I see, they were the troublemakers and you were only an innocent who got mixed up with bad influences. My poor dragon.
[ Hope you enjoy your new nickname, Jiang Cheng. Also Jaskier doesn't believe a single word of your excuses. ]
I have enjoyed every moment together. I admit I never expected that I'd find someone to connect with like this, not after...let's just say the few proper relationship I had in my life didn't end well. And I like it when you listen to my proposals.
[ He likes is very much and he only wants to suggest things that make Cheng happy. ]
[ Nooooooo pet names are going to get him all flustered again! The injustice; how do you make being scary and forbidding so hard? ]
Don't call me that, you're ridiculous!
And I don't need you false pity. You try to sit through Lan Qiren's lectures and then be smug. That man has intimidating eyebrows. I haven't been his student in years and I can tell you I'm still terrified of his disapproving looks.
[ Grmpf! Of course, he fully expects Jaskier would be enthused since he has that fascination with the Gusu Lan - and a complete lack of functioning survival instincts around grumpy people. ]
I didn't expect it either. This thing between us. I didn't think I could have that. I treasure our time together, Jaskier. I'm glad you are here. [ And yes, he wishes he were better at really showing that, that he were good at eloquent love confessions and didn't try so hard to guard himself against vulnerabilities but... So far, Jaskier has shown himself remarkably adept at reading between the lines. ]
I think it's a good nickname! Even if your dragons are weird and have no wings. Dragons are strong, wise and creatures of wonder!...some also have bad tempter.
[ So double fitting. He will get you to like the new name, even use it in songs. ]
Intimidating eyebrows. Now that is something I need to see. Does he ever visit Lotus Pier?
[ Imagine how that meeting would go, Jiang Cheng. What could go wrong? And ok, yes, his survival instincts are questionable at best but those very same grumpy people usually end protecting him. ]
Me neither, maybe it was time to be compensated in some way about our bad luck.
[ As far as love confessions go, honestly is perfect in Jaskier's books. He can talk to Jiang Cheng about his feeling, that already is a lot. ]
Our dragons aren't weird! Your dragons are weird. I still say they look like giant plucked chickens. And don't think I have forgotten they spit fire and burn the lands in their temper!
[ Which... actually makes them only more suited for the comparison but he is still very much flustered by it. He doesn't know how to handle Jaskier's effusive praise any more than he knows how to deal with his overwhelming friendliness, though he has grown used to the latter by now. ]
No, Lan Qiren never bothers to visit anywhere. I doubt he even cares to acknowledge anything but Gusu Lan and their own teachings. He is a very strict man. Very righteous and forbidding, even more so than Nie Mingjue.
[ And he hopes they will never meet. He is not sure that Lan Qiren's blood pressure can handle the bard. Better to inflict him on the Nie. After all, Jaskier is a pro at charming people who are itching to skewer him on their giant swords. ]
Maybe it is compensation. I wouldn't mind if it were so. [ This is love. And even if it can't last because good things never last, he is willing to savor it for as long as he is permitted to have it. ]
Yours are all long, like scaly sausages, and have no wings. I don't understand how can they fly. Ours only burn people if they try to steal their eggs! Which it's an honest reason. I'd also get pissed off if someone tried to kidnap my children.
But I'll give you that, some *do* look like chickens. Like the Cockatrice. It's what you get if you mix a rooster with a winged lizard, and they have the bad temper of a goose. They're devil incarnate.
[ Jaskier meant the comparison as high praise, even if the bad temper and burning-land tendencies are making him reconsider if he went too far.
Naaaah. ]
In that case, maybe that's for the better. I don't think he would like me either.
[ The bard is aware of his many flaws, don't worry Cheng. Even he knows when it's better to stay away from certain people. But perhaps he could charm the old man with a well-crafted song, time will say. ]
Me neither. I quite like it being here. [ He hopes it lasts. Jaskier will do everything in his power to make it so. ]
[ Nobody who has witnessed his fits of rage would say that he goes too far with the comparison, really, even Jiang Cheng himself can't deny it is fitting. ]
I'm sure there are some people who would say that the Cockatrice is a better comparison! But if they felt the lash of Zidian they only did so because they deserved it.
I haven't burned anything lately but during the Sunshot Campaign... Well, we did fight back ruthlessly. We had to. We Yunmeng Jiang were weak and we were few, we had nothing but ruthlessness left to earn respect. Wars are not won by being gentle with the enemy. [ And he had come rightly by his reputation for being fearsome, though nothing he did compared to the horror Wei Wuxian could cause with his demonic cultivation. ]
I like having you here. Enough that I try to make your stay more enjoyable. [ Such as the watchtower that is going to be constructed, a pagoda in Lotus Pier's style but built from forbidding dark stones like the forts in Jaskier's homeland. Construction on that will begin the next time he takes Jaskier away from Lotus Pier for a while, so there will be some actual progress to show him when he returns. ]
[ Jaskier has yet to see Jiang Cheng truly mad. The problem is, he will probably still find that very hot. ]
Dragons are more elegant than Cockatrices, you deserve a better comparison. And Zidian is a weapon like no other, it takes my breath away every time you use it.
About the Campaign... there are no real winners in war, it brings the worst part of people to the surface. Also to best too, on occasion. You did what you had to do, I'm sure. It's not my place to tell or judge.
[ He doesn't like wars or fighting but he's seen enough of both. Jaskier trusts that Jiang Cheng is a fair leader and he knows that the man only wanted to protect his people, more so after his family was slaughtered. He can't blame the man for his past actions. ]
You don't have to try too hard. You being around me is enough, handsome.
[ That said, he's going to lose it once he sees the Pagoda. You spoil him, Jiang Cheng. He will be left speechless, an accomplishment on its own. ]
[ It's okay, he does look hot when he is mad. There will also be brownie points won with everyone else for being the one who is unafraid to face him while he's in full wrath mode. Win/win, really.
Hearing Zidian praised does bring a rather sappy smile to his face. Jaskier never fails to leave him all flustered with how open he is in showing his affection. ]
I'm still learning to truly master Zidian to my mother's level of expertise. She had decades of experience on me. One day I will be truly impressive with it and worthy of your praise. [ It's another, more personal incentive to keep working hard. He has been working harder than ever before anyway, wishing to prove himself deserving of his lover's trust and adoration. ]
I know you don't judge me or my people, and I'm grateful for that. You accept us simply as we are. [ More like, he accepts Jiang Cheng as he is, and not only in matters of war and wrath. Maybe he will never find the words to tell him that it means the world to him but... it does.
Never before has he truly felt like being around someone is indeed enough but here and now, there is peace. ]
I still want to do something for you. Gestures, if nothing else. I want to prove myself to you. [ Prove his worth. His earnest intentions. The pagoda is one way to do it, that he doesn't even try to hide their relationship another. ]
[ Damn right he does. It probably helps that Jaskier seems to have traded his survival instinct for an unnatural attraction to grumpy men that can kill him with ease. Win/win for them indeed. Although Jaskier doesn't think Jiang Cheng would be happy if he answers the disciples' question about how he handles a mad Jiang Cheng with 'Boners'.
He's being honest too, he doesn't lie when it comes to praising or laying insults. Zidian really is one of a kind and Jiang Cheng's ability with it unparalleled. ]
She was older so it makes sense she had more time to practice. I'm sure you will be as good as her and even better, you're very determined. [ Family is a touchy subject, Jaskier knows but he also wants to learn more about his lover's parents. ] Would you mind it too much if I asked you about her? Or about your father? I know that they...fought until the end to protect their people. And that sort of sacrifice deserves to be honored and preserved.
[ 'With a song', he doesn't say, but it's what he's hinting at. Something to make people know about those who gave their lives and why, and to help them remember the dangers as well. ]
If should always be like that, if you ask me. And I'll always be honest with you, or try my best.
[ He's only human after all, and he has a tendency to hide when he's been hurt. But about the rest of the things, Jaskier always speaks his mind. It comes naturally with Jiang Cheng, he feels at ease, he feels at home. ]
You already did. Look where I am standing, no one from my land has ever been here and this is thanks to you.
I wouldn't have visited your lands if I hadn't been sent. I never thought of seeking allies beyond the lands we frequent, or. Well. That anything worthwhile could be found there. [ That he could find love and belonging there. And maybe he wouldn't have opened himself up to the possibility if he hadn't been quite ready to escape his worries for a while but still.. ] I'm just glad it was me who was sent. And that I ran into you when I did. I'm grateful things turned out as they did.
[ So many coincidences and unlikely circumstances had been necessary for their paths to cross at the right time in the right place. Maybe this is really going to be their lucky break after far too many disappointments in life. He can only hope so. ]
Are you asking because you want to know more about my family history or because you want to write a song about my parents? I realize one easily leads to the other with you and you can't really say. But still. I just want to know why you will be asking these questions.
I don't mind Well I'm not going to fight against answering questions. You have a right to know my family history. [ And this, in a very roundabout way, may be an acknowledgment of what Jaskier is to him. He has a right to know - Jiang clan concerns him, too. He is no outsider. ] It's just difficult to talk about. Especially the end. But even before. Our family was complicated even before the war.
Anything worthwhile? Jaskier huffs, more amused than offended. I understand why but don't tell that to any kings or Queens you meet in my land if you ever visit again, they are too easily offended. I'm happy to know you no longer think that way, and that we got to met.
[ He's happy for a lot of things that involve Jiang Cheng, even if he can't always express them in a way that's not flirty or overwhelming. Destiny is a tricky thing, Jaskier knows it all too well, and he could have never predicted that he would find love in someone so different from him, someone from so far away. ]
I...ok, it's both? I sincerely want to learn more about your family because I want to get to know you even better. I also think that they should be remembered and honored in song after their sacrifice. But If you rather not be reminded of it, I'd stop asking and I would not compose anything. Don't feel obligated to agree just because I asked.
[ The last thing he wants is to make Cheng think that he needs to agree to something that upsets him just to please Jaskier. Far too many people have hurt the man int eh past, he doesn't want to cause him more pain. ]
I'll listen to anything you're willing to share when you're ready, and I won't pressure you about what you'd rather leave unsaid. I'd like to know why it was complicated before the war but you don't have to tell me now, or never, it's all good. Families have their secrets, god knows mine does too.
Oh please, as if I would tell! I did alright at your royal courts, didn't I? I didn't offend anyone... too much. I didn't start a single war! [ That's peak diplomacy, right? Whatever his diplomatic skills may be, that he has found his partner on the Continent has made this trip a success. ]
Write a song about them if you would like to. I know you will do it in a way that respects their memory. It will be good for their memory to be kept alive. [ It will hurt to be reminded, sure, but maybe this can help it become the old pain of an old injury rather than the gaping wound it still is years after his parents died. ]
Let's find a day when we both have nothing important to do, and we will talk about the past.
You did wonderfully. No one even unsheathed their swords, which is usually what happens during those kinds of meetings. Well I mean, I did pull out your sword in private but that was a much better end of the night than fighting.
[ It is kind of sad that yes, for Jaskier's homeland standards, that is peak diplomacy. His expression softens when Jiang Cheng gives him permission and Jaskier wishes he was there to talk to the man in person. ]
I promise it will be one of my best songs, darling. All right, that sounds good. I think I have bothered you enough today, you must be busy with your disciples. I'll see you later for dinner then? I was thinking about cooking you a dish form my homeland.
[ He's actually a pretty good cook, so Jiang Cheng doesn't have to worry about Jaskier burning the house down. ]
[ That sword pun is so very much Jaskier that Jiang Cheng gives a startled laugh as he reads it. He shakes his head, fondly amused, promising himself to get back at him for this tonight. ]
Then I'll see you at dinner. The kitchen is all yours. I look forward to a taste of your home.
[ He'll indeed be going back to hounding his disciples now, but with mood much improved. Maybe he will even be somewhat easy on them. ]
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givingexposition) wrote2020-02-25 10:08 pm
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[ Hope you enjoy your new nickname, Jiang Cheng. Also Jaskier doesn't believe a single word of your excuses. ]
I have enjoyed every moment together. I admit I never expected that I'd find someone to connect with like this, not after...let's just say the few proper relationship I had in my life didn't end well. And I like it when you listen to my proposals.
[ He likes is very much and he only wants to suggest things that make Cheng happy. ]
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Don't call me that, you're ridiculous!
And I don't need you false pity. You try to sit through Lan Qiren's lectures and then be smug. That man has intimidating eyebrows. I haven't been his student in years and I can tell you I'm still terrified of his disapproving looks.
[ Grmpf! Of course, he fully expects Jaskier would be enthused since he has that fascination with the Gusu Lan - and a complete lack of functioning survival instincts around grumpy people. ]
I didn't expect it either. This thing between us. I didn't think I could have that. I treasure our time together, Jaskier. I'm glad you are here. [ And yes, he wishes he were better at really showing that, that he were good at eloquent love confessions and didn't try so hard to guard himself against vulnerabilities but... So far, Jaskier has shown himself remarkably adept at reading between the lines. ]
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Deal with it.You are welcome. ]I think it's a good nickname! Even if your dragons are weird and have no wings. Dragons are strong, wise and creatures of wonder!...some also have bad tempter.
[ So double fitting. He will get you to like the new name, even use it in songs. ]
Intimidating eyebrows. Now that is something I need to see. Does he ever visit Lotus Pier?
[ Imagine how that meeting would go, Jiang Cheng. What could go wrong? And ok, yes, his survival instincts are questionable at best but those very same grumpy people usually end protecting him. ]
Me neither, maybe it was time to be compensated in some way about our bad luck.
[ As far as love confessions go, honestly is perfect in Jaskier's books. He can talk to Jiang Cheng about his feeling, that already is a lot. ]
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[ Which... actually makes them only more suited for the comparison but he is still very much flustered by it. He doesn't know how to handle Jaskier's effusive praise any more than he knows how to deal with his overwhelming friendliness, though he has grown used to the latter by now. ]
No, Lan Qiren never bothers to visit anywhere. I doubt he even cares to acknowledge anything but Gusu Lan and their own teachings. He is a very strict man. Very righteous and forbidding, even more so than Nie Mingjue.
[ And he hopes they will never meet. He is not sure that Lan Qiren's blood pressure can handle the bard. Better to inflict him on the Nie. After all, Jaskier is a pro at charming people who are itching to skewer him on their giant swords. ]
Maybe it is compensation. I wouldn't mind if it were so. [ This is love. And even if it can't last because good things never last, he is willing to savor it for as long as he is permitted to have it. ]
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But I'll give you that, some *do* look like chickens. Like the Cockatrice. It's what you get if you mix a rooster with a winged lizard, and they have the bad temper of a goose. They're devil incarnate.
[ Jaskier meant the comparison as high praise, even if the bad temper and burning-land tendencies are making him reconsider if he went too far.
Naaaah. ]
In that case, maybe that's for the better. I don't think he would like me either.
[ The bard is aware of his many flaws, don't worry Cheng. Even he knows when it's better to stay away from certain people. But perhaps he could charm the old man with a well-crafted song, time will say. ]
Me neither. I quite like it being here. [ He hopes it lasts. Jaskier will do everything in his power to make it so. ]
no subject
I'm sure there are some people who would say that the Cockatrice is a better comparison! But if they felt the lash of Zidian they only did so because they deserved it.
I haven't burned anything lately but during the Sunshot Campaign... Well, we did fight back ruthlessly. We had to. We Yunmeng Jiang were weak and we were few, we had nothing but ruthlessness left to earn respect. Wars are not won by being gentle with the enemy. [ And he had come rightly by his reputation for being fearsome, though nothing he did compared to the horror Wei Wuxian could cause with his demonic cultivation. ]
I like having you here. Enough that I try to make your stay more enjoyable. [ Such as the watchtower that is going to be constructed, a pagoda in Lotus Pier's style but built from forbidding dark stones like the forts in Jaskier's homeland. Construction on that will begin the next time he takes Jaskier away from Lotus Pier for a while, so there will be some actual progress to show him when he returns. ]
no subject
Dragons are more elegant than Cockatrices, you deserve a better comparison. And Zidian is a weapon like no other, it takes my breath away every time you use it.
About the Campaign... there are no real winners in war, it brings the worst part of people to the surface. Also to best too, on occasion. You did what you had to do, I'm sure. It's not my place to tell or judge.
[ He doesn't like wars or fighting but he's seen enough of both. Jaskier trusts that Jiang Cheng is a fair leader and he knows that the man only wanted to protect his people, more so after his family was slaughtered. He can't blame the man for his past actions. ]
You don't have to try too hard. You being around me is enough, handsome.
[ That said, he's going to lose it once he sees the Pagoda. You spoil him, Jiang Cheng. He will be left speechless, an accomplishment on its own. ]
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Hearing Zidian praised does bring a rather sappy smile to his face. Jaskier never fails to leave him all flustered with how open he is in showing his affection. ]
I'm still learning to truly master Zidian to my mother's level of expertise. She had decades of experience on me. One day I will be truly impressive with it and worthy of your praise. [ It's another, more personal incentive to keep working hard. He has been working harder than ever before anyway, wishing to prove himself deserving of his lover's trust and adoration. ]
I know you don't judge me or my people, and I'm grateful for that. You accept us simply as we are. [ More like, he accepts Jiang Cheng as he is, and not only in matters of war and wrath. Maybe he will never find the words to tell him that it means the world to him but... it does.
Never before has he truly felt like being around someone is indeed enough but here and now, there is peace. ]
I still want to do something for you. Gestures, if nothing else. I want to prove myself to you. [ Prove his worth. His earnest intentions. The pagoda is one way to do it, that he doesn't even try to hide their relationship another. ]
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He's being honest too, he doesn't lie when it comes to praising or laying insults. Zidian really is one of a kind and Jiang Cheng's ability with it unparalleled. ]
She was older so it makes sense she had more time to practice. I'm sure you will be as good as her and even better, you're very determined. [ Family is a touchy subject, Jaskier knows but he also wants to learn more about his lover's parents. ] Would you mind it too much if I asked you about her? Or about your father? I know that they...fought until the end to protect their people. And that sort of sacrifice deserves to be honored and preserved.
[ 'With a song', he doesn't say, but it's what he's hinting at. Something to make people know about those who gave their lives and why, and to help them remember the dangers as well. ]
If should always be like that, if you ask me. And I'll always be honest with you, or try my best.
[ He's only human after all, and he has a tendency to hide when he's been hurt. But about the rest of the things, Jaskier always speaks his mind. It comes naturally with Jiang Cheng, he feels at ease, he feels at home. ]
You already did. Look where I am standing, no one from my land has ever been here and this is thanks to you.
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[ So many coincidences and unlikely circumstances had been necessary for their paths to cross at the right time in the right place. Maybe this is really going to be their lucky break after far too many disappointments in life. He can only hope so. ]
Are you asking because you want to know more about my family history or because you want to write a song about my parents? I realize one easily leads to the other with you and you can't really say. But still. I just want to know why you will be asking these questions.
I don't mind
Well I'm not going to fight against answering questions. You have a right to know my family history. [ And this, in a very roundabout way, may be an acknowledgment of what Jaskier is to him. He has a right to know - Jiang clan concerns him, too. He is no outsider. ] It's just difficult to talk about. Especially the end. But even before. Our family was complicated even before the war.
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[ He's happy for a lot of things that involve Jiang Cheng, even if he can't always express them in a way that's not flirty or overwhelming. Destiny is a tricky thing, Jaskier knows it all too well, and he could have never predicted that he would find love in someone so different from him, someone from so far away. ]
I...ok, it's both? I sincerely want to learn more about your family because I want to get to know you even better. I also think that they should be remembered and honored in song after their sacrifice. But If you rather not be reminded of it, I'd stop asking and I would not compose anything. Don't feel obligated to agree just because I asked.
[ The last thing he wants is to make Cheng think that he needs to agree to something that upsets him just to please Jaskier. Far too many people have hurt the man int eh past, he doesn't want to cause him more pain. ]
I'll listen to anything you're willing to share when you're ready, and I won't pressure you about what you'd rather leave unsaid. I'd like to know why it was complicated before the war but you don't have to tell me now, or never, it's all good. Families have their secrets, god knows mine does too.
no subject
Write a song about them if you would like to. I know you will do it in a way that respects their memory. It will be good for their memory to be kept alive. [ It will hurt to be reminded, sure, but maybe this can help it become the old pain of an old injury rather than the gaping wound it still is years after his parents died. ]
Let's find a day when we both have nothing important to do, and we will talk about the past.
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[ It is kind of sad that yes, for Jaskier's homeland standards, that is peak diplomacy. His expression softens when Jiang Cheng gives him permission and Jaskier wishes he was there to talk to the man in person. ]
I promise it will be one of my best songs, darling. All right, that sounds good. I think I have bothered you enough today, you must be busy with your disciples. I'll see you later for dinner then? I was thinking about cooking you a dish form my homeland.
[ He's actually a pretty good cook, so Jiang Cheng doesn't have to worry about Jaskier burning the house down. ]
no subject
Then I'll see you at dinner. The kitchen is all yours. I look forward to a taste of your home.
[ He'll indeed be going back to hounding his disciples now, but with mood much improved. Maybe he will even be somewhat easy on them. ]
no subject
See you then, Jiang Cheng. You won't be disappointed.
[ Have fun, love, and don't scare them too much ♥ (only the right amount!) ]