#i won’t say anything about later jzx | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

robininthelabyrinth · 3 years

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Prompt: JZX is more politically aware, but mostly lonely. When he learns that JGY is his younger brother he's determined to be a good dage. His only examples however, are LXC, who hes not sure is human, WWX who- just- NO, and NMJ, who despite being his sworn brother seems to HATE JGY? So hes on his own. It can't be that hard right? Getting his mom to stop beating JGY is a good start, maybe helping catch up in training? (JGY is about to get so much awkward affection, it mightsave everything.)

ao3

When Jin Zixuan heard for the first time that his father was acknowledging one of his (many) bastards, bringing him home to be recognized as the Jin-er-gongzi, his first reaction was not, as his mother expected, overwhelming rage and disappointment, the way it was for her.

In fact, it was mostly delight – delight, and fear.

He’d known from a young age that he was never going to get any siblings from his mother, and while he’d known in a vague sort of way that his father as a notorious philanderer with bastards aplenty, it hadn’t ever been relevant to his life on account of the fact that none of them were ever acknowledged. He’d assumed that it would always be that way, and for the first twenty years of his life, it was.

Until now.

He was going to have a brother – no, worse. He was going to bea brother, a big brother; that was a position that came with responsibilities. He had to be a good role model, a teacher of all things good and righteous and proper, but also needed to care for them and take care of them – it was, to be perfectly honest, a brand new experience. Through some trick of fate, Jin Zixuan was among the youngest of his cousins and cohorts of his peers; there was something of an age gap between him and the next set of shidi in his sect, and anyway he’d never been expected to care for his shidi in a parental sort of manner – the Jin sect was too concerned with class to allow such closeness without a blood tie to excuse it.

So he was starting, essentially, from scratch.

It might’ve been smoother and more straightforward if he’d met his brother immediately, fresh from the battlefield where all such divisions were blurred and vague; they could have been shield-brothers, that way, and Jin Zixuan might not know much about brothers, but he had fought in a war and knew that much. But his father had whisked Jin Guangyao (and why was it ‘Guangyao’ instead of ‘Ziyao’?) away immediately, insisting that he needed his help with setting up the Phoenix Mountain hunt, so they hadn’t had a chance to meet at that stage. Jin Zixuan realized, of course, that organizing the Phoenix Mountain hunt was a big deal and, probably, a way for his father to show that he trusted his newest son, so he stepped back and kept to himself…well, mostly.

There was that incident with Jiang Yanli.

Either way, though, he didn’t have a chance to get to know Jin Guangyao until they were both back at Jinlin Tower, where the strict rules of etiquette and formality reigned supreme, and when they did Jin Guangyao was perfectly polite and gracious and incredibly fake. It was then that Jin Zixuan realized that he really, truly had no idea how to connect with another person if they weren’t making just about all the effort, and furthermore started to worry that he was being a bad big brother.

Naturally, this called for research.

“Yes, dear,” A-Li said, hiccupping with laughter. She’d agreed to walk in the gardens with him again, and since they were engaged now they could even be left alone – in fact, they were left alone a bit more often than they probably ought to be, which was likely his mother’s hint that children would be better obtained sooner rather than later and little things like marriage dates oughtn’t get in the way of that. “That makes perfect sense. Lots of research. Studious, serious research. What else could you possibly do?”

“You’re laughing at me,” Jin Zixuan said suspiciously. “Definitely at and not with. Have I done something wrong?”

“Not at all! I think it’s quite charming that you think this is the most straightforward way to bond with someone, instead of, say, just going and talking to the person directly – really charming. Delightful. Really! Don’t mind me one bit.” She wiped her eyes. “Now, tell me, who are you planning on talking with first for your ‘research’? Chifeng-zun?”

“No, I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Jin Zixuan said. “I mean, I also thought about him first, since his younger brother is a half-brother as well, but they’ve known each other for ages and ages, haven’t they? Chifeng-zun all but raised his younger brother – he’s more of a parent than a brother! And, well, you know, A-Yao and him…”

“They don’t really get along,” Jiang Yanli agreed. “You’re right, he’s probably not the best person to ask. Who else, then? Zewu-jun?”

“I don’t think I could live up to his example even if he sat down and advised me on how to do it,” Jin Zixuan said sincerely. “I mean, he’s just – you know? He’s perfect.”

“Too perfect,” Jiang Yanli agreed, and that was why he loved her quite so desperately. “Almost like a painting – nice to admire from afar, but a little lifeless up close…anyway, you wouldn’t want Jin-er-gongzi to end up like Hanguang-jun, would you?”

Jin Zixuan most certainly did not want an overly rule-abiding, stiff-faced disciplinarian as a younger brother. No thanks!

“So he’s out,” Jiang Yanli mused. “Who else is left?”

Jin Zixuan coughed. “Meaning no offense,” he said. “But, uh…I don’t think it’d be appropriate…”

“Oh, no, definitely don’t use A-Xian as a role model!” Jiang Yanli appeared mildly alarmed at the thought. “He and A-Cheng love each other, but things were always a little complicated – no, definitely don’t do that.”

Jin Zixuan exhaled in relief: crisis averted.

“Is there anyone else you might ask? I don’t think I know any others of your peers that are older siblings.”

“Not in the Great Sects, no. But anyway, I was thinking…well, I don’t know if it’s a good idea or not –” He wasn’t exactly a strategic genius. “But I was thinking of approaching it from the other direction.”

“Oh?”

“A good older brother is judged primarily by the younger brother, right? If you’re a good older brother on paper but your younger brother hates you, there’s no point. So I was going to ask the younger brothers and see what it was about their older brothers that they liked.”

“An interesting strategy,” Jiang Yanli said.

Jin Zixuan frowned. ‘Interesting’ might be the word most often used when he proposed plans, but it usually didn’t actually mean that the other side agreed with the plan. Certainly Chifeng-zun had said several times that several of his proposed battle tactics were ‘interesting’ and he’d never even once used a single one of them. “What’s wrong with the idea?”

“Oh, nothing, nothing…it’s only…”

“Only what?”

“Think about who you’d be asking,” Jiang Yanli said. “What would Nie-gongzi be likely to say?”

“…probably that a good older brother is one that indulges all his whims, never makes him do anything, and buys him stuff.” Jin Zixuan grimaced. “A-Yao is far too talented for such treatment; he’d think I was being condescending and treating him like a child.”

“Mm, likely yes, I’m afraid. And A-Cheng would probably clam up immediately, refuse to answer, and then, if you did manage to get it out of him, say that a good older brother would be one that was there all the time doing his job.”

“But A-Yao already does his job! If anything, he’s overlyconscientious about it!”

“Exactly.”

“And the only other one to ask is Lan Wangji,” Jin Zixuan realized. “And he won’t say anything at all, because he’s a lump of rock that doesn’t speak!”

Jiang Yanli snorted. It sounded involuntary, distinctly resembled the sound of a pig, and she looked momentarily shocked that the sound had come from her, so he pretended not to notice.

“I’m doomed,” he moaned. “I don’t know how I’m going to do this…A-Li, you must have some other suggestion!”

“Well, I might have one,” she said, and he looked eagerly at her. “It involves you actually having a conversation with A-Yao, though.”

“Oh, well, that’s sure to fail,” Jin Zixuan said, and now she was laughing again. “I mean it!”

“We’ll think of something, I’m sure,” she said, giggling. “Don’t worry. With both of us on the task, I’m sure we’ll get things in proper shape!”

#mdzs #jin zixuan #jiang yanli #my fic #my fics

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silverflame2724 · 3 years

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WWX decides to kill two birds with one stone and with the help of WQ reforges the Stygian Tiger Seal into a artificial golden core replacement which she implants into WWX.

WWXs eyes are now permanently red and he has the full power of the seal at his fingertips at all times because its part of him now.

Another side effect of this Stygian Core is discovered when WWX misses JZXs ambush and is instead attacked and disembowled in Carp Tower in full view of the cultivation world but then immediately regenerates without a scratch and blood ruined robes.

Watching WWX be more annoyed at the bloody robes than being disembowled because the Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation has apparently cultivated to immortality USING RESENTMENT shakes a lot of people.

“Huh.” Wen Qing says as she observes yet another failure of Wei Wuxian’s inventions quite literally blow up in his face. “So this Seal of yours protects you?”

Wei Wuxian coughs from the smoke of his busted invention, “Well, yeah. What about it?”

“It’s sentient, correct?”

“Yeah....?”

“Hmm.” Wen Qing observed the Seal slowly bobbing up and down. “Can you circulate resentful energy through the Seal for a moment? Don’t make it do anything. Just channel resentful energy through it like you would if you channeled spiritual energy normally.”

“Okayyy??” Wei Wuxian was perplexed but nevertheless obeyed and watched as Wen Qing’s eyes brightened. “What? What is it? Wen Qing, tell meeeeee! Don’t leave me out!!!!!”

“Brat, I’m trying to concentrate.” She scolded him, but her tone was fond.

Wei Wuxian waited a few more moments before it seemed like Wen Qing had seen enough.

“I want you to calm down when I say this, but I think you can reforge the Seal into a core which I can transfer into you.”

Wei Wuxian was silent......for about two seconds. “............What?”

Wen Qing sighed. “Wei Wuxian, when you channeled resentful energy through the Seal, the Seal acted much like how it would if someone were to channel spiritual energy through their core. The Seal can be made into an artificial core is what I’m saying.”

“I.....you are sure?” Wei Wuxian asked. He knew Wen Qing wouldn’t joke about this.

“Yes. I’m about eighty percent sure this will go well. I can even knock you out when I cut you open this time.”

“I.....okay.” Wei Wuxian was at a loss for words.

“So I’ve rendered you speechless.” Wen Qing smiled. “That kinda feels good.”

Wei Wuxian pouted.

...........

It took a few days to reform the Seal into a form that would resemble a core but Wei Wuxian was a genius and having Wen Qing there to bounce ideas off of helped in giving him a clue as to how a core should look and feel like.

“Are you ready?” Wen Qing asked.

Wei Wuxian, who was one hundred percent not ready, said, “Yes.”

Wen Qing saw through this. “It will be alright.” She squeezed his hand. “This time, it will be alright.”

That was the last thing he heard before he was knocked out.

When he awoke, his eyes had burned for a little before the pain dissipated.

Wen Qing had been in the midst of declaring the operation successful when she suddenly paused, “Huh.”

“What is it?” He asked nervously. Did something go wrong?

“Oh.....it’s, hmm. A’ Ning, get me some water, will you?”

Wen Ning returned not long later and locked eyes with Wei Wuxian. He seemed quite startled and that made Wei Wuxian even more curious. Based on Wen Qing’s reaction, it wasn’t anything bad, but still.....

“Wei Wuxian.”

“Yes?”

“Look at your reflection and you’ll understand why A’ Ning and I looked startled.”

Wei Wuxian did.

And he was shocked to see that his eyes have now become a brilliant shade of red. “What the hell?”

“Mmhm.”

“Why are my eyes red???”

“Well, Wei Wuxian, I’m not sure if anyone’s told you, but you’re aware your eyes turn red everytime you use demonic cultivation, right?”

“Umm, no??”

“Well, they do. And considering what your core is, well. I’m not entirely surprised this happened. It was certainly unexpected though.” She finished cleaning up and left Wei Wuxian to just sit and admire his reflection.

...................

A week and some carefully supervised experiments later, Wei Wuxian had full control over his core. It was really just the same thing as how one would normally use a golden core, so it didn’t take long for him to get the hang of it. However, considering his core is the Seal, he also had the ability to control thousands of corpses and this time without any of the side effects.

He also spent time trying to get Suibian to respond to him using resentful energy. Considering that the sword was a spiritual sword, he was unsure of the compatibility but Suibian seemed to adapt well enough and Wei Wuxian was so glad he didn’t have to give up ever using his beloved sword again.

The next step on his agenda was to update the wards. Using the power of the Seal to strengthen it was a walk in the park and Wei Wuxian finally felt like despite how the cultivation world was always on the verge of killing him and the Wens, they’d be safe. The wards would hold out.

He then started absorbing all the deep-seated resentment in the soil to make it more fertile as well as trying to clear the Burial Mounds resentment by listening to the stories of the dead and helping them pass on. He also painstakingly dug up all the strewn about corpses, burned them and held proper funeral rites for them.

The crops flourished, the Wens and him were well-fed, and the Burial Mounds started to lighten up. Wei Wuxian no longer looked to be on the verge of death and he was able to cultivate without any problem.

Like this, time passed peacefully.

..........................

He was invited to his nephew’s one month celebration not long later and Wei Wuxian decided that this would be a good time to show the cultivation world that he truly is the grandmaster of demonic cultivation they all claim him to be. (In truth, he never considered himself to be any sort of grandmaster considering how little he knew of demonic cultivation, but it was different now.)

He told Wen Ning and the other corpses - of the resentful spirits that stayed behind saying they wanted to help him - to watch for any Jins since he trusted they’d take this chance to attack the Burial Mounds.

After he put on a concealing talisman for his eyes - since he knew that his different eye color would make a huge uproar -, he took to the skies with Suibian and nearly teared up. He’d missed flying. He’d missed this feeling. Laughing happily, he circulated the resentful energy in his core and sped up, becoming a black blur as he flew straight over Qiongqi Path.

When he landed at the foot of Koi Tower, invitation in hand, the Jin guards seemed surprised to see him there but had to let him in, not wanting to offend him.

Jiang Yanli-- no, it was Jin Yanli saw him and waved excitedly, beckoning him over. Out of his sight, Jin Guangyao and Jin Guangshan seemed surprised to see him there.

“A’ Xian!”

“Shijie!” The form of address slipped out.

Her face softened. “You made it!”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world!”

The whispers of the people around him, wondering why he was there, surrounded him, but he ignored it. “Shijie, here’s my present!”

She looked at the bell with a little bit of wonder. “What does it do?”

“It’ll ensure that high level resentful beings and below won’t be able to move!”

“Oh, A’ Xian! This is perfect.”

“Thank you.” Jin Zixuan said, awkwardly. Wei Wuxian had forgotten he was there.

“No need! If it’s for Shijie’s son, I’d do anything!”

“He’s my son, too.”

Wei Wuxian made a face at that. “Well, yeah.”

“Wei Wuxian!” Jiang Cheng called and then stopped. “You have your sword?”

Wei Wuxian shrugged, “Yep!” He twirled around. “I started picking Suibian up again! But let’s not focus on that, Jiang Cheng!”

Jiang Cheng seemed hesitant but dropped it readily enough as they started bickering like they used to.

Suddenly--

“Wei Wuxian!” Someone yelled.

Wei Wuxian groaned. Can one day go on without someone yelling my name with hatred??? Like, please??

“Yeeeeeees?” He drawled tiredly.

And some Jin guy that vaguely looked like Jin Zixuan stomped in, looking murderous. “You, remove the curse that you put on me!!”

Murmurs started up all around them.

“Curse?” Wei Wuxian looked confused. “What curse? And who are you anyway? Am I supposed to know you from somewhere??”

“You know who I am!!”

“No, I don’t actually.” Wei Wuxian scratched his head as he walked forward to get a better look. He really didn’t know!

“That’s Jin Zixun.” His shijie said, coming up to him. “From the Phoenix Mountain hunt?” Before Wei Wuxian could say anything, she continued. “The one that was supposed to apologize to you.”

“Hmm?” Wei Wuxian thought really hard. “Oh! I remember you now!” He said to a rather red-faced Jin Zixun. “Sorry about that buddy, but uhh I didn’t curse you! I didn’t even remember you until now!”

“It must be you! It has to be you!!” He screamed and it was really grating on his nerves. “See! Look at this!” He ripped his robes open and everyone gasped at the evidence of the Hundred Holes curse on his torso.

Wei Wuxian whistled. “Well, that’s quite some curse. But I still didn’t do it.” Jin Zixun looked ready to refute so he continued, “Why would I curse you secretly when I usually make a big production of those I kill?”

People had to admit he had a point.

Jin Zixun continued to scream expletives until he finally rushed forward and in a rather bold move, drew his sword, plunging forward. However, in his anger, he completely missed his target and the direction of the blade pointed towards Jin Yanli.

“A’ Jie!!” Jiang Cheng screamed

Wei Wuxian was the closest to her and pushed her back, stepping in front of her taking the sword to his gut.

“A’ XIAN!!!” “WEI WUXIAN!!” “WEI YING!!” Jin Yanli, Jiang Cheng, and Lan Wangji, who was actually there, all screamed.

And Wei Wuxian who had just been disemboweled, grit his teeth and pulled out the sword. Which, in hindsight, was a horrible decision since blood got everywhere. Though not so much when his stomach stitched itself back together. “................Huh.” I knew I regenerated quickly considering how often I got hurt plowing the fields and digging up the corpses to put them to rest, but damn that was quick. Though..... “My robes!” He fake-cried, turning his attention to a stunned Jin Zixun. “You ruined my robes! I just managed to scrounge up enough money to buy this new pair and you ruined them!!!!” He fretted over the large rip over his abdomen. “What am I going to tell Wen Qing? She just told me not to stain them!”

The entire cultivation just stared at him in silent shock, making Wei Wuxian feel a little self-conscious.

“Uhh, what are all of you staring at me for?”

“Wei Wuxian,” Jiang Cheng said with all the patience of an exasperated brother. “Is that the only thing you can ask?!” He glared, signaling for two Jiang disciples to restrain Jin Zixun from anymore stupid ideas he’d like to enact. “When did you cultivate to immortality?”

“I didn’t??? What do you mean??”

“Wei Ying.” Lan Zhan said, checking him over. “Are you alright?”

“Hmm? I’m a little dizzy considering all the blood I’ve lost, but it’s nothing big!” He grinned. It felt nice to have Lan Zhan care for him rather than fight with him.

“Wei Wuxian, stop flirting with Hanguang-Jun and answer the damn question.”

Wei Wuxian turned his attention back to his brother and pouted at him, missing Lan Wangji’s red ears. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“A’ Xian.” Shijie said and Wei Wuxian abruptly realized her robes had his blood on them.

“Shijie, I’m sorry I got your robes dirty!”

“It’s fine.” She patted him. “But A’ Xian, I know you didn’t pay attention to those lectures, but only immortals can heal from wounds like that that quickly.”

“Really?”

“Mn.” Lan Zhan confirmed.

“Huh. So I’m immortal?”

“Yes.” Jiang Cheng deadpanned. “And you didn’t even notice it. In true Wei Wuxian fashion.”

Lan Zhan frowned then. He had still been checking Wei Wuxian’s pulse. “Wei Ying, what happened to your core?”

“Hmm? .........Oh shit.”

“Why is it covered in resentment?”

“Oh. Umm.” Wei Wuxian really was at a loss for words now. “We can discuss that later?”

“Wei Ying.”

“Aiya, how do you make my name sound like reprimand?”

“Don’t try to deflect the conversation.” Jiang Cheng said, now paying attention.

Wei Wuxian groaned. “Okay. Well, everyone would have found out sooner or later but umm. I might have cultivated to immortality accidentally via demonic cultivation? Haha, ha......”

No one laughed with him. They all looked pretty shaken and Wei Wuxian wanted to laugh at their reaction. He felt pretty detached from it all, to be honest.

“Can we all just forget about this and continue celebrating Jin Ling’s one month celebration?”

And everyone collectively said, “No.”

“Aww.”

___________________

To this day, I’m still unsure of whether it’s Carp Tower or Koi Tower.

#mdzs #wei ying #wei wuxian #wen qing #immortal wei wuxian #fluff #wei wuxian has a new core #but it's not a golden core #wen remnants #jiang cheng #jiang wanyin #jiang yanli #jin zixuan #jin zixun #humor #lan zhan #lan wangji #mild warning for blood

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mxrinelifeclub · 2 years

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How many Wens can I ship WWX with? Anyway WWX/WX fic idea

WWX gets kicked out by the Jiangs and therefore kicked out of the elite Gusu academy cause YZY won’t pay for his tuition anymore. LWJ rejects WWX’s love confession, thinking he was trying to take advantage of him and also subconsciously believing in the rumors about him being easy. Also believing in his uncle’s biases. Nhs also embarrassed WWX trying to defend NMJ, after Jgy spread rumors about the two. The school year ends and no one hears or sees WWX again.

WWX knew he was being kicked out soon before it was officially decided for him. He took the entrance exams for the elite Qishan academy because they have dorm options and he gets in with a full scholarship. There he becomes friends with Wen Ning, helping him with his math work and by extension the rest of the Wen family. Also befriending jzx and mm after a while. Him and jzx met in passing growing up because of the friendship between madam Jin and yzy so WWX was trying to avoid him until they were paired up for a class assignment and get closer.

Me throwing in a one-sided WWX/JZX pairing before 3rd year Wen Xu tells the Jin heir to back off. I forgot to mention this is omegaverse cause why not.

Haven’t full planned now their relationship develops but it does and there’s no mixed signals like from LWJ (cause let’s be honest teen LWJ was hot/cold).

Anyway they get married and after WWX graduates uni. The Jiangs/Nies/Lans aren’t invited even though they’re business partners with the Wens and feel some type of way. Especially yzy when she hears about from her friend who keeps the identity of the bride anonymous for some reason.

It’s ok cause they all get to meet a preggy WWX at one of the big business conferences a year later. They each have different reactions. Nhs and LWJ are shocked at his presence, both wanting to apologize for their last meeting. The Jiangs (mostly yzy and jc) are pissed at him for being there. Nhs and LWJ are the first to approach him not knowing what to say as NHS rambles. Yzy comes storming over to him. Before she can say anything though WRH comes up and they’re all surprised when WWX calls him father. Wen Xu and Wen Ruohan intimidate the others getting them to go back to their own seats.

The different groups have to watch WWX interact with their peers, living his best life. Mianmian and her husband that’s an up and coming company that’s recently partnered with the Wen are there. (Keeping mm with her merchant husband because they’re cute idc). Jzx and his fiancé are there as well and jyl has to watch the alpha who rejected her be friendly with the omega her family kicked out. LWJ has to watch his love carry another’s child because he couldn’t get out of his own head when they were teenagers. Nhs has to watch his ex friend have inside jokes with others. But WWX is happy and doesn’t think about them at all. WX and WC antagonize the others whenever they’re in the same room though as payback lol

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vrishchikawrites · 3 years

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About YZY leaving YMJ/JFM with her kids Post-WWX Arrival

Dear Dee, feel free to delete or ignore this or post it, whatever floats your boat. This just stuck in my head after those posts and I had to blurt it all to someone. Thanks for taking the time to read my word vomit.

So I had to do this instead of an ask because it got long and I wasn't sure how many asks it'd need or how short I could cut it down without losing parts of the argument. And then other things came up as I was writing and, well. Well..... >_>;;;;

But you know, after that post/ask you had about YZY fics saying 'Fuck U' to YMJ/JFM & leaving both with her kids, I had a sarcastic 'yeah right' attitude about it. Mainly due to a lot of negation emotions to such an abusive (and delusional) bitch, partly due to how she wouldn't do that since it doesn't seem to be something her sort of character would consider either because she'd think of it as 'losing' (losing what, IDK, it's why I consider her type of person crazy) or she legit wouldn't think about such a viable action.

But then later, in the shower, I seriously went 'Wait, she can't fucking do that' and it wouldn't be about how MXTX uses her as a part of the narrative but entirely about the/their culture in the novel; the actions that have and would be taken in response; and her entire toxic personality as well.

1) We already know that the sects and the cultivation world in general is sexist, elitist and so Capital T 'Traditional' to the point that it's starting to petrify and any deviancy from this is an exception rather than the norm. YZY might be a madame of a great sect (for what that's worth considering how shit of a madame she's been and the titles she's chosen for herself) but she's still a woman even with her high rank and the things she's personally accomplished.

Even if she was in her rights to leave a 'bad' marriage, she'd be the one who'd get scolded more instead of JFM by her natal family, her former husband's family and by their entire society at large even if she had a few singular supporters. Because That's Not How Things Are Done in their society and I do believe that such a thing was rare even when it was accepted method by the upper echelons. Especially since it would have to be done by more than YZY simply deciding that She Wants Out and just- goes and Gets Out. With no serious allegations that would allow her to divorce or separate from YMJ/JFM without the input from her family, JFM's family and, I think, possibly some measure of compensation as well. And no, having or bringing in a 'bastard child' is not a serious enough offence for such a humongous decision. I think something more along the lines of treason or crimes against multiple, high-ranking parties would be more along the lines. Maybe.

And even if she does this, she'd be considered 'Used Goods' (such a terrible comment) and there'd be no other good/proper marriage prospects for a divorced woman with children let alone a woman like YZY with her entire abrasive personality and attitude put off even easy-going JFM.

(If she'd been widowed then it'd be more forgiven but I consider that a Real Bad End since, IMO, it would lead to the sudden and inevitable decline of YMJ either via mass exodus of disciples and/or residents of LP; being merged with another sect due to it's unstable leadership; or create an internal political war 'cause I bet you anything that the YMJ Elders/relatives (if they have any) Would Not Want YZY in charge of YMJ when she's already proven herself such a shit betrothed let alone madame.)

2) Speaking of families, while YMJ/JFM/LP as a whole might be glad to see YZY's back, I don't think her natal sect, MSY, will be glad to see her come storming back after all the effort they put into getting that particular marriage alliance with YMJ. And if she brings her children with her? Oh man, oh boy- mother or not, that could be considered as kidnapping or line theft (is that a thing?) especially if YZY is also seriously considering divorce proceedings and raising them as Yu and not Jiang. That could give leave to, for anyone more unforgiving and maybe JFM if he's pushed enough, disown both JYL and JWY from the Jiangs through no fault of their own (though I'm sure YZY would make it so as well as blame JFM for her own decisions and mistakes).

Therefore, any inheritance or benefits they might gain for being legitimised children of a great sect are forfeited. JYL will likely lose that betrothal with JZX because JGS will drop it like a hot potato and JWY won't be a sect heir because YZY literally decided to remove that by deciding to raise JWY as a Yu, no matter their blood relation to JFM. They leave him, they leave YMJ and everything attached with it. Which is if YMJ/JFM doesn't demand MSY to give back their heir/ess and to punish YZY for her actions. Or send all three of them back for the appropriate reactions/decisions.

Their society would demand no less in reaction because, to them, it would seem like YZY had gone mad and JFM would look weak (or weaker) and imply that YMJ is vulnerable and exploitable if JFM doesn't do something in response to her actions. That's not even getting into what the other smaller sects may try to do in an attempt to curry favour with YMJ or what LLJ or QSW would try in order to destroy or diminish YMJ. And whether JFM chooses to demand his children back or not, it may not change the fact that this may give him reason enough to choose a nephew or niece to be the new sect heir especially if, even after getting rid of YZY's poisonous influence, JWY grows up to be his mother's child more than his father's or even his own person.

Either way, such a thing would bring great backlash on YZY, and MSY as well as the collateral. No one would want to give face to her or her children because it would bring up some very uncomfortable questions and scenarios to the other sects- specifically, what would happen if the female members of their clans/sets decided to follow the footsteps of YZY and leave with their children and heirs. Especially if they use it as an excuse to leave for their own comfort and whims and not some legitimate wrongs and dangers. That would create some more restrictions on women thanks to YZY

3) And lastly, if any one of those idiot YZY stans think that she'd ever give up the status of being a madame of a great sect they'd be as crazy or crazier than her. YZY is all about status and power and face. Specifically, her status, power and face and how people in her reach reflect her or 'insult' her. She is a selfish, terrible, abusive and toxic person and can only see people in regards to how they would benefit her and the elevation of her and in no other way. Especially her family. They cannot be their own person, they can only be an extension of her and gods forbid they go against her.

We can see this in how she treats the people she supposedly loves. JFM? Arguments day in, day out along with accusations and slander of cheating, having one(1) supposed 'bastard' and being 'in love' with CSSR. Which all seems sus as hell. And that's when she's actually there and not out 'night hunting'. Even her 'training' seems to border on unhelpful rather then helpful if my vague recollections of juniors fainting from exhaustion can be relied upon (please call me out if they're not or find proof).

JYL? Berated by not being 'strong' but not helped at all to be 'strong'. It doesn't help that YZY seems to believe in the same standards strength in their society- that is, of martial masculine strength which does not and should not apply to JYL who has been said to be sickly. Which means h should have been learning a different way of cultivation/fighting anyway. If that was something she wanted and had been offered in the first place- which I doubt. That isn't even getting into her repeated generational trauma mess of a betrothal which was decided only by those 'sworn sisters', accepted by her as a way out of her terrible home life and puts her squarely within reach of JGS who we know to be a womaniser, rapist, predator and a possible ephebophile considering we don't know the exact age of his youngest 'conquest' or the age of MZY's mother when they met which could be anywhere from 14 to 21.

JWY? Gods, so much meta on him and his(non-) relationships with his parents that I don't think I can contribute more to it. It's been all said and done. Unless people want me to stir the pot by saying that, maybe, just maybe, YZY resents JWY as much as she 'loves' him.Either because he's her son and yet never manages to 'accomplish as much' as WWX or because he's a boy and therefore, more benefits and allowances than a girl/woman- more than anything that YZY ever got without either a fight or screaming at someone about. *shrug*

So, in conclusion to this sudden an unexpected essay that I wrote(I'm so sorry about that, I thought it would be shorter -.-;;;;), YZY leaving YMJ/JFM with her kids? Impossible. Not without some sort of personality transplant or a complete AU. She's too prideful, too bitter, too angry, too everything negative and little positive. She's a resentful product of the values and restraints of her society taken to the extreme negative with a willingness to inflict her pain on others to an abusive degree. But she's also too obsessed and reliant on those same values and restraints to keep up the image of her status. So her? Giving those up? You'd be more likely to see WRH as a doting grandfather than that.

---

Dee - All of this is true and yes YZY leaving YMJ is highly unlikely. While there will be consequences if she decides to leave, she does canonically lives separately from her husband. They seem to be in a situation where they are married but living separately, which was a common way to end a marriage (at least in spirit) back then. She essentially had all the perks of being Madam Jiang but fulfilled none of the responsibilities.

Afaik, her training the Jiang disciples is a donghua thing? I may be wrong but I recall she spent most of her time nighthunting.

As for taking her children along with her- that's completely impossible. At that point, children were the property of the father. She could leave but she would've never been allowed to take JC.

#submission

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tracer85s · 4 years

Text

MDZS fics i treasure (2)

parts 1, 2, 3

The Simplest Way Forward by harriet_vane

[explicit, lan wangji/wei wuxian, 71k, complete]

one of the classics. this is also the fic that got me into the whole mdzs fandom. i literally just searched up kid fic on ao3 and this one seemed promising... so i read it without knowing who tf lan wangji or wei wuxian are... fast forward a few months later and all i can think about is “wangxian are married and have a son.” THEY’RE MARRIED AND HAVE A SON. now take that knowledge and add in modern wangxian as university music students who get married to take care of a-yuan and you’ve got yourselves this brilliant fic. also, i did not know you can endlessly pine for your own husband but with wangxian, anything’s possible

Neatly Arranged by thunderwear

[teen and up, lan wangji/wei wuxian, jiang yanli/jin zixuan, 45k, complete]

yes. i love arranged marriage wangxian fics okay ! they’re my guilty pleasure. this one’s unique because lwj’s actually bethrothed to jiang yanli and jin zixuan’s bethrothed to wwx which is actually kind of funny especially when jzx asks lwj if he wants to switch. it does get angsty but there’s a happy ending !

Night of Sixth Magnitude Stars by Leffy

[mature, lan wangji/wei wuxian, 22k, complete]

modern au with student lwj and teacher wwx although it’s only for the first chapter. THIS FIC. OH MY GOD. i literally got tricked, i thought it would be lighthearted and fluffy but the angst (specifically for wwx’s character) broke my heart. THE PLOT IS AMAZING, PLEASE READ IT

one good thing by Yuu_chi

[teen and up, lan wangji/wei wuxian, 26k, complete]

this one’s a classic, one of the first few mdzs fics i read and i absolutely love it. modern au with ghost wwx and house owner lwj *squeals* IT’S SO FLUFFY... and then gets quite a bit angsty at the end, i swear your heart stops at that scene. anyway it’s such a good read sigh,,, might re-read

Pigtail Pulling by protos_metazu_ison

[general, lan wangji/wei wuxian, 3k, complete]

whenever i’m feeling down, this fic always manages to cheer me up. it’s very lighthearted, just fluffy wangxian in cloud recesses: wwx teasing lwj and lwj teases back and absolutely flusters wwx. it’s just SO CUTE

Rush Hour by Ulan

[teen and up, lan wangji/wei wuxian, 3k, completed]

basically modern wangxian in public transport, pressed up against each other, with a dash of protective lwj and damsel in distress wwx. warning, there is minor sexual assault but the rest is just fluffy wangxian <3

seldom all they seem by Fahye

[explicit, lan wangji/wei wuxian, 24k, complete]

yes... another arranged marriage fic... i have nothing to say for myself. but this one’s just the usual fic with lwj finding wwx annoying at first and then pining so hard afterwards once he realizes wwx is his entire world. the author also changed the wwx escaping with the wens scene and OH MY GOD THEIR VERSION *chef’s kiss*. READ IT !

silhouettes to steal this night by moonsteps

[teen and up, lan wangji/wei wuxian, 51k, complete]

MODERN WANGXIAN AS ASSASSINS/HITMEN AND ROOMMATES. WHAT MORE DO I NEED TO SAY. guys, they just flirt every time they’re assigned to the same hit i am literally crying. top tier fic as expected from moonsteps (read the rest of their works you won’t regret it at all).

so you’ve been robbed by a museum by yukla

[mature, lan wangji/wei wuxian, 5k, complete]

immortal cultivators wangxian in the modern world !! to summarize, wangxian somehow does *not* get their shit together in the ancient times and pine all the way into the 21st century until lwj sees an entire section of paintings of himself hanging in the museum... you can guess whose yearning-induced artistic creations those are ;)

soft-hearted by @sarah-yyy

[general, lan wanji/wei wuxian, 6k, complete]

are you wondering what happens if child lwj found child wwx in the streets and brought him back to gusu with him? this. this is what happens: SOFTNESS, FLUFF, AND WWX CALLING GEGE. i literally didn’t know how much i need childhood friends to lovers wangxian until i read this and every time wwx called lwj gege? hello? i was pretty sure i was going to burst into flames if i kept screaming. also, read the author’s wangxian rebuttable presumption verse on their page bc it’s absolutely genius oh my god i’m never going to shut up about the rp verse

take yourself home by ribena

[mature, lan wangji/wei wuxian, 26k, complete]

okay, this one is HEAVY. like you would seriously just want to wrap wwx in a blanket and feed him soup kind of heavy. to summarize, radio host lwj keeping plant dad wwx company with his voice and then himself once he moves into the same apartment as wwx. honestly, this one hits home for me, it will definitely make you sob but the ending is so hopeful and i need a sequel of just plant dads wangxian being domestic

tame by rikke

[mature, lan wangji/wei wuxian, 11k, complete]

IMAGINE IF LWJ DID NOT LEAVE WWX AFTER THE XUANWU CAVE. just imagine oh my god, maybe they would’ve gotten their feelings resolved faster... or hatched a baby xuanwu, and wait what? yes, you read right. this fic is about xuanwu dads wangxian in yunmeng, it’s fluffy and funny and just a perfect lighthearted read if you’re having a bad day

The Fire Lapping Up the Creek by notevenyou

[explicit, lan wangji/wei wuxian, 66k, complete]

in which wwx travels to lanling alone for jin ling’s one month celebration and gets heavily injured, cue in very heavy hurt/comfort. warning, there’s major illness and surgery in this fic. so basically, lwj stays in the burial mounds to guard wwx and the wens while wwx recovers from his injury. LISTEN, burial mounds husbands wangxian and heavy hurt/comfort, what more do you need. go read it

The Lotus Defense Society by mondengel

[teen and up, lan wangji/wei wuxian, jiang yanli/jin zixuan, 3k, complete, only available for registered users of ao3]

i have lost count of how many times i’ve read this one, i love it so much. lwj and jzx bond over their mutual pining for wwx and jyl and accidentally starts a cult with nhs to prevent unsuitable people from courting them. where do i even begin with this fic, it’s literally so amazing !! very crack-y, my favourite line is “Young Master Jin! It’s Lan Wangji! He’s enacting Phoenix Mountain Part 2!” and then what happens after is my favourite scene

the secret ingredient by queen_gee

[teen and up, lan wangji/wei wuxian, 8k, complete]

WWX BAKING FOR LWJ WHO HAS A SWEET TOOTH OH MY GOD I AM SOBBING. modern college/university wangxian with lots of pining and baking, i am literally banging my head against a table this is the sweetest fic, but they’re also idiots in love so there’s some light angst but you’ll literally melt at the ending !!

The Trials and Tribulations of a Modern Father by Bgtea

[teen and up, lan xichen/jiang wanyin, lan wangji/wei wuxian, 24k, complete]

written in jiang fengmian’s pov where jfm realizes jiang cheng attracts a lot of attention from... old men. cue in lan xichen and his charming smile and this spells trouble to jfm so he enlists wwx’s help in operation protect jiang cheng. endgame xicheng with side pairing wangxian, this is absolutely cute and very humorous

with you, I am home by tellthemstories

[mature, lan wangji/wei wuxian, 47k, complete]

MODERN CULTIVATORS WANGXIAN DECIDE TO FAKE DATE *SCREAMS*. slow burn (but not if you read it fast enough), the way they are so domestic in this one oh my god, a LOT of oblivious wwx, and lwj meeting the family. i’m a sucker for fake dating fics and this one is just SO right. i’m urging everyone to read it for self-care

#wangxian #mo dao zu shi #mdzs fic rec #fic rec #lan wangji #wei wuxian #lan wangji/wei wuxian #jiang cheng #lan xichen #xicheng

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neverdoingmuch · 3 years

Text

now hear me out,,, an au where lan wangji is an editor who works for an erotica publisher and wei wuxian is essentially chuck tingle. (also lwj writes romance novels on the side)

wei wuxian didn’t plan to write erotica he wants to make that really clear, he was actually studying like biomed or something equally “oh wow my parents can brag to the other parents about this”

but, as frequently happens in wwx’s life, he got drunk with nhs, like really drunk and they woke up the next morning with a laptop on the floor beside them and loose paper strewn everywhere

they don’t really remember what they were doing or thinking last night but they’ve both drawn a bunch of really shitty and weird porn (the less said about the anthropomorphic version of wen chao’s pet turtle the better) and wei wuxian has like 20,000 words of an erotica story on his laptop

when he starts reading it, at first he’s like haha what the fuck this is so weird but then it turned out to be really good??? and nhs blushed at some of the ~sexy~ scenes so that’s how wwx knew he was writing the good stuff

anyway they’re sitting there, eating their hangover food and wei wuxian goes so uh my story was good right? and nhs is like yeah it was, top stuff i would buy it and wei wuxian goes what if i actually wrote it,,, haha just kidding,,,,, unless?

and in his defence he doesn’t actually write anything for the story for another like three months but then he finds himself in the middle of exam season and he’s like fuck it stress relief let’s write some erotica

he finishes the book and his exams (which he does well in but whatever) and then spends his summer holidays editing the book

when he comes back, he slaps down a paper copy on nhs’ desk and is like i finished it. nhs, thinking he meant his latest lab write up, opens it up to a random page and starts reading it out loud which was a Mistake

he trails off mid-sentence, and whips around to glare at wwx with all the wrath he can muster. it’s raunchy nhs says and just read it wwx tells him so nhs does

like 2 hours later nhs turns to him and says if it wasnt for you and the librarian staring at me the whole time i definitely would’ve felt something and wwx is like so it’s good? and nhs is like fuck yeah it is but i dont get what you want from me?

pretty much wwx passed out after exams, slept for like 20 hours and then woke up and went i should publish this and decided that nhs should draw the cover art.

nhs agrees of course and a month later wwx self-publishes bc there’s no way he can walk into a publishing house with his porn and not just combust on the spot and he decides to go by the name yiling patriarch

wwx clicks the final button to upload the fic and nhs just toasts him and goes yknow what,, this is the closest you’ve ever gotten to having sex and i’m proud of you

wei wuxian is the man who guarded his first kiss for the first twenty years of his life for someone special,,,, wwx definitely wants his first time to be special and there’s no way he’s putting out for someone he doesn’t think is important & despite having dated before, he’s never gotten close enough to someone to go yeah let’s do it so our boy is still a virgin

so wwx’s entire erotica writing inspiration comes from porn, nhs’ way too in-depth answers as to how his latest date went and uh more porn

wwx blusters about a bit bc how is he meant to respond to that and nhs is like maybe you’ll finally move on from reading those trashy romance novels and read something more exciting and wwx is like how dare you call them trashy!! hanguang-jun is a master of the romance novels!! he understands the heart in a way that no other person has ever!!

and nhs just chugs a bunch of wine and is like yeah hon okay, do you still blush when the main characters hold hands? and wwx is like no! of course not! (it’s a lie, he blushes a lot)

so nothing really happens with the book at first and wwx forgets about it for the most part but then he wakes up one morning and he’s got an extra like RMB 1000 (i dont actually know much about currency so it’s roughly $200 if my quick interneting is legit)

wwx is like wtf? and once he finds out it’s from his novel he’s doubly like wtf? but then he finds out that someone had purchased his book and did a dramatic reading on youtube bc wwx decided that regular erotica was boring and decided to make it satirical or whatever and people loved it??

he’s got nothing better to do so he just goes hm yeah remember that Author i dated who had an “incredible idea that would absolutely amaze The Critics and helped explore his own convoluted mind” let’s make something of that and he writes another book kinda mocking that idea in a very horny way.

he publishes it and someone writes a review of his two books on their blog and now he’s actually starting to get popular - he’s got more money from those two books than he did by working at the local cafe for the whole week

wwx is poor and broke and semi-disowned anyway by this point so he goes fuck it and spends every moment he’s not studying writing erotica.

he publishes another like five books by the time the year is out (i know the maths isnt working here but this is a book world where wwx can just do that via the power of loneliness and friends who egg you on)

also?? he varies his books. some of them are porn parody things a la chuck tingle and some of them are genuine porn and one book was just him writing a recipe book but making it sound as horny as possible

by the time he’s published his like 8th book or so he starts getting reviews that are critiquing his book and most of them boil down to the fact that he needs an editor or something

he ends up asking nhs for help and he’s like oh sweet my brother’s boyfriend works for a publisher who does that sort of thing

cloud recesses actually specialises in erotica and i hate the idea that lqr has spent years reading and editing erotica but sacrifices must be made

(side note that i know nothing about the writing or publishing process so pls don’t judge me too harshly)

wwx goes in with his latest manuscript and ends up arriving like ten minutes late, he rushes into the room sweaty and hot, takes one look at the guy sitting on the other side of the desk, flushes an even brighter red and runs back out of the room. he checks the plaque on the door and walks back in slowly and goes hm i didnt expect you to be so hot

cue lan wangji

lwj has always enjoyed being an editor. what do editor do specifically? idk? edit? regardless, he enjoys it.

while most of the time he’s happy working from this side of things he also likes writing

lwj fucks. he deserves it tbh. but, while he’s had a tonne of one night stands and fuckbuddies, he’s never actually dated someone. so the fact that he’s writing romance novels under the pseudonym hanguang-jun makes his friend jzx laugh a lot

he tried writing porn once and he just couldn’t do it. it was always too clinical or vague and lacked any actual passion bc he was always going oh okay mc sucks a dick but the guy i slept with last week was like a 6.4/10 when it came to sucking dick so maybe mc should also be bad at it or whatever and it just ends up falling apart,,,, but romance he can do

as an editor lwj has pretty high standards for good erotica but he’s really found himself enjoying yiling patriarch’s work even though he’s clearly just been editing himself so when the guy sent cloud recesses an email asking whether they’d be interested in his latest book lwj was ecstatic.

he also didnt expect wwx to be so hot

anyway,,, we now get to enjoy a week of lwj thinking that wwx is super hot but even more annoying and then him deciding that annoying is hot and now wwx is just absolutely amazing and wwx is just panicking the entire time

i want my publisher to rail me so hard wwx texts nhs and nhs just responds has he read the bdsm scene with the alien who has a tentacle dick and a knot yet? and wwx is like no??? nhs just goes shame, it will give him so ideas for if you ever grow a backbone and just ask him out

they publish one book together and nothing happened between them the entire time other than yearning and horniness,, of the heart and body.

when wwx realises this means that he won’t get to see lwj again he immediately writes a new book and like a month later he’s back in lwj’s office, lying on his couch while whining about the cafeteria prices at university

lwj is very enamoured by the fact that wwx is writing erotica and studying biomed bc wow

they do this for like another three books and wwx’s eroticas evolve from here’s a dinosaur man fucking a politician while a mary sue watches on to be like here’s a dinosaur man with black hair and golden eyes and a stern look to his face fucking a politician while a mary sue watches on

and hanguang-jun’s latest book?? i dont want to say that this au’s version of wangxian is hanguang-jun finally finding inspiration to write porn (his muse is wwx of course) and writing the most amazing porn with feelings and plot novel ever,, but it is.

wwx read it five times in the first week and when nhs finally tried to read it he was like uhhh wwx are you a narcissist, the love interest is exactly like you? and wwx is like ??? no???? he’s nothing like me??

anyway one day wwx gets called into lxc’s office and lxc is like so i’ve read your latest book (not the dinosaur man, a serious one with like normal people and not overly humorous thank fuck but still full of lwj yearning) and wwx is like okay? and lxc goes yes, see i was worried that you didn’t care very much for my brother but after reading your book i’m not so sure and wwx gets the weirdest shovel talk ever which is interspersed with like compliments for his porn writing skills

anyway lxc accidentally mentions that lwj writes books too and before he can take it back wwx is like who??? and lxc is like are you fucking stupid?? you told lwj to his face that you loved his books,,, he broke his theme of tender romance to write kinky sex with a character that’s a lot like you and wwx is like .,,,,,,,,, hanguang-jun??? HANGUANG-JUN???!!

lxc barely manages to confirm it before wwx is sprinting out of his office and across to find lwj.

regretfully for everyone else, lwj is in the lobby so thirty people get to hear it when wwx comes in and shouts LAN ZHAN!! back then, i really wanted write porn about you! ... i think i have actually? but i want to write porn about you and i want to be able to do the research to make it accurate! and i also want to go on dates and hold hands and feed each other food! and i love you a lot!

lwj is dying inside bc his brother’s bf is there, his uncle is currently waiting for the elevators and a whole bunch of staff are also there but also wwx likes him??? dinosaur man was lwj??

he goes over and they make out for a really long time right there in the middle of the lobby but no one wants to get between them when they’ve been pining for so long

after that they start dating and they do all the romantic stuff but also,, let’s just say that the next book wwx publishes is a lot more creative than all of his previous books

and they become some writing power couple with horniness of the heart and body and sometimes wwx will be like hey lwj i don’t really know how the logistics of this sex scene will work and lwj will be like we could try it out ourselves? and wwx just pats him on the head and is like im sorry but you dont have enough dicks for it to work ),: better luck next time

#mdzs #modao zushi #wangxian #wei wuxian #lan wangji #im so sorry everyone #i just got the idea and it wouldnt leave me alone #cql #the untamed #mo dao zu shi #have i read any erotica? no. have i read any chuck tingle? also no. am i an editor? no #so this is gonna be very shit #this is why people should be sending me prompts instead of me just writin shit myself #nsfw-ish?

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crossdressingdeath · 3 years

Note

hi! I saw the long argument while scrolling around the mdzs tags so I hope you don't mind that I wanted to reply this: WWX was clearly a favored servant since I've read this article in Ancient China about servants. The smarter you are, the higher position you get and WWX basically got the highest position in the Sect. The way common people, cultivators, and disciples treated him is similar to an heir because a disciple won't dare to offend the child of your own Sect Leader automatically 1|

automatically while WWX prove his worth by working hard to be one of the most powerful cultivators in his generation while being a son of a servant ever since he was a teenager forsake of not brought shame in the Sect since WWX has a low status in society by birth, disciples from other sects will easily target weaker cultivators like SS and NHS, so people who are obviously below WWX in cultivation won't dare to mess with him while those who are above (JZX & YZY) can argue with him 2|

for obvious ranking reasons like you can even parallel this with WLJ, who was also a daughter of a servant that gained respect from almost everyone because she was the Mistress of the Son that also turns out to be a corrupted leader of the most powerful Sect in the entire world in mdzs/cql universe, that's why JGY was still being called a son of a prostitute despite being a Sect Leader of the most powerful Sect since JGY made himself known as a weak cultivator on purpose 3|

but prostitution was a much lower status in Ancient China plus MS was a famous prostitute and the dogs incident? I cannot believe that this must be explained but dogs were WWX trauma. Trauma is different from being afraid of something, Trauma has the ability to immediately trigger your head the horrible memories and incidents you've been through while being afraid is having multiple scenarios in your thoughts or overthinking to be exact. When JL called Fairy or somebody shouted a mad dog? 4|

WWX already ran, looking for protection when he only saw a barking dog running towards without analyzing the situation at first. 5|5

O...kay? WWX still isn’t a servant, though. He’s a disciple. That... isn’t the same thing. And while he proved his worth later he was made a disciple (not a servant) because JFM felt he owed WCZ and CSSR that much. WWX was never a servant at any point. And given he seems to be the oldest of the disciples we see it’s entirely possible that the head disciple is just the oldest disciple and it’s not based on skill at all (in fact I’d say that’s pretty likely, since YZY would never let anyone hear the end of it if JFM chose WWX as head disciple). Also uh. SS’s a pretty strong cultivator when he’s not sticking to methods he’s not suited to (it’s specifically stated that teleportation talismans are really hard to use, ergo he must be pretty good) and there’s no mention that JZX and YZY are better cultivators than WWX; in fact JZX at least for sure isn’t, because WWX is one of the two best cultivators of his generation and the other is LWJ.

WLJ wasn’t respected, she was tolerated because WC would destroy anyone who wasn’t respectful. I’m pretty sure mistresses weren’t generally respected, what with the whole affair thing. She also wasn’t a cultivator. She was a servant. Not the daughter of a servant (well, probably that too), just a servant. WC’s wife’s maidservant, if memory serves (which was a massive dick move on WC’s part but whatever). And JGY wasn’t making himself known as a weak cultivator on purpose; he was a weak cultivator, he started too late to become super good at it. People don’t generally call him the son of a prostitute to his face because he’s insanely politically powerful and that’s incredibly rude, but the sects are jackasses who care more about birth status than actual worth so they use it to insult him behind his back. That obsession with status is also almost certainly why people call WWX the son of a servant despite him not being a servant himself.

And of course WWX’s cynophobia comes from trauma? I have literally never seen anyone deny that. It’s pretty obvious. He’s still scared of dogs. It’s not triggering specific memories or anything like that, he’s just scared beyond the point of reason. And saying fear just comes from overthinking is a vast oversimplification of how fear works but I can’t be bothered to go into that because it’s not my field of study, basically saying someone is scared of something because of something that happened in the past is not denying that that past incident was traumatic, WWX’s response to dogs is very much a fear response regardless of the source of that fear.

#mdzs #wei wuxian #anon #asks

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jcisthebestfightme · 4 years

Text

Day 2 BTS

Disclaimer: Actually fiction cuz I will be writing about what’s in dd’s head which I’m no mind reader....

So this was their second day of filming (4/17) and what gg is rambling about is his scene in Burial Mounds Cave the day before (4/16). I won’t translate it directly because honestly I have a hard time hearing it (maybe someone else will have a better translation, I apologize). What he is saying is that the actor of A-Yuan had to laugh and then cry but then A Yuan was so well behaved he wouldn’t cry (🤣) so gg was yelling “CRY CRY CRY” probably imitating the directors and making crying gestures lol And then he said the director told the kid they would slap his mom (what?) to try to make him cry and he still didnt’ cry. And then he said something about A-Yuan being well behaved and didn’t make a disturbance. Then LHK asked him something, and gg said “a lot” (sounds like he’s saying they filmed a lot of disconnected scene all in that cave that they have to piece together.) He then described a scene of him pushing Wen Ning (after WN murdered JZX is my guess) and he yelled at WN “Who did you kill?!?” He talked about connecting different scenes and then I lost what they were saying.

So now the body language analysis.

They’re sitting next to each other but not completely attached like they would be in later bts since this is only day 2. (If you could DDU meeting in 2017, screen reading, opening ceremony, and day 1 of filming, this is their 5th time together only.) Gg’s body language is more closed off on both sides, he’s hugging his knees with both arms. Dd seems more relax (he also tend ot manspread in general....but both his arms are also caging him so also more closed off of a body language than if you compare them to later on.

The first part it seems like dd asked gg questions so gg started telling the story about A-Yuan. It’s likely dd wasn’t there for that particular instance because he was looking at gg telling the story attentively.

Gg then did an exaggerated gesture imitating people trying to get A-Yuan to cry. Dd was looking at him and then looked away. I think dd in his head found gg very cute and silly at that moment. Why? Cuz in later interviews whenever gg does something silly, dd always look at him fondly and jokes about how silly he think he is. Which means he always finds this side of gg cute. But since this is day 2, he didn’t know how to react to this “OMG he’s being adorable” feeling so instead he looked away briefly. At this instance, he also touched his nose. People touch their face when they’re nervous for security (apparently it activates your parasympathetic NS).

Then gg acted cute again and dd tried to look forward again ‘I can’t handle this emotionally’ LOL but this time, you can see the edges of his lips move up like he’s trying to contain a laugh or smile.

Then someone talked to gg (idk if it’s LHK) and dd just glared at them LOL ‘Don’t talk to my gg’ (jkjk) And he looked over at gg to see if gg paid attention to the person talking but gg just went on with his story. Then dd looked forward and kept biting his lips. Here, idk he looks bored to me. It doesn’t seem like his typical “This doesn’t interest me face.” It seems more like nervousness, basically hyperaware of yourself and surrounding whenever your crush is there. ‘OMG what do I do or say...I can’t keep staring, it will be too embarrassing...act natural....don’t look too interested.’ You can tell he’s still listening to gg even when looking forward cuz he nodded.

Then he either asked gg or responded to someone off screen with “Nan hai (boy)?” (I’m assuming about A-Yuan) and gg repeated “Nan hai as confirmation. So even though gg wasn’t looking at dd either, he was still aware of dd and responded to him immediately. He didn’t ignore him to talk to someone else (which sometimes is easy to do, not on purpose, but if you’re focus on talking about something, you can zone out someone next to you saying something, especially if you’re not looking at them.)

Gg moves his hands and dd’s eyes immediately glanced over. ‘What is he doing? I want to know.’ Then it looks like gg grabbed LHK’s hands/arms and afterwards (although not immediately), dd looked at LHK’s hands and then looked at gg. ‘Why did he grab his arm? Are they close?’ Then he looked a second time when gg reached for LHK’s arm the second time and also looked up at gg’s face right after, again (So it’s not just a random coincidence that his eyes are looking at that spot.) ‘Does gg like lhk? Omg, I need to see his face to tell.....I can’t tell anything 🥺.” And then IT HAPPENED A THIRD TIME. Gg’s hand reached for LHK again and dd did the exact same thing! He looked at that spot on LHK’s arm, AGAIN. Except this time, instead of looking at gg’s face after, he glare up at LHK (poor guy, he doesn’t even know what’s coming for him.)

Then gg gestured to him by bumping him and he nodded in response but his whole focus now seem to be staring at LHK (LOL) ‘Okay, now I’m actually mad and jealous of this person, but I can’t show it....ugh.....don’t look too annoyed...oops too late.’

As for gg, idk. It seems to me that he’s trying his best to accelerate the process of forming friendship with cast members by talking and sharing what happened. He seemed pretty opened and relax, because he’s pretty animated in his story telling. I think he’s also acting in a way that he’s trying to impress dd and LHK, because he doesn’t know them well at that point and it’s human nature to try to display yourself initially to impress those around you. Whether he has other intentions towards dd at this point, idk (I’m leaning on the side of not yet.)

This is of course all my imagination and all fanfiction.

#this is probably one of the only times we will see gg talking and dd not staring at him the whole timee #bjyx #yizhan

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ibijau · 3 years

Note

56 and/or 68 with sangxuan (maybe in that universe from the last round of prompts where jzx kept thinking “it’s not okay”?) please?

a continuation to this

aka I normally do prompts in the order I get them but this one got special treatment because I like sangxuan an unreasonable amount at the moment and I really wanted to continue that ficlet anyway

With the weather warming up again after a too long and boring winter followed by a dreary spring, and with the school year ending in just a few weeks now, Nie Huaisang is determined to go play in the rivers of the Cloud Recesses. He can’t possibly go play alone, that’d be boring. He can’t go with the Twin Jades, because they’re too serious and don’t know how to play. Jiang Cheng is studying very hard, determined to get perfect grades to please his parents. And everyone else just isn’t interesting enough.

“That’s why you’ve got to come with me,” Nie Huaisang concludes triumphantly.

Jin Zixuan, standing in the doorway of his cabin, throws him a skeptical look and rolls his eyes.

“You could just say you want me to come with you.”

“If I said that, you’d say you’re busy,” Nie Huaisang objects with a pout.

It’s a calculated move.

Jin Zixuan simply can’t resist him when he pouts. Indeed, his eyes are immediately drawn to Nie Huaisang’s mouth. He must be thinking that if they go out to the river, away from everyone, it’ll be very easy to kiss without being disturbed.

He’d be thinking right.

In fact, it is part of Nie Huaisang’s well organised plan. After playing in the water for a bit, the two of them are going to lay in the sun on the river’s banks, Nie Huaisang is going to complain that he’s cold and use it as an excuse to cuddle against Jin Zixuan, and since they’ll be half naked at that point, Jin Zixuan’s brain is going to fry from being touched like that, and so Nie Huaisang will be able to kiss him quite easily, at last.

It is so much work, getting to make out with Jin Zixuan. Sometimes Nie Huaisang can’t help thinking that he really should have picked someone a little easier to fool around with.

But nobody else is as pretty as Jin Zixuan, and nobody else looks at Nie Huaisang quite like that and… well, as his brother often complains, he’s a vain little brat who enjoys being looked at.

Besides, it’s quite fun, seducing Jin Zixuan and finding ways to make him do the things he actually wants to do but won't allow himself.

“I am busy though,” Jin Zixuan dryly replies, tearing his eyes away from Nie Huaisang’s lips. “I don’t want to fail the next test just because you don’t care about your grades.”

“Jin-xiong, please!” Nie Huaisang whines. “I’ll give you the answers to the next test if you want. It’s the same every year, and I took my old tests with me.”

“That’s cheating!”

“Only if you have the actual tests with you,” Nie Hausiang argues, innocently batting his eyes. “If you memorise the right answers beforehand it’s just… surgical learning.”

Jin Zixuan looks unimpressed, and to be fair, Nie Huaisang wouldn’t want to have to argue his case with Lan Qiren on that subject, if it came to that.

Arguing with Jin Zixuan, on the other hand, is manageable, especially with a little pouting.

So it’s no surprise that, a little while later, the two of them arrive at the river and start undressing. Jin Zixuan complains about everything of course, because he can’t seem to help it, but he’s there anyway, exactly as Nie Huaisang planned… and it is a treat to see him in nothing but his inner layers, catching glimpses of a strong body, even though Jin Zixuan stubbornly refused to undress entirely, still clinging to ridiculous notions of propriety.

Nie Huaisang himself has no such qualms. His body isn’t quite as nice as Jin Zixuan’s, a little softer and rounder, so there’s no reason to hide it when it’s not going to be envied or admired. Nie Huaisang ends up in nothing but rolled up trousers, happy to feel some sunlight on his skin. Jin Zixuan is looking a little too much, of course, but unlike his face, Nie Huaisang knows his body won’t have any effect, so he doesn’t really care.

Besides, they didn’t come here to look at each other.

“Come on Jin-xiong, let’s go in already!” Nie Huaisang demands, grabbing Jin Zixuan’s arm to pull him toward the water.

Jin Zixuan tenses at the contact, and tries to pull away, but Nie Huaisang is stronger than he looks thanks to years of fighting everyone trying to bring him on the training field, and he easily drags Jin Zixuan to the water.

“It’s freezing!” Jin Zixuan shrieks when he puts a foot in.

“Of course it is. It comes from the mountains and the snow hasn’t finished melting there, how could it be anything but freezing?”

“This is ridiculous!”

Nie Huaisang laughs, because of course it’s ridiculous, that’s the entire point, and continues dragging Jin Zixuan into the water until it reaches mid-calf. Only then does he let go of the other boy. Jin Zixuan glares at him and crosses his arms against his chest. He’s kind of cute when he’s annoyed, which is good, considering how easily he gets annoyed.

“Well? What do we do now?” Jin Zixuan snaps. “I thought this was supposed to be fun, but so far it’s not particularly… Hey!”

Nie Huaisang, who just kicked the water to splash him, can only laugh at the air of betrayal and indignation on Jin Zixuan’s face.

"Jin-xiong, have you never played in water before? Oh, that's great, finally a fight I have a chance to win!"

Just as intended, the idea of losing to anyone, let alone to Nie Huaisang, is a slap to Jin Zixuan's delicate ego. He might never have played this game before, but Jin Zixuan is a fast learner. Before long they're both drenched, but more importantly they're both laughing. Even if they don't end up kissing, Nie Huaisang figures this is time well used, because Jin Zixuan simply doesn't laugh enough.

But he still very much intends to do his best to get kissed again, so it's time for phase two of his plan.

Manipulating his Qi, Nie Huaisang allows his body to feel the effects of the cold. In a moment his teeth start shattering, and he can see his hands turning a somewhat concerning shade of blue. His lips must do the same, because Jin Zixuan is staring again.

"Nie-xiong, are you ok?" he asks, sounding really concerned. "You… There's no way your cultivation can be so bad you can't handle this! You're never that bad"

"R-rude," Nie Huaisang stutters, a little surprised by the remark.

Usually, people are ready to believe the worst when it comes to his capacities. Coupled with Jin Zixuan' s obvious worry, it makes him feel a different kind of warmth.

“Help me get back to dry land,” Nie Huaisang demands, throwing himself at Jin Zixuan who catches him on sheer instinct.

Jin Zixuan’s skin is burning, even through the wet fabric of his inner clothes. Nie Huaisang’s first thought is that Jin Zixuan is wasting energy, and Nie Mingjue would have his head for that if he were a Nie disciple. His second thought is that Jin Zixuan must have an amazing level of cultivation if he hasn’t realised how wasteful he is. His third and final thought is that it’s nice to be held like this, to feel this warmth, this closeness, and…

Jin Zixuan gasps and pushes him away, making him fall butt first in the water.

“Don’t cling to me like that!” Jin Zixuan snaps, his face turning redder than the dot on his forehead. “You’re well enough to get out on your own.”

“I’m not!” Nie Huaisang whines, getting up again. “Jin-xiong, you’re so mean. I’m going to be mad at you now!”

Jin Zixuan hesitates upon hearing that, and even takes a step toward Nie Huaisang as if to finally help. Nie Huaisang lifts one hand, but Jin Zixuan only stares, his eyes trailing along Nie Huaisang’s arm down to his bare chest where they linger a moment before he abruptly turns away without a word, his fists clenched tight as he walks out of the river.

Nie Huaisang sighs, but doesn’t insist. Maybe showing this much skin was a little too much, he figures as he gets up and leaves the water as well. He knows that Jin Zixuan gets weird about stuff sometimes. That’s the reason why Nie Huaisang has to come up with such convoluted plans for a chance to make out, after all. Jin Zixuan will devour him with his eyes, and then get all grumpy the instant Nie Huaisang tries to actually act on that.

Maybe he really should just stop this game, and try to have fun with someone easier. He has half a mind to try his chance with Lan Wangji, who’s been moping miserably since Wei Wuxian was kicked out. It’d be a challenge, though not nearly as fun as teasing Jin Zixuan.

Jin Zixuan who is already unfolding his outer robes, as if he can’t stand to be exposed a second more. Nie Huaisang sighs. His plan really didn’t work this time.

“Jin-xiong, wait a little to be dry before you put those on or they’ll get wet.”

“They’re not for me,” Jin Zixuan grumbles, before coming closer to wrap his robe around Nie Huaisang.

Instantly, Nie Huaisang does feel warmer, though he’s pretty sure it’s not because he’s covered.

“But now you won’t have anything dry to put on later!” he weakly protests.

Jin Zixuan shrugs, looking away. “It’s fine, it won’t kill me to put on something damp. But you’re completely blue, and I’ll get in trouble if I let you get sick.”

“Zixuan, you’re nice when you try, do you know that?” Nie Huaisang mumbles, pulling the robe closer to him. “I don’t care what some people say, you’re really nice.”

Maybe it’s the use of his name, or the compliment, but Jin Zixuan’s face turns even redder than before. It’d be cute, if he didn’t look so scared.

In Nie Huaisang’s experience, that particular expression means Jin Zixuan is either amenable to be kissed after all, or that he’s about to bolt away like a startled deer. There’s no in-between, and there’s no way to know which it’s going to be.

Today, Nie Huaisang bets on Jin Zixuan running away. He really pushed too far with his idea of being half naked after all.

But to his surprise, Jin Zixuan doesn’t try to leave. Instead, he steps closer, and hesitantly reaches out for Nie Huaisang’s face, his hand shaking so badly it’d seem like he’s the one who’s not using cultivation to stay warm. Jin Zixuan hesitates, stopping just shy of actually touching Nie Huaisang’s cheek. His trembling hand pushes Nie Huaisang’s hair out of the way and behind his ear before his fingers brush against his cheek to pick up something there, lingering on his skin a moment too long.

“Zixuan,” Nie Huaisang whispers, sounding painfully hopeful even to his own ears.

It breaks the spell. Jin Zixuan shivers and pulls his hand again as if burned.

“You had a…” he mumbles, lifting his hand to show a piece of algae that must have gotten on Nie Huaisang’s face when he fell in the water. “It’s… you should dry yourself, we’d better go back soon, it’ll be noticed that we’re gone.”

Nie Huaisang nods, at a loss for words.

Even though they’ve been friends for some months now, even though they’ve cuddled and kissed more than once, this is the first time that Jin Zixuan, of his own volition, touched him. So far it’s always been Nie Huaisang initiating everything, mostly because it’s just the way he is.

He knows that Jin Zixuan isn’t like him, and so that simple touch makes his heart race, beating so hard against his ribs that it’s nearly painful.

Even as Jin Zixuan turns away to make sure nobody’s coming their way, Nie Huaisang feels like something has just shifted between them, even more so than the first time they kissed.

This thing with Jin Zixuan should have been a game, just a way to pass time until going home again. Nie Huaisang had just wanted to see how far he could push Jin Zixuan who, clearly, has never been pushed around much. But the way Jin Zixuan looks at him sometimes with a mix of longing and terror, the tenderness with which he tucked his hair out of the way... it does something to Nie Huaisang’s poor heart.

For the first time in his life, Nie Huaisang almost wishes he could be strong in a conventional manner. Whatever is scaring Jin Zixuan, Nie Huaisang finds more and more that he wants to protect him from it. He has a growing suspicion, though, that what scares him is more complex than a fear of spiders or of the dark, and that won’t easily be dealt with. Even if he were better with a sabre, Nie Huaisang couldn’t just grab his weapon and threaten to kill Jin Guangshan if he doesn’t stop trying to mold his son into something he isn’t… though if he tried, he’s sure Nie Mingjue would certainly support him.

Nie Mingjue always supports his family.

Oh.

A grin appears on Nie Huaisang’s lips, and a plan in his head as he realises something.

He can’t protect Jin Zixuan from his father and mother at the moment, sure, but if one of them were to enter the other’s family, then it’d be easier to do it. And they wouldn’t have to hide so much to kiss, right? And if they were married, Nie Huaisang is almost sure he would eventually convince Jin Zixuan to try doing more than kissing.

It won’t be easy to get married. Lanling Jin is infamously unkind to cut-sleeves, and it deserves that reputation judging by Jin Zixuan’s…. everything. And Nie Mingjue and Jin Guangshan dislike each other something fierce, so they won’t cooperate at all.

But Nie Huaisang wants this.

It shocks him, in fact, how much he wants this. Enough to actually try to fight for it, in fact.

After all, just because he doesn’t like to make efforts about anything most of the time, it doesn’t mean he cannot.

So he’s going to marry Jin Zixuan.

And when they’re married, nobody will ever hurt him again.

Also, they’re going to kiss so much.

#sangxuan #nie huaisang #jin zixuan #mo dao zu shi #mdzs #jau writes #I really really like the idea of nhs getting to feel protective of someone #Anonymous

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theuntamednarrator · 4 years

Text

Thank you @mika--82 for the question! I’m sorry it took so long but since I really enjoyed plotting out my Cangse Sanren lives au, and I think a lot about the women in The Untamed who didn't get to see their children grow up, strap in for round two of TB Revives the Mothers of the Untamed. This week's episode: Save Mama Lan by killing Lan Qiren \^.^/

(Many thanks to @drwcn for letting me borrow her hc names for Mama Lan (Qui Baiti) and Papa Lan (Lan Cenrong). You can read more about them on her blog here and here.)

(Warning for an unsuccessful suicide attempt)

QBT has been isolated in the Jingshi for a decade. She only sees her sons once a month, she isn’t allowed her sword, and her spiritual power is kept sealed

But LWJ inherited his stubbornness from his mum and she's determined to escape, one way or another

LQR is walking by the Jingshi when he feels a massive surge of energy and breaks his first ever Discipline (no running in Cloud Recesses)

He wrenches the Jingshi door open and sees an array that wouldn't look out of place two decades in the future in an alternate universe in a dingy shed behind Mo Manor

LQR breaks his second Discipline in as many minutes (do not make excessive noise) when he screams for his brother before he grabs QBT and drags her out of the array

LQR didn't have time to think, let alone study what the effects of that might be, all he knew was that it was killing her, and that her death would kill the brother he loves more than anything else

The backlash strikes him and he keels over

QBT gathers him up, sobbing and asking why he did it, she wanted to die, why did you do it Lan-er-gongzi? what were you thinking? Your brother loves you

LQR meets his brother’s eyes as he appears over her shoulder, the terrified disciples flanking him a white blur

He smiles and says I know

Curtains on LQR

(alternatively, we can just kill JGS again because ngl that was real satisfying the first time around)

Now the Elders are in a pickle because this may have been an accident but QBT has now been responsible for the deaths of an Elder and Second Young Master Lan

It's decided that the only option is exile

QBT is forbidden from setting foot in Cloud Recesses and the territories of Gusu Lan for ten year and forbidden from speaking to any Lan disciple during that time

She bows, accepts back the plain sword she had yielded when she came through the gates to be married, and is gone before the dawn. LCR watches her leave and then goes to wake their sons

Now, QBT was a wandering cultivator long before she was Lan-furen and actually really enjoys returning to life on the road

I wandered once! I can do it again!

Five years later she meets XXC battling a ferocious demon snake and together they defeat it

QBT definitely doesn’t feel her heart beat a little faster at the youthful face, white robes, and elegant jade-and-silver sword

She answers XXC's graceful bow with one of her own and the two spend a week clearing out the fierce nests of demons on the mountain

The next time their wandering brings them together she is introduced to my good friend Song Lan and hides her smile in her sleeve

Meanwhile in Cloud Recesses without LQR to pick up the slack LCR is forced to step out of seclusion and actually run his sect and parent his children

He does a very good job

QBT has to fight back proud tears every time she hears Twin Jades of Lan spoken of with awe

Ten years to the day of her exile QBT is grinning as she climbs the long flights of stairs towards the gates of Cloud Recesses

Part of that might be the entertaining company she walks with

A young man clutching two bottles of Emperor's Smile and talking so fast she’s only half listening while she tries to figure out if he’s actually taken a breath since introducing himself

Talking at breakneck speed of the young master who had been so strict with him at the gates, aiya Auntie! He was so cold! you should have seen his stony face

QBT only grins harder as WWX climbs the wall, is challenged, and blades flash over tiles (it might bring back fond memories of her own youth)

She slips over the wall while they are distracted and once WWX is silenced she reaches out her hand

You handle your sword beautifully, may I?

LWJ can't even say why - it's too dark to see her face and the voice is roughened after 10 years on the road - but he hands Bichen over without a second thought

She sighs as she runs a finger over the blade and the steel glows, lighting up her face (solely because I think glowy Bichen is very sexy and we should have had more of it in the drama honestly)

Bichen suits you better than it ever suited me, ZhanZhan

LWJ is emoting all over the place (so embarrassing)

(luckily his back is to WWX because if baby disaster bi WWX saw that smile he would've died on the spot)

WWX of course is still a troublemaking rule breaker and LWJ is still charged with overseeing his punishment

QBT and LXC are united in their LWJ should make friends agenda and LXC inherited his sense of humour and delight for teasing LWJ from QBT

Between the two of them LWJ soon has more friends than he knows what to do with

QBT and LXC co-captain the good ship Wangxian

Of course plot stuff still happens including accidental-marriage-before-a-Quest-Ghost

XXC and SL meet them in Yueyang and when LWJ introduces himself they're thrilled because hey we know your mum! she’s real cool!

They don't trust the clans and they might've heard of NMJ but they know Qui-jiejie and they trust her and so they decide XY will go to Cloud Recesses for judgement

N-wow the twin jades are really deserving of their reputations-HS insists on a Qinghe representative going too

oh me? no no Wei-xiong this has been quite enough adventure for me. Meng Yao you'll go won't you? Dage trusts you and Lan-gongzi admired your *delicate cough* capability *innocent smile*

my.blush.com/embarrassed/yearning agrees

QBT is delighted to see XXC and SL again and happily introduces them to her elder son

SL and LXC almost immediately get into a heated debate over ahistorical fantasy chinese philosophy and/or politics and are instantly bonded

QBT may or may not have instigated said debate with a well-timed quote from a well-known (re: divisive) text

Basically QBT shares my get LXC more friends agenda

SL is, again, the first person (apart from LXC and his parents) to laugh at LWJ's jokes

WWX still refuses to believe this actually happened (the joke and SL laughing) (XXC swears it’s true)

XY is locked in the back hills and eventually a) dies trying to use his hidden piece of the yin iron to break the seals OR b) is rehabilitated by the power of bunnies and become an outer disciple (reader's choice!)

XXC and SL accompany WWX and JC part of the way to Lotus Pier

Cloud Recesses is attacked, QBT and LCR send LXC and MY away with the sacred texts, MY promising he knows somewhere safe to hide

LWJ refuses to leave his parents. The losses are not as bad as in canon, the Wen are beaten back, but LCR and LWJ are both injured

No Good Very Bad Summer Camp with World's Worst Head Counselor WC

No Good Very Bad Turtle Cave of Love

WWX wakes post-rescue with LWJ still there

(Because his parents are holding Cloud Recesses and he knows LXC is safe so he doesn't need to rush off)

JZX, JC, LWJ, and WWX spend a day planning before they split up

(this is hilarious and JC says "fuck" not less than 219 times)

(WWX only almost punches JZX and it only happens twice honestly people should be grateful! he was so restrained!!)

They all return home, LWJ promising to bring reinforcements from Cloud Recesses to Lotus Pier (because it's the most obvious next target. no other reason. just. strategically it makes sense)

WQ sends WN to Lotus Pier to warn WWX when WZL's forces are on their way

When the Wen attack, they're met with a prepared force of 1) YZY and the Jiang Disciples 2) QBT, LWJ, and a contingent of Lan Disciples AND 3) JC and WWX and a gaggle of archers (seriously why tf show the Jiang being so good and then only give us two archery fight scene moments and it’s heart breaking sixth young master jiang dying and some rando ouyang disciple shooting WWX?)

Things get a little hairy but between YZY and QBT they defeat WZL and the rest of the Wen quickly surrender

JFM and JYL arrive just as the battle is ending, escorted by Madam Jin, JZX, LQY, and all the Jin Disciples who were at Cloud Recesses

(WWX: MianMian you came you must have been so worried about me! LQY, ignoring him: Lan-er-gongzi are you okay? WWX: ah Lan Zhan you MianMian really likes you! that’s lucky! LWJ, screaming internally: mn)

(JGS was furious when JZX announced he was joining the campaign but what could he possibly say in front of his battle ready wife without looking like the utter coward of a wet biscuit he is)

Once again WWX is left with a screaming sword, too much curiosity, and too much time on his hands (due to his adopted family being not-dead)

But worse he has now also access to a woman who created an array powerful enough to kill even with her spiritual power sealed

Poor WRH doesn't stand a chance, even without MY spying for the Sunshot Campaign

After the battle QBT&LCR and YZY&JFM shut JGS's bullshit power grab down real quick and JGS sulks like the baby he is (probably in a brothel) while Madam Jin and JZX take over Lanling Jin

JZX hears about MY and the way he helped LXC and NMJ sends a letter of support and JZX is already quite jealous of all these sibling bonds and welcomes Ziyao with open arms

(All of which goes slightly to waste when JZY marries out to the Lan clan slightly less than a year later but hey, at least it's a good alliance.)

WQ takes over the Wen Clan but tears down Nightless City and relocates the capital to Dafan

(WQ: have you been to Nightless City? It’s built on an active volcano. Do you know how bad sulfur ash is for open wounds? Do you know what medical herbs grow in lava slurry? None is the answer. My family are all fucking morons)

(WQ: Not you a-Ning you’re a delight and we’re thrilled you’re here)

Rumour has it a certain immortal was so impressed with the stories of the medical techniques of Dafan Wen that she paid WQ a visit

(Disciples are so reckless after all! One never knows when one might need to be capable of transplanting vital organs!)

Each year WWX and LWJ spend 3 months at Gusu, 3 months at Lotus Pier, and 6 months wandering with XXC and SL

They get "fake married" no less than four times in three years (for the investigation xiongzhang! absolutely no other reason shishu! no other reason at all!) before LXC, MY, XXC, and SL get fed up and barricade them in their room until they talk to each other dammit

(LXC is very grateful MY has gotten so handy with the silencing talismans because the 'conversation' gets uncomfortably loud real quick)

Side note to say Clarity works very well to avert a qi deviation when it's not being actively corrupted, thanks very much, and NMJ lives many, many, many years which would be entirely happy if only NHS would pick up his saber once in a while

He would tell NHS this if he could ever find him

Happy ending!³

#³unless you are a hardcore lqr fan #in which case i invite you to ignore the first few paragraphs #assume that qbt got banished for unrelated reasons #and hc that jgs died instead #also i nearly included a few paragraphs #where qbt finds and buries cssr & wcz #and an alt paragraph where she saves them both #but cut them because it was getting too long #AND i was super tempted by an lxc-dies-to-save-nmj which i've 75% plotted #which I have affectionately titled 'lan whumpji'#but then i decided it was nicer to save another mother #because they really get shafted in canon #theuntamednarrative #mika--82 #madam lan #lan qiren #wangxian #xiyao #tw suicide attempt

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trensu · 4 years

Text

Episode 28: The One where LXC Loses his Title as Greatest Wingman

THAT’S RIGHT GUYS

WE’RE HERE

THE ONE THAT HOLDS ONE OF THE MOST PRECIOUS, CLASSIC WANGXIAN SCENES IN THE WHOLE SHOW

THE SCENE THAT JUST BURSTS WITH WANGXIAN DOMESTICITY AND WE DIE FROM THE SHEER FLUFFINESS OF IT ALL

Shockingly this VERY IMPORTANT wangxian moment doesn’t start until the 34min mark.

So we’re gonna power through those first 34min to get to the parts that actually matter

We’re still at the burial mounds

Emotional Yungmeng Bro Drama happens

It’s very upsetting

There’s a lot of feelings everywhere.

I can’t defend you if you keep this path, jc protests

You can’t defend me? Then Leave me, wwx says, tell the world i defected, he says, my actions are no longer associated with the jiang clan he says

WHO KNEW BROTHERLY LOVE COULD BE SO PAINFUL, AMIRITE GUYS? HAHA *CHOKES BACK SOBS*

LET’S SKIP AHEAD!

Jc’s gone, maybe it’ll get better now??

A-YUAN TIME!!

Oh no, little a-yuan is hungry!!

Wen qing gives him the last of the fruit because a-yuan activated her Good Big Sister instincts

Ah, look at his happy face as he takes the fruit!

The wwx shows up with MORE fruit and a-yuan does the leg-grabby thing!!

ADORABLE

Great, now we get Emotional WWX and WQ Bonding Time

SHE TRIES TO GIVE HIM AN OUT

SHE TRIES TO GET HIM BACK TO HIS FAMILY

Wwx is not having it so instead he acts all charming and teases her until the matter is dropped

I LOVE THEM SO MUCH

Other stuff happens, boring boring boring

Moving forward

Yunmeng bro fight scene!

The first half was pretty neat and then they did a bunch of funky flying moves that had me like, why, why must you do this, please stop and give me wangxiantics instead

They did not stop

But they did do some wonderful Twirling, so I guess i can forgive them a little

Oh, sadface, a paperman gets viciously slaughtered by jc

(@theuntamednarrator pointed out that this fight scene PARALLELS a future fight scene on a moonlit rooftop THAT WE’RE NOT GONNA THINK ABOUT BECAUSE IT MAKES ME SAD)

Wwx, at some point in this fight is all: oh look, i’ve been impaled

(what’s a little light stabbing between siblings, amirite?)

More stuff happens that we don’t care about

But we’ll take a moment to laugh at wwx here

Wwx is like, imma hide this gaping stab wound from the world’s greatest doctor by distracting her with potatoes

It doesn’t quite work bc wen qing immediately makes a grab for him

Wwx is scandalized!

Wwx: Men and women shouldn’t be improperly intimate!!

Wwx: you suddenly doing this makes me scared for my virtue which i’m obviously saving for lan zhan!

She backs off for half a second; then wwx winces but he recovers quickly by being all i’m totally fine, look at how fine i am, i’m flinching because of HUNGER PAINS, NOTHING ELSE

If he weren't so charming and adorable none of this would've worked

Other non-wangxian nonsense occurs

Some more non-wangxian stuff

A scene featuring Disaster Het Jin Zixuan and our Perfect Elder Sister Jiang Yanli

Jzx is all, i know carp tower isn’t your home but i’m willing to build another lotus pier here for you

...ugh, fine, okay, maybe you’ve grown on me a little by now, you huge Disaster Het BUT ONLY BECAUSE YOU’RE MAKING JYL HAPPY, YOU HEAR ME?? ALL BETS ARE OFF IF YOU MAKE HER CRY AGAIN

We’ve made it through the 34 minutes!!

GET READY GUYS

We’re at a tea house in Yiling! There’s lots of people! AND THEY’RE ALL TRASH-TALKING MY BEAUTIFUL SUNSHINE BOY WTF

But hey, look in the background is lwj, (angrily) listening to people trash-talk our sunshine boy.

God, he sits so straight, it looks almost painful

I mean, in terms of posture

We know he’s not straight in any other way lol

The only time we get full body shots of him in this scene is when he’s blurred and out of focus in the background, which is interesting

When he’s at the forefront of the scene, it’s all close-ups of his (angry) face

But even with the close ups, we only see parts of his face. One half of his face at a time, close-ups on the eyes (or one eye) specifically at times

It’s not until the end of that teahouse scene that we get to see a full shot of him and that’s only when he’s had Enough of people slandering his soulmate and slams his (poor innocent) tea cup onto the table and (viciously) glares at the gossipers

He leaves the teahouse (angrily)

Lwj is (angrily) walking through the marketplace

He walks past some random lady and the lady turns the hell around so fast and BLATANTLY CHECKS HIM OUT, oh god, that’s HILARIOUS

(you are not alone in this, lady, YOU ARE NOT ALONE)

Then, we have one of the best tropes of all, ACCIDENTAL CHILD ACQUISITION

THERE IS A CHILD CLINGING TO HIS LEG

IT’S A-YUAN

A-YUAN HAS SURGICALLY ATTACHED HIMSELF TO LWJ

WE ALL LOVE HIM FOR IT

Wwx does not notice his child is missing bc he is haggling, which is important but maybe not as important as missing a child.

Omg the look of panic on his face when he finally realizes a-yuan is gone gutted me for half a second.

REALIZING YOU’VE LOST A CHILD IN A CROWDED PLACE IS THE WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD, OKAY

But i get over this quickly bc WWX FINDS A-YUAN CLINGING TO LWJ’S LEG.

GUYS

THIS SCENE

THIS SCENE MAKES ME SO HAPPY

IT’S MADE OF RAINBOWS AND BUTTERFLIES AND ITTY BITTY KITTIES

Okay, let's break it down because there’s JUST SO MUCH GOOD STUFF HERE WE NEED TO PROPERLY APPRECIATE ALL OF IT

FIRSTLY, lwj’s face.

There is a loudly crying child clinging to his leg

He is surrounded by nosy talkative strangers (PARENT strangers!!) all Judging™ him for his (lack of) parenting skills

And lwj’s face is about as External Panic as lwj can make it bc our boy is FREAKING OUT

THERE IS A CRYING CHILD

LATCHED ON TO HIS LEG

STRANGERS ARE ASSUMING HE’S THE FATHER

BUT HE ISN’T

THEY DON’T LISTEN WHEN HE TELLS THEM HE ISN’T

THEY SAY THEY HAVE THE SAME NOSE?? THEY SAY HE RESEMBLES THIS STRANGE UNKNOWN CRYING CHILD SOMEHOW??

AND WORSE STILL, THEY’RE SAYING HE’S A BAD FATHER

THEY’RE ALL LIKE, OH LOOK HE SCOLDED HIS POOR KID AND NOW WON’T EVEN HUG HIS KID TO MAKE HIM FEEL BETTER??

HIS FACE, OMG

HIS FACE SCREAMS: DEAR GOD WHAT IS HAPPENING HOW DO I MAKE IT STOP

LWJ IS DYING INSIDE

AND HE KIND OF WANTS TO DIE OUTSIDE

(There’s one guy who kinda takes pity on him and was like, ah, he’s your first kid, huh? I was like that with MY first kid but now i know everything after my wife gave a few more births. It’s a learning process!)

And ohoho, boy, does lwj learn (later, after horrible horrible things happen)

Secondly, WWX IS HAVING THE TIME OF HIS LIFE WATCHING ALL OF THIS UNFOLD BEFORE HIM

HIS SMILE IS HEART-STOPPINGLY BEAUTIFUL

HE’S STIFLING GIGGLES

IT’S SO CUTE I WANNA DIE

Finally, wwx takes pity on poor lan zhan

I would like to point out that he takes pity on lan zhan only after the crowd of Judgy Parents start asking A-Yuan where his mother is

And like, i don’t want to fall into the pit of heteronormativity and stereotypical gender roles, BUT THAT’S HILARIOUS

Wwx: Lan zhan!

Lwj looks up and the world fades away when he sees wwx, with his cute little smile, making his way towards him in slo-mo

Like, literally slow motion and literally the world fades away until basically only wwx is in focus, THIS IS HOW LWJ SEES WWX ALL THE TIME, OMG IT’S AMAZING

AND OF COURSE ~THEIR SONG~ IS PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND

I’M SCREAMING, EVERYTHING IS GREAT

LWJ STARES AT HIM WITH SUCH YEARNING

And even when they’re right in front of each other, they KEEP STARING AT EACH OTHER, SOAKING UP EACH OTHER’S PRESENCE

WHICH I LOVE, but also there’s a crying child right there maybe take care of him??

Wwx: lan zhan, what a coincidence! What are you doing i yiling?

WHAT DO YOU THINK HE’S DOING IN YILING, WWX

IT’S NOT LIKE HIS SOULMATE LIVES AROUND THAT AREA OR ANYTHING

Lwj: night hunt. Passing by.

Short and sweet and to the point

I’m convinced it’s because his brain has short-circuited from the double whammy of Accidental Child Acquisition and OMG My Beautiful Soulmate is With Me and Smiling

Lwj: ....this child

Wwx: ah, yes, this is MY son

I read a post on tumblr that says the actual translation of that line was more like “ah, yes, i gave birth to this child”

Which would explain lwj’s absolutely stunned and confused expression

I mean, the fact that he doesn’t immediately dismiss this as the nonsense that it is, is absolutely HILARIOUS to me

Like, for a split second there he honestly believed wwx??

He must’ve been like, wait, is this a side effect of demonic cultivation??!?!?

That doesn’t sound right but i don’t know enough about demonic cultivation to dispute it

But then wwx starts giggling at him which gives away the game

Wwx: hey, lan zhan, what did you do? Why is a-yuan crying?

Lwj: I didn’t do anything

Wwx: ah, i see what happened. Lan zhan, as pretty as you look, you still have resting bitch face.

(no for real, wwx called him pretty, i died a little when i heard him say it and i’m pretty sure lwj did too)

Wwx: a-yuan doesn’t know any better so of course he’d look at you and start crying!!

Lwj stares at a-yuan (who is now clinging adorably to wwx) and you can see in his face that his New Life Mission is to get A-Yuan to Like Him.

It is IMPERATIVE that this small child Like Him. Not for any particular reason, of course. But this Must happen.

Even if it means having to go to an Ancient Fantasy China plastic surgeon to get his resting bitch face problem resolved

THANK GOD WE DON’T HAVE TO RESORT TO THAT

Wwx kneels down to comfort a-yuan and lwj watches him interact with this small child and VISIBLY SWALLOWS before looking away

Like it was too much cute to handle

Like oh shit, i want wwx’s children

Like oh shit, i want to be a dad???

GUYS WE SEE THE EXACT MOMENT LWJ REALIZES HE WANTS KIDS

THANK YOU WORLD FOR BLESSING US WITH THIS MOMENT

Okay, quiz time!

How do we make a small child stop crying?

Answer - Distraction!

What is the best distraction for a small child?

Answer - TOYS

Wwx pulls a-yuan to a toy stall

The music here gets all upbeat and playful. (In fact, it’s the same music that played in the ‘flower petals rain on LWJ’ scene in The One where NHS is Total Cockblock omg i just had to reference my own guide to make sure that was the right episode lol this is exactly why i’m making this). I love this music!!

So they admire the toys and wwx picks up one of them and is like, do you like this one?

A-yuan of course says yes bc all kids love toys

Then wwx is like, cool, and proceeds to drag a-yuan away from the toy stall without the toy

SAD FACE A-YUAN :(

Lwj sees Sad Face A-Yuan and does the Lan Clan version of running (aka lengthening his strides and quickening his steps slightly)

Lwj: wei ying, why didn’t you buy it for him?

Dude, he sounds almost accusatory here, it’s GREAT

Wwx: ??? why should I???

Lwj: you asked him if he wanted it, doesn’t that mean you’re going to buy it?

Wwx: asking is asking, buying is buying. Who says i have to buy something just because i asked about it?

Wwx, lwj has a point tho. It’s kinda mean to lead a kid on like that

And here lwj sounds all hesitant (and shy?? maybe??) like he doesn’t want to scare a-yuan again. He looks at him briefly

Lwj: which one...do you want.

Then when a-yuan doesn’t immediately burst into tears, he speaks more confidently.

Lwj: among those, which one did you want?

And a-yuan points to the toy he wants with all the confidence small children have when they know they’re about to get exactly what they want

Omg, lwj looks at wwx as soon as he sees which toy a-yuan wants

It’s a look that says I’M GETTING THIS CHILD A TOY AND YOU CAN’T STOP ME

And wwx just beams at him like a ray of sunshine!! HE’S MELTING INSIDE, YOU CAN TELL

HE’S ALL LIKE, OMG LAN ZHAN IS SO SWEET WITH CHILDREN

OMG LAN ZHAN WOULD BE A GREAT DAD

OMG I WANT LAN ZHAN TO CO-DAD A-YUAN WITH ME

Cut to a-yuan gleefully playing with his new toys

He and wwx are play fighting with cute little wooden swords and it’s SO ADORABLE I’M GONNA DIE

And lwj watches them for moment with the FONDEST LOOK ON HIS FACE

A-yuan notices that lwj is there again and immediately ditches wwx to cling to lwj’s leg

Smart, kid, smart

Butter up the rich guy who makes wwx smile

Wwx laughs: lan zhan, congrats! My kid likes you! He only hugs the legs of his favorite people and then never lets go

Lwj: *internally probably* i wish YOU’D hug me and never let me go

Also

YES! LIFE MISSION COMPLETE. WWX’S CHILD LIKES ME

Wwx: you should ditch your night hunt and have a meal with me

Lwj: a meal?

Lwj: *internally probably* OMG DID HE JUST ASK ME OUT ON A DATE?? AND HE CALLED ME PRETTY EARLIER??? TODAY IS THE BEST DAY

He then pretends to hesitate bc YOU GOTTA PLAY IT COOL

CAN’T CLUE HIM IN ON HOW DESPERATELY YOU WANT TO KEEP HIM WITH YOU FOREVER

BE COOL, LWJ, BE COOL, BE COOL

Wwx: c’mon, we hardly see each other! We can reminisce about the old days! It’ll be my treat~!

Wwx what, YOU HAVE NO MONEY WHAT ARE YOU EVEN SAYING

Wwx grabs lwj’s arm and drags him away

Lwj’s brain rn: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But they run off WITHOUT A-YUAN??

Good thing a-yuan is quick on his feet, god damn

AND THAT’S THE END OF ONE OF THE BESTEST EPISODES OF THE SHOW

GOD I NEEDED THIS AFTER THE HELLSCAPE OF LAST EPISODE WHERE EVERYONE MADE ME ANGRY

And lets give a round of applause to our precious adorable A-Yuan who somehow managed to latch on to the one person in the entire town that is completely head over heels in love with wwx and who wwx has been pining for since their sad separation in the rain.

FOUR FOR YOU, A-YUAN. YOU GO, A-YUAN!!

Return to Masterpost

#WangXiantics #wangxian #the untamed #cql

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briapia95 · 4 years

Note

I read all of the arranged marriage AU and it's Chef's kiss. Because I'm a terrible person, I imagined the rest as Ultimate Bad End AU™ wherein LWJ loses his core and becomes Yiling Patriarch, dies in the Burial Mounds after LXC dies at Qiongqi way and WWX stays miserable and in cloud recesses because he thinks he ruins everything he touches and he doesn't wanna fuck things up for JC and Yanli

Omg that’s brutal and I love it xD. I imagine that the original AU while angsty, it won’t be as brutal (I think), but just for the lols let’s imagine that. I have this named in my docs as “the super bad ending lol noooope” just so you know;

[Here for the original AU]

LWJ is a powerful cultivator but there’s so much he can do anything against Wen Zhuliu (WZL?) when they’re at one of Dusk Creek Mountain’s many caves. He does not see it coming, one moment they’re trying to get away from the Xuanwu of Slaughter, Wen disciples trying and failing to climb back the way they’ve all come from and the next moment WWX is pushing himself in between Luo Qingyang and that wicked brand Wang Lingjiao (WLJ?) had used to threaten them since this excuse of a night-hunt began.

WLJ burns WWX, as in canon, but this time seeing this LWJ furiously attacks the other Wen cultivators, WLJ realizing shit, I shouldn’t have done that, starts panicking and screaming; causing more mayhem in the midst of the current chaos that’s happening. This gives an opening for the other disciples from the different sects to fight against the Wen cultivators, using their corpses to distract the Xuanwu for a while many of them are able to climb out of the cave.

Meanwhile, WC tries to shut WLJ up, her clinging to him and making it impossible to escape, but then LWJ is coming after him too, that’s when WZL comes in between them. Too fast, too driven to protect his master for LWJ wrath. WWX somewhat near realizes, screaming “Lan Zhan!” in warning and desperation, but it’s too late now, he’s too far away, the second master of Gusu Lan has now gotten his golden core shattered.

The pain is not as terrible as the sudden cold that sinks into his bones. Making him almost lose his consciousness right there and then. He does not notice WC & company fled, WWX enraged and confused, manages to come to LWJ’s aid but because of plot reasons -don’t ask me- they still find themselves trapped inside the cave with a wild Xuanwu that while appeased, is still a threat to them. (the same happens here, JC & co. go get help now with the added bonus of not being pursued by the Wen)

WWX’s guilt starts to simmer, “if you had not come to my aid you’d still have your core intact, Lan Zhan, why would you do something like that?”, he whispers, tears streaming down his cheeks and onto LWJ’s cheeks, LWJ face pressed against WWX chest as he softly streaks his hair while his other arm keeps their bodies together.

“Is it not apparent?” LWJ asks, words strained from the effort that takes not to lose consciousness.

WWX trembles, throat thigh, tears still not stopping, “You are a stupid, stupid, man, Lan Zhan. Has nobody ever told you that? A stupid, noble, too good man” he finishes as the presses their lips together for the first time. LWJ kisses back, he has dreamed about this moment for months now and it’s everything he ever hoped for, his only regret that it has happened in the worst circumstances imaginable.

Flash forward to the rescue, they can’t really kill the Xuanwu of Slaughter but its hunger is quelled enough for it to not come when they get them out. JC is there and so is LXC and enough disciples to form a small army (Both Yunmeng Jiang and Gusu Lan sect forces intact and ready for action since the attract on Lanling Jin)

The state of LWJ’s core is kept secret since only WWX and WC & co know, everyone else too distracted fleeing the cave to notice.

Plot happens and the war starts, WWX being the former Yunmeng Jiang head disciple and married to the second young master of Gusu Lan goes to war too. (Also, hello there guilt, we love some self-sacrificing WWX that has not been able to cope much with the knowledge that his husband was defending him, therefore, in his mind, him being the reason he lost his core, even if LWJ has told him repeatedly that no it’s not his fault).

So as the war drags on, his husband not coming back and in a desperate attempt to help him and some convenient plot sprinkled in the way, LWJ finds himself at burial mounds, flash forward to three months later and ta-da! Yiling Patriarch! LWJ.

Let’s say the first supervisory office he goes to is the Yiling one, he meets WQ, and remembers how fondly WWX spoke about WN that time they met at the Qishan Wen discussion conference, so he does not kill the elders and healers, a-yuan’s mother probably in early pregnancy. But since this is a nope AU he does kill the rest of the cultivators, (probably a-yuan’s father amongst them), ordering WQ and what’s left of her people to try to leave somewhere far away or to renounce the Wen name or something. Then WC & co meet the same end as the novel canon.

So, the sunshot campaign is won thanks to LWJ, JGS is dead and JZX is sect leader, engaged once again to JYL and JGY being his right-hand man or something. LWJ is now cultivating resentful energy (probably in a more moderated way) and WWX still in love but now feeling more guilty than before, since now his husband is walking the path he used to abhor.

There’s tension between LQR and LWJ because of the heretic path and all that, it becomes worse since LQR makes it clear that he thinks LWJ’s decision to help WWX all the way back in the cave was foolish. WWX pours himself into researching a way of cultivating a golden core again, he sneaks into the forbidden section of the Library pavilion but is found by someone (Su She?) and then heavily punished by LQR.

This leads to a big argument between LQR and LWJ, WWX intervenes, they get punished, LQR rasping out when is finished “This is your fault, know that my nephew who I have raised as my own is now walking this path because of your insolence and arrogance. His pain is your doing.” Guess what, it’s super effective, more guilt piling onto WWX. But at the same time that’s when LWJ snaps, he takes WWX and leaves for Yiling, he’ll create a home for them where nobody will reproach his method of cultivation, where the hollowness of WWX’s eyes disappears into the brightness he fell in love with.

They find WQ’s group at the bottom of the burial mounds hiding. After LWJ’s attack, the cultivation world believed all the Wen at Yiling died. Together they form a settlement at BM. And they’re happy for a while, LWJ limits the use of resentful energy, WWX researching with the input of WQ and all the nice and soft interactions between them and the Wen remnants.

That is until they’re invited to JL’s 100th-day celebration, the ambush, both JZX and LXC appear here, but something goes wrong, LWJ loses control of his powers when he tries to use the STS, and just when the people brought for the ambush are about to shoot him LXC steps in the way. The arrows were poisoned, and struck vital points, he dies bleeding out in LWJ’s arms.

It’s all a blur, next thing he knows he’s kneeling inside the demon slaughtering cave, WWX speaking softly to him, almost in a pleading way, holding him and petting his head, “come back to me” “it wasn’t your fault” “I love you” “don’t leave me,” LWJ breaks down again, the death of his brother a pain too hard to bear.

The siege happens (Lead by Gusu Lan and Qinghe Nie) and LWJ, still too distraught for any clear thinking, uses the STS once more. Not without making WQ use her needles on WWX to make sure WWX and, say, A-yuan are out of harm's way. There’s a goodbye and one last kiss. He tries to hide them but he’s not fast enough and WWX catches LWJ being struck by LQR’s sword, the pain in the elder’s eyes apparent even if he’s trying to hide it in righteous fury.

JC finds them, WWX now free from the needles is holding a-yuan as if his life depends on it, he tries but he can’t help his brother. WWX married into Gusu Lan and he’s now being taken as a temporary prisoner by LQR, the older man still takes pity on A-yuan, so he brings him back promising no harm will be done to him.

WWX heart is in shatters, everything, the downfall of his husband, the death of his brother in law, the mental breakdown that took away his Lan Zhan even before LQR did, everything was his fault. If he had not married Lan Zhan, if he hadn’t told uncle Jiang that he was more than fine with marrying LWJ, everything would’ve been fine, Lan Zhan would be alive, the Wen probably too.

Months later JC is at Cloud Recesses, demanding WWX to be brought back to LP, but he refuses, he refuses to taint something else, better to be a prisoner there than a free man endangering the lives of people he loves.

Thirteen years pass and there’s a distress flare signal shot from Mo village. There’s no second thought, WWX will be dead before something bad happens to a-yuan.

I was not able to make it a tragic tragic AU (of an AU), so here’s a hopeful ending at the last moment xD Also! Thank you so much for reading the original AU, it makes me so glad you enjoyed it c:

#wangxian #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #lan zhan #wei wuxian #lan wangji #wei ying #arranged marriage au #of an au #My writing #answers #tk-duveraun #mdzs ficlet #there is something here that will happen actually #of sort #but don't worry #the original au has a happy ending

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restingdomface · 4 years

Text

So in a fit of brilliance I’ve decided the two posts tagged ‘coffee date au’ are set in the same universe where Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue agree to go on a date (they’re college buddies) but then suddenly they both show up slightly panicked and with a kid each (LXC doesn’t have a mom, and their dad is really agoraphobic since she died, and uncle is teaching a class rn, but NMJ still can’t convince his dad he should get a nanny for the kid and he’s having flashbacks to all the dangerous shit he chewed on as a kid and all the knives A-Sang could get his sticky hands on in their house, he swears he’s babyproofed like ten times now) and now it’s fate. Absolute love at first date and even if they break up they know damn well they’re gonna be sticking together for the sake of giving these kids some ounce of stability in their lives, and it’s actually kinda nice.

Anyways. One day when the kids are like six they meet Meng Yao, currently picking up like two kids from the daycare center (twins, his youngest siblings, now MXY cause he’s not born yet, but he’ll show up later) and they’re calling him brother and he’s fussing over them like a parent and then he looks at LXC and NMJ and they’re all ‘oh no he’s cute’ and invite a very stressed out looking Meng Yao (he has like twice as many classes as any sane person and he’s passing all of them with very high grades but he hasn’t slept in a while) to their weekly cafe date where they go to a nice little cafe off campus and buy a stupid amount of coffee and then spend the day playing with the kids cause LXC and NMJ never got played with as kids either, and MY isn’t really sure how to turn them down (they fukin hawt but also he’s on a scholarship and has basically no money that’s not going to keep the kids fed and clothed and he’s not really willing to spend it on frivolous things like dates) so he reluctantly ends up going, and it’s nice and they’re both basically rich boys who don’t make him pay and the kids make friends.

By the time they meet Jiang Chang and Wei Wuxian, the boys are both 10 and now Meng Yao is juggling two seven year olds and a one year old infant and tbh it’s actually Jin Zixuan who tracks him down when he finds out his father has been apparently dumping his bastard children on his first bastard son and Meng Yao looks TERRIFIED because he’s always been threatened that he’s not allowed to talk to his fathers only legitimate son and that if he does his father will cut off all contact entirely but leave him with the kids. Jin Guangshan has been keeping a tight leash on his finances, paying for his housing and stuff and food for the kids, but even then it’s barely enough and his boyfriends know that any sort of date or fun activity needs to be paid for by them or he can’t go at all because their father is terrible and just wants to abuse a poor kid who just made the mistake of agreeing to give his half siblings a better life.

Anyways. LXC and NMJ aren’t there yet or they likely would have threatened (lol LXC can’t threaten, he might try to deescalate the situation tho) Jin Zixuan, but they’re still not to the cafe yet and Meng Yao was in the middle of giving Mo Xuanyu a bottle and he’s basically stuck there, and he’s tired and the espresso hasn’t kicked in yet and JZX is saying something but MY isn’t paying attention.

Until the cafe doors open and two arguing ten year olds come barreling through, arguing about Pokémon or something and pulling each other’s hair. And JZX just sorta. Sighs.

He turns around to look at the kids with a disapproving frown. ‘A-Cheng, don’t pull A-Ying’s hair. Where did your sister get off to?’

Obviously, their older sister, JZX’s fiancé, was supposed to be keeping an eye on her terrible two, but A-Ying said she found a pretty hair pin in the store down the street and they got bored waiting for her and the shop owner scolded them for touching things, but then A-Cheng said A-Ying was the one touching stuff!! And now they’re arguing and pulling hair again and JZX has to get up and gently lead them both over to the table by the hand, getting them both settled down and asking what they want to drink.

This is so fucking surreal, Meng Yao almost forgets he has a fussy baby in his arms demanding attention until a slobbery little hand smacks him in the face and he goes back to gentle cooing at the little thing while giving him his bottle.

‘Oh! Is that A-Yu? Zi-gege said we were looking for A-Yu today! Can we play with him?’

Meng Yao isn’t sure what to do as the kids devolve from questions into arguing again. The twins are giving them funny looks, and since the boys were lead to the table, have finally abanonded their pretty drawings (they were drawing Yao-gege and also ErGe and DaGe too but they hadn’t gotten around to A-Zhan and A-Sang yet) to come back over to the table with Meng Yao and their new baby brother.

The two terrors stop arguing. A-Ying looks excitable. ‘I’m A-Ying! This is A-Cheng! Who are you?’

The twins look up at Meng Yao nervously, and he smiles at them gently, not knowing what else to do here.

Is Jin Zixuan here to take Xuanyu with him? He really hopes not. He isn’t sure what he and the girls would do to lose their new little brother. Things were tight around the house, just barely getting by with what they had, but Yao couldn’t lose him.

The first little girl, closest to Yao’s hand holding the bottle smiles. ‘I’m A-Ju, and this is my sister, A-Su.’

Su was a confident little one, but she had Yao’s tendency to watch people too critically before attempting to say anything. Ju tended to be more open.

JZX comes back and stands behind the boys after he’s given them a couple sandwiches and milky tea, and just stares at the two girls that he hadn’t realized were with Meng Yao, and his features went from hopeful to dashed quite fast.

The door to the cafe opened up and Meng Yao looked up to see NMJ and LXC coming in with a new woman that he didn’t recognize, but the boys across from him got excited to see immediately, shouting out for their jiejie. Meng Yao just sat back, feeling a little sick, entirely unsure what to do now.

The kids are playing together. A-Zhan is staring at A-Ying in a way that suggests he can’t figure the boy out, and A-Ying won’t stop poking at him like he’s some sort of toy. A-Zhan, for his favor, seems content to let him. A-Sang, as usual, abandoned all of them to draw with the twins.

Admittedly, Meng Yao might have been holding the baby a little bit tight when he finally agreed to go to a private table with JZX, but he hadn’t really calmed down from the request until JZX said NMJ could come with, and it takes a gentle hand putting pressure on his neck until he lets up the tense way he’s holding little Xuanyu at Mingjue’s guidance.

He can’t do this. They can’t do this. He’s had Xuanyu for almost six months now, he’s /bonded/ with the little termite. He’s watched the baby’s first steps, holding onto the couch as he tried to climb up to be with his sisters. He’s cut back on work hours.

Their father suggested he cut back on work all together. That comment had solidified it for Meng Yao in a way that nothing ever did before. Their father wanted him truly captive and reliant on his benevolence.

Zixuan, for his part, looks genuinely sorry. ‘I never came here to worry you. I don’t know what you /think/ I’m here for, but I promise I have only the best intentions, and I don’t want to take Xuanyu away.’

Meng Yao goes even more tense if possible, and his voice is shaking. ‘Don’t... don’t /want/. Do you /intend/?’

Zixuan makes a horrified little noise, shaking his head. ‘No no no, of course not. Not that either I promise.’

Meng Yao nearly sagged in place, tiredly turning the fussing child in his arms so he could gently bounce him, letting Xuanyu hold onto his thumb while Meng Yao forced himself to relax.

Zixuan sounded so desperately sad when he spoke again, and Yao could see tears in his eyes. ‘I’m... I’m so sorry he did this to you. I didn’t even know about the girls till they showed up.’

Meng Yao nodded a little, unsure what to say beyond a shrug. ‘If I had been less young, less naive, maybe I wouldn’t have so eagerly agreed just so he would have a reason to stay in my life. That doesn’t mean I won’t do whatever I have to to keep them.’

Zixuan nodded. ‘Of course, I would never want to do that. Listen, I didn’t know about the girls, or even if you wanted to keep Xuanyu, so I didn’t bring the paperwork with me, but I do know a way to get you out of all of... /this/.’

Meng Yao’s brows furrowed. ‘This?’

Xuanyu nodded slowly. ‘Father still pays for everything for you. Apartment, utilities, bills, all that goes through him. I, as his heir, have access to all those records. It’s supposed to be mother’s job, but she refuses to touch anything that has to do with fathers... illegitimate kids.’

Meng Yao doesn’t think he’s ever met someone who would talk so frankly about all this. It was oddly refreshing. Even NMJ and LXC didn’t want to admit their father had dug him a financial grave and was slowly burying him alive with the kids.

He frowned. ‘I can’t even move in with Mingjue or Xichen because he’s a raging homophobe who thinks I’ll corrupt the kids that he cares so little for he doesn’t even properly give us enough to survive off of.’

Zixuan looked honestly distressed at that. ‘Oh. Fuck that’s worse than I hoped for. I’m so sorry.’

Meng Yao sighed, moving to look out the window. He shrugged. ‘It’s not like I’m /forbidden/ from having a job. It’s just harder with three kids. Mingjue and Xichen have been helping out for years, he just doesn’t know it because he doesn’t realize that banks aren’t the only way to keep track of finances now days.’

Mingjue tolled his eyes, his thumb moving gently against Meng Yao’s neck. ‘It’s like the old man doesn’t even realize PayPal exists.’

Zixuan snorted. ‘He really doesn’t. That takes care of half of what I’m here for. Even if he was giving you enough that you didn’t have to worry about food or bills, I would still be here to give you the access info to an account I set up for you last week. When the papers are signed, the only thing anyone but you will be able to do is put in the money. No one but you can close the account or take anything out.’

Meng Yao looked at him in shock. ‘Why would you do that?’

Zixuan made a stressed out angry noise, nose wrinkling in the same way Yao’s did when he was mad. ‘Because, I’ve seen his finances. What he’s giving you barely counts as pocket change to his bloated rich ass. I could drop a five million on you right now to ask you to move away and never come back and he wouldn’t even /notice/ because that’s how little that amount would be to him. He wouldn’t even realize you four had left until he realized he couldn’t find any of you.’

Meng Yao considered it for a moment. ‘Why /dont/ you do that?’

Zixuan’s expression was pure distaste. ‘Because I don’t have any reason whatsoever to hate any of you. I feel terrible that you made the mistake of being fathers newest whipping dog, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to pity you. You’re in a bad position, and I’m here to help you out of it. But I’m also not going to leave you without financial support. You may want to keep the kids, but these weren’t your mistakes to begin with, and father has been punishing you for years for it.’

Mingjue snorted, sitting back with his arms crossed. ‘You really don’t like your dad, do you kid?’

Zixuan shook his head. ‘Not particularly, no. Other than the bank account, I can convince father to give over full custody of the kids to you. No possible way to get any of them back.’

Meng Yao blinked at his half brother, sitting up straighter again, looking at him in shock. ‘How would you do that?’

Zixuan shrugs. ‘He’s not the only manipulative one in the family. I could get him to panic and drop custody entirely.’

And so that’s the story about how Meng Yao had a coffeeshop romance and also ended up with some kids out of it. Later on he and Mingjue and Xichen all move in together in a huge new house with all the kids and they’re. Happy.

#the grandmaster of demonic cultivation #the untamed #mdzs #lan xichen #twin jades of lan #nie brothers #nie mingjue #jin zixuan #mo xuanyu #lol yeah one of the girls is su lol fuck ages #coffee date au #lol wwx and jc come over regularly to play now its really cute #theyre always arguing its adorable yanli loves her baby terrors #age change #lol fuck jgs hes terrible and abusive #meng yao

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razberryyum · 5 years

Video

The Untamed/陈情令 Rewatch, Episode 12

(spoilers for everything MDZS/Untamed)

[covers MDZS chapters 51 and 52]

WangXian meter: 🐰+🐰+🐰🐰+ 🐰🐰🐰🐰+ 🐰🐰+🐰🐰+🐰+🐰🐰🐰

There is so much to love about this scene, least of which is Wei Ying being in peak cuteness mode as he physically prepared himself to recite the Wen sect rules, only to immediately switch to troll mode by reciting the Gusu Lan sect rules instead. No matter how many times I’ve watched this scene, I laugh out loud and love it every time. Even though Lan Zhan was as stoic as ever, he had to be just a little proud of Wei Ying for the stunt he pulled. All that time spent at Cloud Recesses copying the rules obviously paid off in more ways than one. I also thought it was adorable how Nie Huaisang was the first person to recognize the Gusu Lan rules: if Big Bro Nie Mingjue was around, I’m sure he would’ve been a teeny bit proud of the fact that his little brother was able to retain all that arguably useful information he learned at Cloud Recesses. I say arguably because, let’s be honest, those visiting sect students probably broke like 90% of those rules as soon as they left the grounds of Cloud Recesses since they really don’t apply to their own sect’s way of living, so really, how useful ARE those 3000+ rules in ones’ life? I’m not even entirely convinced they actually help strengthen one’s moral fortitude since if someone was an immoral person to begin with, vacationing at Cloud Recesses for a few months and being forced to memorize a bunch of stuffy rules probably won’t change anything and might in fact have the opposite effect due to annoyance. That’s an aspect of the whole learning experience at Cloud Recesses that I always found a little odd: every sect has their own sect of house rules, why force visiting students to memorize theirs until they can recite it forwards and backwards. In the novel, Wei Ying’s initial indignation at having to copy them was pretty valid; good thing he ended up marrying into the Lan family anyway otherwise that really would’ve been a lot of effort pointlessly exerted.

When I first watched this episode, I was kind of impressed by how upstanding the Wen sect’s rules seemed to be: since they were set up to be the big bad sect in the show, I wasn’t expecting much in terms of moral standards. Too bad most of Wen Mao’s descendants strayed away from following them, or even remembering them, as Wen Chao would soon show. I did find it curious that he would even know the Gusu Lan sect rules enough to recognize them; it’s rather strange that he didn’t automatically assume Wei Ying was reciting his own Yunmeng Jiang sect rules since that would have been a pretty logical guess. Which begs the question, when did he even learn the Gusu Lan rules? I know that’s a question that no answer was ever provided for, and I’m sure Team CQL didn’t even think anyone would ever care enough to ask since the more important take-away point of that scene was Wei Ying adorably using the Gusu Lan sect rules as a means to slap Wen Chao in the face. And it was a pretty effective slap, even the usually disdainful Jin Zixuan was amused by his tactic. I’m sure both Jiang Cheng and Lan Zhan were impressed as well but were simply too worried about the repercussions to enjoy the moment.

I actually rejoiced a little when Wen Chao generously doled out his punishment to both JZX and Lan Zhan as well, instead of only singling out Wei Ying, since that of course instantly translated to me as more Wei Ying and Lan Zhan bonding time. Sure, JZX had to be the third wheel this time, but the upside to that was that yet another person got to witness Wei Ying’s preoccupation with Lan Zhan.

JZX’s reaction to Wei Ying’s insistence on chatting up a very unresponsive Lan Zhan was hilarious. He must’ve been wondering, what the heck is up with this guy and his obsession with Lan Wangji? I think even if JZX had asked Wei Ying that question directly, Wei Ying wouldn’t have even been able to explain himself. At that point in time, I don’t believe he even understood why he couldn’t leave Lan Zhan alone, only that he couldn’t and didn’t want to.

And of course likewise, neither could Lan Zhan leave Wei Ying alone, especially when he’s in danger, even though he really did all he could to resist responding to Wei Ying’s numerous attempts at interacting with him. It really was a great risk; I can only imagine the stress and turmoil Lan Zhan was feeling. Having just seen his home partially destroyed by the Wens (although in the novel/donghua it was worse since it wasn’t just partial), he must’ve been deathly afraid of getting Wei Ying involved lest harm befell him as well, and yet as soon as he was threatened, Lan Zhan immediately forgot all his concerns and defended Wei Ying.

I love that all his carefully maintained stoicism dissipated completely because of Wei Ying: not only did he valiantly defy and threaten Wen Chao, but then he also blatantly showed his concern on his face…

…and through his gestures since he couldn’t stop holding on to Wei Ying.

Wen Chao’s monologue took a good minute or two and yet the entire time, Lan Zhan never let go. In front of so many people he continued to unabashedly support Wei Ying. Like he just completely forgot everything other than protecting Wei Ying. It was beautiful.

I really wish Wen Chao had thrown Lan Zhan in the dungeon with Wei Ying as well, especially since he even threatened to. Not sure why Team CQL held back from that; the whole dung field scene was created just for the drama anyway, would’ve been lovely if they had gone the extra distance and WangXianed up the dungeon scene as well since that was also just a figment of their imagination. Not to mention, considering Lan Zhan did also fight back against Wen Chao, it would’ve made sense for him to also face the same punishment as Wei Ying. Wei Ying could’ve still been thrown into the doggy cell while Lan Zhan into the cell next to him, and then he would’ve had to spend the entire time listening to Wei Ying getting tortured by the puppy and just be worried sick until Wen Qing finally showed up with her needles. Darn it. Such a shame Team CQL passed up such a good Lan Zhan angsting opportunity.

Although I probably shouldn’t even complain since there was already a good amount of WangXian moments already, Wei Ying’s piggyback offer alone made up for the lack of a dungeon bonding scene.

Even though Lan Zhan declined his offer, just thinking about how he proceeded to hold on dearly to this memory because it was precious to him, and then to bring it up again a decade and a half later in order to return the favor, just makes me want to cry all over again for this sweet romantic man.

Wei Wuxian is Cool AF

I mean, that’s usually a given, but still, I always get a happy chill down my spine when I see him being all threatening like that. It’s like seeing the prelude to the Yiling Patriarch. Seeing Wei Ying boldly come to his rescue like that probably helped spur Lan Zhan into action to defend him.

Wen Ning is a Sweetheart

I believe that even if Wei Ying hadn’t saved his life, if their only encounter was that moment on Cloud Recesses when Wei Ying taught him to properly pull back on his bow and aim, Wen Ning would have still done everything he did for Wei Ying because that’s just the type of angel he is. For that one minor act of kindness, Wen Ning would have no doubt done all he can to help Wei Ying whenever he could; so far saving his life, Wen Ning would’ve died for him. I’m just so happy that he got a second chance at life, and at least in the drama his condition was a step up from zombie. The fact that he’s been there all along during the course of Wei Ying and Lan Zhan’s relationship and witnessed most of their major events together, especially during Wei Ying’s second lifetime, makes him even more endearing to me because he was always so supportive. I’m so glad that he is beloved by the juniors later on because he really deserves all the love he can get.

Poor Jiang Cheng

I felt bad for Jiang Cheng in this episode: here he is pining after his crush, looking forward to seeing her again while wrestling with his feelings as he tried to decided if he should give her the gift he’s been holding onto all this time, and yet when they finally have a one-on-one moment, all Wen Qing is concerned about is Wei Ying. I know that’s understandable under the circumstances since she did see Wen Chao drag Wei Ying away, but when I first watched this episode and thought Team CQL was aiming for the love triangle angle, I really thought this moment would be later utilized to plague Jiang Cheng to stir up his jealousy even more. I really cannot say enough how glad I am they never went in that direction.

Full Moon Rising

I guess it’s not unreasonable that werewolves exist in that world, since demons and otherworldly beasts do too—I mean, that’s what they were hunting at Phoenix Mountain after all—but man do I wish they would’ve just stuck with a normal puppy for this whole dungeon scenario cuz Mr. Wolfman just looked so damn fake and awful. Sometimes, Team CQL makes such bad technical choices that I actually have to rub my temples to stave off the headaches I get from them. I don’t understand why they didn’t just bring in a Doberman or mastiff or some other ferocious-looking black dog for that scene. I know it probably would have cost a little more to have a trained dog that can fake attack on command, but they could have easily gotten away with using camera tricks to feign an attack on Wei Ying. Every time I see that fake-ass stuffed dog I can’t help groaning a little. No amount of drool could make that thing look remotely real. Really, bless Xiao Zhan for selling the crap out of that scene and also the make-up department for doing a pretty stellar job with his blood and injuries, I would’ve felt nothing but embarrassment otherwise. But Wei Ying looked distressed and hurt enough that my heart always ends up aching a little at the sight of his horrible condition. I wanted to personally hurt Wen Chao for putting him through that ordeal.

Despite my criticism of the dungeon scene, I still liked it in general because in addition giving us the Wen’s siblings separate acts of aid to Wei Ying, it also provided us with this moment where Wei Ying selflessly saves the medicine for Lan Zhan despite his own serious injuries. That really is just so completely sweet…my only lament is that Lan Zhan never even really finds out what he did. He would’ve been so touched.

Questions I Still Have

Honestly I question the practicality and effectiveness of the whole hostage situation with each sect’s heirs and prized pupils, but I’m going to hold off on delving into that until probably the next episode since the choice Wen Chao makes at the Xuanwu cave really sets off my logic alarm.

Overall Episode Rating: 8 Lil Apples out of 10

Disclaimer: The Untamed would not be possible without Mo Dao Zu Shi and Mo Xiang Tong Xiu-laozi. I mean no disrespect whatsoever with my humble comparisons between the novel and the live action, even when I sometimes favor the changes in the show. All hail MDZS and MXTX-laozi always and forever!

#The Untamed #陈情令 #spoilers #WangXian #Untamed Rewatch #Mo Dao Zu Shi #CQL #MDZS #魔道祖师 #Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation #Wei Ying Wei Wuxian #Lan Zhan Lan Wangji #Wen Ning #Jiang Cheng #Wen Qing #ChengQing #Jin Zixuan #Wen Chao #Gusu Lan Sect

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butterflydm · 4 years

Text

The Untamed Rewatch (ep 12)

Previous Episode | Index

Lan Wangji looks so pained when he's handing over Bichen. That's the only piece of home he has with him right now.

This scene is really effectively tense. Wen Chao is a bully but he's a bully backed up by the fact that he's in his home territory, with the implied threat of many guards plus the open question of his father's army potentially attacking any of their homes. And the way we see each of the characters respond in this scene tells us about where they are emotionally. Lan Wangji is the character who has actually been through what everyone else is being threatened with — home destroyed, family's fate uncertain. Lan Zhan has been so ready to fight in previous episodes, and his resignation here is more striking because of that.

And here, Wei Wuxian makes the point to Jiang Cheng that he's not planning on making a fuss because he doesn't want to make things harder for their family and — okay, so is that the pivot that Jiang Cheng uses in the future to blame WWX for Lotus Pier burning? I will... refrain from too much judgement in case I'm remembering incorrectly. But I've keeping my eye on Jiang Cheng, who really could have used anger management therapy tbh.

Because the Wens are clearly gearing up to take over the cultivation world as a whole, with 'submit or die' as their motto, essentially. And Yu Ziyuan was willing to only go so far but no further when it came to submitting to Wen authority. Lotus Pier would have burned, regardless of WWX's actions, because the Wen would eventually demand more than the Jiang clan were willing to give. And Wen Chao already hated WWX before any of this happened (in the drama, anyway). It's easier, I suppose, to make someone a scapegoat rather than confront the idea that some things are inevitable (given certain starting conditions).

Moving away from that, this dude in the hat that objects to their swords being taken away… I think he's from the same sect that shoots WWX way down the road? Who are those guys, anyway? I'll have to see if I can catch their names at some point. Are they under the Jin sect?

The other person who vocally objects is Jin Zixuan and this is really where I started to understand and kinda like JZX during my first watch-through, though I still thought Jiang Yanli deserved better. But we see his arrogance, as it were, being used against an antagonist instead of one of our protagonists, which reframed it a bit. Both Wen Chao and Jin Zixuan are spoiled and prideful kids of powerful parents, but JZX isn't a bully (his cousin is, but that's a different story). And Jin Zixuan is open to correction — we see that when Mianmian reminds him of the realities of their situation. JZX and Wen Chao both get put into positions of powerlessness over the course of the drama and their responses to that are very distinct from each other.

This is also another great scene for Luo Qingyang (Mianmian). At first, I thought she was the only female disciple there but then I spotted a few others in the background. But I appreciate her presence. I also just really like her. She's capable of swallowing her own pride when it's a matter of survival & protection but is also quite moral in addition to being sensible. For all that in many places, she works as a LWJ parallel, her position is similar to WWX's or Wen Zhuliu's — she's not a part of the main clan and she has to decide for herself where her allegiance lies and if she stands up for what is right or what the sect leader wants (Wen Qing runs up against this line too).

We go to a scene with Wen Qing and Wen Ning doing what I think is the first on-screen example in the series of a sibling withholding information in order to 'protect' said sibling, which I'm pretty sure never actually works out as planned in the whole drama. Here, Wen Qing warns Wen Ning away from associating with Wei Wuxian, but because she doesn't give him any reasons, the balance of her words doesn't weigh against him actually seeing WWX in a bad situation and wanting to help him.

Now, Wen Qing probably didn't tell him the full story for a few reasons — it seems likely she's never fully explained how fragile their position is with Wen Rouhan and she doesn't feel prepared to do it now and if she gave Wen Ning the actual reasons, she may worry that he would counter those reasons directly and disagree with her. Much like Jiang Cheng does in the future, Wen Qing is trying to place her people's survival (and especially her brother's) over her own potential moral impulses to help people outside her clan.

Speaking of Jiang Cheng, while he and WWX are learning the Wen Sect history, we see that he's carrying around that comb he bought for Wen Qing and he wonders if she might be around.

Wei Wuxian realizes that it isn't in Wen Sect's MO just to take Lan Zhan and leave the rest of the clan alone and the second he realizes it, he tries to go and find Lan Zhan. He's stopped by the guards, but it's sweet. We do see the contrast here, between WWX's immediate choice to act on his impulse to find Lan Zhan versus Jiang Cheng's more reticent desire to seek out Wen Qing.

When WWX gets thwarted, he starts plotting how he might talk to LWJ tomorrow instead, but it's all immediate and urgent. Part of that is due to the respective situations LWJ and Wen Qing are in, of course, (her own hostage situation is less obvious than LWJ's) but part of it is down to the differences in how WWX and Jiang Cheng treat the prospect of partnership, I think. Jiang Cheng is, and will remain, Family First, while WWX is more flexible and is drawn to the idea of finding a fulfilling equal partnership with someone.

This next scene, where WWX lists out the Lan principles instead of reciting from the Wen book, is such a great defining moment for WWX. Because he doesn't just stand up against Wen Chao — both LWJ and JZX are doing that as well — he does it with humor and style and charm. He does it with showmanship. And, sure, he gets punished for it but even then his main concern is that the dung will mess up Lan Zhan's clothes.

Obviously, LWJ and JZX would have been punished for their own refusals but by making his actions so attention-getting, it means that Wen Chao's focus is more likely to be on him and some of it pulled away from LWJ.

The other options WWX had in this scene — after being called out with LWJ and JZX — would have been either to refuse in the same blunt way, which would have gone much the same, probably, or to actually do as Wen Chao asked, which would have meant LWJ and JZX being punished while WWX was not. Which he wouldn't find acceptable for obvious reasons.

I like this little glimpse of a potential happy farm boy alternate life for WWX we get here — he's so practical and efficient about it here, and we see how happy he is to get the lotus to grow later on in the Burial Mounds. He's not at all worried about hard work for himself; he's fully capable of metaphorically rolling up his sleeves and getting it done. And we kinda get those two pieces of him back-to-back — show-off vs practical. And willing to give a hand to anyone who needs it, even if he doesn't like them (JZX with the cloth tied under his nose). That's kinda the main thing that a lot of the sect leaders won't or can't understand — that WWX will help someone just because they need it, without them being a member of his family or asking anything in repayment (LWJ, of course, does understand and it's part of why he learns to trust WWX's heart so implicitly).

Poor Wei Ying! He'd thought he and Lan Zhan made all that progress and now he's being ignored again! But he's a little more grown-up and self-aware now, I think, because he doesn't really take it personally. He knows something must have gone very wrong for LWJ to be here alone, so his predominant emotion is just worry over what's happened.

Then Wen Chao intervenes and I really love this scene, too. From how unflinching WWX is, to LWJ and then JZX trying to protect him once Wen Chao's anger focused on him.

If Jin Zixuan had lived (and especially after his dad died), I think he and WWX could have come to a real understanding as brothers-in-law. Their main clashes were over Jiang Yanli (so once JZX starts treating her as she deserves, WWX can dislike him less) and because they both assume the other one is annoyingly arrogant and thinks too highly of themselves, but we see that being worked out as they interact more too. So, while I don't think WWX would ever maybe be soft with him the way we see him be with some of his other loved ones, I do think they could have gotten to a fond teasing place.

One thing that I find interesting about Wen Chao is that he does seem aware that his bragging about Wen Sect being above everyone else doesn't actually translate to being able to hold his own against a talented cultivator. We could say that he was just taught to lead from the back, as it were, except that his brother, Wen Xu, actually did fight his own battles, as we saw at the burning of the Cloud Recesses. So it's not that they're taught they shouldn't get their hands dirty personally. It does make me wonder exactly when Wen Zhuliu was made Wen Chao's primary bodyguard, because that relationship already seem pretty set in stone when we first see it. And here, as soon as WWX makes any move to defend himself, Wen Chao relies entirely on the guards for any 'muscle' involved.

After LWJ and JZX both make it clear they won't just stand there and let WWX get beaten, Wen Chao orders him to be taken to the dungeon instead. Lan Wangji, of course, is much more forceful and hands-on in his attempt to protect WWX. He does back down, but when WWX tells him to, not Wen Chao. And since WWX was trying to distract Wen Chao from focusing too much on LWJ anyway, that's fine with him, and he manages to put up a good show of bravado over it all. By the time we get to their second lifetimes, LWJ knows WWX well enough to tell when he's trying to do this kind of thing to protect someone — WWX tries to do it when they're running away from Jinlin Tai but by then LWJ isn't willing to let WWX push him away to protect him.

WWX does seem to be quite self-sacrificing in general, and possibly might have been that way even without Madame Yu encouraging the tendency, but it's clear that he does find it very comforting and emotional when LWJ stops letting himself be pushed away so that WWX will no longer face scorn and dangers alone.

We see that Wen Ning saw this scene, too, and of course he immediately decides to go help WWX, no matter what his sister asked him to do. I'm pretty much a hundred percent sure he would have gone to help even if Wen Qing had explained the dangers, given what he's willing to do later to help WWX. Wen Ning also has a strong sense of right and wrong and he's very loyal to the people he cares about (does Wen Ning have a crush on WWX? I mean, probably? If I were Wen Ning, I would definitely have a crush on WWX).

I do think this animatronic (maybe?) doggie is probably the worst 'effect' (practical or cg) that the drama does, bless its little fuzzy head. Like, I can't even be scared of it a little bit. It's just… too fake to be scared of, even if Xiao Zhan is acting his heart out. That's okay. I'll just mentally insert something scarier and we're good. This is one case where lowering the light levels so we could maybe only see, like, a glint of teeth, might have served well. Like, I think they tried to do that but I can still see it too clearly for there to be any fear.

I like the hand gesture that Wen Chao makes after WWX touches his arm. It seems so baffled, the way he jogs it up and down. "Did he actually… dare to touch my arm… wtf????"

The scene between Wen Qing and Jiang Cheng isn't necessary story-wise — the audience could easily assume she made the connections herself — but it's an important moment for the characters. For us to see Jiang Cheng's palpable concern over WWX and the reminder of his concern for Wen Qing as well. CQL does choose to center character over plot, which is a choice that can sometimes cause plot fuzziness, but it does give a good sense of the characters, their relationships, and their growth over time.

So, the doggie does attack Wei Wuxian before Wen Ning is able to throw the needles at the doggo and put him to sleep for the night. WWX is injured and scared, and Wen Ning has come bearing some medicine he, uh, borrowed from his sister, and also is there to be an inside source of information. I notice, with a fair sense of irony, that WWX can accurately diagnose Wen Qing with 'tries to carry the burden all herself' disease, but does not see that he, himself, also suffers from this ailment.

Also, awwww, WWX calls him 'Wen-xiong' in this scene. I feel kinda emotional over that tbh. And the moment when he bows to thank Wen Ning despite the chains and his injuries is also very emotional. I just feel a lot of things right now. Wen Ning is such a sweetheart and Wei Wuxian is a darling and I'm just very very fond of them.

WWX gets much more agitated over how LWJ has been wronged and hurt by Wen Xu and the Wen sect than over his own injuries. They both do this, of course, get protective over the other one, but it's always sweet to see. I mean, I wish they would think more about their own injuries, because taking care of yourself isn't a bad thing, but the protectiveness over each other is sweet.

Wei Wuxian fighting past his own fears to pull the needles out of the doggo (and thus made the lil dude a threat again) is a great moment and the focus is mostly on Xiao Zhan's face, which is a much better choice than focusing on the dog puppet, because he is definitely selling the nervous fear there. Wen Chao is also, unfortunately, too smart to do the whole 'fight me one-on-one' thing. He is affected by WWX's jabs but not enough to actually trick himself into thinking he should take away any of his advantages like the soldiers or the big pupperooine.

The moment after WWX has been brought back, and everyone is just feeling super-nostalgic over the lectures as Gusu Lan — I wonder exactly how many times WWX thought that over the years, and missed that. He gets super-nostalgic over his memories when he's wandering around the buildings after he comes back to life as well.

That is, actually, one of the reasons WWX marrying into the Lan clan does work on a thematic level. Like GusuLan isn't perfect and I'm not a fan of all of their methods but they provided this atmosphere where these young people could mostly just be young people. And they give us enough call-backs to show that there are a lot more good memories associated with the Cloud Recesses than bad ones.

And Good Brother Jiang Cheng in this scene does show open worry and then give WWX food, which is the surest sign of love for these boys who were half-raised by Jiang Yanli, whose main love language is giving the people she loves food at all costs and in great quantities.

Nie Huaisang gets to do a lot of little but important things in this scene as well — he shows concern over WWX, nostalgia over the Cloud Recesses, and then fear and worry over the threat towards his brother that Wen Chao makes.

The scene as a whole continues the tense energy that we had at the beginning, as Wen Chao 'updates' them on their statuses as hostages for their families, essentially. It's hard not to react in a situation like that, and most of them do have minor outbursts. Especially since Wen Chao makes it clear that the 'good behavior' thing is meant to go both ways — that their clans could get worse treatment from the Wens if they act up.

Wen Qing and Wen Ning's next scene alone gets back into the heart of the conflict of 'protection of the family' vs 'helping others outside the family'. Wen Ning argues that she herself taught him to repay kindness that are paid to them, and that WWX has done him kindnesses that deserve repayment, but Wen Qing is dealing with the stress of being the head of a family that has been whittled down to very few pieces, just trying to hold it together.

I do wonder if these character similarities with Wen Qing and Jiang Cheng were what made the CQL people decide to give them the doomed almost-romance or if they accentuated those things once they had already decided to go down that road. I believe I've read that Wen Qing's character is different than how she's written in the novel, but is that part of her one of the things that was changed for the drama?

I love that Lan Zhan hasn't even opened his copy of the ~glories of Wen clan. I mean, it's also really sad, because it's a statement about how much he's already lost to the Wens in some ways. But I also love it. NHS faints and it's probably real; I'm not sure if he's developed his fake-fainting skills yet but he seems pretty out of it right before he drops.

When Wen Chao gets the report about the ominous spirits, he decides to go ahead and use the hostages as his meat shields without�� clearing it… with his dad first. Because it all went so well the last time he went off without his dad's permission! I'm not sure if we ever get an on-screen reaction from Wen Rouhan about this choice, but if I were Wen Rouhan, I would not be thrilled that my son took all my good-behavior hostages out on a probable-death field trip.

The field trip does mean the introduction of Wang Lingjiao. We don't get very much from her this episode but anyone who is that happy to be around Wen Chao is already giving signs of not being the best person in the world.

We end the episode with Jiang Cheng trying to hold Wei Wuxian back from going over to check on Lan Wangji, who must be in incredible amounts of pain, because he's visibly limping. Jiang Cheng's argument is essentially the same as Wen Qing's — our own family is already in a terrible position, we can't afford to help anyone else.

WWX's counterargument is different than Wen Ning's, though, because it doesn't rely on LWJ having giving him anything previous or getting anything back from LWJ at any point. Wen Ning's argument was 'WWX has helped me and I should return the kindness' while WWX's argument is 'he needs the help and I can provide it'.

Here, Jiang Cheng can maybe believe this is an argument that stems partly (or even mostly) from WWX's feelings for LWJ — his jealous at various points implies that, I think — but we know from other experiences with WWX, both in the past and the future, that those kinds of feelings aren't required for WWX to be willing to help. Instead, he falls back on the reasoning that he gives Jiang Cheng here — help is needed and someone has to do it. If not him, then who? So again, WWX and Jiang Cheng diverge on this important point of morality, not for the last time.

And somewhere off-screen, Meng Yao and Lan Xichen are currently taking the next steps of their own romantic drama that will end tragically in the future. But we don't find that out for a while.

Next time: Trapped alone in a cave with a giant mystical murder turtle!

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#mdzs meta #cql rewatch #wangxian #the untamed | chen qing ling #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #wei wuxian | wei ying #lan wangji | lan zhan #there will be another post next week definitely #but the next three weeks after that are more uncertain #because i have a lot more family than usual coming to visit for the holidays #including some distant family that i've never met before #so idk how much time i'll have #i will try but no promises

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