whenever there's a Yaohan AU that leaves room to throw Su She into it I'll go for it because not only can I have both Suyao and Yaohan the whole concept Su She/Wen Ruohan is hilarious.
It's also like opposite to Suxiyao which is Su She agreeing JGY would be in good hands, while with WRH he's just over there not trusting WRH who's just "You want to fuck me so bad it makes you look stupid"
How when it comes to JGY Su She will throw hands even if he's jopelessly outmatched.
Also WRH seeing the potential SMS has but their temper still clashing and only JGY's presence preventing them from harming eachother.
(It helps WRH is arrogant and pretentious and enjoys teasing SMS more than actually disliking him and he gets a kick out of someone being rudely honest instead of cowering in fear)
WRH attempts to court MY with gifts because he doesn’t know how to be a normal person.
Meng Yao: dear diary today sect leader wen gave me a strange animal. yesterday he gave a small footstool so i can reach the upper shelf, what will he give me tomorrow? I live in fear every day of what strange gifts I will receive, new socks would be nice though.
It's funny but I see Yaohan work because WRH is a terrible adult and JGY is exactly the kind of person who knows how to put terrible adults in time-out especially if they like him and i think there's overlap to how he keeps the reins on SMS and XY too providing also the necessary enrichment so his evil friends/lovers stay within what he approves off. It's like WRH was the practice run and if he can wrangle that guy SMS and XY are easy difficulty.
Wen Ruohan writes very thrashy fiction he has Meng Yao betaread, who reads it to the prisoners for torture.
Some of it is very thinly veiled RPF of them and My goes "wat" because his characterisation has nothing in common with the real him, his fictional counterpart is like 2 heads taller.
He is not sure if WRH is aware he's writing thrash and does it on purpose or if he genuinely thinks it's good but either way it's mostly amusing.
Yaohan boning and wrh encouraged MY do do mildly dangerous and fucked up stuff that MY definitely wants to do but he's all "uh sect leader are you sure you wanna do this? Isn't it dangerous? Wouldn't this injure you?" And wrh is like "no it's fine pls do"
And MY knows yes this would be the perfect occasion to kill WRH, something he's gonna do sooner or later anyway (he prefers later) but of course he doesn't want that to happen while WRH is inside him. (Also they can't repeat that once he's dead)
I'm glad I remembered a thing I had forgotten that was some leng yao wen qing interaction and while it's still in the first place yaohan centric i could think of it a bit more and idk where i'm going with this but it reminded me of how much my love for Yaohan hinges on an interpretation where MY goes in with bad expectations because
-he's generally treated terribly by everyone
- has good reason to believe wrh is going to be extra terrible, more terrible than everyone else
- him getting caught extra offguard by being treated nicely, so much he has trouble believing it and might til the end have had lingering doubts.
Overall being meng yao exe has stopped functioning. I'm not even thinking of wen Ruohan treating him unusually well but just very normal and within reasonable amount but it's extraordinary both because MY isn't used to being treated nicely or having someone have his back in a reliable way + this being unusual for wrh specifically because he's difficult/hard to predict.
There's a dissonance in expectations that actually nicely slots into eachother, something something how an arrogant person might not be the worst one to drill into your head that you have value and to get what you want by force if necessary in a society where you get eaten easily.
Of course also that I simply like interpretations of the "well actually things were very different from the official history" type as well as the take on wrh where he's still violent and enjoys torture but that's not all and that a fairly mundane side can be there at the same time. Where him behaving rather average is the surprise?
Insert something about the obvious parallels between wen and jin sect. Interesting that if you line them up you have at least 3 instances of the sects rallying against a designated enemy, wen sect where narrative wise we know it was necessary and justified, wwx where we know it was purely political and jgy where it's a mix, yes he did obviously bad things but it's not what he got taken down for and how all 3 instances have the underlying theme of "someone was threatening the power distribution/order of society and that was the issue."
It took wen sect to attack 2 big sects before ppl acted because then it had become "if we don't do something we are next" and the whole thing where without wwx and my combined they likely wouldn't have succeeded so it was sheer luck of things happening how they happened.
I veered offtrack this was actually aiming for osteopath wen qing rearranging my's bones and the wrh being surprise nice was him sending my with a message to her znd he thinks he's just being treated as errand boy because he doesn't know what the letter says and it's actually wrh's request for her to check out MY's bones because he's noticed he got some lasting damage from the stairkick but he's not gonna bring it up directly.
It's in similar vein to wrh criticizing my's writing skills which seems just mean and cruel but the next day he's hired a tutor to help. Or criticizing my for having imitated others but it's because he wants him to do his own thing and find his own strengths (and that's how he ends up with a soft sword, insert wrh being "hatred of life? Calm down edgelord, u ok dude?")
Metanoia: a transformative change of heart.Wen Ruohan wakes up in the body of a young man by the name of He Su within an ominous array. Two orders mark his arm with bloody gashes: destroy Xue Yang and Jin Guangyao. Xue Yang was easy. He was already dying, a simple stab to the neck while he was occupied did the trick. The latter though, slightly trickier.
Warning: Mild Gore
Part of the MDZS/CQL Rarepairs Lightning Round: February 2021
For: @ehyde
AO3
Rain pitter-pattered on the rice paper umbrella, dripping down in rivets off its edges. Lightning flashed in the sky, outlining the temple in jagged black lines. Wen Ruohan remained just outside the entrance, boots already soaked through and shivers raked at his spine.
Stupidly weak body.
Not for the first time such words echoed in his mind, nor the last. One moment he was in his throne room, a cry caught in his throat as Meng Yao sliced his neck, the next he lay in a pit wearing hemp rags, surrounded by an ominous array and a note. A sharp prick on his wrist forced his gaze downward. He freed his pinky of his busy hand to slowly peel back the grey hemp sleeve. Even in the dark, fragmented by the roar of heaven’s whip, the dark oozing gash contrasted with pale skin. Dried blood wrapped around his wrist like a shackle. The original gash, one of the two remaining. It had grown several cun since the last hour. And so to have its brothers.
Dammit.
Wen Ruohan sighed—it took several months just to track down the first name on the brief list left by the summoner, and he killed him. Sort of. And now the second name, the last on the list, awaited within the very temple before him. Recently, Yu Ziyuan’s brat came gallivanting with that purple Zidian of his. All said brat needed was a subtle gesture towards the temple and the requirement would consider the kill Wen Ruohan. Truly it would have been far better if the outcome ended how he hoped—the gashes would disappear and he wouldn’t have to raise a hand, risk this new weak body of his against every cultivator inside that damn temple. Now he had no choice. Just like the summoner commanded.
He waited a moment, or two, counted up and down from twenty, before approaching.
As he approached, Meng Yao’s–no Jin Guangyao’s soft, sorrowful voice emitted from the temple, spoke as if he tore every word out of his throat. So earnest, almost begging in every capacity.
How cute.
In Nightless City, Meng Yao never spoke in such a ridiculous tone. Softly yes, but even at their first meeting, when Meng Yao lay face-first on the floor in a deep kow-tow, Jin uniform caked in brown dried blood, his voice held strength, forged from steel itself. The memory wrapped its fingers around Wen Ruohan’s throat, pinching much like the metal string did before cutting his head clean off. Wen Ruohan bit his tongue.
“DON’T MOVE!” Jin Guangyao cried out. No. Commanded.
Ah, there it is.
If appropriate, Wen Ruohan would clap his hands with glee.
What a spectacular performance! Tone so tearful and regretful, almost as if you were really sorry!
Jiang Wanyin roared, receiving a curt reply that Jin Guangyao hid his weapon in his own body.
Wen Ruohan grinned. Clever. Very, very clever. In Nightless City, he would reward such genius. Anything Meng Yao asked, as Sect Leader he would deliver. Personally.
His wrist throbbed.
It’s time.
––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
His shoes squished against the wet floors, oozing water. The noise proved to be enough for every member inside to look towards him. Well, at least it wouldn’t force him to come up with a stupid one liner. Jiang Wanyin glared in his direction, a red bloodstain on his chest more than enough to explain why he had failed. The Twin Jades, both with their blades out, stared at him with owlish eyes—only differentiated by the different headpieces. A few others stood in different parts of the room, an obvious Nie-robed child lying uselessly on one side and an unfamiliar man holding down one of Jin Guangyao’s “friends.” And the man himself, standing right in the center of the chaos, red string wrapped around the neck of his own nephew who stood a few paces to the side.
Wen Ruohan lifted his chin high, forcing his lips from so much as twitching. He would much prefer Jin Guangyao to be the one in red.
“Sect Leader He?” Jin Guangyao asked, one eyebrow rising, “You-?” he sighed, molten gold eyes glazed with fatigue, “The letter was your doing, I presume.”
The others gaped at him. Mixture of surprise and even wariness in their gazes.
Wen Ruohan ignored the comment, closing his umbrella before shaking extra droplets over the dark floors in its own miniature storm. Silence hung between them, silk strings pulled taut, ready for snapping by a sharp fingernail.
“So that’s the name of this body,” Wen Ruohan replied, keeping his voice light, “and a Sect Leader no less.”
He couldn’t help the snicker that bubbled in his chest as Jin Guangyao’s eyes widened. Almost comedic. Like a newborn goldfish, all eyes and nobody.
“Then who are you?” The man holding Jin Guangyao’s friend interrupted, “Your words just now signal Sect Leader He summoned you, like myself, and you’re focused on Jin Guangyao and not on anyone else. What ‘demon’ has Sect Leader He summoned to seek revenge?”
All eyes slid back on him. Quite a few tilted their heads as if trying to figure out who he was.
“What does it matter?” Wen Ruohan stiffened, glaring at the two men, “I am simply doing what he requested.”
The unknown man narrowed his eyes, but said nothing.
Wen Ruohan took a step forward.
Jin Guangyao’s hand on the gold thread twitched. The Jin child whined.
“Jin Ling!” Several cried out.
“Not another step.” Jin Guangyao warned, intricate muscles in his hand trembling under the light.
Wen Ruohan made the gesture to look at the child. Big watery eyes. Reaching out to Jiang Wanyin, but neither was in any position to close the distance. Poor thing.
His arm throbbed a warning. He grasped the hilt of his summoner’s sword.
“He means nothing to me. Your threat is useless.” Wen Ruohan replied, gazing back at Jin Guangyao.
Jin Guangyao’s mouth slacked before pinching it shut, “A-Ling means a lot to the surrounding people. Aren’t you concerned what they will do if you threaten his livelihood.”
Wen Ruohan bared his teeth, a growl deep in his throat, “So be it.” The moment he ended his sentence, he yanked out his blade, running at Jin Guangyao–
A powerful arm wrapped around his waist. He barely made one step.
DAMN THIS SLOW STUPID BODY-
“I will not allow you to endanger Young Master Jin Ling, no matter your purpose,” Lan Xichen pulled him back, body-blocking him from his target.
Flames licked the back of his neck. His entire face as if on fire. If he was in his old body- if he had even just a smidge of his old cultivation base, this pathetic excuse of a Lan wouldn’t have been able to blink before Jin Guangyao was a stain on the wall.
Lan Xichen glared down at him, looking more like Lan Qiren than anything else, “Jin Guangyao will face trial for his crimes, and be judged accordingly.”
“If he doesn’t escape first,” Jiang Wanyin muttered.
A roar tore itself out of Wen Ruohan’s throat, like a shattering sword. The edges of his vision turned red.
“He has you by the ropes. There is no way he is not escaping! And even if he somehow failed, what do you really know about Meng Yao to charge him? What can you say is true and false about him? About what he did? I bet you don’t know the extent of them!”
Lan Xichen had the gall to not even flinch, the only sign of any distress was the tightness around his eyes and the painful squeeze Wen Ruohan’s shoulders suffered, right against the ever-growing gashes no less.
“So you have some stones to throw then?” The unknown man replied.
Wen Ruohan’s throat burned like he drank liquid metal, “I never said I didn’t.”
“Regardless of your personal feelings, refer to Jin Guangyao with his proper name.” Lan Xichen cut in, voice stupidly steady and even, “he will be charged no more or less than deserved,” as if repeating that, Jin Guangyao somehow would fall into their hands even with their precious Jin Ling.
Wen Ruohan laughed. His voice cracked as if he ate sand, “Is that so?” He smiled, his cheeks throbbed from all the gnashing and bared teeth, “I have one question for you then. I heard Jin Guangyao kept…” Wen Ruohan trailed off, momentarily cutting himself out before accidentally directly revealing himself, “Wen Ruohan’s torture devices. Was there one metal instrument, eight teeth, with screws on each handle?”
“Er-Ge!” Jin Guangyao cried out, “Thats-!”
“Answer the question!” Wen Ruohan snarled at Lan Xichen, roaring over Jin Guangyao, “What did he tell you about it? How was it made?”
Lan Xichen’s face paled.
“It’s Wen Ruohan! He Su summoned Wen Ruohan!” Jin Guangyao shouted louder.
Several people cried out. Clatter of swords being unsheathed drummed in his ears. Wen Ruohan felt the tip of metal dig his neck.
“Let me guess,” Wen Ruohan continued, ignoring the prick of the sword’s point, “oh the terrible Wen Ruohan forced me. I had to complete the commission! It was the only way to get close!” He paused, staring at Lan Xichen, “sound about right?”
Not that his answer mattered. Not that Meng Yao didn’t complete commissions; that’s how he garnered Wen Ruohan’s attention.
Creative, pushing the human body to the limit in ways previously inconceivable.
This one, however…
They both had worked on it. Tinkering with the prototype. Leaning over the table so late in the night it might as well have been morning, under the light of a single candle, exchanging ideas, experiment notes, and kisses. Both of their geniuses birthed something so terribly beautiful.
How could Wen Ruohan forget the wide excited smile Meng Yao wore the day the glittered steel slotted perfectly between the prisoner’s rib cage? Even now, the smile wouldn’t leave him.
“Well? Ask. Ask him to tell the story how that tool came to be. Right now.” Wen Ruohan hissed.
Lan Xichen turned slightly, facing Jin Guangyao. The man stared between his ‘Er-ge’ and Wen Ruohan, mouth opening before shutting, eyes slipping close.
“Is this what you chose?” Wen Ruohan glared at his former aide. Being forcibly held in place, there was little he could do but that.
Purple bags underlined Jin Guangyao’s eyes. Long lashes like staccatos of black against them.
“You chose someone who rejected you.”
How much weight did you carry all these years with Nie Mingjue breathing down your neck?
“and someone you never can show your full self?”
How much time did you spend hiding knives behind your back from your dear ‘er-ge’?
“You chose a father who already proved he would never love you?”
How much time did you spend slaving over thankless work? Talent unappreciated? Company insulted?
“Was it worth it?!”
You chose them over me?
His mouth promptly sealed. Any thoughts or comments cut off.
Lan Xichen’s brother, Lan Wangji if Wen Ruohan recalled, held his hand up as if just finishing the Silencing seal.
“Enough.” He said.
If the edges of Wen Ruohan’s vision watered, it was his own business.
“I’ll only ask this once.” Lan Xichen said, visibly angry, wrenching the blade out of Wen Ruohan’s hand, far stronger than the body he now lived in, “You will sit down and remain so until we finish with our business or we won’t hesitate to kill you.”
“Why not just kill the bastard now? Might as well.” Jiang Wanyin snarled. Jin Ling curled in his arms, eyes narrowed at him. It appears Wen Ruohan had distracted Jin Guangyao enough for the child to escape.
But in doing so, he himself failed.
The sword poking into his neck forced Wen Ruohan onto his knees. Everything throbbed. His sleeves and collar stained in blooming red Spider Lilies. Like little knives, the wounds borrowed into his skin. Much like the device they created together, tearing him from the inside without cracking a single bone.
What a sorry, deserving end. Would he keel over here, soul torn into pieces as He Su threatened?
Thunder shook at the entrance, shaking the entire foundation of the temple. The residents froze in place, all eyes landing to the front, the way which Wen Ruohan last entered through. The door bulged as more crashes followed.
Three.
Four.
The wood shattered. A figure flew into the room, crashing into the floor. Lan Wangji and the unknown person ran to the figure.
“Wen Ning?!”
Wait, Wen Ning?
The thought stuttered to a stop as a dark silhouette loomed in the doorway.
“Brother!” the Nie child cried out.
Of course... Great timing…
The fierce corpse stepped in. The lantern light illuminated a scowling face, frozen in time.
Nie Mingjue.
All attention on him. Swords changing directions towards the fierce corpse.
Wen Ruohan’s eyes landed on Jin Guangyao. His face several shades lighter, figure trembling.
Great timing.
Nie Mingjue snarled, charging into the room. Wen Ruohan leaped, kicking Lan Xichen at the fierce corpse as he passed by.
“No-” Lan Xichen cried out, but forced to remain put to block an attack, sword barely stopping a hand from plunging into his chest.
Jin Guangyao turned to him, gold eyes recognizing, realizing-
“Too slow!” Wen Ruohan grabbed Jin Guangyao’s arm before he could wrap the damn string around his neck. His free hand flew to his neck.
How it should end.
Wring his neck like how Jin Guangyao cut him.
An ironic and the only probable outcome between them-
His hand froze before so much as brushing Jin Guangyao’s skin.
Early morning teas shared over a text of ghost stories. Boring, filled with moralistic lessons meant for children. Except when Meng Yao told his own spin.
It wouldn’t move.
Private conversation over a single candle, paperwork stacked around them like a rice paper cage.
The gashes sting, claw like a loud buzz, demanding he finish the job-
The prisoner’s screams were only the drizzle. The tools Meng Yao gifted, or the ones they started making together, far more fun.
His hand doesn’t move. Twitch.
The thought of wrapping his hand around Meng Yao- Jin Guangyao’s delicate neck, pale skin changing to blue and purple...
His mind stuttered to a halt.
I love you.
A simple tap to the back of the head knocked Jin Guangyao out. The chaos brought upon by Nie Mingjue more than enough to easily sneak out. Wen Ruohan stumbled into the rain, soaked through instantly, and his gashes stung.
Tears poured down his cheeks.
A matter of time before he would return to nothingness again.
Jin Guangyao shivered in the cold. The rocky walls dug into his back. The hemp robes an almost nostalgic reminder of the fabric he wore in his youth. Back with his mother at the brothel, and after.
The guards would change shift about now. Silent. Forbidden to make conversation. Jin Guangyao blew into his hands. His golden core could keep him from freezing, but not much else. Perhaps when Er-ge–Lan Xichen returned, he would ask for blankets. Though Nie Huaisang might keep him busy, make the last living moments on this mortal plane as dreadful as possible. If he weren’t on the other end of Nie Huaisang’s revenge, he would have applauded. If still alive, Nie Mingjue wouldn’t have been pleased. Angry. Rightfully so. Why else would Huaisang need to go down this path if not against Jin Guangyao himself?
And Wen Ruohan. Summoned for revenge. The perfect opponent He Su could have possibly selected. Who but him would have the anger, the debt, to repay? And he almost did. Ran at Jin Guangyao with the full intention of snapping his neck. Then he stopped. Dark eyes, He Su’s, yet so his own in that broken expression of his. The same one he wore the moment Jin Guangyao pulled the string. Wide red eyes, brows pinched in shock.
The image creeps on him in quiet moments, when Jin Guangyao sleeps, when he works, a low gnaw and ache that never went away.
Wen Ruohan stopped.
Why?
A loud thunk echoed in the quiet chamber.
Jin Guangyao looked up. One guard shouted before going quiet.
Ah, so Huaisang sent an assassin then?
A figure approached the prison, footsteps clicking on the stone floor with the beat of an invisible drum. Jin Guangyao forced himself to his feet, knees trembling from disuse. If he died, he will die with some smidge of dignity.
The light from a sorry excuse of a window revealed the to-be assassin’s face.
Wen Ruohan.
“Are you here to finish me off?” Jin Guangyao couldn’t help the smile.
Wen Ruohan shoved a key into the door, the metal groaned as he yanked it open, “you would be dead already if I was planning on killing you.” No bite or venom. Just matter-of-fact.
Jin Guangyao blinked as Wen Ruohan shoved a robe at him.
“You can either come with me and leave this place behind, or stay and die,” Wen Ruohan said.
He didn’t take the robe. “Why didn’t you kill me?”
Wen Ruohan snorted, “You won.”
Jin Guangyao narrowed his eyes, “Won?”
How in the world had I won?
Wen Ruohan’s expression the moment he reached for his neck. The anger. Or lack of it. So close to fulfilling He Su’s request. Yet, just when about to. He stopped. His eyes... not the same before he died. No. Too soft. Could it be…
Wen Ruohan smirked, eyes flashing with amusement, “So you figured it out?”
Oh.
But if the request remains incomplete, then-
Jin Guangyao tilted his head, “You intend to die after freeing me? I didn’t take you for a sentimental man, Wen Ruohan.”
Laughter. The same one that always burst out from him when it was just the two of them, deep in his chest. Unbridled and earnest. Wen Ruohan grabbed the edge of the wall to balance himself as he wheezed.
“Not quite,” He managed to say, “The requests were to destroy Jin Guangyao and Xue Yang,” Wen Ruohan recounted, “I killed one and you…” He closed his eyes. Lashes not as long as his old body’s, face not quite his, “I was ready to die and yet, after the temple, the marks disappeared,” He shrugged, “perhaps in all technicalities ‘Jin Guangyao’ is dead.”
Interesting.
His eyes met Wen Ruohan’s. Already he missed how the red would change colors with different emotions: glinting with mirth, darkening with desire. These black eyes merely swallowed everything whole.
Looking over his shoulder into the dark hallway, Wen Ruohan warned, “We have little time. Someone is bound to notice the guards. Do me the favor and use that clever mind of yours to decide.” He held up the plain grey robe.
Jin Guangyao snorted, “Do you have a plan?”
“Does running count?”
So no plan. If they escape, they would both be fugitives. They may have a chance to run to Dongying. Leave the cultivation world. But it all was too quick. Would Wen Ruohan turn on him? He says he can’t hurt him now, but…?
“Do you still hate liars?”
Wen Ruohan snorted, smile glinting off the few rays of light that slipped through the hole above, “nothing I hate more.”
“Then?” Jin Guangyao offered.
“I’m willing to trust you.”
Jin Guangyao nearly stumbled back a step, jaw dropping, “Even after I-”
“Yes.” Wen Ruohan said. The mirth fell away; his expression neutral, that of Qishan Wen’s Sect Leader.
“Why?”
“You have nothing to hide nor to lose. Neither do I. I’ve seen you at your worst, and you’ve seen me.”
Not once had he lied.
“You aren’t under any obligation to stick with me once we leave,” Wen Ruohan continued, “If you feel safer going our separate ways, I will follow. If you want us to stay together…” A pause. His eyes fluttered close, throat visibly moving, “I would like that.”
Huh…
Wen Ruohan watched. Even with the occasional backward glances, he did not repeat his past warning. Hard to gauge his expression with the unfamiliar features. Perhaps it was a matter of getting to know him again.
“Dying was never my strong suit” Meng Yao accepted the robe with a flourish.
