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gentil-minou · 6 months

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cw genderbend | wlw wangxian week | @wlwangxianweek

Day 7: creature au where Lan Zhan turns into an eldritch horror featuring office romance + angst

It starts in the tips of her fingers. Subtle, at first. Just an elongation she doesn't even notice until one morning she wakes to her fingernails sharpened into points. Lan Zhan stares at them confused, lying in bed while a tiny steady stream of blood trickles down her cheek where she'd scratched herself in her sleep. Blood already dried beneath her fingers.

The blood is so dark, it's almost black.

She rises and carries about her morning, adding an extra step to her routine by filing her nails down to something safer.

Her first date with Wei Ying is today. She wants it to be perfect, especially after all the courage it took to just ask her out.

She'd like to hold her hand, maybe. The thought bolsters her as flecks of her nails litter the sink.

The date is wonderful, everything she'd imagined it. From their lunch at the cute Cafe, to the ice cream they shared, and finally their scenic walk through the park.

Wei Ying takes her hand as they meander down the path near the pond, their fingers entwined and Lan Zhan’s ears a bright pink that makes Wei Ying giggle.

She kisses her at the end of the date, in front of the entrance to Wei Ying's apartment. Short and sweet, promising more.

A sharp tooth pricks the smooth skin of Wei Ying’s lip, drawing blood. Wei Ying laughs it off, cradling her mouth and waving off Lan Zhan’s apologies. Her eyes are shining in the twilight evening.

Lan Zhan licks the blood off her lips without thinking about it. Tastes like sugar.

The next morning, her nails are sharp as knives once again. She files them, again, trimming them as well just in case. Her brow furrows, puzzled.

She doesn't look up, but her reflection in the mirror watches, no furrow in sight. Watching. Waiting.

The next morning, the nails are back.

It continues for the rest of the week, a dance of sorts. Lan Zhan wakes in the morning, sleeping in mittens to prevent scratching, with eerily pointy nails. And every morning, she trims and files them.

She heads to work, where Wei Ying greets her with a kiss over the watercooler, glancing back and forth in case their boss walks by. Lan Zhan doesn't mind as much, placing a hand on her slender waist and drawing her towards her for a longer kiss.

They make plans to see a movie Wei Ying wants to watch, a horror movie Lan Zhan will only watch for Wei Ying.

That Saturday, the day of their second date, Lan Zhan wakes to the tips of her fingers shriveled and blackened. Like they've been burned in the night, though there's no loss of feeling or anything. The skin is shriveled, but nothing impossible.

It's cold enough for her to get away with wearing gloves for her date, though her older pairs barely fit. She'll have to get new ones, she thinks, trying not to wonder why this is happening.

She has a date today, after all.

Thankfully the movie theater is dark, and when she pulls her gloves off it's impossible to see the unnatural hue of her fingers. The movie itself is, as she expected, terrifying. But Wei Ying wraps her arm around Lan Zhan's shoulder so she can bury her head in the soft, cinnamon scented skin of her neck.

When Wei Ying tries to hold her hand, Lan Zhan reluctantly pulls away. The texture of her fingers is…unpleasant. she doesn't want Wei Ying to notice.

She tries not to notice the look Wei Ying gives her. She kisses her extra long later, deep and filling it with an emotion she doesn't dare to name.

The woolen fabric of her gloves skim the smooth skin of Wei Ying’s cheek as her finger trace the shape of them. She thinks about how they'd feel under bare skin, feeling a hollow pit form in her stomach.

The next morning, she wakes to both her arms as dark as night, wrinkled and unrecognizable.

Her arms used to be one of her best features, slender but still with defined muscles. Skin so fair they'd tell her she was made of pure jade.

Wei Ying loves her arms. She'd cling to them for the tiniest reasons, squeezing her bicep and making a flirtatious comment as she did. Their hands clasped together, bronze against white, made Lan Zhan feel light as air, like any second she could take off and fly away, Wei Ying by her side.

Now, her arms look like spindly little branches falling from a dead tree.

She can't let Wei Ying see her like this.

She has enough vacation days saved up. She uses them all, taking weeks off as she scours the internet and orders book after book, searching for an answer kf any kind.

She finds nothing.

Wei Ying texts, and Lan Zhan responds saying she's unwell, taking time off to spend with her brother. To her brother, she says she's busy. Work has been intense, and there's just no time for her to make their nightly video calls.

When he asks about Wei Ying, she lies, telling him it's going very well. Her heart sinks as she presses send, the guilt landing like lead.

All the while, the decay crawls up her arms into her shoulders, spreading down over her collarbones and breasts. It creeps over her belly and pelvis, then seeps into her legs. Skin shriveled and ebony black, so dark she's no longer able to make out anything else.

Her face is last, and Lan Zhan wakes to a face that's nothing like her own. Wrinkled and gaunt, bones protruding sharply. The whites of her eyes are gone completely, replaced by a golden yellow color that's the only bit of light left on her body.

Her face has no expression, impossible to make out like this. Her teeth sharpened into fangs, craving meat and blood and everything she'd shied away from all these years.

She might as well be a statue now, just as the bullies of her youth called her.

She collapses onto the cold tiled floor, sobs howling.

No tears fall, her eyes no long able to produce it.

Hours later, the wailing stops and she lies there, staring up at the ceiling.

Her research gave her no answers. There's no pain or anything, nothing out of the ordinary besides her appearance and new cravings, constant hunger.

If she…runs away, could she live the rest of her life like this. Sequester herself in a forest somewhere, hunt for food and eschew modern living. It might not be so bad. She's never liked being around people all that much.

Until Wei Ying.

She'll miss Wei Ying. Yes, that's true. Miss her smile brightening the entire office, miss her laugh as it echoes off the walls of their shared cubicles. She'll miss the way Wei Ying would drape herself over Lan Zhan's part of her desk, talking and listening, like Lan Zhan is someone worth paying attention to.

She'll miss the twinkle in Wei Ying’s eyes when she stared up at her, hiding her laughter in her arms and giving it away all the same.

Miss the way Wei Ying tastes, like spice. The kind Lan Zhan wishes she could bottle and keep forever.

She'll miss what they could have had, together. The future she'd once seen between them, that led her to ask her out in the end. The dream of happiness she chased.

Lan Zhan sheds no tears, but in this moment she wishes she could, for a love lost.

There's a knock on the door.

It's hesitant, at first. So soft and quiet, Lan Zhan thinks she's misheard.

Then the banging starts, incessant, followed by a frantic voice calling, "Lan Zhan!?"

She stiffens, recognizing the voice. Of course, how could she have expected Wei Ying to stay away for long?

Lan Zhan doesn't resist the urge to leave her bathroom and stand. on the other side of her front door, hunched so she can fit under the now too low ceiling, as close to Wei Ying as she dares.

Surely, if she waits here, eventually Wei Ying will leave, right?

Part of her riots at the idea, despises it wants Wei Ying to show she cares, to stay, as selfish as it is.

Wei Ying's knocking doesn't cease, and she continues for several minutes before finally she stops. The silence rings loud in Lan Zhan's apartment, only rustling outside.

Lan Zhan presses herself against the door to peer through the little eye hole, the surface warm against her frozen, dead skin.

Wei Ying paces back and forth in front of her door, hand on her jaw as she thinks, muttering to herself. Every once in a while she glances back at the door, the eye contact making Lan Zhan's heart race.

Finally Wei Ying stops and shakes out her shoulders, and says loudly directly at the door, "Lan Zhan, if you're there, you better open right up! Otherwise I'll assume something wrong and break the door down myself!"

Lan Zhan isn't sure if Wei Ying has the strength to, but she certainly has the tenacity to get someone who can. Or call in a welfare check, or something.

She needs to reassure her, so she whispers through the door, voice hoarse from disuse, "Wei Ying, I'm here…"

She's still watching through the peephole so she sees the way Wei Ying jumps, as if she hadn't expected a response. Her frown recedes quickly as her shoulders relax.

"Finally," she says, pressing her palm against the door. "You had me so so scared, Zhanzhan."

Lan Zhan presses the palm of her own shriveled hand up against the door, right where Wei Ying has hers.

"Won't you let me in? I just want to make sure you're alright."

Lan Zhan shakes her head, though there's no way Wei Ying can see.

"Wei Ying…I can't…"

Wei Ying looks up at the hole in the door, as if she can see Lan Zhan, as if her eyes seer through the door itself.

"Why…not?" Her voice is small, the quietest Lan Zhan has ever heard. It feels like the most unnatural thing about this situation.

"Was it something…I did?"

Lan Zhan's mouth is dry and she flounders, shocked. How could Wei Ying think that? How could she ever think she'd be the one at fault? That anything she did would make Lan Zhan stay away from her?

She's so shocked, she doesn't have a chance to reply before Wei Ying continues, "I know I can…be a lot and maybe I came on too strongly but…I really like you, Lan Zhan." Wei Ying appears shy, so different from her usual bravado and confidence. She huffs a bitter laugh, clearly fake. "I just, I didn't think you'd ghost me like this…"

Lan Zhan rushes to clarify, "I am not ghosting you, Wei Ying…I am…unwell."

"You said! And I want to believe you but…Lan Zhan it's been weeks. Even your brother came to the office asking where you've been. He thought I would know something, that you were still seeing me."

Lan Zhan tries to swallow the lump in her throat, but it's too painful. She hasn't drank any water in days, and feels it now.

"Just…let me see you. I just want to make sure you're alright…" Her bright eyes are earnest, desperate, and so very heartbroken. "Please?"

Something inside Lan Zhan deflates, and she feels it settle heavy in her center. She can't keep doing this to Wei Ying, to the people she loves.

But how can she begin to explain? How can she tell Wei Ying without her wanting to run away in fear of what she's become.

She glances around the room, and by chance her eyes alight on a pale blue silk scarf her brother had given her. She grabs it, and opens the door the tiniest crack, just enough so she can thrust the scarf out.

"Cover your eyes with this. Then, we can talk."

It's quiet on the other side of the door, but eventually Wei Ying takes the scarf and Lan Zhan snatches her scraggly fingers back before she can see them. She watches through the peephole as Wei Ying secures it around her head.

"Okay, I'm ready."

Lan Zhan opens the door.

She hides behind the doorframe, so no unsuspecting neighbors can see. Wei Ying walks inside, her arms reached out to keep from bumping into her. Lan Zhan doesn't dare grab her arm to guide her to the living room, but luckily Wei Ying has been here before and manages to find it.

Wei Ying sits on the couch, hesitant but her expression still open. Her nose scrunches as she smells the stench of the room, but she says nothing. Lan Zhan doesn't know what she smells like right now, but she can't imagine it's anything pleasant.

Eventually, Wei Ying asks, "What's this for, Lan Zhan?" Her nose twitches adorably, and Lan Zhan loses sense for a minute at the sheer wonder that is Wei Ying, in front of her, almost within reach. "Do you have some sort of weird skin thing? Or like a mutant growth?"

Both are not inaccurate, but neither are they correct. Lan Zhan finds that she's even more woefully unprepared to talk about this.

"Look, you know…whatever it is, I'm not gonna care. You know that right?" Wei Ying says as she turns her head, searching for Lan Zhan though she can't see her.

"There's nothing, and I mean nothing, that would turn me off." She stretches out her hand, reaching forward in front of her, palm open, waiting. "I'm in this for the long haul, okay? No matter what."

Her slender fingers flex, bronze skin aglow in the lighting. Lan Zhan has dreamt about the feeling of them wrapped around her own. Aches to touch them right now.

"I meant it, Lan Zhan. I really, really like you" She stretches her arm out folder, grasping for something, for Lan Zhan. "Really, really, really!"

Lan Zhan takes in a shuddering breath, and Wei Ying's entire body snaps in her direction. Her smile is so gentle and sweet, love seeping from it. Without a thought, Lan Zhan finds herself bending over, reaching for her, decayed hand and claws hovering over Wei Ying's hands, too afraid to touch.

She stares at them, one over the other, mere molecules of air separating them. She wonders if Wei Ying can feel it, the little bit that separates them. She wonders if she's brave enough to bring her hand down, to touch. To hold.

"…There's something I need to tell you, Wei Ying."

Her hand, with it's spindly appendages and wrinkled skin, hovers over Wei Ying's as she tells her, starting from the beginning. From waking up the morning of their first date, to the way her skin charred a little more every day, until finally there was no way to hide it.

Wei Ying says nothing, doesn't even twitch. Her expression remains as it is, open and honest. She keeps her hand outstretched, waiting but not moving, There but not taking. And she listens.

By the time Lan Zhan finishes, she's feels wrung out and exhausted. A part of her is relieved, while another part of her is terrified of what she's done, wishes she could take it all back. But the words are out there, thrown upon Wei Ying's feet. It's up to Wei Ying to figure out what she will do with it.

Wei Ying takes a moment, the muscle in her jaw flexes and she opens her mouth to speak, but closes it right away. Her jaw becomes determined and she purses her lips together.

Then, without any warning, she reaches up and grabs Lan Zhan's hand, gripping the dead skin firmly.

Lan Zhan flinches, but Wei Ying is stronger than she looks and she can't pull away. Wei Ying tugs on her hand to draw her closer, and her fingers trace the new ridges of Lan Zhan's skin. They travel up her arm, along the dips and slide over the leathery texture. She frowns, but not with distaste. More…curiosity.

"How fascinating…" she whispers to herself, as her touch sends shivers racing down Lan Zhan's spine. "How did this happen?"

Lan Zhan swallows, watching the path Wei Ying's fingers travel down. "I do not know, I wasn't able to find any answers in my research."

Wei Ying hesitates, her fingers tracing shapes along Lan Zhan's bicep, now tiny enough her entire small hand could wrap around it without the muscle that was once there. She draws stars and hearts, in infinite lops over and over.

"…Can I see?" she asks, undemanding.

And Lan Zhan realizes, if she says no, Wei Ying would accept. She would not push or anything. She'd understand.

This, more than anything, makes Lan Zhan reach for the blindfold and slowly remove it from Wei Ying's face.

Wei Ying's blinks as she adjusts to the light in the apartment. It takes a moment for her to clear her eyes enough to see Lan Zhan, to take her all in.

There is… shock and surprise. Some concern as well, as her eyes trail up and down. Lan Zhan's clothes no longer fit her, and with her body as unrecognizable as it is, she didn't bother putting anything on to cover it. Nudity is the least of her shame, right now.

But as Wei Ying takes her form in, despite the multitude of emotions crossing over her face, not once does she look at Lan Zhan with fear or disgust.

Instead, she settles back into curiosity and bewilderment as she tilts her head. She reaches one hand out to poke the skin at Lan Zhan's belly, taking note of the way she flinches.

"…Interesting," she says, rubbing her nose as she thinks. "And you don't know how this happened at all, right?"

Lan Zhan shakes her head. There's fluttery feeling inside her belly, butterflies flying to and fro. Wei Ying's reaction, mostly the lack thereof fills her with a light she hasn't felt in weeks.

Wei Ying looks around the room, a contemplative look on her face that turns into determination. She gives her a look with all the gravity she possesses, and says, "Show me what you've got so far. We'll figure it out."

She doesn't say "together" but she doesn't need to.

Lan Zhan and Wei Ying comb over pages and pages of her notes, with Wei Ying consulting some shady forums as well, trying to search for an answer. It's slow going, especially with the way Lan Zhan has to slouch just to squeeze onto the couch and the way she tries to hold herself away from Wei Ying, still afraid to touch.

Eventually, that decision is taken out of her hands completely when Wei Ying drapes a blanket over Lan Zhan's lap and rests her legs over it. As she shifts through a pile of notes, Wei Ying cards her fingers through Lan Zhan's hair, oily and limpid. But Wei Ying doesn't mind, her gentle hand combing through the strands as if there's nothing wrong. As if there's nothing that could deter her.

Little by little, Lan Zhan feels herself relax for the first time in weeks.

Hours later, after Wei Ying has ordered delivery and forced Lan Zhan to eat a steak— "You're starving! That won't do! Here, they make them rare."— they're still nowhere near an answer.

Wei Ying spends a long time skimming over one article, found on some hidden monster forum that seems more like a fantasy RP than anything else. She mutters under her breath as she reads. "It says here sometimes these spells come from within…like a manifestation of your own feelings, or something."

Lan Zhan, who technically doesn't have any eyebrows right now, raises hers anyways. "Spells?"

Wei Ying glances at her with a sly smirk, "You're a 10 foot tall demon thing, I think spells can absolutely be possible here. But if this stuff is true, it might be a lead, at least?"

"Who's the source?"

"DemonSucker6969."

"Hm."

Wei Ying throws her hands up in the air. "I don't know Lan Zhan, that's about as much as I've got so far! It might be worth a shot, right? What was going on before this…all started happening. Like any stress or anything?"

Lan Zhan stares at her blackened fingers where they contrast with her fuzzy blue throw blanket, the one with little bunnies that Wei Ying got her.

Mostly what Lan Zhan remembers from those weeks ago was fretfully tossing in bed as she thought about her date with Wei Ying. How she hadn't expected Wei Ying to agree in the first place, asking mostly because she'd reached the point where she needed to, already so overwhelmed with her feelings she felt ready to burst.

She remembers staring at her appearance in the mirror the night before, trying to figure out what Wei Ying saw in her that made her agree.

Her fingers twist as she wrings them together, unsure of how to explain. Wei Ying has been watching her all this time, patient as ever, in a way she rarely seems anywhere else.

"I was…scared," she says at last. "Worried. About our date…"

Wei Ying blinks as she processes Lan Zhan's words, then her features soften into understanding. She places her hands over Lan Zhan's, so much smaller in this form yet their warmth floods through.

"You were nervous about our date not going well?"

Lan Zhan shakes her head. "Not…exactly."

Wei Ying's fingers stroke hers, uncaring of what they look like, only offering comfort.

"I was worried I would disappoint Wei Ying."

Wei Ying stops moving, and Lan Zhan peers up to see her looking absolutely baffled.

"That makes no sense though! Why would I be disappointed???"

She says this as if the notion is completely ludicrous, like there is no world in which Wei Ying wouldn't want to spend time with Lan Zhan.

But well, considering the current state of her…maybe that's true.

Lan Zhan struggles to figure out how to explain better, the words bouncing in her head just out of reach. But she catches Wei Ying's eyes, and it steadies her.

"Disappointed that you agreed to go out with me."

Wei Ying gives her a long, hard look. Intense, bright eyes dancing as she takes Lan Zhan in, all of her. Blackened decayed skin, hair like slimy seaweed, skin so wrinkled she looks centuries old.

Her gaze is piercing and her mouth sets in a thin, unsmiling line.

Mind made up, Wei Ying's fingers clench around Lan Zhan's knobby wrist, grip tight enough to bruise if blood still flowed normally through it. She pulls her off the couch and down the hallway into Lan Zhan's bathroom.

Before Lan Zhan has a chance to stop her, Wei Ying shoves her into the shower stall and follows her in, slamming the glass door shut.

She twists the knob and freezing cold water pours out, drenching them both and plastering Wei Ying's clothing to her skin.

Eyes a livid burning fire, she shouts, "Are you an idiot!?"

Lan Zhan blinks, the lack of eyelashes making it hard to keep water from landing in her eyes. She tries to wipe it away, but it keeps pooling.

Wei Ying huffs, and puts her hands above Lan Zhan's eyes, a visor to shield against the shower spray. Her skin is still so warm.

Freezing cold water pours into Wei Ying's open mouth, spilling out of the sides, yet she pays it no heed. She focuses on Lan Zhan instead, protecting her from the rain.

"I would never," she says, voice carrying over the rush the water, so loud it's all Lan Zhan can hear. "Ever! Ever, ever be disappointed with you, Lan Zhan! You're….you're everything to me. Don't you know?"

Wei Ying's hands shift to cradle Lan Zhan's gaunt cheeks, streams of water trailing down. Her thumbs brush against the unnatural slope of her cheekbones, without a care.

Lan Zhan has to bend over nearly all the way so she can reach.

She'd split her body in have if that mean Wei Ying would touch her, always.

"You're my forever girl. Even when you look like this. Especially when you look like this."

Wei Ying's eyes pool with more than just the shower spray. Lan Zhan's breath hitches. Despite the cold, she's never felt so warm, so full of light.

"Maybe it's too soon to say this, but, well I don't care!" Wei Ying breaks into a watery smile, the sun peeking through a cloudy day. A rainbow after the storm.

"I love you Lan Zhan! All of you, every bit of you. Every shape and form. If you're an ant or an octopus or a snake or whatever! I'll love you, always."

A sob escapes from Lan Zhan's throat as she lifts her hand up to grip Wei Ying's where it rests again her cheek.

The other she rests against Wei Ying’s chest, above her heart, feeling it race beneath her decayed hand.

"Love Wei Ying," she whispers, watching Wei Ying's smile stretches impossibly wide. "Always, no matter what. My forever girl."

She rests her forehead against Wei Ying's. She doesn't feel the shower pouring over them, the freezing cold, the tile beneath her feet.

She only feels Wei Ying, burning bright, right beside her.

Wei Ying giggles, high and sweet, the sound echoing in the small shower stall. "Good. Great. The best."

Wei Ying leans forward, up on her tiptoes. Their noses brush and she whispers. A hair's breath away from Lan Zhan's lips.

"Can I kiss you. Lan Zhan?"

Lan Zhan doesn't bother responding, and instead shifts to press a kiss on Wei Ying's perfect smiling mouth.

She doesn't think at all about how weird it must be, if Wei Ying is uncomfortable or disgusted. She doesn't miss the way they'd kissed before.

All she thinks about is Wei Ying, kissing her back with a fervor that sets her alight.

All she thinks is Wei Ying, Wei Ying. Wei Ying.

Lan Zhan doesn't notice her shoulders begin to shrink, or the way her skin expands to make way for familiar muscle. She doesn't notice her seaweed hair reverting to its silken locks, drenched and sticking to her pale skin, moon white and the perfect contrast to Wei Ying’s tan.

She doesn't see her fingers shorten to their normal length, still long enough to cradle Wei Ying's face between her hands.

She wouldn't notice anything at all, until they part for a breath and Wei Ying’s eyes flutter open and she gasps against Lan Zhan's lips.

"Lan Zhan, look…"

"Mn?" she asks, trailing after Wei Ying's mouth when she tries to pull away. Her lips press against her jaw instead, which just allows Lan Zhan the perfect opportunity to brush gentle kisses down the side of Wei Ying's throat, biting down on the juncture between her shoulder and neck.

"We did it," Wei Ying says, just before she moans. She presses Lan Zhan's head against her skin, encouraging. "You're back."

It's takes a second for the words to register, and Lan Zhan jolts when they do. Wei Ying turns the shower knob off, and Lan Zhan stares down at her hands with wonder, human again.

She whirls around, twisting so she can be sure, and yes, it's her. The mole on her left breast, the scar on her knee from a childhood fall, her long hair, meticulously grown for years.

It's all her. She's back.

Her head shoots up to see Wei Ying, hands covering the grin as tears flood her eyes. Lan Zhan bounds forward to press her against the tiled walls, giving her a long deep kiss.

"Wei Ying."

"Lan Zhan."

"Thank you…"

Wei Ying presses her forehead against Lan Zhan's, smooth skin against smooth skin.

"There's no need, not between us."

Lan Zhan huffs a laugh against Wei Ying's lips, pressing up against her chest.

Wei Ying squirms, and Lan Zhan realizes that she is still, very much naked.

Wei Ying twirls a lock of wet hair around her fingers. "So," she says coquettishely, fluttering her eyelashes up at Lan Zhan. "Is there something else you'd like to do now? Or someone?"

Lan Zhan growls, and does exactly what she likes, with no hesitation.

(threadfic here)

#Something something outrageous beauty standards and pressures something something depression and self isolation.#i'll be real i have a love hate relationship with this idea i love the concept but idk if it went the way i wanted it to #but ah well #its 4k so feels silly not to share it here #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #mdzs fanfiction #wangxian #wlw wangxian #wlwangxianweek #genderbend #cisswap wangxian #genderbent wangxian #wei wuxian #lan wangji #mdzs musings #bushy writing

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wangxianficrecs · 10 days

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💙 Caught in 4k by KizuKatana

🔒💙 Caught in 4k

by KizuKatana (@kizukatana)

E, Series, WIP, 184k, Wangxian

Summary: A night-hunt goes wrong, and Wei Wuxian is scapegoated for the death of the Jiang Sect Leader and the destroyed core of the Jiang Sect Heir. As punishment, his core is taken and given to Jiang Cheng, and he is stripped of his cultivation credentials and expelled from the sect. What everyone forgot was that Wei Wuxian was wearing the standard issue body camera that each cultivator wore on training missions and high-risk night-hunts. Struggling to make ends meet, Wei Wuxian finds his way to Caiyi Town with the doctor who performed the surgery, a partial core still secretly in place. His application to work at Cloud Recesses is summarily rejected by the hard-edged Second Jade of Lan after an unfortunate initial encounter. But things change when someone hacks into the Jiang systems and releases the footage of what happened. Kay's comments: The series is still a WIP, but the main story is complete! I am so weak for Kizu's modern AUs with cultivation, they are great. Especially the world building and how the cultivation society might function in a modern AU shines in this story. Definitely not a story for fans of the Jiang family, but a story for everyone who wants to see some retribution for the things Wei Wuxian went through. Here, Jiang Fengmian dies during a night-hunt accident where Jiang Cheng's golden core gets destroyed and Madam Yu makes Wei Wuxian give his golden core to him, unfortunately for her, his body-cam is still filming everything. Wei Wuxian finds himself taken in by Wen Qing and her family and we get the sweetest found family and Dadxian vibes here and then meets Lan Wangji as well, who's highly judgemental at first but soon finds himself drawn to Wei Wuxian as well. This story really got it all, the drama, the horny, the softness, the restitution & humor. Excerpt: Still Wei Wuxian forced himself to at least try one last time. “You could also interview me. Have me talk to your best talisman experts,” Wei Wuxian said, forcing himself to keep the desperation out of his voice. “Interviews are scheduled based on receipt of proper credentials and references.” “I don’t have any, at least not right now. But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t be a great teacher.” “No references, no interview.” “Come on. Look, ask me anything about talismans. You’re an experienced cultivator, right? So you must know enough to at least interview me to see if I know what I’m talking about.” “Simply ‘knowing about something’ is not sufficient. Our lecturers are renown cultivators, and masters in their fields. No references, no interview.” Wei Wuxian felt frustration well up in him, especially at the reminder that Lan Wangji didn’t see him as a cultivator. No one would, in his current condition. Why would they? He didn’t have a functional core, which was the main scale against which all cultivation efforts were measured. He thought he had done a good job of not getting his hopes up about the teaching position, but the suffocating feeling constricting his chest was calling him out for being a liar. He should have known better. Why did he never learn? Some people had luck on their said, but Wei Wuxian had never been one of them. “Right. Of course. Because it would be impossible for someone who wasn’t born to the fucking clan nobility to ever actually be good at something, and the cost of taking the mastery test makes sure that other people can’t do it!” Lan Wangji’s lips parted slightly, like he might say something, but his expression was as opaque and emotionless as before. Wei Wuxian didn’t need to sit around and listen to him defend the clan system. “Good to know that the Lan are just the same as all the other sects,” Wei Wuxian continued, his lips twisting into a sarcastic smile. “Thanks for making that clear.”

pov alternating, modern setting, modern with magic, yu ziyuan being an asshole, dysfunctional jiang family, jiang family bashing, canon divergence, golden core reveal, burial mounds ensemble as family, golden core transfer, golden core transfer fix-it, top lan wangji/bottom wei wuxian, dual cultivation, strangers to lovers, misunderstandings, meet ugly, families of choice, hurt/comfort, emotional hurt/comfort

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(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for this hard-working author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)

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wangxianficfinder · 29 days

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In the mood for...

March 28th

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1. Hi... Is there any wangxian fic in the potter world that you can recommend? I'm open to any fic, tags, dynamics etc.

Thanks in advance for answering my question. ☺️💕

are you asking for fics where characters make clay things or a Harry Potter fusion/crossover?

love potion no. 9 by ria_green (G, 2k, WangXian, Hogwarts, Oblivious WWX, Fluff and Humor, Amortentia, Patronus, Love Confessions, Fusion, POV Outsider, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions)

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2. hi do u hv outsider pov fics for wangxian like pls recommend all the ones u hv ty

the world is but a stage for the two of us by MandMandM (Not Rated, 10k, WIP, WangXian, Time Travel, Established Relationship, Shameless WangXian)

what builds a home by Stratisphyre (T, 46k, WangXian, MY & WWX, Canon Divergence, Adopted WWX, POV Multiple, warning for JGS behaving exactly as expected, child endangerment, Brother Feels, Minor Character Death)

he sang about the stars by nenyanaryavilya (M, 29k, LXC & LWJ, WangXian, Brotherhood, Growing Up Together, Canon Compliant, Canon-Typical Violence, Angst, Grief/Mourning, Canonical Character Death)

Su She Eats his Heart Out by KizuKatana (T, 16k, wangxian, modern, Guest-starring the belated but incendiary sexual awakening of LWJ, 3rd person pov, SS is hyperfixated on LWJ, LWJ does his best to pretend SS doesn't exist, WWX isn't even pretending he really doesn't notice SS exists, MM exists and is awesome, implied offscreen wangxian sex)

rerun from the outside by Eicas (T, 2k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Time travel, Crack, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, JC POV)

🔒 born under unlucky stars by RoseThorne (M, 1k, JZX & MXY, JZX & QS, WN & WQ, WWX & WQ, WangXian, Canonical Character Death, Ghosts, Souls, Implied/Referenced Sex, Brotherly Love, Anger, Spells & Enchantments, MXY Deserves Better, Revenge, POV MXY)

love - all by vastlyunknown (M, 18k, WangXian, Modern AU, Tennis AU, Time jumps)

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3. Fo you have ploty fics? Fics where the romance or relationship part isn't much in the front just a background thing in the story. I'm looking for fics where plot is given more priority. No modern au please.

We Meet at the Thousandth Step by Admiranda, Rynne (T, 258k, wangxian, CSSR/WCZ, WIP, Canon Divergence, No Sunshot Campaign, CSSR & WCZ Live, Rogue Cultivator WWX, Different First Meeting, Night Hunts, Genius WWX, Inventor WWX, Romance, Drama, Fluff, Strangers to married, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Everyone Lives AU, Developing Relationship, Minor Violence, Case Fic, Mystery, Flirting, WWX's Canon-Typical Flower Flirting, Arson, There Was Only One Bed, Getting Together, First Kiss, Meeting the Parents, Resolved Sexual Tension, Resolved Romantic Tension, WWX Is a Good Big Brother, New Relationship Bliss, Chinese Mythology & Folklore, Blood and Injury, Yiling siblings) Wei Ying & Lan Zhan's relationship develops as the story goes on (it hasn't been a huge focus yet) but it's plot-driven with case studies.

Bitter Plants Bearing Sweet Fruit by Kryal (T, 83k, wangxian, canon-typical horror elements, Worldbuilding, Desert, Misuse of Historic Setting, Original Character Death(s), Case Fic, aftermath of canon, Established Relationship, Nothing Explicit But Shameless Innuendo)

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4. Fo you have any fics where wwx has a personality like he has in twelve moons and a fortnight by Stiltonbasket ? People love making wwx shameless in their fics , but they make him shameless by today's time standards, which is pretty annoying and actually qi divination inducing, but in the novel wwx was shameless by the then time standards.

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5. hi an itmf request for fics similar to stolen fruit is the sweetest by mondengel. thank you so much for your hard work 🫡

A Baby Dragon’s Guide To Seducing Your Huli Jing by sweetlolixo (M, 102k, wangxian, fantasy au, dragon LWJ, fox WWX, younger LWJ, older WWX, fluff, humor, happy ending) Im not sure what theyre looking for in terms of similar but heres a few w a shameless Lan Zhan

Beautiful mess, a colourful wreck by covalentbonds (Not rated, 12k, wangxian, modern, rule 63, fluff & humor, mild smut, childhood friends, first meetings, evil vending machines)

a quest (for kisses) by kyoongs (G, 4k, wangxian, Post-Canon, Fluff, Humor, WWX being shameless WWX we love it, a little angst in the middle but squint and it's fluff again, kisses!! lots of kisses!!, wangxian are MARRIED and they have a SON)

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6. fic recs on wwx getting his old body back? thank uu

Wei Wuxian keeps / gets his OG body

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7. favourite bottom wwx fics? thanks ❤️

Closer than my hands have been by Spodumene (E, 5k, wangxian, post-canon, established relationship, rough sex, dom/sub undertones, consensual non-con, hair-pulling, face-fucking, bondage, spanking, cock slapping, jealousy, top drop)

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8. Hey there! I was wondering if you had recs for fics similar to Harmony between a qin and se by Alaceron. Ta!

Hey! I was #8 on the March 28th ITMF. The recs were wonderful! To clarify since you asked, I was looking for anything in with similar flavour, I did not think historical au, het wangxian, or non cultivation au were the core themes 🤦‍♂️

I was going by the feel of it, which is a tricky way to find fics. Must say you were spot on with Stilton's WIP. Thanks again!

does op mean like, historical setting with no cultivation or like.... het!wangxian? Wwx being successfully scheming? Anyways, here's a few I THINK op might like

When the Hills Are All Flat, and the Rivers Run Dry by stiltonbasket (G, 5k, WIP, WangXian, Historical, Royalty, Female WWX, Emperor LWJ, Identity Shenanigans, Parents LWJ and WWX, Crack Treated Seriously, Fluff and Humor, Love at First Sight, Happy Ending, Female LXC, Gender Changes)

The Lost Prince by hmmmmmmmm (E, 40k, WangXian, Royalty, Historical, No Powers, Bottom LWJ, Slow Burn, Prince WWX, Oral Sex)

❤️ nightingale Series by Moominmammashandbag (M, 62k, WIP, WangXian, XuanLi, LQY/JC, Pseudo-History, No power AU, Empires, Discussion Of Murder, aftermath of war, prisoner exchange, Grief/Mourning, LWJ POV, Angst, Emperor JZX, Imperial Advisor LWJ, widower LWJ, JYL is the Empress the world deserves, Happy Ending, POW WWX, Reunions, Fluff, Smut, Dysfunctional Family, Poetry, BAMF LWJ, emotional support goat, poetry as a weapon, Injury Recovery, Rehabilitation, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Body Image, Self-Esteem Issues, Married Life, Domestic Fluff, Childbirth)

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9. hii for itmf do you have any recs for fanfics from lan jingyi pov? could be with jingyi/jin ling but not necessarily just not with any other junior ship (smth like best friends forever by varnes)

tysm<;3 @r3n-vy

❤️ The One-Body Problem by metisket (T, 29k, LJY & WWX, LJY & LSZ, wangxian, possession, cohabitation, Mojo’s bookmark)

🔒 blue flies buzzing by RoseThorne (T, 2k, JL & LJY & OYZZ & LSZ, JC & WWX, wangxian, LSZ & WWX, LSZ & LWJ, LSZ & LXC, Gossip, Rumors, Mentioned Wen Remnants, Sect Leader Yao Bashing, JC & WWX Reconciliation, NHS is a Little Shit, POV LJY, POV Third Person, Threats, Justice, Cultivation Discussion Conferences, LWJ is LSZ’s Parent, LJY Being LJY, Podfic Welcome)

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10. Hi, i've seen how you help people find fanfictions and all, i was wondering if you can help me find a good Wangxian personality swap Au, if your up to it? Thank you

there is a fic where Lan Zhan was named Wei Wuxian, and Wei Ying was named Lan Zhan, which is the closed I've seen to a personality swap. I will look for it, but if anyone knows it, pls post the link! Also, there is a body swap fic, where they took on hints of each others personality. in that Wei Ying was hornier, and Lan Zhan was more ADHD coded , I'll have to look for that one too. I decided to comment in case I don't find any of these but someone else knows

Call Me By Your Name by DizziDreams (E, 52k, WangXian, Modern AU, America, University, Smut, Dubious Consent, Misunderstandings, Masturbation, Semi-Public Sex, Edging, names have been swapped, Mutual Pining, Pining while fucking) I think the first fic that was suggested for #10 (where lwj and wwx have each other's names) is the modern AU

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11. ur fav dad fics where wwx or lwj raises a-yuan? especially modern? thank uuu

my little love by mellowflicker (T, 54k, WangXian, Modern AU, Single Parent WWX, kindergarten teacher!lwj, Kid Fic, Hurt/Comfort, Domestic Fluff, Pining)

The stuffed bunny, the beautiful nephew, and other gifts from Lan Qiren by deliciousblizzardshark (G, 8k, LQR & WWX, wangxian, Modern, Single Parent WWX, Good Uncle LQR, Accidental Uncle Acquisition, Found Family, Fluff)

box your errors by mellowflicker (T, 42k, WangXian, Modern AU, single dad lwj, Domestic Fluff, Family Issues, Slow Burn, Kid Fic, let lwj have friends agenda, Hurt/Comfort, Pining)

Single Parent Lan Wangji / Single Parent Wei Wuxian

🧡 paint smears on sunny days by SnowshadowAO3 (E, 53k, WangXian, Comfort, Fluff and Smut, Everyone Is Alive, Modern AU, Dadji, Mutual Pining, Happy Ending, Brief Alcohol Mention, Masturbation, Blow Jobs, Hand Jobs, Accidentally co-parenting with your son's art teacher, Fatherhood)

Where’s Your Emergency? by trippednfell (M, 64k, WangXian, 911 Dispatcher WWX, Single dad LWJ, Kid fic, Modern AU, D&D Games, Angst with a happy ending)

Come Around and Stay by trippednfell (M, 160k, WangXian, NieLan, Slow Burn, Kid Fic, Found Family, Modern AU, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, PTSD, Blood and Injury, Dissociation, Angst with a Happy Ending, Musicals, POV Alternating, Baking, Yunmeng reconciliation (eventually), Friend Zoning, Literal Sleeping Together, Hurt/Comfort, Panic Attacks)

for you, andante by xuanxuanwo (ostentatiouslyrealistic) (T, 35k, WangXian, Modern AU, Music, Musicians, Pianist LWJ, Guitarist WWX, Kid Fic Coffee Shops, Bookstores, Existential Crisis, Unrelated JGY & QS, Friendship, Romance, Light Angst, Happy Ending)

💖 The Simplest Way Forward by harriet_vane (E, 71k, wangxian, modern, accidental baby acquisition, slow burn, pining, [Podfic of] The Simplest Way Forward by knight_tracer)

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12. heyyy admins! what are some of your favorite wwx and junior fics?

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13. ITMF white haired wwx!!

🔒归心似箭 | Longing to Go Home by dragongirlG (M, 7k, LSZ & WWX, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Aging, Aged WWX, Grief/Mourning, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Family Feels, Diaspora Feels (displacement), Dramatic Irony, Secret Identity, Pining, Brief Reference To Suicidal Thoughts, Hopeful Ending, [Podfic] 归心似箭 | Longing to Go Home by Koontyme)

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14. (ITMF) Thanks so much for all that you do! I've just finished rereading And Miles To Go Before I Sleep by glitterbombshell and I've got a hankering for more LWJ vs LXC or Lan comeuppance or even Lan bashing (I have checked that tag). I'm craving Lan angst (even LWJ as long as WWX ends up happy). Bonus if we see them suffer (vs LWJ just going nutso and killing everyone off screen). Thank you, thank you. 💕💕 @ck90

🔒💖 When has silence saved anyone? by Vrishchika (T, 6k, wangxian, LSZ & WWX & LWJ, post-canon, LXC critical, family feels, angry LWJ & LSZ, LXC gets scolded)

this blood in my mouth by ShanaStoryteller (Not Rated, 3k, WangXian, LSZ & WWX & LWJ, Post-Canon, POV LXC)

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15. hiii itmf idol x fan wangxian aus preferably idol!wwx but the opposite works as well @nalalie

All My Songs I Wrote to Find You by Winxhelina (T, 8k, wangxian, Social Media, Bullying, Immortal WangXian, Scheming NHS, Musicians, Explicit Language, Kissing, Making Out) a bit of a twist as they're immortals who got separated in this one

The Ties that Bind Us by Dyapaya (G, 10k, wangxian, JC & WWX, JYL/JZX, JC/NHS, Idols AU, idol WWX, fanboy LWJ, College/University, Modern, Obsessive Behavior, Misunderstandings, Twitter Fic, Stalker)

If I Can't Have You by Leffy (E, 47k, wangxian, Modern, Actors AU, Mutual Pining, Misunderstandings, Slow Burn, Intercrural Sex, Frottage, Masturbation, Blow Jobs)

time of fate is passing; or: The Great and Lonely Fudanshi; or: How Lan Zhan Defeated Heterosexuality and Learned to Love Again by verseau (E, 9k, WangXian, Modern AU, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Fandom Allusions & Cliches & References, Don't Take Seriously, Idol WWX, Fudanshi LWJ)

The Brightest Star In His Sky by Liebing (M, 5k, WangXian, Modern AU, Idol LWJ, past relationship, Break Up, Angst, Mutual Pining, Fluff, soft, Happy Ending, Background XiYao, idol MY, WWX POV, Background ChengQing, pregnant WQ, Making Up, concert setting, Song writer WWX, LSZ is an unseen matchmaker, Jealous WWX, Hand Jobs, Kissing, Love Confessions, Dominant LWJ, Soulmates)

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16. I just read “a grave is all too weak a thing by Reverie (cl410)“ and now I’m hungry for multi-chapter fics with a similar premise. Does anybody know of anymore fics where others (this one has Jin Ling’s parents & Wen Qing) were resurrected along with WWX? (Like this one has them in their og bodies and even clothes so I guess their resurrections followed Untamed rules) And if no one can find any, please use this as a prompt. (The ficlet is in a prompts playlist anyway) @omgnectarina

a bird in your teeth by Eevee (ChaosBitch) (E, 61k, JYL/XY, wangxian, Let XY have nice things, Let JYL get some good dick, (sorry JZX I know you did your best), Past JYL/JZX, Past JYL/MM, All of the sex in this fic is consensual, But one of the participants IS a fierce corpse, JYL POV, Minor Character Death, I feel like this fic turned out surprisingly soft, but XY still does some onscreen murders, Implied/Referenced Torture, Mention of JGS's canon behavior, Mentions of XY's canon behavior, Also Wangxian is not the main pairing, but they're definitely here and stupider in love than ever, Angst, past XY/JGY, Hopeful Ending) This has XY bringing JYL back as a fierce corpse & WWX getting resurrected earlier than in canon. Not sure if it quite fits the request, but it involves someone other than WWX being resurrected, so I'm throwing it in

the problem with authority by isabilightwood (M, 139k, WangXian, JYL/WQ, QS & JYL, Canon Divergence, Sacrifice Summon, only the summoner sticks around, slightly dark JYL, WQ lives, Slow Burn, Angst with a Happy Ending, Chronic Pain, Mild Sexual Content, Switch Wangxian, WWX has to be resurrected & LWJ find out before they can interact, but there’s plenty of wangxian once they do, manipulative relationship) different summon followed by eventual wwx summon.

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17. Hello, I’ve never asked this blog something before but I believe this falls under the “In the Mood for a Fic” catagory?

Any fics where it shows Lan Zhan’s pov as he realizes that Wei Ying has returned (hearing him play Wangxian)? @xinilia

🔒The Price of Old Wishes by SoManyJacks (E, 67k, WangXian, Minor canon divergence, Angst, POV LWJ, Depression, Suicidal Thoughts, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, Slow Burn, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, semi-verbal!LWJ, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Suicide) The events of the novel from LWJ's pov

🔒 a song of joy and regret by RoseThorne (G, <1k, wangxian, longing, grief/mourning, regret, crying, devotion, resurrection, dreams, angst, LWJ pov)

🔒 Season of Resurrection by Pyrrti (G, 1k, wangxian, pre-relationship, reunions, sky children of the light fusion, multiple POV, LSZ pov, LWJ pov, WWX pov)

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If you didn’t get an answer to your ask here, don’t forget to make use of @mdzs-kinkmeme and MDZS KINK MEME on Dreamwidth. Authors actually do use them for ideas. You may get what you order!***Your prompt doesn’t have to be kink! Fluff, crack, whatever - it’s all good!***

#wangxian #mdzs #wangxian fic recs #i'm in the mood for a fic #the untamed #wangxian fic search #wangxianficfinder #long post

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redcirqus · 3 months

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Honestly, WangXian are my relationship goals. But maybe they set the standard a little too high!

#wangxian #lan wangji #wei wuxian #wei ying #lan zhan #mdzs #mdzs fanart #mo dao zu shi

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yumemiruuuu · 2 months

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Last Valentine, I spent time baking cake

This Valentine, I spent time preparing a bunny WangXian artwork because MXTX raised my standards.

Nah, there’s actually nothing too deep. I just wanted to draw WangXian as bunnies because I canonically can’t draw people :p

#they cuddle #and more… because they’re rabbits….#and everyday means every. day.#😇😇😇😇🐇😔🥹😇😇#wangxian #wangxian fanart #wei ying #wei wuxian #lan zhan #lan wangji #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #mdzs fanart #mdzs #魔道祖师

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canary3d-obsessed · 9 months

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Restless Rewatch: The Untamed, Episode 38 part two

(Masterpost) (Pinboard) (whole thing on AO3)

Warning! Spoilers for All 50 Episodes!

Shopping and Night Hunting

Xue Yang convinces Xiao Xingchen to take him along as his night hunting assistant, and the Empathy session jumps forward. The next thing we see is a whole street full of dead people with Xiao Xingchen standing over them with his sword, while Xue Yang looks on approvingly.

Xiao Xingchen explains that the whole village was Puppets, with no living people. Dude. DUDE. Even by the standards of a world that contains Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen, you are way too trusting of shit that people tell you.

A-Qing checks the corpses and they have white eyes, which makes her think they might really be puppets. Xue Yang makes some insane faces just so we know he's not actually turned over a new leaf.

Next we see Xiao Xingchen trying to buy potatoes (this is fantasy China, not pre-Qing historical China; they can have all the potatoes they want) and a vendor telling him to scram. Is Xiao Xingchen just asking for free potatoes? Is this the first time he’s realized that doesn’t generally work?. Xue Yang menaces the vendor by loudly stabbing a potato, and then calls Xiao Xingchen back over.

The vendor gasps and fills up their basket with food, and Xiao Xingchen smiles because he thinks that his buddy silently convinced the guy to give them food by...being nice? Unclear.

I Ain’t Gonna Play Yi City

Next we see ultrahot Song Lan arriving at the gate of Yi City, where A-Qing is happily picking up a money purse. ...whose? Do enough living people come through here that they just casually drop money on the ground? Song Lan twigs to her not being blind pretty quickly, although for politeness sake he lets her continue to pretend.

Song Lan asks if she's seen a white-clad sword-bearing daoist priest, and she quizzes him to make sure he's a good guy before helping him. Her entire set of security questions:

1. are you friends? 2. How tall is he? 3. is he hot? 4. What does his sword look like?

If this is not a mistranslation, these are not very good questions to ask if you want someone to believe you’re blind, incidentally.

Song Lan's answers:

1. ............... .... ...yes 2. me and him match like a set of salt and pepper shakers 3. like, SO hot 4. It’s named Shuanghua (”splendid frost,” per Viki), as all True Sword Fans know

(more after the cut!)

These answers are correct, pretty much, so he passes the security check and she leads him into the city. He comes carrying his sword Fuxue (”blowing away snow,” roughly), his horsetail flail, and his messy, messy feelings, which are going to be his undoing.

They walk through the super-abandoned town, which has paper decorations hanging up. These paper decorations are really well made, considering that they are still there when WangXian roll up several years later.

Song Lan has a little crisis trying to psych himself up to see Xiao Xingchen. Bro, you have been walking around looking for him for literally YEARS, and you haven't figured out what to say yet? Contrast with Lan Wangji, who went for the wrist-grab mere moments after discovering that Wei Wuxian was back, and followed it up by carrying him off to his bed.

Enemy Mine

While he's dithering, Xue Yang comes back, and A-Qing hides while Song Lan stands there being shocked.

We're treated to the Xue Yang version of sweet banter, where he tricks Xiao Xingchen into picking a short straw for chores, and then tells him he was tricking him because he was blind.

They have a laugh together and Xue Yang is handsy with XXC, causing Song Lan to clench his fist so strongly that we can hear his knuckles cracking.

You knew your ex was going to be at the party; if you can’t handle seeing him with a new guy you shouldn’t have come.

Then he sees Xue Yang go out to get groceries, and he grips his flail so hard that his palm starts bleeding. That sentence is about a weapon, not about his dick, incidentally.

More Empathy

But then empathy skips ahead, showing Xiao Xingchen stabbing Song Lan, while Wei Wuxian's hands shake and he says "Song Lan, don't!" like he’s in the audience of a horror movie. A-Qing, in the present, drools up some blood, which is pretty normal for her, TBH.

The Lan kids are alarmed and want to wake them up, but Jin Ling says to hang in there for a bit more. For a kid, Jin Ling isn’t bad at wielding authority.

A distraught Jingyi insists, however, so Jin Ling starts ringing the bell, and Wei Wuxian opens his eyes but doesn't come out of Empathy. He does stop skipping ahead, though, so we go back to Song Lan & Xue Yang's confrontation, which is possibly the best fight in the whole dang show.

We’re Gonna Get It On ‘Cause We Don’t Get Along

Xue Yang comes back from the grocery store to find Song Lan perched on his roof like a sexy vengeful raven. Xue Yang greets him sexily politely and with no anxiety at all, and Song Lan attacks.

Song Lan has had literally years to settle his mind and get his emotions under control and...he has not done that. Like, at all.

He could have cleared this whole situation up with about four words to Xiao Xingchen, and they could have fought Xue Yang together. But he was so unready to hug it out with his ex that he opted to face Xue Yang all on his own. Dumb. Ass.

Contrast this with Lan Wangji, who always talked to Wei Wuxian, no matter how estranged they had become. Trying to stab him counts as talking. And also contrast this with Jiang Cheng, who hashed everything out with Wei Wuxian in an excruciating public confrontation, after which they teamed up to save their nephew. Neither of those guys let their ooky feelings stand in the way of a reconnection, and their outcomes were way, way, way better than Song Lan’s.

Xue Yang and Song Lan get busy fighting, and Song Lan starts asking what the fuck Xue Yang is playing at, how long has he been deceiving Xiao Xingchen, etc.

Xue Yang is a perceptive guy, and he points out that Song Lan is holding back because he wants to ask these questions. He’s absolutely right; Song Lan wants to feel indignant and righteous, partly because he knows he himself has mistreated Xiao Xingchen. He’s putting himself in the role of Xiao Xingchen’s protector, when he doesn’t actually have that relationship with him any more.

I love this fight sequence for two reasons. First, because it showcases the actors doing a lot of moves themselves, and they both look amazing and move beautifully. (OP has slowed most of these gifs down quite a bit to avoid giving everybody a migraine, incidentally--the camera operator was moving around as much as the actors in these shots)

Second, because a lot of story happens in this fight; the dynamic between them, as two people with a very complex mutual hatred, is played out in their moves. Song Lan's moves are all strong attacks, expressing his anger and frustration, while Xue Yang’s are mainly defensive, avoidant, and slippery, because he is more interested in hurting Song Lan with words than with his blade at this point. He knows he has an unbeatable advantage up his sleeve, so he’s not particularly worried, even when Song Lan lands a couple of hits.

Xue Yang lays it all out for Song Lan, explaining that Xiao Xingchen, being blind, relies on his sword to point toward resentful energy. Hey, isn't that what Wei Wuxian's Compass of Evil does? So WWX only needs that thing because he can't carry a sword? That...actually makes sense. Anyway, Xue Yang figured out if he cuts people's tongues out, Shuanghua can't tell living people from monsters, which is so awesome and fun for Xue Yang.

Song Lan starts to lose his composure and calls Xue Yang a “villain,” which leads Xue Yang to mock him for his weaksauce cussing ability.

Xue Yang: You educated people have a disadvantage when cursing someone out. Song Lan: Eat a bag of dicks, fuckstick.

Then he criticizes Xue Yang for taking advantage of Xiao Xingchen's blindness.

He gets a couple of licks in but then Xue Yang stops and points out that Xiao Xingchen is only blind because of giving his eyes to Song Lan.

This stops Song Lan in his tracks; I am not sure if he already knew that’s where his eyeballs came from, or if he thought it was a coincidence that Xiao Xingchen became blind after he, Song Lan, got new eyeballs. Then Xue Yang challenges Song Lan's standing to be fighting on Xiao Xingchen's behalf, reminding him that he's not actually Xiao Xingchen's friend. These are the same tactics that Jin Guangyao will later use on righteous, insecure Jiang Cheng.

Back when Xue Yang killed Song Lan's sect/temple buddies, Song Lan blamed Xiao Xingchen, and Xue Yang says now that that was his plan; he killed them to turn Song Lan against Xiao Xingchen.

It totally worked. Song Lan said that they should never see each other again, and Xiao Xingchen took it to heart and fucked off forever - after giving Song Lan his eyes. Contrast this with Wei Wuxian, who stuck by Jiang Cheng despite being blamed & choked by him after the Lotus Pier massacre.

Despite all this emotional turmoil, Song Lan is holding his own...until Xue Yang pulls out his secret weapon; half of a yin tiger seal.

He starts hitting Song Lan with corpse poison and resentment blasts and very quickly has him on the ropes.

He finishes up by cutting his tongue out. Yikes.

At this point it’s clear that Xue Yang was never in any serious danger; this was his plan for Song Lan all along. Song Lan goes to attack Xue Yang but now that he’s been modded, Splendid Frost thinks he’s a zombie, so Xiao Xingchen comes sailing in and stabs him.

Song Lan tries to raise his sword to XXC's fingers so he can identify himself, but at the last moment his eyes turn solid black and he drops the sword. Does that mean Xue Yang stuck a nail in his head already? *shrug*

Xue Yang and Xiao Xingchen head back into the coffin house -- seriously, why do they live there instead of one of the many actual houses in this town? -- and leave Song Lan lying in the street, with A-Qing, who saw the whole thing, hiding behind a hay stack.

Xue Yang Must Die...eventually

After some more bell ringing, Wei Wuxian emerges from Empathy, pretty overwhelmed.

He gets up and goes over to Xiao Xingchen's coffin and looks closely at the wound on his neck, understanding that XXC killed himself, and why.

His face, in this moment. Suicide isn’t something he expected to have in common with his uncle.

He tells the kids and A-Qing to stay in the coffin house; he won't explain what he saw, except to say that Xue Yang must die. Then he goes off to kill Xue Yang, by which I mean to assemble his Xue-Yang killing team, rather than try to take him mano a mano like Song Lan did.

The first order of business is to finish rebooting Song Lan, which he does by pulling the second nail out of his head like he should have done four hours ago.

Note that Wen Ning and Song Lan were fighting for the ENTIRE time Wei Wuxian was doing Empathy. Corpses don’t get tired, I guess.

As soon as the nail comes out of his head, Song Lan quiets down, looking bereft, and crouches on the ground to try to reassemble his shattered consciousness. Unlike Wen Ning, he doesn’t have to bake in a cave for a month to achieve this.

We get a nice shot of Wei Wuxian, Song Lan, and Wen Ning looking like the cultivation world’s handsomest goth band.

Next, Lan Wangji cuts open Xue Yang's shirt so he can yoink his spirit-trapping bag, which he then tosses to Wei Wuxian.

Now Xue Yang is the one who's overly emotional.

Wei Wuxian, despite being very upset by what he saw in Empathy, is completely cool and in control of himself now, because that's just how he is in a fight. (Unless you kill his sister. That gets him very emotional, but the emotion is rage, at least initially, so it’s not a safe tactic.)

Lan Wangji gets in another poke with Bichen while Xue Yang is distracted.

Camera operator: Spare me!

Xue Yang decides to take his ball amulet and go home, disappearing into the fog while Wei Wuxian keeps talking smack at him.

Holy Abrupt Episode Ending, Batman!

#the untamed #the untamed gifs #restless rewatch the untamed #ep38 #canary3d-original #yi city

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