ohh shit. Once Rocky arrived in the Tau Ceti system and got to work, it no longer mattered when he left the engine room to run around the ship (trying to use lab equipment and fixing things and trying and failing and fixing on and on and on). The reason Rocky didn't die of radiation poisoning during the 40+ years he was in the Tau Ceti system is because he was parked in the petrova line. His entire ship was in a cloud of astrophage. He never succeeded at capturing any but the fact that he never stopped trying quite literally kept him alive.
Considering the amount of emotional and moral nuance he managed to muster up immediately post Guanyin temple (despite having a terrible week and zero good role models) AND considering his front row seat to the dissection of Jiang Wanyin and Wei Wuxian’s downfall, I think that in a time travel fix-it, Jin Ling would actually be pretty successful at brute forcing yunmeng family therapy.
I mean he'd probably cry, but even that would be good! Because 1) modeling negative male emotions beside anger, and 2) Oh shit that’s shije’s kid we made Shije’s son cry, fuck, fuck! Bam! Instant high ground! Also he has the most authority of any second gen character by virtue of the fact that he could pull “DO YOU WANT MY MOM TO DIE??? BECAUSE YOU TWO ACTING LIKE MORONS IS WHAT GOT MY MOM KILLED! NOW SIT DOWN AND SPIT OUT ALL YOUR FUCKING SECRETS OR MY MOM WILL DIE AND I’LL BREAK YOUR LEGS!!” It would work! Tell me it wouldn't work!
Not to mention once he gets a few sect leader years under his belt, he might be the best person to manage a fix-it, in general. He's got perspective. He's got political training. Others might get too caught up on the specifics of the Wen remnants or the Ying Tiger Tally or Vengeance against One Person or Another — Jin Ling is critiquing the basic structure of how Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng are living their lives and he's getting away with it.
He would even be good at dealing with Jin Guangyao, the slipperiest motherfucker in the timeline. Jin Ling's got as good a handle as anyone on his motivations, and he has sincere (if messy) affection for him, which would hit Guangyao right in his weak spot. Depending on your headcanons it may or may not be in vain, but he's got a real chance of getting the man to set some more modest and less destructive life goals.
Similarly, I think he'd do a pretty decent job at a harsh-but-fair critique of Xichen's neutrality and Mingue's rigidity and Huissang's delibrate uselessness, though getting them to listen would be more of a crapshoot.
All of this makes it especially funny how badly he would handle Wangxian.
For context: Wei Ying and Hunguang-jun are not just the gayest people Jin Ling has ever met, they are the gayest people he's ever HEARD of.
He wouldn't want to bring it up. He wouldn't mean to. He doesn't want to talk about it. But when he inevitably calls Wei Ying a slur only to be met with genuine bafflement? Jin Ling would completely lose his shit.
Because I don't think Wei Ying is going to get offended, or defensive, or have a response that his nephew could coherently mock. Wei Wuxian thinks 'hey these time traveling guys are actually pretty funny!' Him and Whom? Not even a serious topic of contention. You got me for a second, haha.
Jin Ling would break. Wei Ying eventually says something the effect of "I'm straight? Obviously?" and Jin Ling would nod once, start screaming, then climb across the table to strangle him.
It's — look. How do you fucking explain that all of the worst moments of your life were, in someway or another, characterized by Wei Wuxian and Lan Wanjii being FLAMBOYANTLY into one another.
The man who saved his life also killed his father and Jin Ling stabs him but it feels awful and — ok Lan Wanjii is cradling Wei Wuxian tenderly. Ok they're just going to go. They're leaving like that. Hunguang Jun was — is — was the Yiling Patriarch's widow, so that's another layer to add onto everything else. Hunguang-Jun is visibly expressing emotions with his face and voice and Jin Ling is going to go throw up now
Jin Ling's kidnapped at the burial mounds and everyone’s lost their spiritual energy and all his friends and family are going to die and — those two are smiling at eachother. They're telling inside jokes. They're holding hands.
Jin disciples (his own clans disciples) just shot at him and and Xiao-shushu really is what people sa— WEI YING SHOUTS ABOUT WANTING TO FUCK LAN WANJII
THEY ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF BEING KIDNAPPED AND HE DOES THIS
Jujiu is bleeding from the stomach and crying he's bleeding and crying his jujiu is doing that and Xiao-shushu caused it and his whole life is a lie and Hunguang Jun and the Yiling Patriarch are visibly groping in a corner.
And then they never stop groping again. Forever.
So yeah, I'm quite confident that if Jin Ling had to be even peripherally involved with coaching Wei Wuxian through a bisexual awakening and homoerotic courtship, he would explode. He would black out with rage. He'd make an honest and embarrassingly unsuccessful attempt at killing Lan Zhan. He would walk into a lotus pond and stay there until he drowned. He'd start heavy drinking. He'd punch a random passerby in the dick.
In conclusion, Need More Jin Ling Time Travel Fics
So Nolan came to earth 100% intending to lie about his whole everything. then proceeded to gave his full name and real home address, confident in the belief that noone on this bumfuck nowhere world at the edge of this stupid wopwop galaxy would have heard of the biggest scariest empire in the known universe. and he was right.
i think privacy talismans in mdzs might be my favorite fanon invention of anything ever because on one hand — yeah that makes sense. There's fucking teleportation and bags of holding, a little sound manipulation from guys who uses music to fight?? ice cold take. completely plausible. On the OTHER hand, canonically, Lan Zhan and Wei Ying think about the fact that Lan Qiren's house is close to theirs and goad each other about being loud during sex as a direct result. and if privacy talismans exist, that's a choice, meaning they have not just an exhibitionism kink but a particularly fucked up exhibitionism kink. it's a catch 22 piece of fanon: if you want them to have even an ounce of discretion no they don't.
sometimes i think i'm being too glib writing stormlight chatfic but then i relistened to the end of way of kings and this was a verbatim canon interaction
Dalinar: The whole kingdom needs you. Perhaps all of Roshar. The true desolation comes.
Kaladin: What was that last part?
Dalinar: Nothing.
and then Kaladin left and got stew and didn't ask any follow up questions. these guys are near constantly concussed. if anything I don't write them saying out of pocket stuff enough
been writing cosmere fanfic and you know what? I think I get it now brandon. I too am unable to write Kaladin Stormblessed interacting with someone without them falling a little bit in love, regardless of my intentions.
Still haven't finished sunlit man. But like. The auxiliary nomad bond. Oh my God. Oh God cried while driving and had to pull over.
Because at first? Dead spren? Broken oath. It's tragic, but there's a lot of precedent. Heralds be breaking oaths literally chapter 1 (one) of stormlight. Worlds best blorbo and honor's special boy came within a hair's breath of killing syl. If there wasn't a good reason, then I'm sure there was at least an understandable one. Weird how alive he is, but not that weird, considering Maya's progress and the recent Invention Of Therapy.
But storms, it. It wasn't that. It was an accident, outside of his control. He didn't...it wasn't the breaking oaths. He'd. He'd still rather die than kill the last piece of him. The knight/squire thing is a joke, was always a joke. predating death. There's not even a hint of bitterness, a touch of guilt tripping. Aux doesn't blame him. Aux is glad to be there with him, looking at the stars.
