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#and i just want wwx to have the things he wants so i say again. is it so much to ask that jc and lwj have a sleeve slapfight????
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For the Bingo, Wei Wuxian!
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Almost bingo, but I nonetheless have to respect the great interpretations of his character I've seen...
In all seriousness, though... where do I even start with Wei Wuxian? He's my favourite MXTX character, and MXTX has a lot of good characters. He's the favourite protagonist I've read about in a long time, because he's just so incredibly vibrant and makes you enjoy every second he's on the page. He grabbed me by the proverbial horns and started running, and I’ve been caught up in MDZS ever since – he’s one of the main reasons MDZS is my favourite of the three novels (SVSSS is great too though), even.
I love his confidence in himself and his choices, I love his capability and intelligence, I love his kindness and empathy and the way he does do the right thing but it’s not because of any internalised issues! There are so many tormented protagonists out there who constantly throw themselves in front of the axe because they think they deserve it or shouldn’t live or that other people are inherently worth more than them, and I love how Wei Wuxian is not like that – his kindness and righteousness don’t come from a place of self-hatred, or low self worth or esteem, it comes from a strong moral core and an unshakeable conviction that what he’s doing is the right thing, and he’s going to do it. Like I said in a previous post, the thing he and the narrative focus on is the action he takes itself, not the price of it. He’s such a bright character, and one of the reasons fanon Wei Wuxian bothers me so much is that he takes all that away. 
And I love how so much of his personality and character comes, again, from that conviction that what he’s doing is right, and the choices he makes to do that. That’s another thing that bothers me with fanon Wei Wuxian, particularly the morally grey takes. I’ve spoken before about how some characters are more interesting when they’re morally grey, and how some aren’t, and it depends on how they’re written. And Wei Wuxian falls staunchly in the second category. He’s defined so much by his moral core, and taking that away in fanon takes away that core (haha) aspect from him, and I feel diminishes him so much.
Which is not to say that he doesn't make mistakes throughout the novel, or that he’s been completely perfect, morally, throughout the novel (...despite what I circled). Look at the Sunshot Campaign, for example (I’m not really sure if I count Nightless City, he wasn’t really in the right state of mind to be making active choices there?). But he learns from that, he recognises he went too far, he doesn’t do it again. People can make mistakes and learn from them, and that does not make them morally grey. Again, there are so many protagonists and characters who are morally grey and who are angsty and who are all that, and Wei Wuxian is not one of them. He’s so unique to me as a protagonist, and such a genuinely good person, 
And additionally, I just love his agency throughout the book, and the theme of choices with his character. He goes through so much, but time and time again he defines himself by his own choices, not the tragedy he’s gone through. I spoke a bit about how he parallels Xue Yang in that regard – they have a similar childhood, but what they choose to do is what separates and defines them. He has so many opportunities and excuses to become evil, or try to take revenge on everyone, or get consumed by resentment, but he doesn’t do that at all. And I love the way he has and makes choices within the story – he’s not pushed around by the narrative to the point where he only has one thing he can do, and that again allows for such a vibrant, defined character, and I love that so, so much.
He’s such a good character and such a good person and I love him :)
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llycaons · 1 year
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this is going to sound so weird but I personally as a bi person wish so badly that wwx was out/explicitly into men in his first life because I think it would be a harder-hitting story. he’s already being marginalized and (unfairly!!) scapegoated because of classism and mob mentality and the corruption and greed of the great sects. if this cultivation world also associated biphobia/homophobia with deviance and horror, and then the reveal comes later that he’s innocent of the accusations leveled at him, I think it would genuinely be a more powerful story. it doesn't have to be immediate wholesale disgust either, we saw how the sects were very happy to praise him for his accomplishments while knowing he was a son of a servant and a demonic cultivator, then turning on him and using any weapon they could to discredit and villainize him as soon as they needed to. it would just be par for the course.
I don’t like how the novel handles homophobia or internalized homophobia, but I actually disagree with automatically eliminating it from fantasy media, and I think it could be a meaningful vehicle to explore sexuality and identity, and the corruption and hypocrisy of the characters in power. it would be actually making a statement about the nature of bi/homophobia within that setting aside from a few disconnected, cartoonishly stereotypical statements by other characters and the godawful treatment of mxy, both of which wwx literally does not react to at all
wwx feels so disconnected from his sexuality throughout the entire story, especially in the novel (ironically enough), and I think discussing/acknowledging how people react to him in the narrative more would just have been a portrayal of a bisexual or gay man that lgbt people themselves could more easily connect with? obviously it was censored, but I think the drama tried to lean in this direction, especially by giving wwx that line after patting down xy. I also want to see the flipside - his sexuality bringing him joy and connecting him to a community and loved ones. which I think cql tries to do too, with nhs, and obviously with the romantic subtext of his relationship with lwj and how much peace and joy that relationship brings him
I get why people maybe wouldn’t want to see this and enjoy that wwx’s sexuality is unconnected from the rest of his very tragic and painful plot, but it just rings a little hollow for me. personally
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tavina-writes · 3 months
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I have been pondering the recent rash of "post canon NHS and LXC would never ever reconcile bc even if NHS wanted to have Er-ge back, LXC would never ever forgive him for [insert reason of choice here]" type of posts + the "do you think NHS thinks very hard about how much Da-ge would hate him for becoming [the way that he is now] by choosing to seek vengeance" type of posts, and I think fundamentally the reason these posts do not jive with me is that we have no indication, in the show or in the book that uh, NHS gives a shit about either of these things very much anymore?
The first type of post is predicated on the assumption that LXC's forgiveness or lack thereof some some sort of either extension of mercy (which NHS obviously does not deserve <- or so assumes the post) or some form of punishment (which is obviously the correct answer) but the last scene we get with NHS both in the book and the show make no indication that this is a thing he wants? Or cares about? Book NHS has *sauntered off* with his little hat trophy and Show NHS walks off screen after saying something along the lines of "What is my responsibility I won't shirk, what isn't my responsibility I won't care about." Now, arguably, show NHS is having a worse go of it emotionally, but shows no real inclination or interest in either apologies or making up and being friends again with LWJ, LXC, WWX, or other people. Book NHS seems pretty pleased with the outcome of the events as a whole?
The second type of post is predicated on the fact that NHS finds Da-ge's judgement a horrible burden to bear at this stage in the game, which! He might! But again especially in the book we get no indication that he has any fucks left to give about what Da-ge may or may not have wanted since Da-ge is dead. In both the show and the book, NHS went about revenge taking very specific and complicated actions with the desired result of JGY dying, but he certainly took the scenic route getting there, which, he didn't need to? As I've written about before, JGY didn't see him as a threat. If he wanted JGY dead he could've arranged to poison JGY's tea like, 10 years ago and had done with it instead of his complicated Rube Goldberg life ruining scheme. If he is still sickly anxious about how Da-ge might feel about the scheming and the trouble causing and the whole everything, that's certainly possible, but he must've decided it was worth it anyway regardless of that, and I don't know that it necessarily would've changed just because he got what he wanted at the end.
Overall, I think as a fandom we think a lot about like "will and should this relationship ever be repaired or similar to how it used to be?" and "does this character deserve/not deserve the forgiveness of people they've hurt or abandoned?" which can be interesting questions! I do feel like these are often taken as "is a character morally good (deserves to be forgiven) or morally bad (deserves to rot in hell forever never forgiven ever ever)" and based entirely on if Character is the meta writer's blorbo. Under this paradigm the concept of "Character did bad things to get exactly what they wanted and were happy about that and no relationships were ever repaired and the emotional detachment of people they used to care about no longer matters to them!" is uncomfortable.
It's just that for NHS I've increasingly come to the conclusion that canonically, I don't think NHS thinks he has anything to apologize for, nor is he super interested in being forgiven! He got what he wanted the way he wanted it to happen. Which is potentially supremely unsatisfying but I think is very sexy as a narrative concept.
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gravitywonagain · 4 months
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Inquiring Minds
holy shit, i finished a thing. well, a draft of a thing, but still counts!
based on this post about wwx being just dead enough be susceptible to the compulsion of inquiry
--
It was, in retrospect, the stupidest possible way to be found out. Wei Wuxian will readily admit that. Unfortunately, the level of stupidity was not a determining factor for the level of reality — as was the case for so much of Wei Wuxian’s life.
It all happened because one of the two dozen Jin disciples who bothered to show up to the war got a little drunk and a lot prideful and ended up starting a fight he couldn’t finish. Or, that was the going theory, anyway. The Jin leadership — such as it was — wanted an investigation done. As if they had nothing better to do. As if there weren’t reasons to be conserving spiritual power and not wasting it playing Inquiry for a guy who had decided to pick a fight — hopefully, hopefully it was a fight — with a Nie disciple who, granted, did not have the startling musculature of some of her shixiongs, but was still a fucking Nie disciple! 
This guy was not worth their time. This guy was not worth Lan Zhan’s time. Or his attention, or his spiritual power, or the stress it would put on his guqin strings— okay, maybe Wei Wuxian should have taken a moment to purge some of his resentment before walking into the tent. 
But he didn’t. This is important. 
Because then Lan Zhan began to play. 
And there was this strange… tugging sensation in the pit of Wei Wuxian’s gut, right where his golden core was supposed to be, pulling him toward Lan Zhan, or toward the empty space in front of Lan Zhan. 
Wei Wuxian shouldn’t have ignored it. He gets that now. He does. But he always wanted to be near Lan Zhan, and his body had been doing all kinds of weird shit since he’d had his core cut out, and who was to say this wasn’t just another weird side effect. 
Well. It was. A weird side effect. After a fashion. 
But that’s not the point! 
He should have noticed then. He should have left then. But he didn’t. 
The melody changed and the tugging sensation stopped. Which was great! 
Until something else started. It felt like a kind of drunkenness, light and hazy in his head, loose around his tongue. Three or four bowls in. 
He shook himself to dislodge it, but the motion only drew a sharp glare from Jiang Cheng. 
The tent was full of spectators. At least two representatives from each major clan were present, plus several “close friends” of the victim -- like four of the fifteen total Jin disciples -- who probably just wanted something else to do outside of eat, sleep, and fight. Wei Wuxian couldn’t blame them, exactly, war was remarkably boring most of the time, but it was getting awfully stuffy in there. 
Lan Zhan changed the melody again, something almost lexical about it. Wei Wuxian could almost hear the question being asked, even before Zewu Jun’s voice chimed in, translating for anyone who didn’t know the qin language — which was pretty much everyone else in the tent besides the Twin Jades — “What is your name?” 
Wei Wuxian caught his own response between his lips, pressing them together tightly, as the guqin sounded three distinct notes which Zewu Jun reported as Jin Zixin. 
So, good. It was the right guy. That was great. Nothing weird at all. 
He should have left then. He didn’t. 
Lan Zhan played again, and again Wei Wuxian thought he understood the phrase, the question, even before Zewu Jun said for the tent, “How did you die?”
Wei Wuxian felt the answer fly to the tip of his tongue and bit his teeth around it, through it. His cheek bled with the force of keeping quiet. 
It was weird. So weird. But maybe, Wei Wuxian justified to himself, maybe it was just an effect of holding a secret inside for so long and having someone actually ask the question out loud. Maybe, it was just the same automatic reaction of answering with your name when someone asked for it. Maybe he was just too fucking tired, and the resentment under his skin just wanted something to laugh at, something to entertain itself with. Like the five of ten Jins standing in the back of the tent. War was boring, okay?
The notes from Lan Zhan’s guqin hung in the air, resonant and waiting. The moment seemed to stretch out too long. It dragged and Wei Wuxian gradually felt the words stop fighting him to escape. 
But the Jin ghost didn’t answer either. 
When Lan Zhan played the same phrase over — “How did you die?” echoed on Zewu Jun’s tongue — the compulsion was much stronger. This time it was like Wei Wuxian could feel Lan Zhan’s spiritual power pouring through him; the strongest of wines, several jars of it. 
He couldn’t fight it. 
His mouth opened. 
I fell. I fell. I fell. 
“I fell.”
All eyes in the tent turned to him. 
Jiang Cheng’s elbow caught him in the ribs. He didn’t even bother to glare. He said, “Not you, Idiot.” 
The qin sounded and everybody looked back to Lan Zhan and Zewu Jun, waiting to hear the Jin disciple’s answer. 
Zewu Jun hesitated for the barest of moments, stuttering into the start of his translation before finding the confidence of his voice once more, recounting whatever it was that the ghost had strummed out. 
Wei Wuxian didn’t hear a word he said. He was, instead, pierced on two sides. 
On one: Jiang Cheng muttered to himself, “Wait,” and then his eyes went wide as he looked back at Wei Wuxian. 
On the other: Lan Zhan’s fingers froze above the strings of his guqin and he turned to stare over his shoulder at Wei Wuxian with something like horrified understanding dawning within his gaze. 
Wei Wuxian finally realized he should fucking leave. Immediately. 
He wanted to run. He knew better. Knew what that would look like. 
Instead, he was going to simply walk out of this tent as he had walked out of so many already during this campaign. Gravel crunched under his heel as he turned. 
But his brother knew him too well. Jiang Cheng’s hand clamped tight around Wei Wuxian’s bicep, his grip unyielding. With his golden core, Wei Wuxian might have been able to break it. But the real bitch of it was that it was his golden core that was holding him in place. 
Jiang Cheng tensed as if readying for a fight, but Wei Wuxian already knew how that fight would end. So he let himself be restrained. 
He turned back to face the Inquiry. 
Lan Zhan was still staring at him when Zewu Jun finished speaking. He was still so stuck in place that his brother had to prompt him into finishing the ritual. Which he did, with all the grace and skill expected of him. He really was just so beautiful to watch. 
All the while, Wei Wuxian listened to the music and bit through his tongue to keep it silent. The questions continued to drag at him -- “Do you know who killed you?” Wen Chao. “Do you have any last requests?” To leave this fucking tent. -- though the pressure to answer eased significantly as the Jin ghost became less stubborn about it. Wei Wuxian settled for reciting the answers to them in his head until they no longer felt pressed against the thin seam of his mouth. 
It took approximately sixteen-hundred years. 
All seven Jin disciples supporting the war effort left the tent after the ghost had recounted his final moments. The attempted sexual assault was not unexpected, judging by their faces, but still disappointing to hear about. Clearly not the entertainment they were hoping for. Luckily for Wei Wuxian, they were apparently too wrapped up in their Jin nonsense to realize new entertainment was fidgeting in the corner and trying not to sever the tip of his tongue completely. 
The Nie, represented by Nie Mingjue and Nie Huaisang, left shortly after the ritual concluded. If Nie Mingjue had to tug his brother away, Wei Wuxian was too busy keeping his mouth shut to comment on it. 
And then there were just the four of them. Plus the corpse. But they were like six months into a war, so the corpse didn’t actually seem to bother any of them. It hadn’t even started to smell yet. It was still pretty intact, too, and now that it was verifiably a criminal, Wei Wuxian wondered idly if the Jin would let him use it in their next battle. Probably not. 
His idle wondering ceased abruptly as his brother’s fingers bit deeper into the meat of his arm. 
“Wei Wuxian,” he said, all of his surely filial worry for his gege boiling over into a spitting, incandescent fury. He never had to say he loved his brother, Wei Wuxian could always tell. It was the teeth gnashing that gave him away. “What the fuck do you mean you fell?” 
Right. 
Wei Wuxian played it as cool as he could with a definitely-not-bleeding tongue. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Jiang Cheng.” He shrugged, but his arm didn’t move very far. 
“You answered Inquiry,” said Lan Zhan. Succinct as ever. 
“No!” Wei Wuxian said, maybe a little too loud, but not at all childishly. 
Zewu Jun narrowed his eyes and pulled out his xiao. Wei Wuxian tried not to flinch about it, he did. But Zewu Jun only played a short, non-Inquiry melody, and a shimmering, blue barrier manifested around the interior of the tent. 
“No,” Wei Wuxian said again, this time at a totally normal volume. “I was just… messing around. You know how I do that, Lan Zhan. Always a rule breaker.” He grinned, desperately trying to play it all off. Realizing faster and faster how very badly this was going for him. 
Lan Zhan surprised him, then, saying, “Not when it matters.” 
“What?”
“Wei Ying doesn’t break rules when they matter.” 
Wei Wuxian didn’t know where the fuck that was coming from. But he couldn’t say he hated it. 
Except that he did, because it was going to be a problem for this whole I’m just a silly rascal defense he was setting up. 
Jiang Cheng still hadn’t let go of his arm. His fingernails were starting to split the fabric of his sleeve. And worse, his eyebrows were scrunched together in the way they do when he’s thinking through all the angles of a problem. 
Zewu Jun still had his xiao in hand, and he was looking at Wei Wuxian like he was deciding whether to perform an exorcism or an execution. 
But Lan Zhan… Lan Zhan hadn’t moved from his seat on the mat. He had turned his body so that he was facing Wei Wuxian, giving him his full attention, and was looking up at him with… pain in his eyes. Shining, wet pain. 
“You died?” he asked. “Are you dead?”
“I don’t…” Wei Wuxian trailed off. He couldn’t find the words. 
He didn’t know. Which was, possibly, not the best sign. 
“I can’t be dead,” he said, looking over at Zewu Jun, Jiang Cheng, then back to Lan Zhan. “Can I?”
Zewu Jun, still wary, said, “You responded to the compulsion in Inquiry. Inquiry is a song that speaks to and compels answers from the dead. It does not generally work on the living.” 
“Well--” Wei Wuxian started, defensive and scared. But again, he didn’t really know where to go with that. 
“Where were you, Wei Wuxian?” Jiang Cheng asked him. “Why didn’t you meet me at the bottom of the hill?” 
Lan Zhan and Zewu Jun shared a look. They didn’t seem to know what Jiang Cheng was talking about. But Wei Wuxian really, really, didn’t want to get into that whole mess. If anyone was going to see right through him and his flimsy tale about suddenly remembering the location of Baoshan Sanren’s mountain, it would be Lan Zhan. Actually, Zewu Jun would probably figure it out, too. And then maybe even Jiang Cheng. Now that he wasn’t all broken and desperate and gullible. 
Fuck. With the way Jiang Cheng was looking at Wei Wuxian, the way his hand released some of the pressure around his arm, he might already have. 
Wei Wuxian laughed, hoping it came off more smoothly than it felt in his chest. “Ah, Jiang Cheng.” He brought his own hand up to lay over his brother’s. “What if I told you--”
“No,” Jiang Cheng cut him off. “No more bullshit. Where were you?”
The mirth, false as it was, drained out of Wei Wuxian as he saw the pain building behind his brother’s eyes. 
There was movement in his periphery and then Lan Zhan was standing on his other side. His fingers wrapped around Wei Wuxian’s other arm with a much gentler grip than Jiang Cheng’s. Something imploring about the touch. Like he was seeking confirmation to a theory, or maybe proving to himself that Wei Wuxian was actually there. 
“I…” Wei Wuxian trailed off. 
Zewu Jun’s gaze was hard as steel, but aimed, it seemed, at Lan Zhan’s hand, rather than at Wei Wuxian in general. 
“There was a rumor,” he said in slow, even words, “that Wen Chao had thrown you into the Burial Mounds.” He waited a moment after he finished speaking, as if trying to reconcile the words himself, before he looked up to meet Wei Wuxian’s eyes. 
Of course, Wei Wuxian didn’t want to meet Zewu Jun’s eyes. He didn’t want to meet any of their eyes. He wanted very much to be out of this tent and away from knowing gazes altogether. 
Unfortunately, he hadn’t quite figured out how to teleport using resentful energy yet. So in the tent he remained. 
He looked down at his feet. His boots were crusted with dirt and blood and other bodily fluids. War really was super gross, in addition to being largely boring. 
“That’s ridiculous,” he said, still looking down. “Everyone knows that nothing leaves the Burial Mounds.” 
Lan Zhan’s hand tightened around Wei Wuxian’s arm. Jiang Cheng’s loosened, but didn’t let go. 
“Yeah,” said Jiang Cheng, like an accusation, “it would be impossible.” 
Wei Wuxian still didn’t look up from his feet which meant that he missed whatever silent conversation happened between Jiang Cheng and Lan Zhan that had both of them tightening their grips on his arms just before fingers were pressed to the pulse points of his wrists. He struggled, flailing as much as he could, but against Lan Zhan’s golden core and his own, he stood no chance. He could barely budge them. 
He screamed but the sound only reverberated inside the tent. 
The only thing he could think to do was to call up the dead. The dead man still lying in front of them. The Jin. Rapist. Criminal. He could use that wicked corpse to fight off the people holding him down, taking his secrets. Smoke curled out of his sleeves and he--
He stopped himself. 
It was over anyway. 
Even if they couldn’t read his spiritual energy, or lack thereof, his fighting them was confirmation enough. 
He went limp in their grasp. His knees buckled. 
It really was the stupidest possible way to be found out. 
“Where is it?” asked Jiang Cheng. But it was clear from his voice that he already knew the answer. 
Lan Zhan was silent. 
Zewu Jun looked to his brother for an answer, not understanding what they had just discovered. 
“His golden core,” said Lan Zhan. “It’s gone.” 
“Wen Zhuliu?” Zewu Jun asked. 
But Jiang Cheng made a sound that was somehow both a laugh and a sob. 
Wei Wuxian regained control of his arms. He sprawled himself out on the tent floor, exhausted from his struggle. He laughed, too. “After a fashion.” 
Jiang Cheng fell to the ground next to him, hands cradling the place where Wei Wuxian’s core now spun. “What the fuck?” he said, quietly, to no one in particular. Then, loudly, to Wei Wuxian in particular, “What the fuck!” 
His cheeks were wet. Jiang Cheng’s, his own. He looked over to confirm, and yeah, Lan Zhan’s too. Zewu Jun had nothing to cry over, except maybe confusion, but he was too cool for that, so he just stood in the middle of the tent, shocked, presumably, as his brother, another sect leader, and a demonic cultivator broke down around him. 
Wei Wuxian stared up at the tented canvas ceiling and cursed himself for not leaving the tent when he first noticed something wrong. 
“Jiang Cheng,” he started, but Jiang Cheng cut him off with a wet yell. 
“Why would you do that, you fucking idiot?! What the fuck were you even thinking?! How did you-- How--” 
He seemed to lose steam trying to figure out what happened on “Baoshen Sanren’s mountain” and potentially also why Baoshen Sanren’s voice sounded so familiar. 
Zewu Jun’s voice was remarkably calm for a man witnessing-- whatever he made of what he was currently witnessing. He said, “Wei Wuxian, I believe your Sect Leader would like to know how you lost your golden core.” 
Wei Wuxian laughed at that. Because yes and no. 
“No, Zewu Jun,” he said, still laughing. He tried to stop, but it was just too funny. “No,” he said again, slightly more sober, “he wants to know why and how he now has my golden core.” 
He didn’t really mean to say it. He felt drunk again, like he did when Lan Zhan was playing Inquiry. Ready to spill all his secrets at only the slightest provocation. Zewu Jun could probably ask him just about anything right now -- Lan Zhan and Jiang Cheng too, for that matter -- and he would answer it. It wasn’t exactly a safe mindset to be in. But he couldn’t really do anything about that now. 
At least there was some kind of privacy barrier over the tent. 
Zewu Jun stood. Speechless. 
Lan Zhan’s tears fell silently. 
Jiang Cheng glared, hands clutched tight against his lower dantian -- whether to hold something inside or to tear it out, Wei Wuxian wasn’t sure. 
Wei Wuxian felt light as a feather. Drunk and dizzy with it. A weight had been lifted, he supposed, but one he was never supposed to let go. His laughter died down to the occasional press of his lungs. Tears collected in his eyelashes until everything was blurry. 
Emptiness yawned inside him, but it was gentler somehow. As if the secret itself had been clawing away at his slowly healing wounds. 
“Fuck,” he said with a hiccup of a laugh. And again, quieter, “Fuck.”
He really should have left the fucking tent. 
Also, wait. Was he dead?! 
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shanastoryteller · 9 months
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Happy pride!!
Fem MXY WWX pls!!!
a continuation of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41
They're back to riding, only a couple hours away from Jin Tower, and Wei Wuxian is happy to be off his feet, but he can't even focus on that.
He's too busy feeling desperately sad for Mo Xuanyu.
She lived as a pauper in a family that despised her, had a father that ignored her, was so lonely that she named her sword Friend, and killed herself rather than marry Lan Zhan.
Lan Zhan would have been nice to her. It took him a while to warm up, but he's trying now, to do his duty as a proper husband. Which is inconvenient for Wei Wuxian, but probably would have meant the world to Mo Xuanyu.
She didn't have to die. If she'd been able to hold onto hope for just a few more days, instead of giving in to revenge and despair, then she could have lived out her life out from underneath the thumb of other people.
"Are you okay?"
He startles out of his thoughts, looking up to see Sizhui has pulled his mare up beside his and is peering at him in concern.
He forces a smile, because he's put Sizhui through enough today, and he's a good boy that doesn't deserve to be involved in any of this. The worst part about dying again is going to be leaving behind Sizhui. He's such a sweet boy who loves him so easily and he just knows that it's going to break his heart when either the cultivation or the curse mark has run its course. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Just thinking."
Sizhui looks unconvinced, but nods before looking up towards the front of the procession, where Lan Xichen and Lan Zhan are talking about something while Jin Guangyao pretends to be interested. He reaches into his sleeve. "I found some of these in town when I went looking for you."
He pulls out a small bag of the sweet, spicy pepper candy that Wei Wuxian likes so much and hold it out.
"You're the best!" he says, taking the bag and also pausing to squeeze his arm in thanks, only not pulling him into a hug because he's not sure how tolerant the horses will be about it.
The food in Cloud Recesses is ass and he can't cover everything with chilli oil because the only person he'd met who liked food as spicy as he did was - well, no one. So having Mo Xuanyu like spicy food had seemed like edging a little too close to obvious.
He'd been so happy when Sizhui had brought pepper candy back for him for the first time and had sworn him to secrecy to how how much he loved them.
Wei Wuxian pops one of the candies in his mouth, sucking on it to more quickly get to the firey pops of pepper, which is his favorite.
There's about five seconds of deliciousness and then his stomach rolls with nausea. He tightens his grip, trying to ride it out, but the taste of the candy he loved turns sour and he's seriously worried he's going to hurl, which Lan Zhan would never let him hear the end of.
He spits the candy out onto the ground, rubbing at his mouth.
"Lady Xuanyu?" Sizhui asks startled. "Is - sorry, did I get the wrong one?"
"No, no, it's perfect," he assures, internally sighing in relief as his stomach starts to settle. "I guess I shouldn't eat them on an empty stomach! It ruins the flavor. Who knew?"
He's eaten them on an empty stomach a dozen times before and never had an issue.
"Okay," Sizhui says slowly. 'Are you sure you're alright?"
"I'm perfectly fine, Sizhui, don't worry," he says, and means it, even though he sort of wants to cry.
The pepper candies were one of the only things he could get his hands on that he enjoyed eating, and now even that's gone?
At least the Jin go all out on the banquets.
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doufudanshi · 1 year
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for anyone who criticizes jyl for bringing soup to yiling instead of like, money—
we should first ask: could jyl actually have given wwx money? she must have something, you say. the jins are rich! she could even give him some of her betrothal gifts.
but realistically jyl probably didn't have much money at all! let's think this through. not only did she not marry jzx yet at the time of her yiling visit, but (based on many, many imperial palace tv shows lol) all her worth would be in betrothal gifts of jewelry, fine clothing, or other misc items, which is 1) heavy and difficult to transport without notice, but that doesn't actually matter bc it's ultimately 2) disrespectful to sell and worse to have the gifter find out when they come by for tea and you begin chatting about the event in two days and they say oh where's that one-of-a-kind jade bracelet I gave you wouldn't it match the also one-of-a-kind silk garment that lady jin gave you sooo well oh you will look so lovely in it won't you wear it.
or worse, have it recognized in some random pawn shop on the street by someone who has never really liked you and WILL get you in deep shit for it.
does jyl have any money from the jiang side? well, jc has been busy at work rebuilding lotus pier and the clan since before wwx's defection, and even if he's not borrowing a shitton of money from the jins (which he almost certainly is), he definitely has the opposite of surplus funds. he's also busy organizing and buying gifts for the wedding too, making him go more in the red because you know the jins aren't going to want cheap-ass things even if you don't have money.
let's say jyl did get a significant bride price (aka given money money)—not only does that go to her family (jc), but it is given during the ceremony (which, again, hasn't happened yet). and, realistically, jc probably will have to use it to offset the costs of the above.
beyond that, let's just take this scene from a storytelling perspective. sometimes it is simply about the emotional resonance. the vibes. let's say jyl did have some funds to give wwx. but imagine if jyl was like here a-xian take all this money 😐 ok sure useful for some period. but is that the gift that wwx would want during the first time he's gotten to see her in months, and likely the last time he will see her in a long, long time (possibly years)? would that be impactful for the story?
meanwhile, the soup she brings represents her love. we hear in the extra, from wwx's own words, the care she put into selecting the ingredients, making sure the lotus root is fresh and perfectly ripe. it also takes hours for her to even make iirc. wwx derives so much comfort from it—that's why it comes up again and again. it is one of his first memories of feeling safe in lotus pier, of home. it provides wwx some semblance of normalcy. he hasn't had any this entire time, and is likely something he aches for whenever he's homesick or sad or questioning his choices. it is simply, given the circumstances, incredibly thoughtful. (and how meaningful was it to see wn treat it with such respect? seeing that is literally the moment in the chapter when wwx realizes—ah. the wens are people I cherish as well.)
and regarding jyl coming in her wedding dress—it is not for herself. it is for wwx. we saw how devastated wwx was just to even hear that jyl was getting married because he had to hear it from someone who wasn't jc or jyl. and to immediately then realize he cannot go? even more heartbreaking. and jyl, who clearly knows wwx extremely well, would know, without having to ask, how upset wwx would be to miss such a huge occasion in their lives that was previously a given. this is what she can do to offset that, even just a little. because jyl came in her dress, wwx gets to experience a piece of her wedding even though he cannot physically be there. not to be a 2000s mastercard ad, but there really are some things that money can't buy.
idk there's also some fist-shaking at the class discrepancy in the scene. and I get it. it sucks! her dress is certainly lavish, and the wens are farming on a corpse mountain and have only just started making a bit of money. yes, it's fine to think that if you were in the character's shoes, maybe you would've found it to be in poor taste—but the story isn't about you. it is about these characters, and what this scene means to them. and I'm of the camp that if there is no indication that wwx is upset by any of this, and in fact moved by it, there really isn't reason for the reader to be righteously indignant about these things on a character's behalf. that's just not the focus or the point of the scene.
plus, jyl is sharp. she is likely more aware of the discrepancy than most people think. she has also been shown in the text to not just be another sheltered, spoiled noble (re jzx soup incident). but if what you want is guilt from jyl—I personally think that guilt is performative, and accomplishes nothing. her guilt would've only made wwx unhappy. instead, here is an action that is meaningful and brings joy to wwx. to share her joy with him is not selfishness, nor is it some lack of awareness of their situation. if in this moment, she shows off her dress, if she revels in her joy, her happiness, it is for wwx, and wwx is incredibly moved by it.
and let's face it—wwx, of all people, would want to see jyl in a wedding dress that cost more than rebuilding lotus pier from the ground up. he wouldn't want anything less.
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ninjakk · 1 year
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I'm always surprised when I see people outright condemn WWX for "being an asshole" when he is actually being so incredibly sweet and thoughtful. WWX is never an "asshole" anyway, he's one of the kindest, most empathetic characters in the novel! But I find it so odd how people could read his actions so negatively and come to such a conclusion when there is so much evidence to the contrary.
According to some, WWX bringing the rabbits to LWJ was just him trying to annoy the other. Now people can argue with me all they want, but I will never be discouraged that WWX gifted LWJ the two rabbits because he thought he was a little lonely.
On this day, he was once again swarmed by seven or eight youths to go out. As they passed by the Lan Library Pavilion, he took a glance up. Through the light-concealing yulan magnolia branches, he could see Lan Wangji sitting there alone by the window.
Chapter 7S translation
WWX looks for LWJ, hoping to spot him. It's obvious because he instinctively looks up at the very window of the room he sat with him in during his punishment. He was hoping to spot him! And luckily for him, LWJ was actually sat there looking back at him.
One thing I think is very apparent in the above scene, is the comparison between WWX being surrounded by others and LWJ sat alone. I don't think this goes unnoticed by WWX either, who is always very emotionally aware and certainly likes to make a fuss over LWJ - even in his first life!
So I think it's extra sweet when he brings him the bunnies a few hours later 🐇💕🐇
“This place of yours is weird too. No pheasants, but lots of wild bunnies, and they’re not afraid of people. What do you think? They’re chubby, right? Want them?”
It's just so cute how excited WWX is to present these two bunnies to him. He's so eager for LWJ to want them! Yes, he mentions cooking them, but I'm pretty sure this is a joke and a way to provoke LWJ into accepting the bunnies. After all it's totally within his character to "trick" people into doing something or accepting something they need or want. *Disclaimer! I'm not going to lie though, I think WWX would have barbecued the fluff balls if he truly thought LWJ didn't want them! That boy is hungry 😂
Wei Wuxian started snickering, sitting on the windowsill. “Now you want them? Look at you, always acting like this.”
Contrary to what WWX sometimes believes, he can read LWJ extremely well at times. He can tell, just like LXC did when he said he didn't want the loquat WWX was trying to give him, that he is saying 'no', but he really wants to say yes!
To me, the whole bunny scene is just adorable and shows how kind WWX is. How much he thinks about LWJ and just how desperately wants his attention! How anyone can think he's being horrible, is beyond me!
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wutheringskies · 7 months
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Prompt - Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji in the 15-year old selves's bodies
I just had a thought. imagine WWX and LWJ transmigrating into an alternate reality (which is pretty much the same, but events changed there do not affect events in their world) as their 15-year-old selves; and for half a day, they both think it's an individual thing; and then Wei Wuxian sees Lan Zhan, and can't control his words, "Oh my god, Lan Zhan so cute!!" and Lan Wangji is like "Wei Ying (fond) is adorable too."
and they both sorta have that look and realize they both transmigrated; and it's so funny because by the rules of the array (or whatever), they can't tell anyone where they are from, or about the future (like they can only personally act differently and suggest actions to other people, knowing very well they hold little power to cause systemic changes, just two nails in a machine, but well, what are they if not always trying).
and this time, Wei Wuxian doesn't punch Jin Zixuan "but Lan Zhan... I really wanted to," But he does say a grand choice of crass words that get him punishment with Lan Wangji again, who's forcibly out of his seclusion and in classes.
And in classes, Lan Wangji sits in front, ever the dutiful while Wei Wuxian sits behind him; sleeping, talking, flirting, writing notes; and Lan Wangji doesn't reprimand him as much; and when Jiang Cheng says rude shit to him, the Second Young Master Lan glares at him and everyone is so confused.
and they have punishment together in the library and it's just... Wei Wuxian courting Lan Wangji. Lan Wangji courting him back.
Exhibit 1:
"Lan Zhan, my hands really, really hurt from all this copying :(("
"I will do it."
"Hehe~"
Exhibit 2:
"Er-gege, I really can't go on without alcohol. Please."
"No."
"You said you'd never deny me, your husband."
"We are not married yet in this reality."
"So, our marriage is limited only to one realm? Only our reality? So, I'm a young, virgin, unmarried boy?? Are you abandoning your husbandly duties?"
"..."
"Fine, then we are not married. I won't even ask! I won't marry you."
"... I will take you to Caiyi. You can drink there. Do not drink with others in the dorm."
"And in the Jingshi?"
"..."
"Are you denying me my marital home? You said it was our home!"
"Alright."
"Hahahahahahahahahaha"
Exhibit 3:
"Er-gege, let me sleep."
"Wei Ying, we are in class."
"But it's 6 am. Er-gege, I'm not even alive right now. I've been dead and I was more alive when I was dead than now."
"..."
"Please hide me from your uncle. I really can't keep my eyes open."
"Did you not sleep well?"
"How can I sleep??? Next to Jiang Cheng! Without my husband to hold me??"
"..."
Exhibit 4:
Wei Wuxian is messing around in the creek in Cloud Recesses when someone shoves him lightly. He doesn't fall but his hair opens and his ribbon disappears. Everyone laughs but then Lan Wangji walks over, stands behind him, pulls a red ribbon out of a sleeve, ties his hair up while asking him if he's okay and casts an icy look at the guy who shoved him, pats his head and leaves.
Jiang Cheng: "what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck"
Nie Huaisang: "OH. UM. uhm. Uh. Wei-xiong..."
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Propaganda:
For Wangxian: "Idk there's just such a je ne sais lesbians to them sometimes"
"Other people have said it better. Wwx very much enjoys playing the role of a wife and pretending to be a poor maiden. He has fun with it. As he should. Makes jokes about having children. Plenty of people see him as very gender and I think that's great. Also pour one being villanised in fandom to uplift other men. What a classic. Love to see it/s. I'm not even joking, the way he's treated by fans for being good but not perfect compared to straight up evil men is very female character coded. He's expected to be nicer to people that want him dead, or else he deserves it. And he's dumbed down, again, to make other men look better in fandom. Meanwhile Lwj takes on a role and characteristics expected from a female love interest, especially as a teenager. Tsundere, likes cutesy things, is very elegant and serious. Mourns his dead love in a very devoted way, while also sorta parenting a child. Very single mom who works and yearns. He's also a very: "But daddy, (uncle more like) I love him!" Type of character, y'know the perfect student in love with the bad boy. lmao Also the horrors. Can't be gay yuri without horrors. Necromancy and cannibalism and whipping and mass murder and stuff"
For Wrightworth: "The fact that I don’t think a single AA fan will disagree with me. I can’t explain it but this too is yuri"
"There are so many themes with these two,, Phoenix literally changes his career for the CHANCE of seeing Miles again. Reunification after 15 years is so yuri. Also in the anime both of them keep a charm from childhood that reminds them of each other, and both of them think the other one must have gotten rid of it by now. Literally so yuri."
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gentil-minou · 4 months
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The teen wangxian version of lwj playing inquiry after wwx's death would be lwj texting the number wwx used to use before he deactivated everything. He does this every couple months, with a Hi or How are you or I miss you.
The stranger who uses that number now doesn't want to break the poor boys heart and tell him so they just ignore it.
Wwx isn't dead btw he dropped out of his ivy league after some really bad mental health to live a nomadic lifestyle out of his old beat up van Chenqing, but during that time he'd purposely pushed everyone away
Eventually after 13 months when wwx decides he's ready to go back online and come out of hiding he manages to get his old number back!
Except he keeps getting these messages for a number he doesn't know and he thinks 'wow I wonder what it's like to be loved by someone like this'
(There was a time where he used to know that number by heart
There was a time when a text from that number was the first thing he'd see in the morning and the last message he'd send that night
There was a time when he never would have thought he could forget that number…)
5 months after he's gotten his number back and moved in with the Wens, slowly becoming himself again, the mystery number starts leaving voicemails
They don't say anything, just some faint breathing on the line, like wind whistling by. Soothing, in a way wwx can't figure out why
WQ says he should delete them and block the number. WN says he should politely message the person and let them know they have the wrong number.
Wwx does neither.
His inbox slowly fills with them, and on his worst nights when he feels like hes going to lose it again, when he feels like hes back on that ledge looking over calculating the force from the impact, he'll listen those breaths as he slowly falls asleep
Years pass and the world goes on.
Wwx gets back in touch with his siblings. Their meetings are tense and won't ever be the same as it was…before. But for now, it's enough.
He's working nights at a bar and going to art school during the day. Therapy every week.
It's strange how much he likes school now that he gets to learn the things that interest him. There's a lot he misses from his old life, and a lot he doesn't.
He keeps every message and voice-mail he gets, but he never replies. He can't explain why.
On the side, he helps out the Wens with recovering from their own tragedy.
Years ago there'd been an accident where they'd lost their cousins. At the time, they'd thought that included their nephew. That they'd lost him too.
When Wen Qing finally gets a hold of the report, they learn they didn't.
It's takes some not so legal finagling, but what else is wwx going to use his coding skills for?
The Wens learn their cousins son was injured but alive. That he'd been adopted while he was still recovering in the hospital.
The number the hospital has on file is eerily familiar.
There's no time to think any more about it. The Wens are in hyperdrive, trying to figure out how to contact this person. Hoping they might see their nephew, finally.
WQ says she was able to call the number and talk to the adoptive father about meeting up.
Wwx goes to bed feeling happy and good and like he can still do some things right. He falls asleep with a smile on his face.
He wakes up at 5am the next morning to a text, and he realizes why that number was so familiar.
The text, from a-yuan's adoptive dad, what are the chances, reads:
"I have always lived my life to be true and do what is right, but I find myself afraid. What if I have done something terrible? What would you say?"
His heart beating a hole in his chest, wwx finally texts back.
(threadfic here)
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Note
Prompt: Fuck-or-die, post Canon married Wangxian. WWX gets hit with sex pollen/curse when LWJ isn't present. He decide that 'yes he would rather die' than having sex with anyone else. His companions are trying to get LWJ there or convince WWX to fuck and meanwheile WWX are handing out instructions for how to resurect him/planning out possession/creating a new body/in general how to return from the dead again. You decide if LWJ gets there in time or they have to use one of WWX:s plans.
WANT: Wangxian
DNW: Wangxian with anyone else, unhappy ending
ao3
“So I guess I die then?” Wei Wuxian asked.
He looked disturbingly cheerful about the idea, but possibly that was just the aftereffects of his fit of laughter when he found out exactly what the curse he’d been hit with did.
Or possibly he was just laughing because he’d managed, through a considerable exertion of effort and purposeful obstinance, to get Lan Qiren to actually say the words “fuck or die” out loud. The latter was now looking thoroughly peeved and much less concerned about the imminent demise of the newest member of the Cloud Recesses than he had a little while earlier, which was also a benefit.
“What are you talking about?” Jin Ling demanded, having not calmed down in the slightest. He looked irritated and worried at the same time – he  reallyrather resembled his uncle at the moment, since both of them scowling at Wei Wuxian as if he had personally insulted their mothers. “Of course you’re not going to die!”
“You heard Teacher Lan,” Wei Wuxian said with a shrug. “It’s fuck-or-die, right? And Lan Zhan, who is the only person I’d consider for the first part, isn’t here. So I guess I’m just going to have to die.”
“Don’t be absurd,” Jiang Cheng hissed, even as the junior disciples started urgently murmuring amongst themselves, sounding similar to a flock of pheasants that had just been disturbed. “You lived – and died, and lived again – through too much to die to a half-rate curse like this. You’re not going to die. Can’t you just break it?”
“It’s tied to his cultivation,” Lan Qiren said, voice deep and grave. He had been amongst the most worried at first, rushing over to check Wei Wuxian’s pulse and run diagnostics over the array circle that had inflicted the curse, exerting himself to the utmost to try to figure out what had happened; it had rather thoroughly undercut his reputation for hating Wei Wuxian bitterly as the unworthy pig that had dug up his family’s prized cabbage. Perhaps as consequence, he was now almost pointedly ignoring the current goings-on, seated some distance away with a cup of tea and every appearance that he planned not to care about the results. Just as clearly, however, he wasn’t actually not listening. “If he was as strong as he was in his first life, it might be possible. But with his current level of cultivation…it is impossible to break it from within, and it cannot be broken from without absent a fulfilling of the curse’s conditions.”
The disturbed murmurs among the juniors grew notably louder, and more severe.
“Then he can take care of it, surely?” Jiang Cheng asked. His eye had started twitching. “If the solution involves – ah – if it’s a matter of – of pleasure –”
“Jiang Cheng, really! Are you suggesting I go jerk off to feel better?” Wei Wuxian asked, as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as he’d ever been. He offered an accompanying illustrative gesture, as if concerned that all around him might not know what he meant.
Lan Qiren closed his eyes and turned his head away, visibly grinding his teeth.
“Shut up,” Jiang Cheng growled at Wei Wuxian, his cheeks having gone red with embarrassment. “Just – shut up! What’s wrong with the idea?!”
“Teacher Lan? Would you like to explain?”
Lan Qiren was still refusing to look at any of them, and even shifted slightly so that he was turned even further away from Wei Wuxian in particular.
“Well, for one thing, it wouldn’t work as a practical matter,” Wei Wuxian said, deciding to explain himself. “See, the amount of jerking off it would take for me to equal a single session with Lan Zhan would be just, you know, unbelievably enormous – even more enormous than Lan Zhan’s – mmmm!”
Lan Qiren had used the silencing spell on Wei Wuxian.
Wei Wuxian waived his hands at the older man, wiggling his eyebrows in a way that was simultaneously obnoxious, obscene, and trying to convey as clearly as he could if you keep me quiet you’re going to have to be the one to answer the question, you know.
Lan Qiren, very bitterly and begrudgingly, removed the silencing spell.
“I was going to say his stamina, you know,” Wei Wuxian sniffed, although the shit-eating grin on his faces suggested he had been intending no such thing. “It’s well known throughout the cultivation world that Lan Zhan has remarkably stamina.”
“Wei Wuxian,” Jiang Cheng said through gritted teeth. “Would you like to get to the point?”
“Fine, fine. Always in such a rush, Jiang Cheng – no wonder you never married! Some things are best taken slow…okay, okay, put Zidian away already! It’s like you think it’s your life on the line here, not mine!” Wei Wuxian laughed. No one else did. “Anyway, it’s quite simple. Using sexual pleasure in order to fulfil the fuck part of the curse has to involved at least two people in order to qualify as a curse breaking mechanism. It’s the same reason as before: the curse is attached to my cultivation, and it can only be broken from the inside, not the outside, only I’m not strong enough to do it myself. Dual cultivation is one of the few ways in which two cultivators can bring their spiritual energy close enough together that they would both be ‘inside’ the range of the curse’s prohibition, causing a disruption in the victim’s spiritual energy sufficient to disperse the prohibition and defeat the curse – thus, the ‘fuck-or-die’ nature of the fuck-or-die curse.” He beamed at everyone. “Educational, isn’t it?”
No one seemed especially impressed.
“Senior Wei,” Lan Sizhui said politely, after a short interval. “Please educate us. How would you break a – break this type of curse?”
“Silly question! It’s in the name: fuck or you die.”
Disturbed murmurs.
“And, again, I’m not fucking anyone who’s not Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian added cheerfully. “So don’t even ask. There is literally no one here that I would be willing to fuck.”
“So…you’re just planning on dying?” Jin Ling asked. He looked upset. He wasn’t the only one, either – any number of the juniors looked upset, and that was besides Jiang Cheng, whose eyes were starting to look glassy with tears of rage or possibly just unexpressed emotion. “That’s it? You’re just going to give up and die?”
“Hey, it’s not like I haven’t died before –”
“Wei Wuxian!” Jiang Cheng roared.
Wei Wuxian promptly held up his hands in surrender. “Sorry, sorry. Sore spot, I know, I know…listen, it’s not that bad, okay?”
“What, because you’ve read up on all the cool new resurrection techniques?!”
“He’d better not have,” Lan Qiren muttered. “Not in the Cloud Recesses.”
“I swear I’ve only been in the Forbidden Section of the library for purely extracurricular purposes, and only when I’ve been very closely supervised by Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian told Lan Qiren virtuously, and just as virtuously ignored the scowl that immediately appeared on Lan Qiren’s face at what ‘supervision’ of ‘extracurricular’ activities his nephew might have been doing with Wei Wuxian in the library. “Jiang Cheng, you worry too much. Do I look worried?”
“That’s no guarantee that you know what you’re doing, Senior Wei,” Ouyang Zizhen pointed out. “Sometimes you’re just like that.”
“Ouch. You’re right, but, you know, ouch. Anyway, in this case, you should trust me. You’re all just thinking too hard.”
A lot of silence, and staring.
“Teacher Lan, work with me here. They’re thinking too much, right?”
Lan Qiren huffed, which was just about confirmation.
“…wait,” Lan Jingyi said. He looked suspicious. “Is that what this is? Have you been trying to get around the curse by fucking with us?”
“Jingyi!” Lan Qiren snapped, and Lan Jingyi jumped.
“Would a mind-fuck work?” Jin Ling asked his uncle, who scowled and shrugged, clearly unsure himself.
“It would not,” Lan Qiren said icily.
“Actually, the way I like to think of it,” Wei Wuxian said, grinning harder than ever, “is that it’s really just a matter of fuck around and find out –”
At this point, Lan Qiren huffed once more, got up, and walked over to Wei Wuxian in three long, purposeful strides. Lifting one finger, he jabbed it right at Wei Wuxian’s chest, over his heart.
“Fuck off.”
Wei Wuxian collapsed onto the ground.
A moment later, he blinked and sat up, grinning once more, and there was no longer the aura of curse hanging around him – even the remaining resentful energy was already dissipating.
“Such curses are exceedingly pedestrian,” Lan Qiren informed their audience, voice toneless as ever but a scowl firmly on his face. “‘Death’ is interpreted as the cessation of heartbeat, which temporarily disrupts the flow of spiritual energy in a manner similar to dual cultivation. A momentary freezing spell, aimed precisely, can simulate the effects, causing the victim of the curse to ‘die’ for the purposes of the curse – the disruption of spiritual energy is similar in nature to what happens during dual cultivation, just as Wei Wuxian described earlier, and there is therefore the same effect.”
“Thus, the ‘fuck or die’ aspects of the fuck-or-die curse,” Wei Wuxian said. He was beaming so hard it looked almost painful. “Teacher Lan, did you really tell me to fuck off?”
“It was richly deserved,” Lan Qiren informed him, and, with a flick of his sleeves, headed back towards the Cloud Recesses, his head held high. Presumably he was going to go punish himself for breaching the rule on vulgar language, and maybe the one about rage...again.
Wei Wuxian was so good.
“Thank you, Teacher Lan!” Wei Wuxian called after him. “You’re my favorite uncle-in-law..!”
He sniggered, then turned back to the juniors.
“See,” he said. “I told you that you were overthinking…”
He trailed off, presumably seeing something in Jiang Cheng’s expression.
“Uh,” Wei Wuxian said. “I would like to emphasize that at no point was I ever actually in danger of dying. That wasn’t going to happen. I was just playing around –”
“Pity,” Jiang Cheng said, and purple lightening started sparking around his hand. “Because I’m going to kill you –”
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wangxianficfinder · 6 months
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Fic finder
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1. I'm looking for a fic that's during the Cloud Recesses study arc where, WWX I think, found out Wen Chao couldn't read and started teaching him. I think a couple of the other kids started helping him, MianMian maybe? I can't remember much but they definitely helped him learn how to read and became friends. TIA
FOUND? Wei Wuxian’s Super Special Super Secret Book Club by Anonyma (T, 31k, WWX & WC & LQY, WangXian, Canon Divergence)
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2. hello!! All good? I'm looking for a collection of one shots, and I can't find it, I read it a little while ago but I remember a one shot, where Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying were discussing the fact that Wei Ying had saved the heirs of the sects in cave and Jin Ling was listening and Wei Ying was saying that if he hadn't saved the heirs Jin Ling wouldn't exist and Jiang Cheng said something like, Whatever.... Honestly, I don't even remember the tags, but Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying realizing that Jin Ling had heard, Wei Ying asks what Jin Ling wants. @sweettiebah
FOUND! 🔒 Chapter 11: Careless Words of Short Prompts by Vrishchika (JL POV - Not JC Friendly - WWX loses his patience)
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3. Hello !! Ive read this fanfic a while ago and I have multiple ss of it since i like to save memorable parts of the fic but now i cant remember it anymore </3 i dont remember the synopsis but there was a scene where Lwj and Wwx were in an inn while out night hunting, and wwx suspected the person serving them to have poisoned lwj, wwx got really angry and threatened the guy to the max
quote:
Wei Wuxian slammed him against the wall again, cutting off his rapid ramblings and jostling his fractured arm. "Your stories bore me," he spoke lowly, peering his head around slightly so as to almost look into Heng She's face. He still had yet to acknowledge Lan Wangji's presence. "Tell me why you poisoned the tea, or I will hang you in the street by your intestines, ripped open to let the crows feed on your liver." @jingyisbff
FOUND! let me sing to you by greybird_crookedbranch (T, 61k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Canon Compliant, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, adorable Juniors, Minor Original Character(s)for plot purposes, Minor Violence, Demonic Cultivation, resentful energy, Trauma, Guilt, Protectiveness, BAMF WWX, Hurt wwx, Protective WWX, Protective LWJ, Baby Lans, Mental Instability, Possession, it's a case fic but the case is for the hurts, Angst with a Happy Ending, POV LWJ, a tasteful seasoning of Yunmeng Bros Reconcilliation, CQL canon except LWJ is not chief cultivator, Nightmares)
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4. Hello! T__T I have my focus mode on so my distracting apps like twitter (x) are paused. I took a 5 minutes break and opened it. I saw a threadfic of Bottomji/Topxian (Omegaverse) They already have 3 kids (Yuan, Twins) but they are all alphas. lwj wants a daughter (or an omega son). He rode wwx that night then let him knot him for 3x. They were on a date and lwj bought some robes for a girl the confronts wwx that he wants a daughter.... Thats all Ive read. I want to read the whole thread but my app closed. 💔 Can you guys help me with it? I cant find it anymore.
FOUND! sounds like this twt threadfic by @/omegawangji
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5. Hi, I need help finding a fic I’m pretty sure I’ve seen recommended on here a couple years ago.
I don’t remember the title or the author. It was on AO3. It was an Alternative Universe fic where WWX is an art student (and lived in a dorm with the Wen siblings) and LWJ has a very active but discreet sex life. WangXian know each other but they’re not together. Eventually they start sleeping with each other (WWX doesn’t realize LWJ actually likes him and he’s not just another hookup). There is also a secondary plot about one of LWJ’s past hookups stalking and tormenting them at a club or party at some point? T
his is all I can remember, unfortunately. I hope to reach someone who knows which fic this is by asking on here. WangXian nation, do your thing! 🙏
FOUND? show me a quiver, give me tonight by spookykingdomstarlight (E, 115k, wangxian, lwj/others, communication failure, mutual pining, artists, demisexual wwx, angst w/ happy ending) It doesn't match exactly but some details do
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6. For fic finder, a fic I read a good while back.
It was one of those “jgs magically spies on the burial mounds to get people to hate wwx and the remnants” but in this one wwx and lwj did the “a-yuan is birthed from wwx” thing and the people spying believe it. Lqr passes out for a bit and lxc and jc start planning a wedding since lwj apparently deflowered wwx. I think it was completed
FOUND! Assumptions by draechaeli (T, 50k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Mainly Novel with a few CQL and Donghua bits, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Adoption, Adoption but WWX birthed them all, not mpreg, Not Established Relationship, Fluff, Canon-Typical Violence, Fix-It, gender non-conforming titles)
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7. Hello! Here's one I've read a dozen times and would swear I have bookmarked, but now I can't find it. Basically, LZ is a courtesan/assassin who's sent by JGS to seduce and kill the powerful Yiling Patriarch. Meng Yao is working with LZ, although he has his own plans against JGS, of course. WWX later realizes LZ's brother is alive and looking for him, so he brings them together. (By the way, are you thinking of adding a Courtesan compilation? There are plenty of good ones to rec!) Thank you! @ladysalieri (we don't have a courtesan au specific comp but we do have a royalty one that includes a few! ^^ - Mod C)
FOUND! out to get you (to get you) by iliacquer (E, 41k, wangxian, graphic depictions of violence, switching, top/bottom LWJ, top/bottom WWX, power play, courtesan LWJ, assassin LWJ, dark lord WWX, bondage, happy ending, past slavery)
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8. Hello i am looking for a fic where modern lwj time travels to the canon era and becomes original lwj, in the fic he is betrothed to yilling patriarch wy who sends him letters, and wy becomes more desperate and insane because lwj doesn't answers his letters. @ahiku-chan
FOUND? if this is a dream, i pray to never wake up by dangodangomilk (M, 27k, WangXian, Marriage, Weddings, Engagement, Canon Divergence, Parallel Universes, YLLZ WWX, false amnesia, Implied/Referenced Sex, Fluff and Angst, Sexual Content)
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9. hello! i'm looking for a fic from lwj's pov. he runs into wwx (dark) in yiling i think, after burial mounds but before his new body. lwj is horrified by how bad he looks and convinces him to go to an inn (wwx mean), they have sex. during this lwj realizes that wwx's bones are all broken from his fall in the burial mounds and he is holding them stable with resentful energy. he can't heal them, but the resentful energy is working as a stopgap. possibly of it's own volition? bittersweet? thx! @saydams
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10. Hello!! I love this blog, where I find fics to read!! A few days ago, I asked someone to find me a fic, but I'm here again because I remembered med and another fic that I loved reading, but currently can't find.
The things I remember: Wangxian has an spiritual connection, which is why the golden core transfer does not occur (and it is qing who informs Wei Ying of the connection, as Madam Yu knew and gave tea to undo the connection but it did not work ) and if I'm not mistaken Yanli is the one who told Wei Ying that the spiritual connection no longer exists (which is obviously wrong)
If you can't find it, I ask you to recommend something similar.
Thank you ❤💛🖤 @sweettiebah
FOUND! Half of my soul by Asphodel_Meadow (T, 8k, wangxian, Canon Divergence, No Golden Core Transfer, Fix-It, 5+1 Things, kinda soul bond but with their golden cores, POV Outsider, POV Alternating)
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11. Hi, im looking for a fic where when Wei Wuxian was dead others tried to flirt with Lan Wangji. I remember one of the scenes where Shizui was walking to the jingshi and overherd someone (a cousin of Lan Jingyi?) trying to flirt with Lan Wangji. I think it was a 5+1 type of deal. No matter the way i word it, i cant find it. I`ve been looking on and off for months. @herebedragons02
FOUND? Criteria by incendir (T, 10k, LSZ & LWJ, WangXian) Criteria from the Resolutions series! I've reread ot enough to know that description on site
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12. I hope you don't mind me asking, i'm looking for a wangxian fic where there is a scene that takes place in the cloud recesses where jiang cheng injures nie huaisang and nie mingjue almost declares war on the jiang sect. Thats as much as i remember I hope it's enough to go on. If it helps any it was either a Jiang Cheng bashing fic or a Jiang Family bashing. / Hi i'm looking for a Jiang Cheng or Jiang Family Bashing fic (can't remember which it was) where Nie Huaisang gets severely injured by Jiang Cheng and Nie Mingjue almost declares war on the Jiang Sect. Thank you. @hanabichan2018
FOUND? Ad Oblivione by Baph, HikariNoHimeWriter (M, 70k, WangXian, Time Travel Fix-It, Temporary Character Death, Canon-Typical Violence, POV Multiple, Hurt/Comfort, Grief/Mourning, Identity Reveal, Golden Core Reveal, Cultivation World Critical, Not JC Friendly, Abusive YZY, Angst with a Happy Ending)
FOUND? A Future Family In A Broken Past by Hauntcats (T, 121k, wangxian, Not JIang Family Friendly, Not Cultivation World Friendly, WWX Needs a Hug, Family Dynamics, What is a good family?, Fear of emotions does not excuse abuse, Not Jiang Clan Friendly, Angst with a Happy Ending, Time Travel Fix-It, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon Divergence, LXC needs a hug, Everyone Needs A Hug, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Not YZY Friendly)
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13. Hello I’ve been looking for this fic but I cannot find it I remember seeing it before it’s where in order to survive the burial mounds WY exchanges his heart which changes how he acts and then at the end JC, JYL, LWJ and NH decide to go to the burial mounds to see what happened to WY
FOUND?🔒 between the shadow and the soul by Reverie (cl410) (M, 22k, wangxian, JYL/WQ, JC/NHS, Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Family, Dark WWX, Feral WWX, Memory Loss, Magic, Magical Realism, Protective LWJ, Protective JC, Protective JYL, Grief, BAMF WWX, POV Alternating)
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14. Hi! For next fic finder, could you help me find a modern wangxian au with combination of arranged marriage, marriage of convenient (i think it is), and contract marriage. YZY arranged a marriage between WWX and LWJ for a bussiness cooperation. WWX agreed to that so he can get away from the Jiang (especially YZY) and to make his own carrier. Then LWJ and WWX make a contract to make the marriage last until 2 years and decided if they want to keep the marriage or not. I think LWJ playing his guqin and WWX is used to that and when 2 years almost up, WWX didnt want to get divorce. The fic is focused about them getting to know each other. I think thats all i can remember. I read that in 2021 so the detail is kinda patchy. If you dont know the fic at least a confirmation that im not the only one that ever read this. Thank you! @idontknowwhattowriteforusername
Hi, im #14. Unfortunately its not the fic that iam searching for. The one that iam serching for focused on wangxian, other characters barely appears. Even the jiangs only gets mentioned. Wwx didnt work for Jiang, i think he is graphic design freelancer? The agrement for divorce is between the two of them, their family didnt know about their agreement. They choose how long they stay together before divorce after they think that the project between their family is finished so their divorce wont effect the project. WWX even has a plan after their divorce to open his own office. If i remember corectly, WWX realize he didnt want to get divorced is a few days before the day of their divorce. Like he is in his room and thinking that after their divorce, he cant listening to LWJ playing his guqin and spend their days together and he didnt want that.
I really hope i didnt mix several fic together. Thank you!
NOT FOUND! you're the only thing i think i got right by sandustorms (lucianclouds) (M, 48k, wangxian, Arranged Marriage, Falling In Love, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Domestic, Married Life, Eventual Smut, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, do you remember that fake reddit post abt the guy that fell for his husband, that he was arranged to be married to, that was kind of what inspired this, Happy Ending, Modern, Strangers to Lovers, Romance)
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15. Hello Mods, hope you are having a good day (^ ω ^)
This is for the fic finder and I'm not quite sure about this so just to be safe I don't want to upset anyone so
Trigger Warning! Trigger Warning! Trigger Warning!
This is what I remember: WWX is roofied or SA'ed in the Cloud Recesses ( I don't remember if that is shown) and there's a lot about how he handle it (denial? minimizing? disassociation?), and LWJ is there, he didn't do it, he is good, and anti-victim-blaming? if that makes sense?
FOUND? obscura: ink stain by AvoOwO (M, 20k, wangxian, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Canon Divergence, Emotions, Heavy Angst, Painting, Temporary Amnesia, Drugs, Drug Use, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Date Rape Drug/Roofies, Drink Spiking, Victim Blaming, LWJ Has Feelings, LWJ Has a Crush, Soft wangxian, Holding Hands, Blood and Violence, Good Sibling JC, Protective JC, WWX is a Mess, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Politics, Protective LXC, Good Sibling LXC, Good Uncle LQR, LQR Tries, OCs, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, WWX Needs a Hug, someone gets punched a lot, LWJ contemplates murder for a moment, JC almost gets it done, not quite about romance, as much as romance elements there, more so about the small things, LWJ loves how WWX smells, some nasty things are said, WWX def needs a nap, he gets one dw, LQR Gets Shit Done, NHS Is A Little Shit, Scheming NHS)
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16. Hi! For fic finder, I am looking for a short-ish fic where Jin Ling learns that Wei Wuxian is the one who named him “Rulan.” Jin Ling then realizes he is named after the Lans, and he has a teenage meltdown about how he is named after his uncle’s crush. Does this sound familiar? Thank you, everyone, for all your help! @gloriousclotpole
FOUND! three days gone by occultings (microcomets) (G, 4k, JL & WWX, WangXian, Post-Canon, Family Bonding, Homophobic Language, Fluff) there may be a few fics that fit, is it maybe the one where jin ling and jiang cheng are reading sect letters together, and jin ling got mad about being called "rulan"? so far i found another fic, ig it's "similar" since jin ling's only mad for one sentence, but i thought to link it anyway
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17. Hi! I'm looking for a fic, but i only remember a specific scene from it: wwx and the wens on the horses and it's raining and lan zhan lets them go, but then i guess granny wen says go back and get him, and when they return, lan zhan is soaking wet and she says something along the lines of 'dramatic young people'. Thank you so much!
FOUND? Turn Around by mondengel (Not rated, <1k, wangxian, humor)
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18. Hi, I'm looking for an AU WIP fic where WWX has to wear a mask; nobody but family is allowed to see his face. He and LWJ have an arranged marriage, but LWJ still refuses to let him take his mask off, and doesn't make any effort in the marriage. Very soon after they are married, he takes Wen Qing as a concubine, without explaining anything to WWX. WWX moves to a house near Lotus Pier, and there is a bit about him adopting children, but I can't remember how that came about... Thank you! @godiva696
FOUND! Sounds like the deleted "A price to pay" by wangxianist.
Not FOUND! sounds sorta like shana's identity porn fic here on tumblr
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19. Hello! 😃 I hope you can help me find this fic that I have been looking for!
I only remember that Wei Wuxian gets reunited with the sect leader of the Yu sect,(she is basically his grandma I think) and he get very emotional, it is also at a discussion conference or something like that, it is a very sweet/happy scene.
thank you 😊
NOT FOUND!🔒补救; to remedy, to do something to correct or improve something that is wrong by ravenditefairylights (G, 21k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Fluff and Angst, Healing, JC & WWX Reconciliation, Getting Together, Everybody Gets Their Shit Together, Family Feels, Teacher WWX, Soft WWX, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Crying, Marriage Proposal, Assassination Attempt(s), Family Bonding, soup as a metaphor, Meishan as a metaphor, Twin Prides of Yúnmèng Feels, Forgiveness, BAMF WWX, Assassin WWX) i'm not positive this is it, but has a scene like that
Not FOUND And Time Is But a Paper Moon by sami (M, 139k, WangXian, XiChengQing, Time Travel, Fix-It, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Healing, Mental Health Issues, PTSD, Hurt/Comfort, Depression, BAMF WWX, BAMF JC, BAMF LWJ, BAMF JYL, Getting Together) has a wwx-Sect Leader Yu relationship a bit like that? They meet up in Meishan, though, it's not a conference
Not FOUND The Housewife's Guide to Causing Chaos by dvasva (M, 127k, WIP, WangXian, Canon-Typical Violence, Functionally Trans Character, Mild Sexual Content, Domestic Fluff, Love Confessions, Transphobia, Good Parents LWJ and WWX, Pining, WWX is a Tease, Grief/Mourning, Body Dysphoria, Fake Marriage, Canonical Character Death, Misunderstandings, Doting LWJ, Canon Divergence, Arranged Marriage, WWX is not in MXY's body, Misgendering, Mild Angst, Assumptions, Comedic Elements, non-sexual nudity, Blood, Discussion of Various Bodily Functions, Cloud Recesses Shenanigans, 4 years of mourning instead of 13, Méishān Yú Sect, POV Multiple, Corporal Punishment, Trans WWX, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, pregnancy mention, Timeline What Timeline, Sexual Harassment Threats) has wwx summoned by an OC Yu cousin instead of mxy, so there is some wwx-Yu sect interactions in the story. I don't remember it being particularly sweet or happy, but the setting is a conference
Not FOUND Moments of Revelation by meyari (T, 133k, ChengSang, WangXian, XiYao, POV JC, Canon Divergence, Temporary Character Death, Character Death, not anyone we care about, Time Travel Fix-It, Self-Sacrifice, Torture, Chronic Pain, Chronic anxiety, magical healing and how it fails, Grief/Mourning, PTSD, Chronic Mental Health Issues, Assassination, renamed my, Families of Choice, Original Supporting characters, Unreliable Narrator(s), Demonic Possession) last suggestion, and this probably isn't it, but it has a lot of Yunmeng Trio & Yu sect interactions (mostly Jiang Cheng centric, but wwx is there too lol)
FOUND! Twelve Moons and a Fortnight by stiltonbasket (M, 290k, WangXian, Humor, Slow Burn, Post-Canon Fix-It, Long-Distance Relationship, Epistolary, Love Letters, Family Feels, a-qing lives, teenage romance, Adoption, Romantic Comedy, Happy Ending, Weddings, Case Fic, Parenthood, Politics) the reunion scene is on ch31
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20. Hello! I’m looking for a fic where during the Sunshot Campaign, Wei Wuxian was able to tame the Xuanwu, resulting in victory. However, he wasn’t fully able to control its bloodlust so it was sequestered onto an island in Lotus Pier.
However, he leaves one day for a brief visit to Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli, JGS paid a child to visit the island and the child is killed. This causes WWX to go with the Xuanwu into the water surrounding the island and he disappears for many years.
Later on, Jin Ling ends up trying to prove himself by going into the forest surrounding this island (which has since filled with resentful energy). And finds that WWX has come back and the Xuanwu has been purified.
I’m not sure if it’s been deleted??
FOUND? The Turtle Master by Gotcocomilk (M, 40k, wangxian, JC & WWX, JL & WWX, Eventual Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Temporary Character Death, Character Death Fix, shijie lives, Hurt/Comfort, OC Child death, zombie turtle!!, BAMF WWX, isnt he always, Fluff and Angst, first half is pain second half is soft)
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pakhnokh · 9 months
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I keep coming back to this specific panel and thinking about how vulnerable Wei Wuxian looks in the last frame. Thinking about it and assuming everything that happened before the start of HoG was canon, this is probably the first time ever Wei Wuxian was allowed to be human without everyone judging him for it or demanding that he explain why he fucked up again.
Lan Wangji just says Wei Wuxian doesn't need to explain, doesn't owe him that, he's not *entitled* to Wei Wuxian or his thoughts and feelings. Irony of finally owning himself while also feeling trapped aside, I can't imagine how raw that must have made Wei Wuxian feel.
(this late analysis brought to you by me being bored at work 😂)
Awwww thank you so much for being bored at work because I loved this analysis a lot! 🥺
If there's one thing that guides this story is LWJ understanding WWX's harsh position and trying to respect him as a man, as a former part of the proper cultivation world of their society, as a boy who was happy and enthusiastic once, and as a person who always stood up for what is right, even if it brought destruction upon himself and others.
In several parts of this arc I saw many people comment stuff like "hug him, lan wangji!" "kiss him!" etc, and I know it was people getting really emotional hahaha I would've commented the same.
But LWJ won't do that unless he earned WWX'S trust and love. He wants to show him support not by words of love, but by words of understanding, of taking action, of making him know that he has someone to rely on. LWJ knows what it's like to be a cultivator, how much hard work it takes, and what it means to be a part of their society. He knows that WWX position and honor as a cultivator in their world was harmed and he knows how hard it is, so if he offers any comfort, it's standing by his side as an ally in this political world and trying to find a solution to redeem his reputation. Offering romantic love is something that he'd really want to do, but doing it to a person who's been through all that hardship feels like mocking him and belittling from his status, or at least, the status WWX once had. So he's being patient and wants to help WWX the best he can. To be honest, he doesn't even rely on the possibility of his feelings being returned. He just wants to save his Wei Ying from those who wish to harm him, and to make things better for him.
In this part you shared, LWJ knows how it must feel like for WWX. Even without knowing about his trauma of being pushed from the sword, LWJ suspects that WWX might not have his core anymore (see arc 1) and plus, he feels guilty for all that WWX had to deal with on this day he planned to take him out. So even if WWX says that it's just cause he's tired, LWJ believes it too, since it's a huge emotional toll to have to sneak out hiding your identity, then the fear of being discovered, being the cause of mass panic and hate, hearing insults and accusations, realizing he's hated by all, and on top of it all - staying hungry 😭
He doesn't need WWX to explain nothing. He just wants him to rest and be safe, so that he could figure out how to help him 🥺🥺🥺🥺
Thank you again for your message ❤❤❤❤❤ hope it got better at work lol
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shanastoryteller · 1 year
Note
happy birthday!! the untamed, wwx in female mxy's body please!!
a continuation of 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
Xuanyu seems very familiar with Song Lan.
She pulls up a chair right next to him, leaning into his space and demanding he tell her everything. Song Lan seems faintly bewildered by this behavior, but inexplicably starts to tell her the details anyway.
Lan Wangji has always known Song Lan to be a quiet man. It's unusual for him to be this open with anyone, even if he and Xuanyu have met before.
"They're just talking," Xichen says.
He forces himself not to flinch. The last thing he needs is his brother to realize he was so busy staring at his wife and the wandering cultivator that he didn't notice his approach. "Of course."
"You could probably go join them," he continues, that same teasing glint in his eye that he had the morning after he drunkenly slept with Xuanyu.
He deliberately turns away from them. "They can catch up just fine without me."
Xichen is disappointed and Jin Guangyao rolls his eyes and makes no effort to hide it.
He regrets his decision a half hour later when both Song Lan and Xuanyu are missing.
~
"You're very good at talismans," Song Lan says to the young woman who's very different than the teenage girl he met before. She'd been quiet with a look in her eyes that hadn't seemed to match her meekness.
Xiao Xingchen had called him paranoid, but he hadn't had much to say when they'd found out the girl was a demonic cultivator and the ghoul they were fighting was the results of her own botched ritual. She'd at least helped them destroy it.
He'd thought it was mistake to leave her at the Mo's, in that house full of people who hated her. It could only end in death, although who's was to be decided.
Turning her in hadn't been an option to either of them. Even taking into account her cultivation methods, she'd been the least monstrous member of that household.
He hadn't expected her to marry into the Lans, of all people. Her forehead ribbon is hard to miss. He wonders which of the cultivators she managed to seduce and if they knew exactly what they were getting themselves into.
"It's a skill," she says dismissively, letting the cloaking talisman fade as they make their way down the street and away from the inn. "You didn't need much convincing to let me use it."
"I assume you don't want your new family to know of your demonic cultivation," he says, then has to reach out an arm to steady her when she trips. "I don't approve of your choices but if you're going to use your skills to help me find Xiao Xingchen I don't much care what else you do with them."
She looks at him for a moment, mouth hanging open, before closing it and shaking her head. "Huh. Yeah. I don't suppose you have a flute on you? I was going to try to go for the subtle approach, but I guess there's no point."
A flute? Odd, she'd leaned into arrays before. Then again, it's the tool Wei Wuxian used, so maybe there's something to it's effectiveness that she's discovered for herself in the years since he saw her last. "I know where we can get one. Do you really think you can find him?"
"One way or another," she answers, face suddenly grim, and Song Lan swallows.
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runespoor7 · 4 months
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@add1ctedt0you wanted to know what I meant re: meanest things to wonder about for WWX and JC respectively post-canon, which is enough to make me start talking!
WWX: would WWX believe in the story of how JC lost his core if he learned about it? It doesn't fit in with the things he's telling himself about JC and the way he wants to distance himself. Would he believe it? Or would he tell himself it's hyperbole, or it's Empathy playing tricks on him, or it's a misunderstanding, or it's a lie? Would he really endanger his newfound worldview and life by digging about it?
JC: so how does JC reconcile the fact that WWX already lost control of his demonic cultivation and got killed people both JC and WWX himself held dear, at two different times, with the fact that JL spends time with WWX, and that JC seems okay with that? does he just tell himself it's all in the past and WWX has changed now and will definitely never lose control again and JL is safe? is he gambling JL's safety on the fact that WWX having a core surely changes things enough? (maybe he's not okay with it! his power about what JL does and who he chooses to be friends with is limited, especially if he wants to keep having a good relationship with his nephew)
ETA: technically about JC that also includes wondering if he actually legitimately truly sincerely thinks that being around WWX is Safe Now (WWX is saying so!!). You'd think he'd be vaccinated after last time, but, well. WWX's grip on JC. what's personal growth.
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rkivees · 8 months
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I just read someone saying that "jc repeatedly gave up everything he reasonably could for wwx, and how wwx simply didn't do the same" and then they referred to the Wen remnants as Wen dogs. Do I even have to start on that?
The fact this person looks at the golden core transfer and say WWX didn't let that go when the man didn't mention it once after coming back. He'd take that damn secret to the graveyard *again* just so that pathetic man wouldn't feel bad about it.
If you want so much to attribute good things to him that he didn't do, maybe you don't like him that much. Yall wanting WWX's good deeds to be JC's so bad is just as pathetic as your fav is.
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