#I love Wei Wuxian having a little farm post canon and thinking about it just made me think of this scenario | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

admirableadmiranda · 2 years

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Well it seems like it’s time to throw another match into the Modaozushi fandom, let’s talk about the lionization of the farm dream and the denial of the Cloud Recesses when it comes to Wangxian’s ending! So recently I’ve been seeing more and more meta that posits that Wangxian do not actually want to be involved in the cultivation world and would just leave it entirely to go live on a farm with limited to no contact with anyone. The ones I see most often particularly target the Lans, but it has been a growing opinion that apparently MXTX actually intended for them to leave the Jianghu and go off on their own. To put it politely, I think this is a reading that blatantly ignores anything that Wei Wuxian says; disregards everything they don’t like about the ending and is basically used as a cudgel to ignore the themes of the books, being about second chances, not holding onto grudges and not condemning everyone because of their name. I have legitimately seen posts and opinions that say somehow Lan Wangji, Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi are the only possible good people in their clan ignoring that there are hundreds of people in it who are not Lan Xichen and Lan Qiren. If we can point out that the Wen clan is not a monolith and even those who were involved in the sense that they did not have the strength to stand up to their leader should not be condemned, then why are we doing it to every other clan? There is no actual indication in canon that they really want to leave. It is an option, but it is one they do not take at any point as we are shown. Explicitly at the end of the book, they choose to go back. Why would MXTX write for the end of a solo book something that she never intended to happen? It baffles me that people completely ignore Wei Wuxian’s choice in the matter and decide that he doesn’t actually want that after a whole book of him growing to go after and get what he wants. The canon end of the book is Wei Wuxian deciding of his own accord that they should give the Lan clan a shot and going back there. He sets his conditions to which Lan Wangji agrees and they set off together. There is no farming or secluded house ever mentioned. That is because the intent of the farming dream is not the location, but who it is with. Now I will cover the ignoring of the extras in the lionization of the farming dream, but first let’s go ahead and look at the first scene where Wei Wuxian mentions the farming dream itself.

It is in Chapter 67: Tenderness, although I will be pulling a lot from Chapter 66: Tenderness as well as the two are inextricably linked. I will be pulling from the ExR translation because as of writing, there is no other translation that I can find of this scene. For those who may not recall, they have just left the Cloud Recesses to discover why so many fierce corpses are going to the Burial Mounds, just Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji and Little Apple. The entirety of Tenderness is probably one of the cutest sections ever. Wei Wuxian is both pretty clearly in love with Lan Wangji and really beginning to let himself indulge in it now. This is a very relevant detail. It starts with Wei Wuxian whining at Lan Wangji until he lifts him up and puts him on the donkey, feeling very pleased with himself for that. In fact, he has an ulterior motive for this, he wants Lan Wangji to re-enact something special with him:

Although he didn’t remember much of the things that had happened when he was young, there was one scene that had always been blurrily imprinted within his mind.

A narrow path, a little donkey, and three people. A man in black gently lifted a woman in white. He picked her up and placed her onto the donkey’s back. Then, he raised a small, small child way up high and put him on his shoulders.

He was the child, not yet the height of a person’s legs. Sitting on the shoulders of the man, he was suddenly very tall, very majestic. Sometimes he pulled the man’s hair, sometimes he rubbed his cheeks. He shouted things, swinging his legs about. The woman in white sat on the donkey’s back, her back swaying. Watching them, she seemed to smile. The man had always been quiet. He didn’t talk much. He only pushed him a bit higher, for him to be taller, steadier. One of his hands picked up the donkey’s rein. The three of them were squeezed onto the same narrow path, walking slowly forward.

It was one of the rare pieces of memory that he had.

Those were his dad and his mom.

Wei WuXian, “Lan Zhan, pick up the rein, won’t you?”

Lan WangJi, “Why?”

Lil’ Apple was quite clever. It wasn’t that it didn’t know to follow a person. Wei WuXian said again, “Give me some face and pick it up, won’t you?”

Although he still didn’t understand why Wei WuXian’s grin was so bright, Lan WangJi listened and picked up Lil’ Apple’s rein anyway, holding it in his hand.

Wei WuXian spoke to himself, “Hm. Now all that’s left is a little one.”

Lan WangJi, “What?”

Wei WuXian chuckled, “Nothing. Lan Zhan, you really are a good person.”

With this journey to Yiling, it was clear that their future was still unclear, even somewhat dangerous. Wei WuXian couldn’t get himself to feel nervous at all. Sitting on a donkey with Lan WangJi holding the rein, leading them down the path, his entire heart was fluttering, feeling as though he was walking on air.

So already we have it set up as to where Wei Wuxian’s mind is. He knows what he wants, he is deliberately imitating one of the few memories he has of his parents with Lan Wangji, with himself in his mother’s spot and Lan Wangji in his father’s. Wei Wuxian does not have a lot of good examples of how loving couples behave, but he is able to chase the traces of his parents in his memory and replicate that with the man he loves. Even though Lan Wangji does not yet know what Wei Wuxian is going for, the fact that he does this for Wei Wuxian makes him feel so happy that “his entire heart was fluttering, it was as if he was walking on air.” I cannot overestimate the fact that this is the theme of Tenderness and all that is within. Wei Wuxian’s whole thought process right now is on what he wants with Lan Wangji, which is very relevant to the farm scene and how it’s actually presented in story. After that we have one of the scenes that’s most well known throughout the fandom. Wei Wuxian takes out his flute, starts playing Wangxian for Lan Wangji. He has now put together where he heard it and how Lan Wangji recognized him, and attempts to get Lan Wangji to tell him it’s name.

The flute had a limpid timbre. Lan WangJi’s footsteps hesitated slightly as Wei WuXian felt something inside of him suddenly light up.

He spoke, “Lan Zhan! Let me ask you, back then, under the Xuanwu cave in Dusk-Creek Mountain, the song that you sang me, what was its name?”

Lan WangJi looked at him, “Why do you suddenly remember to ask about this?”

Wei WuXian, “Just say it. What was its name? I think I might’ve guessed how you recognized me.”

On the night at Dafan Mountain, the tune that he somehow played was precisely the one, when he had been fevered under the Xuanwu cave in Dusk-Creek Mountain, Lan WangJi had hummed beside him!

Lan WangJi refused to say anything. Wei WuXian hurried him, “Say it, what song is it? Who composed it?”

Lan WangJi, “I did.”

Wei WuXian, “You composed it?!”

Lan WangJi, “Mn.”

Wei WuXian had thought that it was a secret song of the GusuLan Sect. Now that he knew, he was both surprised and overjoyed. What he was surprised about was quite obvious. What he was overjoyed about, though, he couldn’t really tell. He guessed, “If you really did recognize from just this, it must’ve meant that—this song, you’ve never let anyone else hear it?”

Lan WangJi, “Never.”

Wei WuXian was so happy that he kicked Lil’ Apple.

Amusingly as I’m rereading this chapter, I’m seeing where Wei Wuxian begins to think that Lan Wangji might be in love with him. Look at that reaction. The man is ecstatic at the revelation that no one but him has heard this song. He is so happy he kicks his poor donkey and nearly gets bucked off. A continuation of the theme of this particular chapter which I am going to rename “Wei Wuxian is really, really in love you guys.”

So they end up stopping in a farmhouse because Wei Wuxian is hungry, stealing some melons that Lan Wangji still leaves money on the table for, then almost get caught and end up lying in the hay with Wei Wuxian doing some hardcore flirting. Wen Ning scares the couple away and they reach Yiling where the plot begins to kick back in. But before that, we finally have the farm dream.

Now let’s talk about how the scene starts because that is very relevant to why they don’t at the end of the book and why they wouldn’t.

He sat on the donkey with his legs criss-crossed. He swayed as he pretended to be unconcerned, “Speaking of it, HanGuang-Jun, do you plan on ever retiring?”

Lan WangJi paused shortly, as though he was thinking for a moment. Wei WuXian struck the iron while it was still hot, “Have you thought of what to do after you retire?”

Lan WangJi gazed at him, “Not yet.”

Wei WuXian thought to himself, It’s perfect if you haven’t thought of anything yet! I’ll think for you.

So already the first relevant bit here is that Wei Wuxian is plotting their life of retirement. After they have quit cultivation for good. When they have no further plans for their life. Because what Wei Wuxian wants to do is tie Lan Wangji together with him in some way for life. Even if it’s not explicitly romantic yet (cause he’s still coming around to the idea), the real goal here isn’t what they are doing, it’s that he and Lan Wangji will be doing it together. Yes, later he ends up saying if they get bored, they can pretend they’re not retired and go nighthunting, but that is not so much of the point.

The point here is that he is drawing out a far future with Lan Wangji right by his side. What he is dreaming of is the thought of a long life with the two of them together.

He was going to find a place beautiful though sparsely populated and build a large house there. He could build one for Lan WangJi next to him as well. Everyday there’d be two dishes and a soup. Of course, it’d be best if Lan WangJi was the one who cooked, or else they had to eat the things he cooked. It’d be best if Lan WangJi was responsible for the account of their money as well. Before his eyes even appeared the scene of Lan WangJi wearing coarse cloth, patches at his chest and his knees, sitting expressionlessly at a handmade wooden table, counting coins one by one. After he finished counting, he grabbed a hoe and went out to work. And, on the other hand, he’d… he’d… he’d do what?

Wei WuXian thought seriously about what he’d be doing. People often said that to exchange for food one either plowed the fields or spun cloth. Now that somebody was plowing the fields, somebody had to spin the cloth as well. Just thinking of him crossing his knees and shaking his legs in front of a loom was enough for him to cringe. He’d rather grab the hoe. It’d be more suitable for Lan WangJi to spin cloth. In the day they’d fish and plow the fields, while at night they’d get their swords and go night-hunting for beasts and demons. If they got tired of it, they could pretend that they’d never retired and it’d be fine for them just to enter the world again. But, as he had thought, they were missing a small one…

Lan WangJi suddenly spoke up, “A small what?”

Wei WuXian, “Huh?” He suddenly realized that he had spoken the last sentence out. He immediately regained himself, “I meant, Lil’ Apple is missing a small friend.”

So the biggest thing here is that this is not exactly a solid fantasy. The farming only comes in when he starts considering what they would need to do to afford their big houses right next to each other. Even then when his thoughts do come around to it, they are less on the work and more on the Lan Wangji of it. Right to the point where he slams into the A-Yuan barrier in his head and hurts himself and all of us.

From there on the farming fantasy does not reappear again in the entire rest of the actual novel, and while I keep seeing people say that he’s tying it to his happiest times in the Burial Mounds, I think again the connection is less on farming and more on something else.

Wei Wuxian first connects riding on the donkey with Lan Wangji holding the reins to his dim memories of his parents, good memories that he treasures. The idea of being connected together by the reins on a donkey, a couple. This is a pretty clear connection.

I think when farming comes up again in relation to Lan Wangji it is less on the farming and more that the other time he really felt like he belonged in a group was living with the Wens on the Burial Mounds. He connects the feeling of family with the farming and then ties it in with Lan Wangji. He wants to have a family with Lan Wangji. In the end, the farming matters less than the Lan Wangji part. They could be doing just about anything. As long as Lan Wangji is there too.

Again, I am not joking. He does not bring up farming one other time in his thoughts or his words. You would think if MXTX were intending to say that they’re gonna leave and go live on a tiny farm rather than the ending she’s aiming for, it might be mentioned more often than never.

Now we’re onto the ending of the book and the extras, where the real sticking point is. Wangxian come through the trials of the Guanyin Temple Hostage Party, they confess their love, they elope and have wild sex under a bush because they’ve waited more than long enough, and we come to chapter 113, the last actual chapter of the book. There will be 13 chapters of extras, but this is what MXTX intends for the story to initially end on, the future that lies before Wangxian.

It’s not a farmhouse. It’s the Cloud Recesses. They’re going back to the Cloud Recesses. On Wei Wuxian’s suggestion, they are going to the Cloud Recesses.

I’ve seen people say that Wei Wuxian doesn’t actually want to go back, he only goes because he’s worried about Lan Wangji and decides to humor him by going to see his family, and isn’t that a sad way to look at the ending, that you humor your husband by allowing him to see his family rather than deciding to make a second start and try again because both of you are optimists and never gave up on the Lan sect.

Imagine thinking that Wei “I could let these people who have declared a siege on me for the second time die but instead I’m going to put my own life at risk to protect them” Wuxian and Lan “I have spent the last fifteen years of my life going everywhere, doing everything and teaching students how to do the same thing fully under the image of the Lan sect rather than leaving and wandering on my own” Wangji deciding that no, they’re going to be cynical assholes instead and refuse to interact with anyone who doesn’t match their exact moral standards and actions. Really. By that logic, they couldn’t be together either because they’ve both messed up in their own history with each other and others.

But I should set aside my salt on the misunderstanding of Wangxian and continue to talk about the ending specifically or otherwise this post will get even longer.

Listening to his nonsense, Lan WangJi only grasped the reins of Lil’ Donkey with Wei WuXian on it and clenched the thin rope in his palm, continuing on their way. Wei WuXian was still talking, “Where are we going next? I haven’t had Emperor’s Smile in a long time. How about we go back to Gusu and first play around for a bit in Caiyi Town?”

Lan WangJi, “Sure.”

Wei WuXian, “It’s been so many years. The waterborn abyss there should be completely cleaned up, right? If your uncle can bear looking at me, then hide me along with those jars of wine in your room; if he can’t, then let’s go tour some other place. I heard SiZhui and the others are having loads of fun night-hunting with Wen Ning.

Lan WangJi, “Mn.”

Wei WuXian, “But I heard there’s a renewed version of the GusuLan Sect’s rules? Hey, is there even more room on that Wall of Rules in front of the mountain to your sect…”

A gentle breeze came, and both their robes rippled like spring water.

Wei Wuxian brings it up unprompted and runs off things that he wants to do first. They’re headed back to Cloud Recesses, but not in any sort of hurry. He sets a boundary for his continues in staying, a condition that is met because 4 of the 6 extras contain them being in the Cloud Recesses at one point and the other two set post canon both make mention of them either doing things specifically within the Cloud Recesses or using Lan clan resources while out traveling. Dreams Come True has them deciding to put the world’s ugliest turtle in the Lanshi where Lan Wangji teaches (a thing they would not do if they were there so rarely it would have no impact on them and there’s no mention of putting it in a cottage because Wei Wuxian suggests the Jingshi at first) and Intrusion features them staying in a house that is specifically for members of the Lan Clan to stay in while traveling.

(Lotus Pod Picking and Villainous Friends are excluded from the count because neither of them are post canon and one of them doesn’t even feature Wangxian in the slightest)

I will not cover every detail in the extras that shows that they are at worst using it as a regular home base and traveling everywhere going where the chaos is and more likely spending more time there than out on the road, but I will point out the one other time the farmhouse dream shows up.

Any guesses where it’s mentioned? Here’s a hint - it’s very relevant with the other half of the chapter that it’s in.

It’s in... Incense Burner One!!

Now there’s been a million and a half arguments on the second half of the Incense Burner and Lan Wangji’s dream that it unearths, but I rarely see the first one mentioned despite it being the core of the farmhouse headcanon. Wei Wuxian is digging around in the Lan Treasure Pavilion and finds an incense burner that seems to do nothing, but when they fall asleep, they wake up in a shared dream.

The first relevant part of this is that Wei Wuxian is in his old body, so it’s digging through their subconscious and looking for things to show the other. The second relevant part is that Wei Wuxian does not recognize the dream at first.

It’s a sweet dream, there definitely are some more details finalized in the sense that Wei Wuxian has been filling out this daydream. Lan Wangji is weaving, Wei Wuxian shows up and complains that the farming work is too hard and asks Lan Wangji to make him a dish with the fish he caught. The focus here is clearly on the They are Living Together and Lan Wangji is Taking Care of Him. It is also very innocent and Wei Wuxian mentions that he would always wake up before the dream could go anywhere racy in hilarious contrast to Lan Wangji’s dream.

“…” Lan WangJi stared at the two making casual conversation, “Your dream?”

Wei WuXian was laughing so hard he might suffer from an internal injury, “Pwahahahahahahahaha, uh, yes. For a certain period of time, for some reason, I keep on having these dreams. I’d dream that we retired to seclusion to the countryside. I go out to hunt and farm, while you stay at home to guard the house, weaving and cooking food for me. Oh right, you’re also in charge of my money and doing accounts for me. At night you even mend my clothes. Every time I dream about telling you to boil the bathwater so that we could bathe together at night, but every time we were about to take off our clothes I’d wake up. What a shame, hahahahahahahahahahaha…”

He didn’t at all feel embarrassed that such a dream was seen by Lan WangJi. Instead, he was quite pleased with himself. Seeing how giddy he was, Lan WangJi’s eyes grew soft, “One might as well.”

This dream of Wei WuXian’s was full of trivial odds and ends, like cooking, eating, feeding chicken, cutting firewood. As expected, when the bathwater had finished boiling, the dream halted abruptly.

I checked with @jiangwanyinscatmom and she informed me that in the original text, it is kept, not keep. There is a tense error in the sentence above and it should read “For a certain period of time, for some reason, I kept on having these dreams.”

The key thing that stands out to me here is “I kept.” That’s past tense. He’s not having them anymore. Why, I hear you ask, because when this whole extra is set in the Cloud Recesses and not on a farmhouse, does he no longer dream of it?

Because he has what he wants. He no longer dreams about the farmhouse was never the goal. He has what the dream was always about, a life with Lan Wangji. A life where he is happy.

He didn’t want to be isolated and cut off from the world. He’s been in that situation before. It sucked. He’s been an outsider for years, he’s been in a place where everything fell on his shoulders, why do people think he’d want to go back to it? The things that an isolated farmhouse life can offer are not the things what an orphaned outcast would want.

Lan Wangji offers him a life where he can be part of a clan again, where he can be part of a family. He offers him a life where there is always a safe place to go to, the Cloud Recesses are going nowhere. There are people there waiting for him to come back. He takes the juniors out on nighthunts from around the mountains of Gusu to all the way out in Lanling without Lan Wangji having to tag along. He goes into the treasure pavilion of the Lan on his own and has his own jade token that allows him to leave and enter as he pleases and spend money without hesitation.

He’s not bothered by what the Cloud Recesses has to offer him. Sure Lan Qiren is an ass and he does not like the food, but he can solve both of those problems easily by having loud sex and having Lan Wangji cook for him. He never is even wistful for the farmhouse dream, because what he has in his life now is plenty enough for him.

I’ve noticed a definite shift in the Modaozushi fandom when it comes to talking about Wangxian where they just ignore the extras now, pretending that the very things we see of their life don’t exist. Wei Wuxian can’t be happy there, clearly he’d be moping like a princess in a tower, nevermind that we have six post-canon extras where he is getting to teach the juniors, do whatever he pleases and the worst he deals with is one man fruitlessly throwing tantrums. Lan Wangji can’t still find value in his family and his teachings, nevermind that not only does he go to spend time with his brother in seclusion, but he is teaching the juniors how to follow his understanding of the Lan rules and righteousness and teaching in the Lanshi.

Dreams Come True is marked by seasonal cues as being nearly a year after Modaozushi by the lotuses having not blossomed yet when they are eating seeds on their way to Yunping. Almost a year later and they are still living there, with Wei Wuxian coming up with the plan to put the ugly turtle they’ve won in the Lanshi where future students will see it while Lan Wangji is teaching them. That is a plan to stay there.

But people act like they just left after the banquet extra and never went back. And it’s really soured me on the whole thing. It is a total ignoring of anything they don’t like in the book when it is so clear if you are reading the extras with one eye open that they are just fine with their life as it is now.

I used to like the idea of the farmhouse dream as a distant retirement. When they were done with cultivation and wanted to take their long, possibly even immortal lives out into the world to learn new things. I have three separate fics set in that ideal.

But the very fact that there are people confidentally stating that it was the actual intended end and that Wangxian could never be happy in the Cloud Recesses has killed that enjoyment. Because it’s not true. Every single extra continues to assert that they are living their best lives, doing the things they want to do, hand in hand with the other.

If you want to write cottagecore stuff with Wangxian, if you want to explore a peaceful quiet life for them, that’s fine, there’s nothing wrong with that. Fanfic is fanfic.

But don’t lie and pretend that it’s what MXTX meant all along when the themes of the dream itself and how their active life still gives them what they actually wanted in it were never about the farmhouse in the first place.

It was only ever a setting for what Wei Wuxian really wanted. A life with Lan Wangji.

#mdzs #modaozushi #mdzs meta #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #wangxian #lan wangji #lan zhan #wei wuxian #wei ying #the farmhouse dream #the cloud recesses #lan sect #lan clan #long post

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somuchnonsense · 3 years

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October Drabbles

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26. Garden (post-canon Wangxian featuring bunnies)

Wei Wuxian doesn’t have a farm yet, but he does have a garden on the back hill in Cloud Recesses. “Why here?” Lan Wangji asked him when he started planting. “The rabbits will eat everything.”

“I don’t mind if my hard work goes to feeding the rabbits,” Wei Wuxian responded, grinning. “Besides, I’m not here consistently enough to tend to it and harvest things when they’re ready. At least this way, someone will enjoy the fruits—or vegetables, I suppose—of my labor. And maybe then they’ll love me like they love you.”

Lan Wangji smiled, petting one of the rabbits as they both curiously watched Wei Wuxian work. “I’m sure they will.”

It’s debatable, a few months later, whether the rabbits love Wei Wuxian any more than before, but they do love Wei Wuxian’s garden, and Lan Wangji loves watching him kneeling in the dirt, celebrating the first shoots of a new plant or complaining when the rabbits ate one before it even had a chance to grow. He looks so happy, so comfortable, so relaxed, not the fearsome Yiling Laozu or the brilliant cultivator Wei Wuxian with his ever-active mind, but just an ordinary young man, content with his simple life, with no fears and no painful memories weighing on him.

“What’s that look for?” Wei Wuxian asks, eyeing Lan Wangji with a freshly pulled carrot in his hand. There’s dirt on his cheek and a sparkle in his eyes.

Lan Wangji says nothing, keeping his thoughts to himself, but Wei Wuxian smiles like perhaps he knows anyway, and cheerfully turns back to his garden.

27. Serendipity (Wei Wuxian canon gen/character study)

It would be easy to think that Wei Wuxian has bad luck. He lost his parents young, and then the people who took him in when he was alone. He lost his adopted sister, and the people who lived with him like family for a year. He lost his golden core and the trust and respect of his peers, and the love of his adopted brother. He lost his home, and the one he found to replace it. And after all of that, he lost his life too soon.

But if you ask Wei Wuxian, he’ll tell you he’s lucky. He lost his parents, but then he was taken in by a new family. Sure, they weren’t perfect, but they saved him from a lonely life on the streets and they loved him, mostly. He lost them too, though not all at once, but then he had the Wens to care about him. That didn’t last, but he got Wen Ning and Sizhui back, at least, and he has the other junior disciples who are ready to fight for him, and Lan Wangji, of course. As much as he’s lost, he’s also been loved by many people, and isn’t that lucky?

As for the rest, well, the loss of his golden core was a fair trade for Jiang Cheng’s life, and it led him to abilities that helped avenge the Jiang Sect and defeat Wen Ruohan and later Jin Guangyao. He’s not the strong cultivator he was as a teenager, but he’s found new ways to be strong and fight the battles he needs to fight. He’s also blazed a new path and invented new things and made a name for himself, in his own way. Isn’t that lucky?

And yes, he died once, painfully, but that’s over and done with and he got a second chance at life. In his second life, he’s fallen in love, made new friends, done some good in the world, and at least done a little to make up for his past mistakes. So few people get a chance like that, including many who are much more deserving than him, so in the final sum, isn’t he lucky?

28. Drunk Confessions (junior quartet gen)

It started with a few bottles of wine and Zizhen declaring that true friends share their secrets with each other, but nobody could have imagined that it would end like this.

"You're what?" Jin Ling asks, his voice low and strained.

"You're what?!" Jingyi echoes in a loud squawk.

"I'm a Wen," Sizhui repeats, his nervous expression belying his calm voice.

"You never told me!" Jingyi's voice is still far too loud, his expression almost comically betrayed. "How could I not know that?"

"You knew Hanguang-Jun took me in," Sizhui points out.

"Yes, but I thought your parents were Lan cultivators who died back then, or at least non-cultivators from Gusu. Not...Wens." Jingyi grimaces, but wipes the expression of his face when he sees Sizhui's face fall.

“Sizhui is still the same person, right?" Zizhen puts in. "And we know Wen Ning's a nice guy. It's not like all Wens are bad."

"Right," Jingyi firmly agrees. "But I can't believe you didn’t tell me sooner!”

"I didn't know until recently. After meeting Wei-qianbei and Wen Ning, some memories came back." Sizhui finishes the drink in front of him, getting some liquid courage before he looks at the conspicuously silent Jin Ling. "I'm sorry," he says quietly. "I hope this doesn't change anything between us."

Jin Ling clenches his fist on the table, brow furrowed, and for a long, tense moment, the whole group is silent. Finally, he sighs exasperatedly and says, "Well, it's far from the worst secret I've heard about someone I knew. Do you two at least not have any dark secrets?" He waves his cup and Jingyi and Zizhen.

"None, I promise," Zizhen declares.

"If I do, I don't know them myself," Jingyi says.

"I've met his parents," Sizhui interjects. "They're nice, normal Lan cultivators for several generations back."

"Good," Jin Ling says. To Sizhui, he adds, "For this, you can at least buy us another bottle or two of wine."

Sizhui smiles brightly, getting to his feet. "Right away."

29. Cars (modern AU Wangxian featuring the Jiang sibs)

Jiang Cheng says Wei Ying drives like a maniac. Wei Ying says Jiang Cheng is a wimp and also boring and besides, he doesn’t go any faster than he can safely drive, but he does always slow down when he sees Jiang Cheng’s knuckles turning white.

“You’d better drive more carefully on your date with Lan Zhan,” Jiang Cheng tells him. “He probably drives perfectly the speed limit and obeys every traffic law to the letter. He won’t be able to deal with you.”

“I’ll be fine,” Wei Ying insists. “And it’s not a date!”

“Just don’t rush,” Yanli says. “You’ll have more time with Lan Zhan that way. And I’m pretty sure it is a date.”

“Not you too,” Wei Ying whines.

Later, though, when he picks Lan Zhan up and sees him looking very dashing even though he’s in what passes for casual clothes with him, Wei Ying has to admit that okay, yes, he wants it to be a date, and sure, okay, he wants to impress Lan Zhan, or at least not scare him away by driving too wildly. He forces himself to go only a little above the speed limit as he drives to the cafe where they’re going to study together, and Lan Zhan doesn’t complain or grab the panic handle like Jiang Cheng does.

On the way home, though, after endless hours of Lan Zhan sitting across from him looking casually hot but looking at his textbook or talking about economics instead of kissing Wei Ying, he forgets himself and drives as usual. Lan Zhan doesn’t say anything, so Wei Ying doesn’t realize what he’s doing until he stops in front of Lan Zhan’s building and sees him looking suspiciously paler than usual, his hand still gripping the door handle. “Oh, uh, Lan Zhan…you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Lan Zhan says tightly.

“Say, um…” Wei Ying feels bad and all, but he’s spent hours not kissing Lan Zhan and wishing this was a date and he just has to know if maybe it was, or at least could be. He unbuckles his seatbelt, turns in his seat and presses his lips to Lan Zhan’s. He’s not expecting to promptly get pulled into Lan Zhan’s lap, but he’s definitely not complaining, especially when it’s followed up with a whole lot more kissing.

They only stop when someone honks and Wei Ying realizes he didn’t pick the best parking spot for making out. “So,” he says, grinning shamelessly as he moves back into the driver’s seat, “let’s go out on another date some time soon?”

“All right,” Lan Zhan agrees without hesitation. He’s not smiling, but he is eyeing Wei Ying in a way that he really likes. “But next time, I’ll drive.”

30. Dessert (modern AU Wangxian, just a tiny bit NSFW)

The first time Wei Ying sees Lan Zhan in a cafe daintily eating whipped cream off the top of a parfait, he can’t believe his eyes. There’s something so unexpected about strong, serious, stoic, ever-responsible Lan Zhan enjoying any kind of dessert, let alone the same kind Wei Ying’s sister and her friends love—unexpected and adorable.

“Wow, Lan Zhan! I had you pegged for the health food 24/7 type,” Wei Ying says, sneaking up on him from behind. He’s obviously trying to surprise Lan Zhan, but he doesn’t expect it to actually work, so he’s thrilled when it makes Lan Zhan jump and then turn a glare on him. “Hey, no judgment. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying something sweet.” The temptation to stick his finger in the whipped cream and dab some onto Lan Zhan’s nose is so strong, but Wei Ying doesn’t want to die today, so he restrains himself.

It takes nearly a year after that encounter for them to start dating, though Wei Ying does manage to put whipped cream on Lan Zhan’s face twice before that. (Maybe he should have guessed that Lan Zhan liked him, despite never mentioning it, by how he didn’t murder Wei Ying for doing that.) It takes another five months after they get together for Wei Ying to convince Lan Zhan that whipped cream will also be delicious when licked off his body, but oh, is it worth it.

31. Trick or Treat (modern cultivation AU, A-Yuan and Wangxian)

“I want to go as Uncle Wen!” A-Yuan declares. Wei Wuxian blinks at him, turns and blinks at Lan Wangji, and then starts to laugh. “I mean, I think a ghost or a vampire or a cat or something is more typical, but sure, you can go as a fierce corpse.” “Not a fierce corpse!” A-Yuan protests. “Uncle Wen!” Lan Wangji gives Wei Wuxian his patented You are not treating this child as he should be treated look. “Yes, of course,” Wei Wuxian amends. “We’ll find you the best Wen Ning costume anyone has ever had.” “Can Uncle Wen come with me?” A-Yuan asks. Wen Ning won’t do well with crowds or a sugar high A-Yuan, but on the other hand, he’ll blend in on Halloween in a way he usually can’t. “We’ll all come with you,” Lan Wangji tells him. “Yay!” A-Yuan jumps up and down in excitement. “What will you be? Ooh, I know! You should be a bunny.” He gestures at Lan Wangji, and then to Wei Wuxian, “And you should be a carrot.” “A carrot?” Wei Wuxian grimaces. “Come on, between the two of us, don’t I look more like a bunny?” “At least he didn’t say a donkey.” Lan Wangji keeps his voice low, and before A-Yuan can demand that he repeat it, says, “Those are excellent choices.” “You’re so mean to me,” Wei Wuxian whines, but that doesn’t stop him from going out on Halloween evening in a big carrot costume, hand in hand with rabbit Lan Wangji, with mini Wen Ning skipping on ahead of them and actual Wen Ning looking fondly on.

#mo dao zu shi #mdzs #cql #the untamed #mdzs fic #cql fanfic #the untamed fic #wangxian #wangxian fic #wei wuxian #lan wangji #lan sizhui #jin ling #lan jingyi #jiang cheng #jiang yanli #mine #fic #flufftober

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fatalism-and-villainy · 3 years

Note

wangxian for the ask meme! (I know, so original, but love your thoughts on them)

Edit: @ciaran also asked for this one!

What made you ship it?

This is actually really hard to answer! I was certainly entertained by how fanfiction-y stuff like the fight scene on the roof was, and I enjoy some heavy subtext that’s propped up by the characters being textually important/impactful to each other. I also just am very compelled, at this point in my life, but silent unspoken semi-ambiguous mutual attraction and how it manifests in people’s interactions. It’s something of a fantasy for me, because it’s very distinct from how I interact with people (I don’t possess the instinct for it) but that’s exactly why I’m so fascinated by it.

But what sold me on these particular characters being together, as opposed to it being just a Fun Gay Romp? Hmmm, I guess part of it was Wei Wuxian being actively fond of Lan Wangji’s quirks, and getting better at seriously communicating his intentions to him. Like, I’m not a big fan of premises wherein the quiet, reticent, not-obviously-demonstrative person has to “defrost” or significantly change their personality or way of relating to other people in order to be in a relationship, and this was mostly not that.

What are your favorite things about the ship?

So many things! I think maybe the biggest one is how they are such different people, with such different mental processing and different outlooks on the world and on what it means to be in a relationship - the defy the “having things in common” directive - but they still derive so much joy from each other and craft something meaningful and lasting together by actively working for it and meeting each other where they are.

Also, the teasing and flirting!!

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

Oh, plenty.

I think grey-ace!LWJ is a pretty uncommon, but it’s one I’m very set on in my headcanon. I think the characterization of him as “horny” doesn’t really capture my take on him or his early feelings for Wei Wuxian - feelings that aren’t not-sexual, but are much more based in affective and sensory experiences than an adolescent excess of arousal. And I think while he does want to and enjoy having sex with Wei Wuxian, I don’t attribute the intensity of his feelings towards this one particular person to a general approach to sex.

Deliberately imbalanced open relationship, similarly - yeah, yeah, I know monogamy is probably more implied by canon, but seeing a flirty bisexual character just happily settle into a long-term marriage without being able to experiment with anyone else just saddens me personally :(

Oh, and finally - this certainly speaks to my own aversion to “my gay lover and I live in a cottage and grow a garden” fantasies, but not only do I dislike post-canon scenarios wherein they just leave the world behind and start some simple farming life (for reasons I have probably articulated enough in the past), I actually do not think those scenarios fit their characterization. Yes, Wei Wuxian has his little domestic pastoral fantasy in the novel extras, but I really think it’s just that: a fantasy, and not a lifestyle he actually wants. People point to the time in the Burial Mounds as evidence that Wei Wuxian just wants a simple life as a farmer, but I think it’s important to take into account that the time at the Burial Mounds was extremely stressful for him, and not something he likely has good associations with, and one in which the paucity of food was a source of that stress. I do like the idea of him being interested in agriculture and experimenting with different techniques, but I think he wants to do that with some sort of safety net in place, rather than just living off the land.

And Lan Wangji I truly cannot see enjoying that kind of lifestyle either. I think people underestimate how much Lan Wangji is A Rich Person, but if you go by the author’s remarks, he and his brother don’t even know how to do their own laundry. He is not adept at keeping house, and I don’t think has any interest at being adept at it. His interests in life are very scholarly and artistic, such that he would not enjoy a life in which he couldn’t outsource basic tasks to servants, and frankly, I think he’s also got some unacknowledged classism and probably thinks of manual labour as being beneath him. That’s my take and I’m standing by it.

#ameliarating #he is my match #untaming #awkwardly memes #replies #lmao what does it say about me that the 'unpopular' section is so much longer than the others #joy is just not as generative as contention #ciaran

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this-solaris-life · 3 years

Text

We Found Love

♥ Co-Written with @ruensroad ♥ Status: Completed ♥ Rating: T ♥ Pairing: ZhanCheng (Lan Wangji x Jiang Cheng) ♥ AU: Canon Divergence; No One Dies; Arranged Marriage; Mentions of XianNing & Nielan; Happy Ending; ♥ Where to Read: AO3 | Only chapter one will be posted on Tumblr. ♥ Author’s Note: If you don’t like this paring then do not read it. Absolutely do not send either us disgusting hate messages here or on AO3 about you not liking this paring. Just move on and live your best life. Otherwise! Enjoy ♥ -------

Lotus Pier - Jiang Cheng: Age 7

Tongues were wagging throughout all of Lotus Pier it seemed like. No matter where Wei Wuxian went, purple clad disciples and servants gossiped plainly in full view, loud enough he didn’t even have to eavesdrop! It wasn’t even that good of news!

His shidi had been matched with some alpha in Gusu and Madam Yu had apparently scored the match of the century. Whatever that meant. Not that it mattered, anyway.

It was awful news! Terrible! Jiang Cheng’s betrothed was too far away to punch!

To make it worse, Madam Yu had now turned her attention on Wei Wuxian himself. Never a good thing. A matchmaker had come to see him just that morning, pinched his ear lobes and arms, checked his teeth and eyes and core. He was a gifted alpha himself, and the matchmaker had seemed pleased. He shivered in the memory of her hands on his hips as though he was an omega like his shidi . His hips! He was only eight!

Embarrassed and indignant, Wei Wuxian had run away to hide until lunch, when a growling stomach had him crawling out for food. With a handful of pilfered dumplings, he ran off again before Madam Yu could get him in her sights, making a break for the docks behind his and Jiang Cheng’s shared rooms. It had a pagoda over the water and he grinned to see Jiang Cheng sitting on the edge with his feet in. He always came here when he needed to think.

“Jiang Cheng!” Wei Wuxian hurried to his shidi’s side and plopped gracelessly down beside him, a grin brightening his expression. He shoved a dumpling in Jiang Cheng’s face. “Lookit!”

Jiang Cheng had been content to be out here on the pier by himself. He’d been singing and wiggling his toes in the water where the fish were coming up to gently nip. His solitude was invaded too soon and he had a good warning before Wei Wuxian was upon him. His shixiong wasn’t one for stealth and was louder than a laughing monkey. His mama’s words, not Jiang Cheng’s.

Jiang Cheng had braced himself to be thrown in the water but not for the dumpling to the face. He was still quick enough for him to catch it before it landed on the white robes his mother had told him to practice wearing. Jiang Cheng didn’t get it but what his mama said was law. He wasn’t going to go against that.

“You're lucky that I like these carrot dumplings!” Jiang Cheng fussed, sharply elbowing Wei Wuxian.

Wei Wuxian pouted, but just lightly shoved him back and stuffed his mouth with dumpling. For a blissful few moments, there was just his obnoxious chewing, then his dark eyes zeroed in on the white robes. “...I thought you were gonna live here?” he said, mildly alarmed and immediately in protective older brother mode, picking at Jiang Cheng’s sleeve. “Why are you wearing Gusu robes? Your alpha picky or something? I’ll punch him in the nose! Then his fancy white robes won’t be so fancy!”

“No, no! It’s mama! She had Biyu-gu make them for me. She said I have to practice.” Jiang Cheng hummed, taking another dumpling from his brother. He leaned in smelling his brother’s warm cinnamon smell for when he was protective. Jiang Cheng didn’t need protection. He wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. “I’m not going anywhere and my alpha gave me butterflies.” he said proudly because they’d been soft grass butterflies that’d been made by Lan Wangji. His faint smell of a bunny and sandalwood had still been on them. “She’ll have you practice too when she finds you one!” He shoved him back.

Wei Wuxian shuddered at the memory. “That creepy old matchmaker looked at my hips,” he said, pouting. “I’m not an omega! Why did she have to grab my hips?” He squirmed, nose scrunched. The old beta’s smell had been oddly strong with perfume. He still felt a bit sick from it, even in memory, like the very thoughts of the woman stunk too. “I hope she finds someone nice… I want someone nice.”

He offered another dumpling and bit into his own, looking out wistfully over the water. Maybe it was silly, but he wanted a simple mated life. He wanted someone to fawn over, and maybe farm with? Someone who liked to eat good food and play! That was the dream. “I wonder who it’ll be,” he hummed and nudged Jiang Cheng’s foot with his own. “Do you like your alpha?” he asked. “Madam Yu said it was… the match of the century? Whatever that means. If you don’t like him, I’ll punch him,” he reminded his baby brother, nose in the air. “And butterflies? How many did you get?”

“Two and I don’t know. He’s been nice to me.” Jiang Cheng answered, wondering how Lan Wangji had felt getting his toy of a husky. It’d been one of the rare gifts his father had given him and despite it only being a toy his shixiong was still scared of it. So he’d sent his most precious toy that he’d been sleeping with to his alpha. Hopefully, Lan Wangji took care of it like he would the butterflies. “And no punching! Remember what mama did last time you did that?” He shivered at how shrill her voice had gotten.

“But you’re my shidi!” Wei Wuxian countered and scooted against him to get his arm around Jiang Cheng’s shoulders. “I don’t mind getting hit or yelled at! You are most important,” he said happily and rubbed his cheek to the other’s, giggling. “Besides, shijie made it all better with her soup!” He gasped just thinking about it. “Do you think she’d make some for us?”

“If not then all we need to do is ask. We know how she loves us best.” Jiang Cheng responded, leaning into Wei Wuxian’s hold. He couldn’t help but feel content. Times like this were the best. “And she’s just making sure you can have young with your mate. You’ll probably have your own sect!” He teased.

“Nuh-uh! I’m your shixiong! Neither of us are going anywhere!” Wei Wuxian clung to him all the more stubbornly. “My mate can come here and we can plant lotus together.” He seemed extra excited about that. “And maybe rice and peppers! Then shijie can always make us yummy food!”

“You really wanna be here? What if where your mate lives is wonderful?” Jiang Cheng asked, laughing at how his shixiong’s scent spiked up. “Besides, you know that shijie is going to go live with that peacock? Mama already said and she seemed so happy when they visited.”

“Then I will cook,” Wei Wuxian pouted again, his lip wobbly at the thought of her being gone. It didn’t last long, however, when a thought occurred to him. “Say, Jiang Cheng! Maybe you can cook too! What do they eat in Gusu?” he asked, thinking of how Jiang Yanli practiced daily to cook for her peacock omega prince. “Maybe your alpha would like to try our food? He’d love your soup!”

“Maybe? His letter mentioned onion and mushroom soup?” Jiang Cheng answered, sounding unsure. It’d been a little line after he’d written about a page and half in regards to his favorite dishes. He’d even sent his alpha his sister's lotus soup recipe.

“Well, let’s go talk to shijie,” Wei Wuxian offered, stuffing the last dumpling into his cheek like a chipmunk and hopping up. He helped Jiang Cheng to his feet. “Remember what she said?” he asked thickly around his chewing. “Food is the path to the heart! Come on!”

He took off running, only pausing once to make sure Jiang Cheng was behind him, and giggled, taking his hand to lead him the rest of the way.

Cloud of Recesses- Lan Wangji: Age 8

In Gusu, the spring sun was a welcome warmth with the breeze that seemed to still carry winter’s chill. Lan Wangji held his betrothed’s little husky to his chest all the tighter with one arm and wrapped his cloak more firmly with the other, cradling the beloved toy into the safety of his chest. It smelt fragrant of green grass, sunshine, and young wheat. He supposed that was what Lotus Pier smelt like, as well as lotus pods and water, and as the head of the plush brushed under his chin, it stirred up the soft, sweet smell, tickling his nose.

Wordlessly, he shuffled through his uncle’s garden, where Lan Qiren grew herbs. He’d read Jiang Cheng’s letter so many times he’d memorized it, as well as the list of foods he didn’t know or recognize. Thankfully, one of their cooks was from Meishan and understood the neighboring Yunmeng’s cuisine, though the list of spices she’d given Lan Wangji to find were very hard to discover. He’d already checked the kitchen gardens, after all, even though the cook had warned him he’d have to go to Caiyi to even find half the list.

Stubbornly, he kept looking. Lan Wangji gently toed at a small green spot and knelt down to brush away some dead leaves around the little marker Lan Qiren had put in. Sage, it read, a good find. But it wasn’t pepper, or chili, or paprika, the first three and most important spices on the list. Thankfully, his uncle had ginger, not too far down the line, and he took care to wipe the marker free of old leaves and early sprouting weeds too. Anything to help his uncle, even in a tiny amount.

He heard footsteps behind him, light and familiar, but didn’t stop, given he’d found a new sprout trying to peek out under a blanket of mulch. He carefully uncovered it and tilted his head, wondering what a ginger plant actually looked like.

“Be careful Wangji or you’ll pull it out before it’s time.” Lan Xichen’s voice said from behind him. A tender smile on his face as he watched his brother hover around the growing ginger sprout. He’d been on his way to visit his shufu when he’d been stopped by Yu Lee. She told him that his brother had been looking for spices.

“Xiongzhang,” Lan Wangji greeted him, standing and turning to face him. He carefully fussed the toy he held close, brushing it off, even though no part of it had touched the ground. Once he was satisfied, he looked down at the ginger again, thoughtful. The name for ginger was phonetically the same as Jiang Cheng’s surname. He wondered if Jiang Cheng was spicy too? Even though he smelt sweet?

Turning back to Lan Xichen, he stepped close to show him his list of spices. “Cook says I need to go to Caiyi for these,” he said softly. “Even shufu does not have the first three in his garden.”

“Oh,” Lan Xichen blinked, taking the list to see what was missing. He could smell the small tinge of unhappiness from his brother at not having found what he needed. Lan Xichen hummed, knowing that they would have to go to Caiyi even before he crouched down to be at his brother’s eye level. “Yu Lee wasn’t wrong Wangji. We will have to visit Caiyi. I think shufu is going there at the end of the week. Perhaps, I can ask if we can go?”

Lan Wangji perked up at that. “Please,” he said, not used to asking for things, but this was for his future mate. It was important. Jiang Cheng had been kind enough to send him a list of foods he liked. The least he could do was learn how to make them. After all, Jiang Cheng was to be a sect leader one day. Lan Wangji’s job was to help him as best he could. He wanted to cook for him, care for him, make the load lighter. That’s what a good mate did! So he would.

Still, it was a bit disappointing that he had to wait. But waiting was its own reward. It gave him time to prepare for all the little bottles he had to store the spices. They needed a box to keep them cool and dry, safe from moisture and weather. That meant...

“Xiongzhang,’ he said, gently tugging on Lan Xichen’s sleeve, “i want to build a spice chest.”

“Would you like me to help you Wangji?” Lan Xichen beamed. His adorable little brother rarely asked for things. His eyes flicked down to the well loved stuffed husky under his brother’s arms. Lan Wangji hadn’t let it go since he’d unwrapped the box it came in.

Lan Wangji nodded, grateful. He didn’t know how to make one, but hopefully his brother did, and if not, he would know who to ask.

“Would you like to start now? I think that Master Peng has some scraps we can use?” Lan Xichen asked, standing up straight.

Another nod, then a hand wrapped around his own. Lan Wangji let himself be led off, holding the little husky close. “Prepare for spices,” he reasoned to his big brother. “Have the bottles already.”

“Of course, one should be prepared for our mates.” Lan Xichen chuckled, though he was serious. Those words had made him wonder what his own mate would be like. His shufu had spoken to many in hopes of finding a match for him. The first had been Jin Zixuan but then Madam Jin and Madam Yu had secured his mating with Jiang Yanli. The next had been Wen Xu from Wen Ruohan. But then Wen Xu’s elder brother died and Wen Xu became the heir and found a mate. His shufu hadn’t pressed for When Chao and he was glad? During the last time he was in the Nightless City the omega hadn’t liked him. He shook his head, pushing those thoughts aside as Lan Wangji lightly squeezed his hand. “Then we must visit the apothecary when in Caiyi unless you want to have special bottles.”

“Got them from Cook,” Lan Wangji said, proud of that. She’d been kind enough to hand him her old bottles when the new allowance had hit, allowing her to buy all new bigger bottles to use for her kitchen. Lan Wangji had thought to fill them with colored sands and rocks, as well as beads and shells, but now with a mate to consider, he wanted them to remain true to their use. They were spice bottles, so spice bottles they would stay.

“I will be prepared for Jiang Cheng,” he promised his brother with all the seriousness he could muster at eight years of age. “Does xiongzhang wish to prepare for a mate too? I will help.”

Lan Xichen blinked at how Jiang Wanyin had gone to Jiang Cheng so quickly. Then his smile thinned as to the question of his own mate. He shook his head. “You will be a good mate for Jiang Wanyin. He is lucky and no, I do not have a mate to prepare for Wangji. I am here to help my didi prepare for his. So, if there’s anything you need help with then just ask me.”

Lan Wangji knew that already, so just nodded seriously and held his brother’s hand more firmly. “ Xiongzhang will make someone very lucky too,” he said solemnly, earnest and confident. His brother was the best person in the world, after all. He deserved the world. “Maybe I can help shufu find someone for xiongzhang?” he wondered, looking to Lan Xichen for approval of the idea. Lan Wangji hadn’t appreciated the last person Lan Qiren had tried to match his brother with. Wen Chao was a brat and a spoiled one. He'd wanted to push his smug face off the mountain.

“I would like that very much.” Lan Xichen smiled cheerfully at him. He knew that his brother meant well. He just hoped that there was someone out for him. “You know me the best and will give Shufu the best advice.”

Lan Wangji preened a little, not that it showed on his face. Still, his eyes were a tad shinier, almost glowing, and his scent warmed in pleasure. He held the husky under his nose to remind his brain what Jiang Cheng smelt like and a tiny smile lit his face. “I will, xiongzhang,” he promised, and promises were forever. “Only the best for you.”

#Don't Like Don't Read!#Lan Wangji #Jiang Cheng #ZhanCheng #Wei Wuxian #Wen Ning #Lan Xichen #mentions of Xianning #mentions of Nielan #arranged marriage from childhood to adults #almost no one dies #slow burn romance #happy ending

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