Hi! I found your blog only recently, and I've been reading you meta, and I just wanted to thank you ^^. I share many of your opinions (I've been deleting like, a dozen drafts since reading your blog because you had already summarized the same points). I've sometimes felt somewhat alone in the fandom, so reading you have been great for me.
Hi there,
Thank you for taking the time to say something nice during my day of saltiness and pettiness! I’m glad my meta allowed you to feel a little bit less alone in this fandom: having people respond and engage with my meta posts has done the same for me.
I hope the drafts you deleted are giving you more time to write meta about other topics (I hope as well that it’s not discouraging to see someone else post about it before you did)!
I think I answered this? But I can’t find where lol
I ended up settling on Song ZiChen because he’s literally the only character I’ve shipped with more than one person. But now that I think about it, I would also say Jiang YanLi probably because there’s Wen Qing and Mian Mian and Jin ZiXuan (I do really like them together at the end there) and I’ve seen Jiang YanLi + Lan XiChen which I think would be a really interesting dynamic to explore
although tbh the first thing I thought of w lxc and jyl was that mr. bennet quote from p&p about jane and bingley “You are each of you so complying, that nothing will ever be resolved on; so easy, that every servant will cheat you; and so generous, that you will always exceed your income”
27. Least shippable character?
Wen Chao like holy crap I just have no interest on inflicting that incel on anyone
Thanks to @merelhyn for 1) this post, 2) having a conversation with me about it at an ungodly hour, and 3) reading the story over before me posting. I shoved a lot of head canons into the story. I guess I’ll ramble at the end about some of them. I can’t think of any content warnings? If you see one I need to mention, please let me know so i can put it in the tags. :)
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覆載群生仰至仁，發明萬物皆成善。
“Through the years, living things strive for humanity; Since their creation all things improve.” -- opening poem of Journey to the West by Wu ChengEn
Jiang Cheng felt a shift in his bed and suddenly Wei Ying’s voice sounded by his ears. “Jiang Cheng! Jiang Cheng! Wake up!”
“Go away. It’s too early,” he turned to go back to sleep. Why was Wei Ying awake at this time?
“But Jiang Ch~eng! It’s important! I think my golden core formed!” Wei Ying said in a hushed whisper as he shook the other boy.
Jiang Cheng bolted up. “What? How? I work so much harder than you! Have you been practicing without telling me?”
“Not on purpose! I mean, I don’t know!” Wei Ying waved his hands defensively. Then he paused and added, contemplative and thoughtful, “Well, I guess when I’m swimming in the lake, part of me is thinking about how spiritual energies feel.The way the water covers my skin and how my spirit and meridians respond. I like the way the energies feel when I move through the water and when I direct my Qi flow into the water. When we eat Shijie’s soup, I like the warmth of it going down my throat and I imagine the calming spirit from the soup seeping into me. I think I’m always looking for how our Qi interacts with us. Do you not do that? I just assumed you did.”
Jiang Cheng’s eyes widened. He spent all his free time working on his spiritual energy but he definitely didn’t work on it while eating or playing or swimming. Wei Ying’s approach made so much sense! If only he shared earlier. Annoyed, he punched Wei Ying in the chest, “What? No! I’m too busy trying to keep you from getting into trouble! And I can’t think over your incessant chatter anyway!”
Wei Ying allowed himself to flop backwards from the punch. “Do you want to feel for it, Jiang Cheng? I want to see if you can tell I’ve changed.” He offers his wrist to the other boy.
Jiang Cheng reached out and set his middle three fingers on Wei Ying’s wrist. He found the other boy’s pulse and followed the energy flow up. Sure enough, there was a small seed in the center of Wei Ying’s chest. It pulsated in synchrony with Wei Ying’s heartbeat, sending out small waves of energy. Jiang Cheng withdrew his hand, sighing.
“Jiang Cheng,” Wei Ying said, excited. “If I got mine, I’m sure you’ll end up with yours in a few days! You’re never actually behind. Not when it matters. And plus, you work so much harder than I do!”
Jiang Cheng scoffed. “I know I do. It doesn’t make sense that you get everything first and you seem to be slightly better than me.”
“Don’t be jealous! It’s just because I got used to thinking on my feet on the streets!” Wei Ying said, trying to diffuse Jiang Cheng’s jealousy and insecurities. “It’s not like a day or two will matter in the long run anyway. It’s so tiny right now. It’s about the size of a lotus seed, I’d say. Maybe when yours form it’ll be the size of our spirit bell! And if you form yours in the next five days, you’d still have gotten a golden core at a younger age than me. I am your Shi-ge for something, remember? ”
Jiang Cheng pushed Wei Ying off the bed. “Well, Shi-ge, I guess you’ll have to help me get mine soon! Let’s go train!”
He jumped out of bed, stretched briefly, and ran into the courtyard. Wei Ying quickly followed.
~~
Seven days later, Jiang Cheng woke up with a golden core. The two of them immediately found Jiang Fengmian to ask for courtesy names and swords.
“Dad! I have a golden core!” Jiang Cheng yelled down the hallways of Lotus Pier.
“Uncle Jiang! We both have golden cores!” Wei Ying’s voice joined in.
Jiang Fengmian put down his brush and looked up from his work. “Come here, let me feel.” Both boys rushed up and offered their wrists. He tested their cores and found two small lotus seeds beating with youthful vigor. He smiled. “Very good.”
“So how do we pick a courtesy name? And what do we need to do to get a sword?” Wei Ying asked, words tumbling from his mouth without pause. “Do we have to find the materials? Do we have to forge it ourselves? Is there a trial or a test? Will we have to infuse it with energy from our golden core before it can be forged?”
Jiang Fengmian placed a hand on Wei Ying’s head to calm the boy. Then he placed his other hand on Jiang Cheng’s head and said, “Per Jiang family traditions, you must determine what is most true for yourself. Pick names and sword components from that. The best swords develop spirits. It would be wise to give them a vessel that resonates with your morals and your identity. We can pick your courtesy names after your swords are forged. Now go, and present something for me tomorrow.”
Both boys nodded solemnly, gave each other a grin, and ran out of Jiang Fengmian’s study.
~~
After meeting with Jiang Fengmian, Jiang Cheng ran to tell Yu Ziyuan his news. Wei Ying, not wanting to incur the woman’s wrath, decided to take a walk instead, his Uncle Jiang’s words echoing in his ears. He had a lot to think about.
Wei Ying’s father was a servant to Uncle Jiang. A close friend, but still a servant. He had no status. And Wei Ying’s mother was as elusive as her name indicated. He never got any stories about her, though he asked. Where, then, was their child’s identity rooted? How, from a lack of identity, can Wei Ying figure out the sort of vessel that would fit his sword?
Lost in thought, Wei Ying wandered out of Lotus Pier grounds. His feet carried him to the first tree he climbed after arriving at Yunmeng. Perhaps only a couple decades old, the tree stood in a clearing. Wei Ying walked up and put his hand on the tree, “Hey old friend. I’m surprised I’m here again. I don’t have anything sad to say to you today. I guess I’m just here to think.” He walked around the tree a few times, fingers trailing along on the trunk.
You came to me that day. I realized, when you touched me, that you had changed. As you walked around me and spoke to me, I knew you would leave me one day. You who I’ve always known.
Wei Ying grabbed onto the lower branches and pulled himself up. The large leaves batted him in the face. Wei Ying laughed and climbed higher. A few minutes later, he had gone as far as he was willing to climb. The leaves did a good job of hiding him but he could see out and watch Yunmeng. He sat down and leaned against the main branch. The familiar shape of the boughs brought back familiar feelings.
Your tears were what woke me. I heard you cry and tasted your anxiety and fear. I watched you fall. I was powerless to protect you. After you and the larger child left, the blood you spilt seeped down and I took it in. The earth did not deserve any of you.
This was the first tree that he had climbed when he arrived at Yunmeng. That was the night he became friends with Jiang Cheng. That was the night he first tasted Shijie’s Lotus Root and Pork Rib soup.
I watched you grow, your spirit bright and strong. Your laughter felt like sunlight. It grew my spirit as sunlight grew my body. Your cries hurt like passing storms. But weathering them made my spirit stronger. I swore to shelter you.
This tree has been his safe haven when Madam Yu got mad, when local dogs chased him, when he wished he could remember more about his parents. He remembered climbing the tree, hiding in the tree, crying in the tree, and falling from the tree when he inevitably fell asleep.
You fed me, unknowingly. I drank in your tears. From them, I learned of human suffering. From them, I understood loneliness, insecurity, and pain. How does one so small feel so much?
Wei Ying put his hand on the tree and channeled some of his spiritual energy into the main branch. “You’re as much part of me as you’re part of Yunmeng, aren’t you? I can’t believe you’ve been here with me through everything."
Either by his words or by sheer coincidence, he heard a crack and saw a lower branch about the thickness of his upper arm break and fall to the ground. His eyes lit up and he patted the trunk twice. “Of course, you and I are the same here. Thank you old friend.”
I could not tell you not to go. So I did what I could. I went with you.
Wei Ying climbed down and picked up the branch. It was about a meter and a half long and four to five fingers width in diameter. The break was surprisingly smooth and the wood was much less wet than he expected. He smiled. This is exactly what he hoped to find.
~~
Jiang Cheng presented Jiang Fengmian with four aspects for his sword design: two metal sculptures, one of a snake, one of a toad, a jar with five centipedes, and a jar of purple pigment. “Father, I present to you the elements for my sword. First, the purple is Yunmeng. My future responsibility and my family. The other three objects represent three of the five poisons. As I am the son of Mother, the Purple Spider, and you, the Water Scorpion, I thought it would be only fitting for me to take the other three. I come from you, I hope to take the best of you two and become more. Furthermore, it will only do me good to remember the three poisons of Buddihst teachings. Calling my sword Sandu will remind me of both my roots and my faults.”
Jiang Fengmian nodded approvingly and Jiang Cheng beamed. Jiang Fengmian then turned to Wei Ying.
“A-Ying, what did you choose and why?”
Wei Ying thought about Jiang Fengmian’s question and offered two answers. “I chose wood because it represents what you have done for me. Prior to being taken in, I was but 不材之木，無所可用 (wood that cannot be crafted, useless). Your raising me made me what I am today. I want to have a wooden sheath and hilt to remember from whence I came. I also believe trees, like lotuses, reflect the Yunmeng Jiang motto. 禽獸固有群矣，樹木固有立矣 (birds and beasts gather in flocks and herds; the trees stand in place). Trees know their lines and what they will bend to and what they will weather. We also know our moral lines and stand by them. Holding a sword made of such, I hope to do the same.”
“What about its name?” Jiang Fengmian prompted.
Wei Ying fell silent. In his head dozens of names flew by. He dismissed all of them as unworthy of his sword. Finally, Wei Ying looked up and blurted “Suibian. Whatever you want to call it, Uncle Jiang. Suibian. I defer to your wisdom.”
Suibian. Whatever. These two characters that tumbled from your lips I knew to be truer than anything anyone else could say. I wanted no other name. It reflected your spirit. It reflected my will. How could you suggest anyone else try to name me anything else?
~~
As my body plunged into fire, I clung onto your words. Whatever. I insist on whatever. The flames roared around me, trying to force me docile. I screamed back my desires. I have will! I choose this! Finally the flames yielded and I molded them for my own use. I will be your whatever, as long as you let me stay by your side.
When the swords left the forge, both boys eagerly grabbed their weapon.
Jiang Cheng’s Sandu held the poisonous motifs -- snakes intertwined to form the cross guards and a toad sat atop its hilt. The five entangled centipedes were embedded in Sandu’s heart. The sheath’s Yunmeng-purple surface displayed a snake skin texture. The sword epitomized a deadly elegance befitting the Yunmeng heir.
Wei Ying’s sword was a masterpiece of intertwined metal and wood. The hilt seemed to be of plain wood, yet it conformed to Wei Ying’s grip as if it were whittled for that sole purpose. The metal rippled around the sheath, wrapping around the wood like the waters of Yunmeng wrapping around Lotus Pier. Upon the wood of the sheath were engraved the characters 随便 (Suibian.)
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Notes:
1) So, per traditional chinese medicine, the spider is not one of the five poisons. There’s a salamander/lizard instead. I believe it has to do with what you use to make extracts/tonics. However, in many Wuxia novels, the reptile is replaced with spider... and for my motif, i went with the spider. CQL is a very wuxia heavy xianxia show anyway. :)
2) We know NOTHING about the parents so i made up the thing about Jiang Fengmian’s moniker. It sounded cool to me. That way he gets to be a poison. It rounded out 5 with Sandu and JC’s sense of family and duty. The water thing was just being from Yunmeng.
3) Per CQL aesthetics, the golden core is separate from the dantian that Wuxia talks about. I’m making that assumption here.
4) Once i learned courtesy names were given historically at a later age, it really bothered me. Since i figured it’s a coming of age thing, I started headcanoning courtesy names were given at the same time as when the golden core formed. That would explain why wwx, jc, lwj etc have courtesy names so young.
5) If you paid attention to CQL, you’ll know i framed the tree as a young Yao to start and then it shoved its spirit into the branch which i guess would make it a Guai. I don’t know if that even works... but if monsters can eat spiritual cognition, what’s to say wwx’s tears etc didn’t wake up a little creature. It would explain Suibian’s loyalty that @merelhyn referred to in her post. If the wood/tree imprinted on WWX even before it became Suibian... then of course it would seal itself and of course it would have the words carved even if WWX wasn’t a ancient cultivator.
6) I really like the idea of WWX’s bendy flexible brain just finding ways to cultivate 24/7. I wanted to share it so tada. you get that here too.
Ok. that’s it. oooof. if you’ve stayed here this long, thank you for reading! <3
Hi! Do you have recs about fics where WWX get a Lan forehead ribbon of his own when marrying LWJ? (not fics where he is raised as a Lan since childhood). I've read a few but it seems rare and I actually really liked the dynamic of WWX being acknowledged by his husband's sect
I think I’ve only read one fic where this happens and I annoyingly can’t remember which one...
I love your ficlets! I read them all in the last few days and they are really good. I am grateful you shared so much with us in such a short time! I hope writing them still stay a joyful activity for you (even when you break all our hearts), and would largely prefer you to be happy and not stressed over daily updates. I guess I mean: take all the time you need, we will still love your writing!
Thank you <333
Yes, I’m hoping that by cutting back early while I’m still enjoying it, I won’t actually burn out and stop writing altogether. I’ll still be writing every day (as a sort of discipline/routine thing), but I’m going to try to force myself not to post straight away and actually read over/edit ficlets properly hahaha
Hi! (I'm really curious about your Chinese playlist ^^)
i rerolled for you as well because I got a song that I really like but the first line is just “you’re so ugly!” AHAHA. and then of course i got like 700 sodagreen songs so I skipped after the first two. :’)
I like each day’s atmosphere!
between the lights, the exam paper dripping water
in this whole constellation, there is no one who isn’t sick
you desire me frenzied
let’s stop saying what should be said.
5, 6 and 7 for the salty ask! (as you want, MDZS or 2HA since you finished it ^^)
5: Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?
nope. i also don’t read a lot of fic and if i don’t like something i jump ship. i think do think of wwx and jc as more brothers than not which i kinda thought but less from before engaging in fandom. BY NO MEANS DO I THINK IT’S INCEST but chengxian is a squik for me probably because their relationship is so brotherly and my interpretation of that in influenced by fandom. no thanks. though i never really shipped them since i’m wangxian wangxian wangxian times 3000.
6: Has fandom ever made you enjoy a pairing you previously hated?
i don’t tend to hate things much... and if i do i don’t engage because that’s how i stay sane. so no. i do start of meh on a lot of pairings. like xicheng and sangcheng but i get it now. and nielan i didn’t see at first... i was definitely saw and enjoyed the fucked up relationships that were xiyao and also nmj/jgy(what do we even call this?! jueyao? mingyao? yaoming? ok. the last one is just funny.... >.<)... and now i still believe they could’ve been canon but also hate jgy for everything. but i don’t hate the pairing dynamics. good ol’ evil manipulation
7: Is there anything you used to like but can’t stand now?
i liked jfm more until fandom dragged his rep. i get it but definitely think fandom is a little harsh on jfm and way too harsh on yzy. they’re complicated people and i want to see more subtlety in their treatment instead of the constant yelling of child abuse and neglect. ok. i get it. those are valid. can we move onto exploring them in other ways please? and at least put into consideration the setting they’re in (both ahistoric and non-western culture)
🌺💘🌷 get to know your mutuals ! when you get this, it 🌺🌺💘🌷means someone wants to know more about you, so list 5 things about yourself you want your followers to know. they can be as simple as your age or as complex as your deepest fear, as long as it’s something you’re comfortable with sharing. when you’re done, send this to 10 people you want to get to know better ! 🌷💘🌺
ahhhh 💕💕💕 you already know a bunch of stuff about me too! idk what else is there but let me see if I can come up w five more things
I have a shoe problem. Like a serious problem to the point where I can no longer buy a pair of shoes without getting rid of a pair because there is NOWHERE to put them
The first book I read in English all the way through is Pride and Prejudice (can you tell from my writing? lol)
I keep all my college books and notes because I never know “when I might need them” (which is probably NEVER and yet)
I am incapable of wearing fake eyelashes, like the first time I tried I glued my eye shut and it’s only gotten worse from there
I still think In The Flesh was one of the greatest shows ever made and I’m still angry it got canceled
