing this AU that if I exposed the affair, one way or the other Wei Wuxian was gonna have to “die” if I wanted any semblance of reality. 

The only other scenario where he wouldn’t have died is if Lan Xichen is allowed to marry concubines. Then, Gusu Lans could’ve just secluded (imprison) Wei Wuxian for the rest of his life. Any woman or man Lan Xichen marries thereafter still wouldn’t be his “wife” or “husband” because he technically never had a divorce. They would all be concubines, and I don’t think Lan Xichen is the kind of man to do that to someone he loves. Also, Lan Wangji would have lost any and all chances to be with Wei Wuxian since they will never let him out. In that case, wangxian is done. 

I know it doesn’t make sense from a modern stance point, but what the Elders did was not only “right” but “reasonable”. Was it kind? I would even make an argument for kind. They intend to bury and honour Wei Wuxian after death (and that’s very important because funeral and afterlife in this culture are taken very seriously), and they will allow Lan Wangji to send him off at the funeral. No family in historical China would do that. 

jfdkfhdkslalhgjdfk

13. Unpopular opinion about XXX character?

I’ve managed to stay clear of Jiang Cheng discourse for like 6 months now so I’m gonna continue that route lol

We don’t actually get a lot about Lan QiRen from mxtx but I propose that the two characters that most of us love to death (Lan XiChen and Lan WangJi) are the way they are because of Lan QiRen, not in spite of him 

20. What is the purest ship in the fandom?

SongXiao hands down, in probably every sense of the word

blacklist salty asks tag to not see these

I just answered lan jingyi for Pat. 

Mianmian:  Would you rather pursue your dream, or opt for a more stable life?

uh.. my dream is a stable life. ok. actually my dream is to do well enough and enjoy my job and get paid enough i can retire one day before i’m too old. and once that happens i wanna travel and learn about tea in china and taiwan and THEN open up a quaint little teashop where i just try to make good tea and teach people about tea and break even and pay a few people a living wage. so yes. lol. 

I haven’t thought about this before, to be honest. I don’t think Jingyi would go crazy with the gift giving, but yeah, making his gifts himself sounds very likely! Maybe he’d even make a new grass butterfly for his hair every month (a visual gift for Sizhui’s eyes!), and Sizhui gets to keep whichever grass butterfly Jingyi wore the month before. I’m not sure what other kinds of gifts Jingyi would give Sizhui since they’re from a well off clan and thus want for nothing. And given how austerely the Lans live, I don’t see either of them wanting too many non-essential luxuries. Perhaps a tassel for Sizhui’s guqin cover?

Anyway, I like to think that Jingyi might commission a jade pin for Sizhui as well so they’d match haha

kinda inspired by @bloody-bee-tea ‘s AU where jc rescues demonic cultivators because, welp, it’s a good au

Jiang Cheng handed the young woman to Jiang Wanhui who took her toward the carriage. The woman (barely a girl really, Jiang Cheng was almost certain he’d been lied to about her age) didn’t protest, too numb and exhausted for it. Even if she had, Jiang Wanhui knew how to handle this.

The girl hadn’t been their worst case, but she hadn’t been their easiest one either. It was always harder with demonic cultivators who had blood on their hands, because they knew there was no going back once they had killed someone.

Thought there was no going back.

“You take too many risks,” Mo Xuanyu complained next to him, grabbing his arm to inspect it.

Jiang Cheng too checked on it, and grimaced at the deep gash there. He’d had worse of course, and the golden core Wei Wuxian gave him was strong enough that it wouldn’t leave a scar. Still, this was unpleasant, and the attack had slashed right through a set of robes he liked. 

“I live for a sense of thrill,” Jiang Cheng grumbled, trying to pull his arm away, in vain. 

Mo Xuanyu’s grip on him tightened, and he glared at his sect leader.

“I swear, I’m pretty sure I have aged ten years since meeting you!”

“You have been with us for eight years, so that checks out,” Jiang Cheng retorted, finally managing to free himself. “I didn’t know she had a knife, and I needed to show her I wasn’t going to harm her.”

“So you let her harm you instead.”

Jiang Cheng rolled his eyes. It was part of the risks, and they both knew it. Mo Xuanyu, the first demonic cultivator he’d taken in, had stabbed him in the stomach when Jiang Cheng had come to investigate the slaughter at Mo Manor. It was almost impossible for these things to happen without some spilled blood, because people who resorted to those methods were always desperate, and rarely caught his attention until they’d already gone too far.

A small wound on his arm wasn’t such a big price to pay, and Jiang Cheng would know to be careful about the sect that had taken in that girl. Demonic cultivators came in clusters sometimes.

“Let’s get that kid home,” Jiang Cheng replied, motioning for the carriage to start moving. They’d fly closeby, in case there were problems. “You can scold me there.”

“It’s not about scolding,” Mo Xuanyu grumbled. “It’s about you taking too many risks when you don’t need to. If you’d just let me…”

“No,” Jiang Cheng cut him, stepping on his sword.

“I’m just saying…”

“No.”

Mo Xuanyu huffed, getting on his own sword, arms crossed against his chest.

“And why not?” he insisted as they took flight. “I can talk to them. I know how these people feel. I’ve been there! If you just let me…”

“I’m not risking you,” Jiang Cheng snapped.

“So we have to watch you risk yourself instead?” Mo Xuanyu retorted hotly. “It’s not just me! We all think you’re going too far! If you’d just let us do this…”

Jiang Cheng clenched his fists.

Sometimes, just sometimes, he missed how shy and quiet Mo Xuanyu had been when he’d joined them, always polite, always careful not to bother anyone, a stark contrast to the assertive and loud mouthed young man he’d become.

Then Jiang Cheng remembered why Mo Xuanyu used to be so demure, the constant fear in his eyes for the first year or two, and…

Being loud mouthed wasn’t such a bad thing after all.

“This is my responsibility,” Jiang Cheng said. “If something goes wrong, it’s my fault, so I might as well be the one taking the risk.”

“That makes sense,” Mo Xuanyu replied, his tone making it clear he found the explanation particularly stupid. “I’m sure when Jin Ling is an orphan again, he’ll be glad to know it’s because you’ve never learned to delegate.”

Jiang Cheng glared at him. Mo Xuanyu looked utterly unimpressed.

“Or maybe it’s just that you don’t trust us,” he went on. “Can’t blame you. You know what it leads to, trusting a demonic cultivator.”

That was a low blow. The accusation was shocking enough that Jiang Cheng almost lost balance.

It wasn’t that he never compared those people he’d taken in to Wei Wuxian. Mo Xuanyu in particular had reminded him of Wei Wuxian at first. The two of them had been equally pathetic upon arriving to the Lotus Piers, terrified to take space, unsure how long their new good luck would last. 

But none of those people were a replacement for Wei Wuxian, even if Jiang Cheng had taken them because of Wei Wuxian.

“I trust you,” Jiang Cheng hissed. “All of you.”

“Then show it,” Mo Xuanyu retorted. “Let us help you with this. Let me help you with this,” he begged, flying closer to grab Jiang Cheng’s unharmed arm. “I’ve lost enough. I’m not losing you as well. Let. Me. Help.”

Jiang Cheng huffed, and said nothing.

He’d lost enough as well.