#and thinking about how lan wangji raised his son to be like his brother is just such a sweetly melancholic thought

[shanastoryteller]

Happy Pride!!!! Living Blood or Lady Mo 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 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43

Xuanyu disrobes unashamedly, hesitating only at the last second with the sleeve covering her left arm.

Jiang Yanli laughs. “Bit late to be modest, I think.”

“Modesty is overrated,” she returns, which is something that Zixuan would say and A-Yao would think. She slips the rest of the robes off and steps into the steaming bath, letting out a deep sigh of satisfaction.

The changes her body has undergone are even more obvious without the thick layers of the robes obscuring her form. The extra weight seems to have settled in ideal places, not only thickening her waist and limbs but settling heavily along her hips and breasts, which hadn’t exactly been small to begin with.

She sits behind Xuanyu, filling a bowl with water and then pouring it over her hair to rinse it of blood and dirt that had been hidden by her dark hair. Acting as a bathing assistant is far below her station, but Xuanyu had sent all the servants away and she doesn’t mind, really. Xuanyu is her sister, likely the only one she’ll ever have considering A-Cheng’s track record with matchmakers, and she’s been worried about her. This gives them time to speak alone. “How has your marriage with Lan Wangji been? Has he been kind?”

Xuanyu pulls a face, which isn’t encouraging. “I guess. He mostly left me alone, and then we had a couple fights and he was a jerk, and now I think he’s trying to make up for being a jerk, but it’s a little – well, it’s nice that he’s making an effort. I suppose.”

Not as good as she’d hoped, but not as bad as she’d feared. “Sect Leader Lan seems fond of you.”

“Oh, Lan Xichen is great,” she says easily. Better than reaction to Lan Wangji, but still not what Jiang Yanli had been hoping for. Then her eyes light up. “Sizhui is wonderful! I’ll give Wangji one thing, he’s raised a good kid. He’s so sweet, and a great cultivator, and he’s always trying to help out everyone around him. I’m glad Jingyi’s always hanging around – without him, I think everyone would just take advantage of Sizhui’s good nature.”

Well, that’s something. Surely Lan Wangji can’t resist Xuanyu’s charms for long, not when she dotes on his son and gets along with his brother.

“What trouble did you get into on the road?” she asks, running her hand over the wound on Xuanyu’s shoulder. It looks nearly fully healed already and there’s another mostly healed wound on her hip, a thin slice on her left arm, and the shadow of various bruises that were likely much worse a couple hours ago. It’s of course a good thing that Xuanyu has a strong golden core, but Jiang Yanli can’t help a moment of wistfulness.

Her own core never lived up to her mother’s expectations, or her own. If she’d had a stronger core, she could have given A-Ling siblings. A child should have siblings. She would have had a calmer childhood without two little brothers underfoot, but a lonelier one too.

Xuanyu shrugs, lazily scrubbing herself down. “Looks like Xiao Xingchen picked up the girl, A-Qing, while he and Song Lan were separated and was trapped in this place that was basically a ghost town.” How could he be trapped by a place that had no people? “And I’d heard some rumors so when we ran into Song Lan I helped him find Xiao Xingchen, but there was a bit of a fight with someone who didn’t want him to leave. I just happened to get caught in the crossfire, so to speak.”

She’s stretching the truth to outright lying. Before Jiang Yanli can call her on it, her stomach growls.

“Didn’t get a chance to eat on the road?” she teases.

Xuanyu flushes, ducking briefly beneath the water to hide her flaming cheeks before resurfacing. “Things were a little hectic. It may have slipped my mind.”

How has she managed to put on weight while also forgetting to eat? Perhaps Lan Wangji deserves more credit.

“I think I have some candies in my room, if you want something before the banquet,” she offers. “I know the speeches take forever.”

Her eyes light up before dimming and she slumps in the bath. “Thanks, Yanli-jie, but I better not. Sizhui gave me some on the road and I usually love them but just putting it in my mouth almost made me sick. It was awful. And weird! They’re my favorite.”

Jiang Yanli blinks then gives Xuanyu’s significantly larger chest a considering look. It could be nothing. It’s probably nothing. She hasn’t even been married a year and it doesn’t sound as if she and Lan Wangji have been seeing eye to eye.

Then again, the same could have been said about her and Zixuan.

“Can I ask you something personal, Meimei?”

Xuanyu nods. “You can ask me anything, Yanli-jie.”

“Are you and Lan Wangji having sex?”

She turns bright red and ducks beneath the water for so long that Jiang Yanli is starting to get concerned before she resurfaces, still red faced. “Um. We did once. Well – I guess, technically, it was three times, but it was only one night.”

Well. Apparently Lan Wangji has stamina on and off the battlefield.

“One moment,” she says, briefly squeezing Xuanyu’s shoulder. “I’ll be right back.”

It takes one whispered conversation with the servant outside the hall and approximately ninety seconds before her personal healer is standing in front of her. Jiang Yanli ducks back inside to see Xuanyu out of the bath, in a thin bathing robe that’s clinging to her as she wrings her hair out. “I’d like my healer to take a look at you, Meimei.”

Xuanyu freezes, slowly standing straight with a wary look on her face. “That’s really not necessary. The wounds were just superficial and they’re basically healed already.”

“It’ll be quick,” she says, because if she’s right then she can’t let Xuanyu go down to the banquet without letting her know. “She’s very discreet – she’s been my personal healer since I was a child.”

“Jiang Xingyi?” Xuanyu asks, some of her tension draining away.

Jiang Yanli nods, trying to think of some reason that Xuanyu would know her healer’s name, or her reputation, but all the servants are terrible gossips and her health is a frequent topic of derision. “Just your wrist, okay? Your golden core has changed a lot. I just want her to take a look.”

She feels bad about lying, but Xuanyu had lied to her first.

Xuanyu relaxes even further. “Okay, Yanli-jie. If it’ll make you feel better.”

“Thank you,” she smiles, then opens the door to usher Jiang Xingyi in.

The old woman doesn’t smile, but Xuanyu grins back undeterred, and says, “Hi, Granny,” before paling and adding, “uh, um. Sorry.”

Jiang Yanli feels a familiar pang of grief go through her. A-Xian had referred to Jiang Xingyi as Granny, the only disciple both bold and beloved enough to get away with it.

Jiang Xingyi ignores her, instead reaching for her wrist and pressing her fingers against it. Xuanyu fidgets, shifting from one foot to the other, but says nothing as the moments stack on top of one another.

Finally, Jiang Xingyi drops her wrist and steps back. Her stern visage breaks, a smile stretching her mouth across her face. “Congratulations, Madame Lan.”

She knew it!

“Thanks,” Xuanyu answers before wrinkling her nose. “Um. For what?”

“You are expecting,” she answers. “At least a couple months along, I believe, although I’d have to do a more thorough examination to be sure.”

Jiang Yanli moves to embrace her, but Xuanyu’s face drops and she turns dangerously pale. “What? No. That’s not possible. I can’t be.”

“Three times,” Jiang Yanli reminds her, trying to goad Xuanyu into laughter.

But instead she just shakes her head. “No, no I can’t, I – this can’t be happening,” she whispers to herself, grabbing her own arms in a white knuckled grip. “It’s not. It’s impossible. I can’t be.”

She’s young, and this wasn’t a marriage of her own choosing, and it’s so new. Of course she’s surprised and nervous. Jiang Yanli touches her elbow, intending to say something soothing, but Xuanyu collapses into her arms, gripping her waist and hiding her tears in her shoulder.

“Xuanyu!” she says, hugging her back just as fiercely, her heart breaking for the younger girl’s anguish. “Meimei, it’s okay, I know this is scary, but it’s going to be fine.”

“It’s not,” she says, voice thick with tears, “A-jie, this is awful, this is – it can’t happen! It can’t, Wangji is going to be so mad, he’s going to hate me, and everything is ruined and awful, I can’t be – I can’t! I’m going to die!”

Jiang Yanli’s whole body goes cold and she grips Xuanyu even tighter against her. “You’re going to be fine,” she says, pushing her conviction into every syllable.

No matter what Jiang Yanli has to do, Xuanyu is going to be fine.

#oh wwx #our babygirl is going through it #dw everything is going to be fine #wwx is like i'm going to die before i can have this baby and kill lan zhan's baby and he's going to hate me forever #and jyl who obviously has no context for this hears that xuanyu thinks that lwj is going to kill her #which she'd think that lwj would never do but also she saw him during war and she's not the one married to him #and everyone knows he didn't want this marriage and also made a big thing about how sizhui's position won't be usurped #jyl to herself: do i have to kill lan wangji? #prompt answers #prompts are closed #asks #anon #untamed

[lgbtlunaverse]

Now this is meaner than i like to be when talking about fandom because i am pro people having fun and doing what they want and playing around with dynamics. So let me preface by saying that if you like this headcanon there's nothing wrong with you and I hope you have a great day. That said, aside from the Wen erasure and trying to flatten a more unconventional family dynamic into a nuclear family shaped hole one of the main reasons I vibe less with the "wangxian are a-yuan's dads" headcanon is that I honestly think it's kind of... Lan Wangji character assasination.

Yeah that sounds really harsh but the headcanon recquires Lan Wangji formally adopting a-yuan as his own and/or raising him as his son and i cannot stress this enough he would not do that. Because that would be actively endangering A-Yuan's safety.

To be clear: Lan wangji and wen yuan canonically look so alike that strangers who'd never met either of them assumed they were father and son. If Lan Wangji suddenly comes back with a child that he is insisting to raise, and that child looks exactly like him, people aren't going to assume that's hanguang-jun's adopted son. That is hanguang-jun's biological son with a mystery mother!

Jiang Fengmian didn't even formally adopt wei wuxian, and people knew who his actual (married!) parents were, and they still regularly assumed that he was secretly jiang fengmian's bastard instead of the child of the man cangse sanren literally eloped with.

If that's how eager people are about bastard rumours, what do you think happens if one of the most eligible bachelors in the jianghu turns up with an "adopted" son who looks just like him and refuses to say anything about where he came from?

Yeah, Hanguang-jun knocked someone up and apparantly the union was so scandalous he's deperately trying to cover it up while literally bringing this bastard kid into his own clan. Can you imagine a more juicy rumour? Everyone would want to know who this kid's mother is. A-Yuan's background would be one of the hottest pieces of gossip around.

Which, if you're triyng to make sure that no one finds out that this kid is actually a Wen and came straight from the burial mounds, is really fucking bad. If everyone is looking for A-Yuan's backround and someone succeeds, his life is in danger.

A-Yuan lost his memories, and that must've hurt like hell for Lan Wangji, both for A-Yuan's own sake and because that means this child that Wei Wuxian loved and who loved him in turn now no longer remembers him, will only ever know him from the lies the world tells about him. But he didn't do anything about it, because not knowing was safer for A-Yuan. Even if Lan Wangji wanted to personally adopt him, he would not risk A-Yuan's safety to satisfy his own feelings.

On the other hand, A-Yuan looking like Lan Wangji means he looks like a Lan, and wonky as the mdzs timeline is it's pretty clear he was born during the sunshot campaign. The Lan lost a lot of people in the war, they probably have loads of war orphans, and this kid clearly looks like one, they'd have no problem taking him in. Are they 100% sure who his parents were? No, but they probably died shortly after he was born and weren't able to safely return him to cloud recesses.

It's really easy for Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji to come up with a story from here. Someone came across the kid on the streets, saw the family resemblance, and decided to take him back to his home! After the burial mounds Wen Yuan probably wouldn't look too different form an average street rat. Or maybe the boy was raised by a common family who told them about the cultivators that left him there for safekeeping, unable to idenify them exactly but mentioning the signature white robes and forehead ribbon. Who knows!

The point is that Lan Wangji and Lan Sizhui could, for Sizhui's own safety, not be seen as father and son. From Sizhui's comments that Lan Wangji was "like a father or older brother" to him, and the fact that Lan Wangji chose his courtesy name we can infer that after he got out of seclusion Lan Wangji was more involved in his life than he would've been with other disciples. But from the outside that could be explained as a teacher having a favorite student, and an honoured sect elder (and family member, though now the assumption is "distant cousin/nephew" instead of "bastard child") helping to name a child in lieu of parents that are no longer there. By all accounts, Lan Yuan was raised collectively by the Lan as one of the several war orphans they must have had. Just like how he was raised collectively by the burial mound Wen before that.

#mdzs #complaining and whining about fandom #wen yuan #lan wangji #i actually don't think people would know it was lwj that brought a-yuan in? the timing would've been sketchy #i think lan xichen probably took credit for it. #anyway wangxian are still part of a-yuan's found family they just don't neatly fit into he 'dad' shaped hole

[add1ctedt0you]

I know that everyone, projecting, can have different interpretations about the same character, but I really can't understand some of them. For example "jc is an arrogant asshole" : I mean, he is an asshole, but arrogant? I personally disagree. Jiang Cheng is a kid who is grown been compared his own life to Wei WuXian, his perfect sect brother, by both his parents.

Kids like that grown with an inferiority complex, not being arrogant. And I think that the text proofs it enough :

Madam Yu stood up and mocked, "What do you want me to do? Like your father, you want me to hold my tongue? You really are an idiot. I've told you long ago that you'll never in your whole life be able to surpass the one sitting beside you. Not over cultivation, not over night-hunting, even shooting kites, you can't surpass him! It can't be helped. Who would change the fact that your mom is worse than another's? Worse it is, then. Your mom feels injustice for you, tells you countless times not to fool around with him, yet you are still defending him. Just how did I give birth to a son like you? "

Chapter 50

After a speech like that, something that seems usual for them, how in the hell jiang cheng could have ever get arrogant? How?? His mother, the one whose love he doesn't question, is saying to his face that he isn't enough, that he would never been enough. When a child grown hearing this all the time, how can become arrogant??

In fact, Jiang cheng's greatest wish in his youth is not to be the best, is to be enough, is to make his parents proud of him, is to been seen for his worth:

He raise his voice, "You killed the Xuanwu of Slaughter together with Lan WangJi, bathing in blood! How great is that?! But what about me?!"

He punched his fist into a pillar in the hall, clenching his teeth, "... I have also been running around for days, completely exhausted, with not one second of rest!"

Chapter 56

Jiang cheng is extremely upset not because he didn't kill the Xuanwu of Slaughter but because his efforts have been overlooked. "But what about me?" that's what he said and what tormented him. His father had praised wei wuxian and lan wangji, but what about jiang cheng effort? I see a kid who wants desperately love and appreciation.

I want to point out, that obviously his trauma influence his life. As anyone with an inferiority complex, he doesn't think himself good enough, so he behaves according to his belief (I strongly believe that people with inferiority complex don't always achieve everything not because they aren't able, but because they don't think to be able, - something very different - sabotaging themselves without even realizing it). For example, he doesn't think himself able to fight and win against lan wangji not necessarily because he isn't good enough, but because his inferiority complex runs deep. In fact, he is pretty good as cultivator and fighter!

When Jiang Cheng was unaware, he stuffed Zidian's ring back into his hand and sprinted toward the crowd, all the way up to the most dangerous area before the mouth of the cave. Jiang Cheng was about to chase after him when he managed to slice a few corpses, staggering. He felt that Sandu was no lighter than hundreds of pounds.

Jiang cheng, without his spiritual powers, managed to slice a few corpses. (Not having spiritual powers means that he can't heal readily and he gets tired easily)

Jiang Cheng chased over to fight Wen ZhuLiu. Wen Chao saw that his eyes were bloodshot and had on a terrifying expression. The rest of the disciples had also been excited, and there was still a gigantic beast inside the pool, the front-left claw of which had already stepped onto the shore. Wen Chao finally began to fear, "Retreat, retreat. Retreat right now!"

Without any weapon and knowing well what wen zhuliu was capable of, 17 years old Jiang Cheng chased him down. And he was so terrifying that wen chao called for retreat!

That's to say, his insecurities and fears don't ever stop jiang cheng from doing what he has to do. He doesn't feel enough because of his childhood but, nonetheless, jiang cheng is extremely hardworking and competent.

The most laughable one was the YunmengJiang Sect, the people of which either had been killed or had scattered, leaving only Jiang Cheng, who was younger than even Lan XiChen and was still a child born yesterday, who had nobody in his hands but still dared call himself sect leader, holding up the banner of rebellion as he recruited new disciples.

After lotus pier's fall, despite his young age, being younger than Lan Xichen, despite the fact that his sect has been destroyed and despite the fact that he was alone, he dared call himself sect leader, holding up the banner of rebellion recruiting new disciples! Jiang cheng worked hard every day to rebuilt lotus pier!

Within these few years, Jiang Cheng insisted on working late into the night every day. That day, just as he decided to rest early, he had to rush to Koi Tower overnight because of the thundering news.

Chapter 73

Thanks his efforts, lotus pier is reborn again as one of the greatest sect, despite her isolation. No one dares to insult lotus pier or jiang cheng himself!

So, jiang cheng is a strong sect leader, a man accustomed to give orders, but that, again, doesn't make him arrogant. He is probably proud of his sect! As every person who fights, works hard and makes every effort, he is probably proud of his achievements.

#I don't think that this makes sense #Anyway there's a tendency to portray jc in some way #When he is not like that #He has flaws #jiang cheng #mdzs #silly thoughts

[wangxianficrecs]

Follower Recs

~*~

Time travel with juniors, more serious take. @ladyunderthemolehill

How Much Love Has the Inch Long Grass

by Vainwyrm

M, WIP, 12k, Wangxian

Summary: Time travel is, probably, a pretty extreme solution to Lan Sizhui's many problems. But frankly, people need to stop assuming that of the four notorious (former) juniors Sizhui is the rational one. He was raised by Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji. Extreme is what he does. They're all grieving, they're all hurting, and they're all damn angry at the world. And they're the most talented cultivators the world has ever seen. Rational went out the window two years ago.

@vainwyrm

~*~

An interesting take on LQR and canon divergence where he happens to notice something is wrong with NMJ. The author of the fic has many interesting LQR centric fics. @ladyunderthemolehill

Polyphonic

by nirejseki

Not rated, WIP, 14k, Nielan & Wangxian

Summary: Lan Qiren had spent so long trying to save his nephews from his brother’s mistake – he would not now allow them to fall into their mother’s. (in which Lan Qiren notices that there's something wrong with Nie Mingjue...but no matter what it sounds like, he can't believe his nephew would poison his own lover)

@robininthelabyrinth

~*~

Not your usual POV character, CSSR gets a vision of future and proceeds to do something about it. @ladyunderthemolehill

i have built a future in my mind

by LoopyLiesey

M, WIP, 10k, Wangxian

Summary: While sleeping, Cangse Sanren receives a visit from Baoshan Sanren, and a vision of the future that will befall her son if she does nothing. What Cangse Sanren sees cannot be allowed to happen. She will protect her son, from those she once called called friends, and even from himself if she needs to.

@komaeda-nagayto

~*~

Some delicious angst and whump ahead! @ladyunderthemolehill [I second this rec! It's a 💙 ~Mod Kay.]

catch and release (and catch again)

by Gaez (bell_flowers)

T, WIP, 25k, Wangxian

Summary: Before he can even puzzle out what’s happened he’s falling. Falling but still holding Lan Zhan’s hand. Still holding Lan Zhan’s hand because Sandu has severed Lan Zhan’s wrist. (Lan Zhan was not supposed to catch him. He most certainly wasn’t supposed to follow Wei Wuxian over the cliff.)

@gaez

~*~

(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for these hard-working authors if you like – or think others might like – these stories)

#Wangxian Fic Recs #follower recs #mdzs #the untamed #follower rec #WIP Rec Week #WIP #MDZS #Mo Dao Zu Shi #The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation #Wangxian #The Untamed #Chenqingling #CQL #Chenqing Ling #Chen qing ling #How Much Love Has the Inch Long Grass #Vainwyrm #Mature #short fic <15k #Polyphonic #nirejseki #Not rated #Nielan #i have built a future in my mind #LoopyLiesey #wei changze #cangse sanren #catch and release (and catch again) #Gaez (bell_flowers)

[robininthelabyrinth]

would LOVE your take on Lao Nie being genuinely evil actually XD or else, lqr having a wife and children (not saying lan jingyi but…)

“There’s an old saying,” Lan Qiren finally said, and his eldest nephew turned to him in curiosity. “Regarding teaching. In particular, the teaching of one’s own sons…”

Lan Xichen suppressed a smile.

“I think I’ve heard that one,” he said. “I think the gist of it is…don’t?”

Lan Qiren sighed.

Lan Xichen had to hide a smile behind his sleeve. “Shufu is mistaken,” he said, and this time it was his uncle who looked at him in silent question. “The issue is not with your teaching. Jingyi is merely – too high-spirited to absorb it at the moment. That is all.”

Lan Qiren grumbled something about Lan Jingyi being too high-spirited to absorb it ever, but he seemed somewhat appeased by the reassurance. After a few moments, he made an excuse and headed out into the garden where Lan Jingyi was playing instead of weeding. Presumably he had originally intended to remind his son of the purpose of the chore, or perhaps to teach him something about the plants he was dealing with, but he very soon got caught up in playing the part of the evil wolf yao hunting down the valiant and intrepid (if shrieking with delight) cultivator.

“Do you remember when shufu used to play with us like that?” Lan Xichen asked Lan Wangji, who had shown up at some point – still pale, still unsteady on his feet, but at least he was back on them once more for the first time in a year. His recent reemergence had done wonders for Lan Qiren’s mood. “He’s really not as hard to distract as he thinks he is.”

Lan Wangji nodded and spent a little bit of time watching the children play – his own chosen ward, Lan Sizhui, had been recruited to play the role of the damsel in distress, a role he seemed to relish (possibly because it gave him more opportunities to swoon down and lie in the dirt).

After a while, Lan Wangji spoke again: “The son resembles the father.”

“Mm, I agree,” Lan Xichen said. He’d been thinking the same – most guest disciples thought of Lan Qiren primarily as a stern and merciless taskmaster, but there were plenty of elders in the sect that were more than happy to share stories of how light-hearted Lan Qiren had been as a child, before the weight of the sect had crashed so unexpectedly down on his shoulders, making him an old man before his time. “As he might have been, if he’d had the chance.”

Lan Qiren had tried painfully hard to be a good role model to his nephews, raising them himself, keeping with almost fanatical strictness to the family rules, even forestalling his own marriage until he’d seen them safely conveyed to adulthood. He’d pretended it was no sacrifice at all whenever Lan Xichen tried to ask about it, claiming he wouldn’t have married any earlier anyway, pointing to the considerable age gap between him and his older brother, their father; it was very nearly the same as the one between him and Lan Xichen. Lan Xichen had often thought that in a just world, Lan Qiren would have been more like an elder brother to them, rather than a father.

Sadly, they didn’t live in a just world.

No, truly, Lan Xichen didn’t think there was anything wrong with the way Lan Qiren was raising Lan Jingyi, even if the boy did end up spoiled beyond all recognition, another Nie Huaisang in the making (albeit more excitable). Maybe he would have a different upbringing then they had had, for all that their uncle had never treated them any differently or loved them any less despite their not having been biologically their uncle’s child the way Lan Jingyi was – it wasn’t a difference in love, not at all.

It was only that their uncle had lived a life of struggle and war, of duty and expectation, and that now, only now, could he live a life of peace.

Let the boy be spoiled, Lan Xichen thought to himself, and smiled.

#mdzs #lan xichen #lan wangji #lan qiren #lan jingyi #my fic #my fics #alt headcanons #i really wanted to do the evil!Lao Nie one but I didnt have any ideas for HOW he would be evil

[morethanwonderful-archive]

Thinking about the cycles of dysfunction in MDZS, and the different brands of misguided that crop up in every clan.

The Nie family curse is single-mindedness. Nie Mingjue is too black and white in his view of the world, which makes him cruel to Wei Wuxian and unable to cope with the truth of Meng Yao. Nie Huaisang is relentless in his quest to avenge his brother's death, willing to endanger anyone and everyone in order to get his way. Once a Nie has decided what is right, he will do anything, hurt anyone, to achieve his view of justice.

The Lan family curse is too much love for people they cannot stomach. The Twin Jades' father falls in love with the woman who kills his teacher, and he can neither accept her deeds nor let her go, so he chooses to lock her away. Lan Xichen swears brotherhood to a man who does not hesitate to commit heinous acts to get his way, but he chooses to brush aside those heinous acts and assume they are justified, because he cannot bear to look at them more closely. Lan Zhan falls in love with a man who would rather die than follow a rule he disagrees with, and it takes him years—takes him until it's too late to save his life—to learn to accept Wei Ying on his own terms.

The Jin family curse is self-centeredness in the extreme. Jin Guangshan assaults countless women, abandons countless children, all for the sake of his own pleasure, but refuses to help out an old flame because it's "too much trouble." Jin Guangyao lies constantly and kills countless people, including his own young son, all for the sake of furthering his ambitions. Jin Zixuan is famously arrogant as a young man, rejecting his fiancé because he feels she doesn't deserve him. Jin Ling, even as a teenage boy, sets up countless nets that ruin others' night hunts, feeling no sympathy when confronted with how unfair this is.

And the Jiang family curse. The Jiang family curse is the inability to suffer without taking it out on those around them, even when it is deeply undeserved. Jiang Fengmian and his wife both act out their frustration with each other via their treatment of Jiang Cheng. Madame Yu also takes out her anger toward her husband and her situation in life via the abuse of Wei Wuxian. Jiang Cheng clings to his brother as a scapegoat when he's desperate, blaming him for the deaths of his parents and sister (and helping kill him for his crimes), and he raises Jin Ling to do the very same thing. And even Wei Wuxian, when he's pushed, comes to assume malice from everyone around him, lashing out at people like Lan Wangji and Jin Zixuan that genuinely want to help.

#mdz #mo dao zu shi #and people like Jiang Yanli or Jin Zixuan that overcome their family curses? #well they don't tend to live very long #especially not in the era before Wei Wuxian's death #it's just not a society that responds well to goodness and kindness #but through wangxian's efforts and the new generation. it's getting better #lan sizhui feels an instant (familial) connection with Wen Ning (who he knows killed his good friend's father among many others) #but he copes with it quite well #and Jin Ling comes around to wwx and wn much more easily than Jiang Cheng does #the kids are alright #the grandmaster of demonic cultivation #english major hours #also yeah I know this is a little reductive #and most of these characters have a lot more going on than just these problems #but I still think that the familial patterns stand

[spockandawe]

There's something deeply fascinating to me about Nie Mingjue, despite what a minor role he plays in mdzs in general, and while a lot of it comes back to the relationships he had with Nie Huaisang and Lan Xichen, the bulk of the really crunchy depth comes back to the complicated dynamics at work between him and Jin Guangyao. The others are great, don't get me wrong, but I'm not still regularly rotating them in my head and finding a new angle that I hadn't really considered before.

I'm not going to rehash all the backstory about different ideals and moral codes, I don't have any particularly fresh insights there. But I was thinking about all the intense big brother energy in the 3zun trio, and I caught myself - Jin Guangyao isn't actually a big brother. Iirc, he's close to (exactly?) the same age as Jin Zixuan (I think there was debate on the shared birthday not meaning they were born the same year), but regardless, they never met until they were basically adults. And his other half-siblings are at an even greater remove. It's not like Nie Mingjue and Lan Xichen, where not only were they close with their little brother, but their biological parents were absent, and they were a major force in raising that little brother.

Jin Guangshan flips a casual middle finger to Jin Guangyao by eventually giving him a name with the wrong generational character, which messes with the perception of age a little, makes him seem older than he is. And Jin Guangyao has a very... responsible mindset, he became Nie Mingjue's deputy at an impressively young age, politics and business come naturally to him, even with Jin money and the position of sect leader, it's impressive how well he's able to wrangle the other sects of the world. He has big adult energy from a pretty young age.

And my first thought was that wait, no, he's not an oldest sibling, he's Baby. At the brothel, he was his mom's only child, but he was also surrounded by a sea of aunts and older sisters the entire time he was growing up, right up until he left. He's a fairly small man and he has a sweet face, he was absolutely baby until he set out for the Jin sect and got thrown down the stairs.

My second thought was that hold on, even if things were like that in the brothel, being the family baby still came with a lot of shitty treatment from all these older sisters and aunts. It's notable that there was one person in that place who was nice enough to him and his mother that he decided she deserved to be saved. It's textual that people there looked down on this pretentious lady who thought she was such an intellectual and better than everyone else and had delusions of her son becoming a cultivator. Between this and the treatment from Jin Guangshan upon arrival, by the time Jin Guangyao meets Nie Mingjue, if he associates himself with siblinghood in any way, it's negative.

And I really do think that Nie Mingjue takes the whole Elder Sibling Responsibility thing very seriously! I think his expression of it can be a very rigid and unflexible sort of love, and smothering to anyone who isn't already aligned with his ideals and priorities, but I do also think he's extremely sincere in terms of it being an expression of care and that it's something he thinks is central to his role as a brother.

Does he want to project that onto Lan Xichen? Sure, why not! Lan Wangji isn't a clone of Lan Xichen, but he's very smart and very skilled, he and his brother are a temperamental match, and the things his family prioritizes come naturally to him. They have an easy, intimate relationship, and we do see Lan Xichen making moves to protect Lan Wangji at his own expense in canon. Perfect big brother work, you get an a+ on your nie mingjue brothering report card. But that isn't going to work at all for Jin Guangyao.

Once Jin Guangyao is accepted into the Jin family, his position is still... oof. Well, his dad's wife beats him, for a start. Her son is the one who's going to be the sect leader someday, and having the wrong generational character reinforces how much Jin Guangyao is being hamstrung. But he's still got responsibilities and duties piled on top of his head, his father blames him for all sorts of things that go wrong, he's been basically installed in a senior place to Jin Zixuan in the family, but it's a position that will be leapfrogged by the inheritance, it's all the downsides of the role with as few benefits as Jin Guangshan can get away with, and it's all happened with 1) no emotional attachment to anyone in this shithole and 2) lots of reasons to resent the family that could have effortlessly lifted him out of poverty, and chose to leave him and his mother suffering instead.

And Nie Mingjue, in that heavy-handed assuming way he has (I love him, truly), is like 'yeah, you're a big brother, and I am now going to project all the responsibility that I feel for my little brother onto you. idk why you have a problem with this, Xichen is fine.' I'm outside of the text now, for sure, but this is a perfect echo of Nie Mingjue's frustration with Nie Huaisang's interests, and we already saw Jin Guangyao navigating that divide in the story. Nie Mingjue struggles to understand why Huaisang won't practice with his saber, and why he wants to collect fans instead. Yes, okay, i get it, he likes fans, i'm glad he's having fun, but the saber is a DUTY.

This is just one ingredient in a complicated soup, but it really has me fascinated. I think the most interesting thing is that it seems like an area where Lan Xichen would have trouble understanding exactly where Jin Guangyao is coming from either. He's sweet, and he's much better at listening and empathizing, but he's still a sheltered rich boy. And I think this is all ultimately a tragedy, to be clear. I think that Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue both really value their brothers and everything about those sibling relationships, and that Nie Mingjue especially has Issues with projecting his own values onto other people, but that he thought that being integrated into a family and made a brother would be beneficial, and a positive role for Jin Guangyao to fulfill. It adds some interesting depth for me to add that into his late-stage frustration with Jin Guangyao, and his anger when he perceives Jin Guangyao as being derelict in his duties. 3zun is really such a tragic dynamic, especially because I'm convinced that under the politics and social maneuvering, there really was also a sincere desire to create something good. But by that point in his life, I'm not sure Jin Guangyao was able to approach the idea of a brotherly relationship with anything other than wary, guarded caution.

#the untamed #jin guangyao #nie mingjue #mo dao zu shi

[loosingmoreletters]

🌩️ and/or ☔ for the wip game please!

☔Is there a fic concept you have that you'd like to just explain and share because you're not sure you'll ever write it? If so, what is it?

Oh gosh, I have too many fic ideas for MDZS but here is one: funky gender and pregnancy ahead.

LWJ returns from his travels with a beautiful woman. She’s strong and smart and when he asks permission to marry this Wen Ying, both his uncle and brother are unwilling to give permission.

You’re too young, she’s a Wen and worst of all - no Lan will have a fox bride.

But, well, LWJ is stubborn and his love dejected.

“I should’ve expected it,” they say. “I can turn myself into a woman, have Wen Qing adopt me into her sect and follow all those rules, your uncle barely took more than one look at me before he said no.”

What a fool Wei Ying had made of himself, thinking he might have a chance. But, well, Lan Wangji is stubborn, so in the morning, LXC sends out disciples to find his brother and his runaway fox bride, but for all sense and purpose, they’ve vanished into the wind.

Three years later, LXC sees his brother again, as he marches into the Lan camp with a Wen General’s decapitated head.

“They burned down our village when we refused to fight,” says LWJ, Hölle like he’s never been. “They killed my spouse and child.”

LXC pulls his brother close.

At the other war front, Jiang Cheng meets the brother he should’ve had. The last time JC had thought of him had been when rumors of the second Jade of Lan eloping with a fox broke through. His father grew sad then, spoke of the boy he couldn’t save. JC feels inadequate as a sect leader, but he hopes he can do his father proud in this. Wei Wuxian is a walking nightmare, has cultivated six blackened tails from the resentment of the dead. “Wen Chao took the three I had,” Wei Wuxian said. “I want his head and heart for my dead spouse and son.”

Jiang Yanli looks at him and thinks WWX needs help, JC thinks that perhaps he can do his father proud if he offers WWX a place in their sect, something to live for.

And then, there in the heart of Qishan, is Wen Ning. He lacks confidence, most of the time, so people think him incapable of lying, but he was taught to lie by the greatest performer of all. He does not remember the day his mother came home with an injured boy and offered him a place to stay, but he does recall the day WWX asked for etiquette lessons, and the day he returned home again with his fiancé and asked if they could hold a wedding there in Dafan, the money WN and his sister put aside for a marriage to Gusu Lan instead used for travels, and later fixing up a cottage to live in until the child would be born. The point is this: WN lies well when the situation demands it, so he lied about the child he pulled from the charred remains of his best friend’s home, claimed the kid as a direct cousin, instead of an adopted nephew. Now all he needs is to get him back to his parents.

Or: I really wanted a fic wheee wangxian meet early and wanna get married but there are enough objects for LWJ to leave his sect, but it escalates into “how long can two characters think they lost everything they loved.”

🌩️ Share something funny/cracky from your WIP.

From an Omegaverse, somehow T rated fic about bitching.

“The quicker you accept it, the easier it’ll be to deal with,” Jiang Cheng advised like a wise old mentor and not the younger brother he actually was.

Entirely unacceptable.

“I can fix this,” Wei Wuxian insisted.

And, despite knowing better, Jiang Cheng asked, “How? Lan Wangji can’t bitch you—”

Wei Wuxian paused in his splashing and raised his head just to see Jiang Cheng’s horrified expression. He couldn’t tell if that was because his brother refused to think about Wei Wuxian’s sex life, which was also what Wei Wuxian preferred, or because he’d hit the nail on the head. Wei Wuxian cackled.

#ask #mdzs #danmeiireader

[eleanorfenyxwrites]

Oooh, I'd like to know more about the Ghost WWX project, please!

Ahhh ghost WWX, my beloved! I started writing it thinking I'd post it for Halloween and then that definitely didn't happen haha. I'd like to make it three chapters long if at all possible, though as per usual I might be severely underestimating how much I have to say about it. It's a bit of a combination sort of story - Wei Wuxian is haunting the Cloud Recesses (specifically Lan Wangji, of course), meanwhile Lan Sizhui is extremely sensitive to ghosts and spirits after growing up in the Burial Mounds and so he's the only one who can see and hear Wei Wuxian! Two of my favorite plot devices haha. Here's a snippet of the beginning of chapter 2, where I switch the POV to Lan Wangji!

-/-

When Sizhui was still very young, recovered from his fever and Lan Wangji’s back healed up enough for the boy to come visit him for brief hours some afternoons, Lan Wangji had heard a rumor. Not many things reached him in his cabin in the back hills, as was proper for a man in seclusion whether it was forced upon him or not, but his brother had told him during one of his monthly visits alone. Whispers amongst the aunties and the disciples that the new inner clan boy had eyes that saw too much, that he was unsettling, unnatural. That he spoke to people who were not there, and that he said strange things about the soil or the air or the water.

Sizhui quickly gained a reputation for putting a chill up the spine of those not accustomed to hearing serious and sometimes frankly alarming things coming from the lisping mouth of a 6 year old. It wasn’t long after that that Lan Xichen begged a single concession from Lan Qiren – that Lan Wangji be allowed to raise Sizhui in his seclusion.

The day Sizhui joined him there in his cottage had been the day Lan Wangji had been forced to come to terms with the fact that he was truly doing it – continuing to live in a world without Wei Ying. He is far enough removed from that time now to realize that he did not handle it well.

Despite the fact that he wasn’t truly in a position to raise a young child, raising this particular child had brought him back from the brink of…something. He isn’t really sure what. Departing the world by his own hand? Allowing himself to simply waste away into nothing, a mere shadow haunting his too-perceptive son? He never had to learn, because Sizhui saved him as much as Lan Wangji saved his son.

But the rumors had been true – Sizhui was a strange child, with a deep and solemn air that suited life with Lan Wangji in the mountain frighteningly well. He frequently spoke of things he shouldn’t know, disciples who had returned injured from night hunts, spirits that were lingering outside the boundaries of the wards, and, a few memorable times, spirits who had somehow managed to slip through the wards undetected to wander peacefully around Cloud Recesses before their souls found rest.

Time passed, as inescapable in seclusion as it was in the thick of the comings and goings of the world, and eventually Lan Wangji was permitted to leave the back hill and raise his son in the Jingshi instead. Visitors became more frequent – just Lan Xichen and Lan Qiren, but their regular companionship and guidance helped Lan Wangji begin to reintegrate into the workings of the Sect. They also helped Sizhui to see that not everyone could see and hear the things that he did, and that it was not welcome to say such things that he could say to Lan Wangji without fear of judgment. Children grow and learn to fear being Other, being mocked, being different, and so Sizhui had gradually allowed Lan Wangji to teach him how to keep quiet about his gifts. By the time he joined the rest of his agemates in their classes, everyone had seemingly forgotten about his strange childhood, or at least they were willing to let his sweet smile and easy mannerisms make up for the unease he’d once created.

It’s been many years since Lan Wangji has heard anything from his son in this respect, and he’d assumed that he had grown out of the sensitivity to the unseen as he’d grown and his orthodox cultivation strengthened, purged him of what Lan Wangji is privately, guiltily sure was the influence of Wei Ying’s cultivation and his traumatic childhood, even before but especially within the Burial Mounds.

Now, Sizhui blinks wide, too-dark eyes at the empty space to Lan Wangji’s left and speaks as if in conversation with Wei Ying, and Lan Wangji’s heart seizes in his chest, dangerously close to breaking.

#the untamed fanfic #A Kind Heart To Haunt #WIP #Lan Wangji #Lan Sizhui #Wei Wuxian #by proxy lol #he's there LWJ just can't see him

[hetaoren]

One-sided Conversation || Fic / Open

Like most people, Lan Qiren does believe his dead ancestors can hear and see him, and he finds it important to pay his respect to them, even if he met few of them and the ones he once did know seemed to care little about him. No matter his own feelings, or lack thereof, paying them respect is the right thing to do, so he regularly does. There's nothing special about it, he lights incense, bows and say quick prayers. He does what he has been taught to do without straying from the pattern. Like with all things, Lan Qiren likes order, rules and predicability.

For some reason, this time things are different. He is still kneeling, like frozen in time, gaze lingering on his brother's spirit tablet. "Xiongzhang, I think I might have failed them..." he begins, his voice barely more than a whisper. "I am worried about Wangji, about him doing a similar mistake to you. I tried to raise them right, do my best. I was strict with them, still am. It is what I believe is needed to temper the Lan heart and human urges." Lans are strict, believing in moderation and balance, but that does not mean they do not feel. Qiren himself has never experienced love the way his brother did or the way Wangji seem to have done, still does, but his love for his nephews and his sect is strong. Painfully strong, and it must be tempered. He knows both his nephews feels a lot, even Wangji with his limited expressions and words. Especially Wangji. His youngest nephew reminds Qiren of his own younger self a lot sometimes.

"It should not have been me. I should have been you. You should have been their father, but you abandoned them." There's a hint of anger in his voice now, the anger he feels about his brother's decisions regarding his sons always frustrates him. "And me. You abandoned me too, xiongzhang, and the sect." This is the first time he is speaking to his brother since he died, other than the regular prayers. "Selfish and overindulgent, vulgar. A cowards decision." The anger is back in his voice now. "You always claimed it was to punish yourself, but the ones punished was your family and sect." This is a discussion they'd had many times and it never lead to anything, especially not now when one of them was dead. "And I miss you..." he then suddenly adds after a moments silence, his voice cracking. "I miss you. I should not do that, but I do. Maybe you could have advice me about what to do concerning Wangji? Maybe not. It is just... I am scared. They are adults now, but the need to care and protect does not go away with age. No one told me that. No one explained to me that I will feel guilty for their actions or their hurt. I am not sure how to solve this. If I can solve this. If you can guide me, if any of my ancestors can guide me, please, do so." Lan Qiren's voice is once again stable and in its usual pitch and volume, shoving his emotions back into the storage in his chest before bowing again and standing up, readying himself to leave and continue with his duties for the day.

Perhaps he has failed his nephews and just like his brother, he will have to take the consequences of those actions. If he failed them, then that is on him. He misjudged, miseducated and that is on him, not his nephews, even if they are responsible for their actions, but if he had raised them right, then their actions will show that. Lan Qiren sighs, he guess time will tell.

#musings #headcanon #open #set somewhere between the end of wwx's first life #and the 13 year gap

[stiltonbasket]

yet another preview with very little context...

set in @sweetlittlevampire’s Cat Fic verse!

"You found a cat?" Lan Wangji repeats. "What kind of cat?"

"A white one?" shrugs Nie Mingjue. "It jumped through my window with a kitten in its mouth, and it won’t leave. I've been taking care of them both since yesterday."

From the corner of his eye, Nie Mingjue spots the kitten crawling up onto the table, and then—to his utter horror—into the steaming hotpot, where it vanishes under the hot red soup with a soft, bubbling splash. Nie Mingjue drops the receiver, frantic, and throws himself forward in a desperate attempt to stop the tiny cat from drowning in his dinner.

"Hotpot is not for kittens," he screeches, while Wangji wheezes like a dying radiator on the other end of the line. "You could have drowned, and I've already fed you three times today!"

The kitten falls to the floor, writhing as if Nie Mingjue had tried to shoot him instead of rescuing him from a soupy end, and rolls around pathetically until his father (?) comes padding over with a resigned look on his face.

"First time?" Nie Mingjue asks the cat, while it takes the kitten by the scruff of its neck and lugs it away to the cat bed in the living room. "Don't worry too much, Ming Yue. A-Sang's done worse, and it's harder when they're more than six inches tall."

Ming Yue twitches his fluffy tail, apparently in agreement, and stares at Nie Mingjue for a moment before dousing the kitten in his water bowl. The kitten wails at the top of its lungs, trying to squirm out of Ming Yue's grip; but Ming Yue refuses to let go, and washes his son (?) clean with his paws before bundling him into his own silky fur to dry. 

“What happened?” his would-be brother-in-law demands, after Nie Mingjue goes back to the kitchen and redials Lan Wangji’s phone number. “Is Ji—is the kitten all right? And what about the cat?”

“The kitten is...wet,” Nie Mingjue says lamely, watching as a minute paw emerges from Ming Yue’s coat before being unceremoniously stuffed back inside. “It fell into my dinner. I was having a hot pot, so...”

“He fell into your hot pot?” Wangji cries, distraught. Nie Mingjue sympathizes, because Miantiao-bao has been driving him and Ming Yue half-wild for the past twenty-five hours. “Where is he now?”

“In Ming Yue’s fur. He’s breathing all right, so he should be fine. I think.”

Lan Wangji sounds more dismayed than ever. “You think?”

“Well, I can go check,” Nie Mingjue suggests, wondering if Lan Wangji might have a weakness for all small creatures, and not only the rabbits he raised with Xichen when they were children. He puts Wangji on hold and hurries back into the living room, where he finds Ming Yue brooding in the cat bed like a hen sitting on eggs, with Miantiao’s impossibly small gray tail sticking out from underneath him.

The tail seems to be moving, though. Miantiao must be alive and well, and Nie Mingjue tells Wangji so before disconnecting the call. 

“How did you get saddled with a kitten, anyway?” Nie Mingjue asks. “You two don’t look alike.”

In answer, Ming Yue turns over and curls up around Miantiao, making a soft nest for the kitten out of his own furry body; and Nie Mingjue tries again, oddly certain that the cat might be able to understand him. “What happened to its mother?”

Ming Yue rolls his eyes, or does something very close to it, and lays a tender paw on Miantiao’s head.

“Are you his mother?” After all, Mingjue was guessing when he decided that Ming Yue must be a male cat, and he might very well be wrong; but Ming Yue and A-Tiao are both fast asleep, so Nie Mingjue switches the lights off and checks his messages before getting ready for bed.

Lan Xichen has not contacted him since the day before yesterday.

A-Huan, please answer, he writes again, wishing that Ming Yue and little Miantiao were in the bedroom with him. Be well, my heart. I miss you.

#nielan #mo dao zu shi #the untamed #lan xichen #nie mingjue #lan jingyi #fic preview #my fic #!!!!!!! #also hotpot is poisonous for cats do NOT attempt at home #we will assume that jingyi is a magical cat who can eat human food bc he's a cat shapeshifter #i feel the need to point out that my greatest talent is perhaps giving yall a list of wips #and then showing up 12 hours later with something entirely different #and i have done it yet again #rip u_u

[hanguangbuns]

something something the way lan wangji dealt with the loss of his fated person in comparison to his father

we know that ever since qingheng-jun married madam lan, he lived away from her in a separate home as “punishment”, and when she died, he went into indefinite seclusion

what was the consequence of this? well since qingheng-jun was officially the clan leader, his brother, lan qiren, had to step up and take over his duties for him, and became interim clan leader for many years. we also don’t really know what qingheng-jun was doing during his years of seclusion. reflection? meditation? improving his cultivation? all three? what i notice about the mdzs universe is that mxtx doesnt give us a lot of information about what characters do during seclusion, if its any different from her other stories at all. what we do know from other stories in the genre, is that generally, a cultivator in seclution/secluded meditation is their most vulnerable. ie, if their time during seclusion was somehow interrupted, it could pose a great threat to their livelihood. i think this is one reason how qingheng-jun “easily” died when the cloud recesses was beseiged—he was forced to come out of secluded mediation, at the expense of his golden core, and his cultivation. (though the details of the seige itself is unclear as well—mxtx seems to love leaving out details in her work. well i’m completely fine with that!)

we also dont really know how much he interacted with his sons, or how his relationship was like with them, but since he went into seclusion when lan wangji was around six, it’s reasonable to assume that he is not much of a strong influence in their lives. from the moment they were born, lan qiren raised them instead, and sought to shape them into the perfect gentlemen, and ideal members of the clan. to avoid the mistakes of their father, and avoid falling to his same fate. but ive always wondered just what the two twins of jade thought of their father. we know they loved their mom, but what they feel to their father? is it indifference? respect? we dont know for surr. but one clue we’re given is in the xuanwu cave, where lan wangji lays it all out to wei ying what happened to his home, and what is happening to his father. he is angry, he is frustrated, and he is upset. he cries—for his father? or from the sheer frustration? we just know that he is feeling overwhelmed and upset. lan wangji may or may not feel any strong love towards his father, but it’s just father nonetheless, and it’s his brother, his family, his home too.

after taking wei ying away from nightless city, lan wangji makes the resolution to protect wei ying and be by his side. he defies his 33 elders and fights them in order to protect wei ying, resolutely telling his uncle that he wasnt sure if wei ying was right or wrong, but no matter what he will be by his side. already, one could say it is a stark difference from qingheng-jun and madam lan’s situation, where although qingheng-jun married his wife to protect her, he still believed himself to need to atone for what he’s done.

when wei ying died, lan wangji had also went into “seclusion”, though we learn that its not necessarily because he wanted to, but because he was recovering from his punishment instead. rather, “seclusion” is the excuse the lan clan gives to the cultivation world for lan wangji’s wherabouts, to protect him. when he recovers, he leaves seclusion after three years, and instead works hard to be a teacher, a mentor, a brother, a nephew, the second jade of lan… to be hanguang-jun. though he earned his title years before, during the sunshot campaign, he does his best to live up to it. he is praised by the world to be wherever the chaos is, helping people not for glory or money or power but because it’s the right thing to do, no matter how trivial the task may be. he steps up, he pursues trivial matters, he helps his brother, he avoids the politics of the jianghu, and teaches with a certain kindness and trust that instills in the younger generation to instinctively admire him, and ask him for help when they need it. he is hanguang-jun and he certainly earned it.

later, when wei ying comes back to the world, he does his best to protect him, but he never does anything wei ying doesnt want. he never forces himself on wei ying, and never expects his love to be returned. it is unknown how madam lan felt about qingheng-jun—what we know is only word-of-mouth, and from what lan xichen said, its rumored that she didn’t love him, and the gentian cottage was more like her place of imprisonment. though we cant say for sure, we can see how different it is from wangxian’s relationship—lan wangji never wishes to tie wei ying down to any one place, they travel together, and stick together. (though lan wangji seems to never want wei ying to leave his sight, it seems to come from a place of concern for his safety. cue shenanigans of wei ying trying to run away multiple times throughout their journey, and lan wangji dragging him back by his collar. y’all can interpret that how you like). when it is revealed that he knew he was wei ying the whole time, well ying doesnt seem to try to run away anymore. (now that i think about it… i think lan wangji reveals this when he is assured that wei ying won’t try to run away… since it’s when wei ying comes back to him after his encounter with jiang cheng, jin ling, and the curse mark he transferred to himself).

my takeaway here is this—both lan wangji and his father dealt with the loss of their fated person very differently, and as a result came out very different men. qungheng-jun lived out the rest of his life in seclusion, and died in a seige against his family. lan wangji, hanguang-jun, on the other hand, had instead decided to dedicate his life to help the common people. without taking any payment, he would move on from the loss and continue to go wherever the chaos is. he became a beloved mentor and teacher, and became a morally ideal, highly refined gentleman.

in the end, between qingheng-jun and hanguang-jun, only one was eventually rewarded

#mdzs #lan wangji #wangxian #wei wuxian #qingheng-jun #mxtx #madam lan

[hyacinth4maria]

i know lan sizhui grew to be who he is because of lan wangji, but he is so lan xichen down to the core. like, the way he interacts with the rest of the junior quartet, especially when trying to de-escelate the squabbling between jin ling and lan jingyi is so reminiscent of 3zun. lan sizhui is so lan xichen, down to his perpetual pleasant smile and his perfect manners and his default kindness.

#just ahsjahjdd the parallels #and thinking about how lan wangji raised his son to be like his brother is just such a sweetly melancholic thought #but also #lan xichen must have had a hand in raising him #so it explains stuff #but lan sizhui is so lan xichen and i will die by this #because although lan sizhui has all of lan wangji's righteousness and morality #he has this softness that is so lan xichen #idk these are just my thoughts while im trying to distract myself from the fact that i just cancelled another important meeting :) #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #cql #lan sizhui #a yuan #junior trio #junior quartet #lan wangji #lan zichen #mdzs meta

[guqin-and-flute]

Lan Xichen Episode 42 ✨Face Journeys✨

karetahana said: Listen. i am here literally asking for the analysis if you feel like doing 🤩

OH, WELL IF YOU INSIST *turns with a lovingly embossed binder full of Xichen pictures* This is sincerely self indulgent and long as absolute fuck, just a warning. Bold is a direct quote from the show (Youtube/Netflix)

~~~

OKAY. Episode 42. We start at 30:20, Lan Wangji is sitting next to Wei Wuxian who is convalescing on Lan Wangji’s bed back at the Cloud Recesses after having been stabbed (bummer) during a disaster of a recon mission that landed not only him and Wangji in hot water with everyone (double bummer), but Xichen as well for demanding entry to Jin Guangyao’s secret room (triple bummer). Wuxian is worried about being back in the Cloud Recesses-- “What if your brother finds out?” Enter Xichen, rocking up to the conversation with a fucking joke; “I found out already.” Letting him sweat a little, but as he sounds pretty calm, it’s mostly a ‘it’s hilarious that you think that I wouldn’t know about this, dude.’ (Bro, how are you so chill? How are you so good?)

They get up and bow as he strolls in. Wuxian apologizes for existing here, in his mountain and stuff. Xichen shakes his head with amused fondness; 

and hits them both with this smile that reaches his eyes and says ‘Nah, son, that was me. You can live here while they search for you ‘cause I’m nice and I like you.’

Genuine, comforting, and warm. ‘Glad to have you here, Wuxian.’

WWX and LWJ exchange a look--probably WWX asking for confirmation, LWJ giving it. Then, with zero further ado, WWX jumps right in with “Where’s Chifeng-zun’s body?”

Surprise. Looks like they’re jumping right into it (and I don’t know if Xichen notes this, but I certainly do--with no ‘thank you’ or ‘sorry about that, kinda awkward for everyone’ or pre-emptive offered explanation as to what the fuck went down yesterday at JinLinTai.)

That pain has resurfaced recently and is not easily hidden away. This topic is upsetting.

He turns his back, walks away as he tells them that the body is safe and with Huaisang. He’s not sure he can control what’s going on on his face when it comes to what happened to Da-ge. His eyes move around a lot as he says this--he’s still thinking. 

WWX: What was Jin Guangyao’s reaction? 

LWJ: [slightly bitter] Flawless

At this, Xichen turns back, face under control. (Liebing is in between them, now. Subconsciously defensive?)

He looks between both of them as he speaks and these smiles don’t quite reach his eyes like the first ones. His chin dips down in firmness, his eyebrows are raised in what I personally would interpret as ‘leading expectance.’ The point of this visit is incoming.

LWJ knows that tone, even if WWX doesn’t. 

Looking at WWX, he’s smiling, but still doesn’t quite meet his eyes. There’s something more than just fondness there. “Now that Wei-gongzi is awake...” [pause] 

Looks to Wangji. Abruptly, there is more to his expression--less masking, more intent in his eyes. This is serious and he is being earnest.  ‘Don’t you think you owe me something of an explanation for how nothing you both said was proven after I publicly threw my lot in with you without question and demanded Jin Guangyao open his secret room? And then his wife died inexplicably? And then you fought your way out? And I told you to bring WWX back on good faith because we both care about him and I know what he means to you?’ (Have I mentioned yet how chill Xichen is? And how great?)

LWJ: [slightest of head bows, no expression change] Brother.

Now, I don’t quite know what this is supposed to mean, but Xichen sure does and his reaction makes me think it’s some sort of younger brother sass that he’s used to.

Fond exasperation and some warmth back in his expression. A sigh and an affectionately despairing ‘what am I going to do with you?’ But he’s still waiting. 

LWJ: Brother. Jin Guangyao does indeed have Chifeng-zun’s head.

This is not an explanation or proof. It’s a doubling down of what they have said before with no further information. 

Immediate disbelief--’This again.’ He covers it quickly, mask back up, but there is a tightly held patience in his smile that does not bode well for LWJ or WWX.  The pleasantry starts to leave even if the smile remains.

LWJ: He saw it with his own eyes

And oh holy shit. That fake, tight smile drops away, and there is something almost cold in his eyes for a moment, here. We have hit the heart of it. His eyes flick over to WWX and a low, troubling cello note plays in the background. Deep displeasure at this answer. (This is one of those times when I remember that Xichen is, in fact, quite a dangerous monster hunter.)

WWX knows how this sounds and does not meet his gaze. He, at least, shows he’s aware of what Xichen is getting at.

Xichen stares a moment more, looks back at Wangji and very visibly swallows back anger as his jaw flexes. 

When he blinks, the smile is back. He holds a lot of tension in the corners of his mouth as he forces it. There is anger in them there hills. He is frustrated. Wangji is deliberately not seeing things from his perspective, as he has repeatedly tried to do for him and Wuxian. Xichen is trying very hard to be reasonable and calm about this.

LXC: You believe in Wei-gongzi? LWJ: I do. LXC: [in the manner of a teacher leading you to an answer] What about Jin Guangyao? LWJ: Not credible. 

[Slightly jarring cut to Xichen from farther away, (and blurry as hell?) clearly a different take, but whatever]  He sighs and comes closer and--YAY--fond exasperation is back. ‘You are being deliberately obtuse, bro.’ 

LXC: Then how do you judge who is credible or not? [Pause] LWJ: [silence] LXC: You trust Wei-gongzi and I trust Jin Guangyao. [Expectant pause]

He’s being patient again. ‘You know, like 16 years ago? When no one trusted Wei Wuxian or looked for all the facts? And just relied on hearsay? Do you see what I’m getting at? Is this familiar at all, Wangji? There are parallels that you should be able to empathize with.’ 

Silence from Wangji as he stares into the middle distance around the area of Xichen’s shoulders. 

Xichen elaborates further into this silence, saying something along the lines of; ‘neither of us saw the head, we’re going on trust--both of us. You do not have solid evidence beyond hearsay whereas I am working off of years of personal experience as evidence from my perspective. You do understand that I’m going to need more than this, right? I have not seen Wei Wuxian in 16 years and the last time I did he was trying to murder us all.’ (Well. Okay, maybe not in so many words, but that’s the gist.) During the majority of this speech, the camera slowly pans past Xichen speaking, zooming in on Wangji’s face. 

He is deliberately closed off. He is not responding to Xichen verbally and his nonverbal signals are basically, ‘I disagree. I disagree. I disagree.’ Then, we get this little batch of juicy facial expressions along with a speech.

So much is here. Frustration, fear, pleading, asking to be understood. He is intense and earnest. ‘You’re not trying to understand my position. Please.’ He ends with this face.

Waiting. He is losing his composure. This is a Lan fight, now; he is no longer really considering the fact that there is anyone else seeing him or hearing him other than Wangji. There is a beat of silence. Wuxian looks at Wangji. The camera cuts to Wangji and nothing has changed in his face at all during this pronouncement and he is still not looking at him. Xichen tries again.

There is less mobility in his eyebrows, and the corners of his mouth are tight again. He is disbelieving. ‘So your reason is allowed to be because Wei Ying said so but mine isn’t allowed to be I’ve watched this happen before to you and I refuse to be party to another mob before I have all the facts? You’re not even going to try to understand when I’ve done all I can to try to understand you?’ He ends with this face, for a few moments, clearly hurt.

Wangji remains silent, but he looks down and away with his eyes. Wuxian breaks in, says, “Lan-zongzhu,” almost reprimanding, obviously tense. And it’s clear that Xichen had forgotten that he was there because here’s the face journey that started this whole post.

He looks to Wuxian instinctively without masking, reminded of his presence. It takes him a second but he blinks and and realizes what he’s done.

Goes inside. Has whatever dialogue with himself that he has whenever he dares to have an undiplomatic and entirely “selfish” emotion. Takes in a breath. Makes himself presentable with a smile. And reassures Wuxian that he still plans on being impartial and will not reveal where Wei Wuxian is. Wuxian bows and thanks him for this.

Xichen almost says something--or maybe he’s thinking--but all he does is sigh. He looks vaguely regretful and is clearly reeling himself back in. He does not reply and he does not look at Wangji. Wangji is staring past him. (The boys are fightiiiiing.)

In this opening, Wei Wuxian steps closer and insists, very seriously, that Mingjue’s head really was in Jin Guangyao’s posession. And Xichen does this.

He steels his jaw, takes a breath, and smiles. ‘Sure kid. What I say clearly doesn’t matter. Because we’re here again.’ Now, he talks with Wei Wuxian and he is measured and patient and perfectly pleasant. Sometimes, his face grows serious when he listens. 

But when he speaks--either right before or during--he smiles this smile. 

He ends all of his sentences with this smile.

Even when Wuxian suggests that it might have been the music being played that drove Mingjue to qi deviation, he blinks, sighs, and says;

It is all nearly the exact same expression. It is perfectly acceptable, completely polite. But it is not familiar or warm and it does not reach his eyes. It is defensive, covering up whatever other emotional reaction he might have to Wei Wuxian’s words. Any vulnerability is gone. He is not offering it to Wei Wuxian. He is no longer asking to be understood. He simply repeats, in different ways, ‘You do not have hard facts. You have not brought me proof. I’m sorry, but you have not convinced me.’

Xichen does not look at Wangji through this entire conversation and Wangji says nothing. Wuxian offers to show Xichen proof--the thing he’s been asking for this whole time--and his reaction is to nod.

And smile the same exact smile.

#my stuff #my edit #meta #lxc meta #THE END #Shamelessly and unapologetically adoring of Lan Xichen goodnight #I love a good expression analyzing because I'm a nerd 🥰 #I think that's what hurt Xichen most--Wangji just stonewalling him when he opened up and /asked/ for something #Listen. Lan Xichen is unbelievably cool about this whole thing. UNBELIEVABLY. #He knowingly houses the people that are actively looking for proof that one of the closest people to him has done horrible things #While also saying 'I have not seen evidence that convinces me'. He is the friend you want on your side if someone badmouths you. #He could severely damage his reputation by just HAVING WUXIAN AROUND and yet he's like 'sure I'll fund your private investigation' #'AGAINST MY BOYFRIEND' #While saying 'Show me the facts and I will make an informed decision.' #Why anyone thinks that this is him being stupid is beyond me #ANYWAY. THAT WAS FUN AND LONG WINDED. THANK YOU KARETAHANA FOR THE ENABLING #If you interact with this post please for the love of GOD don't call him a himbo. That's all I ask. I'm so tired. #I'm pinning until sometime tomorrow so I don't have to reblog because tumblr won't let me tag the requester 🤗

[robininthelabyrinth]

A-Yuan wasn’t the only child among the Wen Remnants, just the youngest.

Children's Day - ao3

Lan Wangji carefully scooped up the boy out of his hiding place, tucked beneath a pile of stones, sick with fever and fast asleep.

It was a good hiding place. If Lan Wangji hadn’t played Inquiry and demanded to know if there were any living beings around in this cursed place of death, he would never have found the small child.

He remembered him – this was little A-Yuan, who Wei Wuxian had taken down into town to play, the one Lan Wangji had bought all those toys for in his confusion, the one who called him rich-gege. Barely more than two years old, having never known anything but war.

He was all that was left, now. There was nothing else left in the battlefield.

No one else left.

Lan Wangji closed his eyes in pain.

I’ll care for him for you, he promised Wei Wuxian’s ghost, wherever it might be now. Now that you cannot.

I’ll take him back to Gusu to raise as my own – wishing you were by my side.

-

-Earlier-

“Sect Leader!” one of his aides cried out when he staggered back into camp. “What – who’s that?”

Jiang Cheng looked down at the girl in his arms. She was – four, maybe? Five? He had no idea.

She looked a bit like Wen Qing.

“I found her hiding in the corner of the battlefield when she made a noise,” he said hoarsely. “The Wen sect remnants…by the time I got there, they were almost all dead already, all her family. She’s – she’s young. It didn’t seem right.”

Wei Wuxian always liked children, he thought vaguely to himself as he looked down at her. It wasn’t so much of a surprise that he would keep one there…in fact, if he thought back to that horrible meeting they’d had that one time he’d come to the Burial Mounds to try to talk to Wei Wuxian, he thought he remembered there being a small child there. This must be her.

She was bigger than he remembered, but that was what happened with small children, wasn’t it?

“Her surname is Wen?”

“No,” Jiang Cheng snapped automatically, and his aide took a step back from his vehemence. “The Wen sect is dead, you understand? All of them. The cultivation world refused to allow them to live, that much is obvious enough. Her surname…”

He looked down at her.

I failed Wei Wuxian, he thought grimly. I won’t fail his legacy.

“Her surname will be Jiang.”

-

-Earlier-

“We found this child hiding in the Demon Subduing Cave,” one of the guards reported, looking nervous. “Lianfeng-zun – what do we do with them?”

Jin Guangyao frowned down at the child, judging the child’s age to be about five or six – maybe seven, considering the likelihood of malnutrition at the Burial Mounds. If they were any younger, he would’ve said that the child ought to just execute them as useless; any older, and he would’ve had no choice but to declare them an enemy combatant, and thereby order them executed.

At this age, though…they were still young enough to be taught to forget their current surname, and to learn new loyalties, and yet old enough to perhaps remember a little of what they had learned, living as they had for a few years with the inventor of demonic cultivation.

Jin Guangyao glanced at the papers in his hands, full of barely legible scribbles, laying out powerful new spells and interesting ideas. They would help Xue Yang with his work – but not as much as a helper would, and naturally they’d just brutally executed all the other ‘helpers’ that might have been available.

Not exactly Jin Guangyao’s personal preference, but he wasn’t the one leading the Jin sect army.

Still, his father, who had been the one leading, had retired to his tent, and now Jin Guangyao was the one with the power, left to be in charge of mopping up. That, in turn, gave him a little more leeway, which meant he could implement his own thoughts, rather than badly thought out instructions.

“Put the child in my tent,” he said, and smiled. “The poor thing must have gotten lost and entered the battlefield – after we arrived. You understand?”

The guard saluted deeply. “Lianfeng-zun is kind and beneficent,” he said, and his expression was worshipful. “I will tell the others that the child is from some distant Jin branch.”

Jin Guangyao hadn’t intended for him to do that, but – well, he couldn’t exactly refute it now, could he, and anyway there were worse things to happen. Everyone would know that he had kindly taken in some orphaned child of war, which would be good for his reputation.

He smiled and nodded, and thought of the future.

-

-Earlier-

“Well, shit,” Nie Mingjue said, staring at the trio of children: nine or ten years old, he thought, maybe a little older, two girls and a boy. They stared back at him, wide-eyed and terrified – they were very clearly trying to sneak off the Burial Mounds down the back way.

Nie Mingjue rubbed his face, glad that he’d insisted on doing the forward scout work before the attack tomorrow morning himself rather than let it go to someone else. He hadn’t wanted to come to this blasted place in the first place, being that he still wasn’t sure exactly what had gone down with Wei Wuxian, who’d been a good man once. But good Nie cultivators had died at Lanling City at Wen Ning’s hands, the Jin sect claiming that that brutal attack was at Wei Wuxian’s instigation, and at the Nightless City at Wei Wuxian’s hands directly, and he didn’t have any evidence to exculpate the man, either; he had no grounds to look the families of those Nie cultivators in the eye and tell them not to pursue vengeance against the man who had slaughtered their brothers and fathers and sons, sisters and mothers and daughters, like they meant nothing.

They deserved vengeance.

Just as he had, for his father.

But at the same time…

“You’re all surnamed Wen, I take it?” he asked, and they slowly nodded. “Dafan Wen?”

Another nod.

“Wrong answer,” he said, making a snap decision. This wasn’t like his father at all, not really; he had wanted to kill Wen Ruohan, who had done the deed himself, while these children clearly hadn’t done anything. “Swear to me here and now that you won’t seek revenge for your sect or family, and you can be surnamed Nie instead.”

They looked at each other.

“Your family didn’t send you to run away because they wanted you to take revenge,” he said. It was a guess, but he could tell from the way their shoulders sagged that he was right. “They wanted you to live. Well?”

They swore.

He took them home.

-

-Earlier-

She tripped and fell flat on her face.

“Hey, girl!”

She looked up, eyes wide with terror – she hadn’t expected to be caught so soon – but the cultivator in front of her didn’t strike her down. He was a young man, just a few years older than her, and he looked nice, kneeling to help her up.

“Are you all right?” he asked. “Did you get lost?”

Lost? From where would she get lost, exactly?

Despite that, she nodded.

“I’m sorry to hear that. Here isn’t a good place, though – we’re going to have a battle tomorrow…can you tell me where you’re from?” He frowned. “Or – can’t you speak?”

An idea suddenly came to mind, and she shook her head, lifting up her hands to mime signs like the ones she’d seen Lady Wen and her brother use sometimes when they needed to talk without disturbing others.

“Doesn’t talk,” he murmured to himself. “Clothing of white, ripped all to ribbons –”

She’d torn out any trace of the red sun. White was a common color, but she was old enough to know that she couldn’t let anyone know she was surnamed Wen.

“Oh, I’ve read about this before! Are you a bird yao that’s cultivated to humanity?”

What?

She’d been thinking of trying to pass as a traumatized war veteran, but she was only fourteen, after all; it wasn’t very believable. Of course, it was a lot more believable that bird yao – who would leap to that conclusion?

“My surname is Ouyang,” the man said, smiling brightly at her. “You should come back with me – I can teach you to speak, and we can give you a name…how about ‘Luo’ as a surname? That has to do with birds. Or we could surname you Bai, instead, since your clothing is white! Or maybe -”

She smiled helplessly at his nonsense. What a silly, cheerful man! Maybe she’d overestimated his age, he couldn’t be more than two or three years older, at most, and his brain was clearly not in the right place, filled up to the brim with romantic stories and adventure tales instead of facts.

It was a nice change, actually.

She accepted his hand as she stood.

Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad.

-

-Earlier-

Lan Wangji had returned home and submitted to a dreadful punishment. The elders he had injured on Wei Wuxian’s behalf were either in treatment or recovering.

As for the rest that had been at the Nightless City…

Many were dead.

Lan Qiren landed in the Burial Mounds, lips pressed tightly together.

He knew he was taking a risk in coming here to Wei Wuxian’s lair – no matter what Lan Wangji thought, whatever good points he’d had in the past, the man was now little better than a mad dog. He’d caused the death of three thousand people just the day before, three thousand innocents that hadn’t had anything to do with anything; why would he hesitate to attack his old teacher?

There was already talk of a siege – Jiang Cheng himself had promised to lead it, to wipe off the stain on the Jiang sect’s record, and the Jin sect had been right behind him. Even Nie Mingjue had been dragged in against his will, suborned by his sect members’ need for vengeance. As for the Lan Sect…Lan Xichen had looked so stricken by the thought that Lan Qiren had volunteered for the grim duty, despite Lan Qiren having never been much of a fighter and even less of a general. He intended to take only the smallest possible contingent, and to limit their work as much as possible to cleansing the dead rather than killing those who remained there – that much, at least, he could do for his nephew.

Either way, though, no matter his powers, Wei Wuxian would not live out the week.

If Lan Qiren desired vengeance, he need only wait.

And yet, here he was.

Alone, practically unarmed – and here nonetheless.

An old woman came out from the cave and squinted at him.

“It’s over,” she said sadly. “Isn’t it?”

Lan Qiren looked at her. One of the Wen remnants that Wei Wuxian had surrounded himself with, he assumed; the ones he’d given up his comfortable life for, claiming he was only acting as a righteous man ought. Perhaps he even had thought he was, back then.

Perhaps he really had been, back then.

“Yes,” Lan Qiren said, and cleared his throat. “After what he did at the Nightless City – the verdict is unquestionably death. But the rest of you…there are armies coming, and armies are not known for their leniency, especially not on passerby with the wrong surname. But they’re not here yet. There’s still time to flee – if you go now, you could take on a new surname and find some quiet place to live on.”

Lan Wangji had said they were civilians. Civilian life was to be prioritized above all else.

Lan Qiren was only doing what he must.

Despite his well-meant warnings, however, the old lady shook her head.

“There’s nowhere to go, and we won’t give up our surname,” she said, polite but stubborn to the last. “But thank you for taking the time to come here to tell us.”

“Wangji said that there were children here,” Lan Qiren insisted, ignoring her refusal. “If you won’t flee with them, at least send those that are old enough out on their own, and hide the younger ones. Tell them to forget their surnames – most people won’t rampantly murder children, so there’s a chance they’ll make it through, and live. Can you deny them that, just for pride?”

That gave the old woman pause.

“We’ll do what we can,” she said, and then eyed him. “How good are you at medicine?”

Lan Qiren frowned. “I can’t provide care –”

“She’s already dead. Come help anyway.”

The woman in question was not already dead, but dying – she was in her late teens, seventeen or eighteen at most, and she was in labor. From the glassiness of her eyes, the redness of her cheeks, and the threadiness of her pulse, it was clear that infection had long ago set in. It was not an exaggeration to say she was dead, little better than a corpse.

She was little more than a child.

“I don’t want her to die alone,” the old woman said. “But if you stay with her, I can use the time to try to take care of the rest. You’re not wrong, I suppose – the children, at least, deserve a chance to live on, even if it means leaving our surname behind.”

Lan Qiren looked down at the woman, unconscious already and unlikely to ever wake, and yet still whimpering. “And her child?”

The old woman looked surprised. “Can a child born like this still live?”

Lan Qiren had almost no medical training beyond the most superficial basics that were the necessity for any battlefield or night-hunt, with one sole exception: he had supervised the births of both his nephews by himself with little aid – his brother’s wife hadn’t wanted anyone else to be present, possibly in an attempt to prematurely enter her grave, possibly just out of spite. He had studied very hard in the days leading up to those births, and knew far more on the subject than most men did.

“It’s possible,” he said. “Unlikely, but – possible.”

He hesitated for a long moment.

“I can take the baby,” he finally said. “Pass him off as some war-orphan child of distant Lan cousins, sent to me on account of their deaths. I could raise him, or else give him to my cousin to raise; he’s got a large enough family that no one would question it.”

“Why would you do that?”

Lan Qiren looked at the woman who was dying, little more than a child herself. “Because of the children I can’t help.”

The old woman was quiet for a little while.

“Very well,” she said, and leaned forward to whisper the name the young woman had thought about for her child into his ear. “That works with Lan as a surname, wouldn’t it? That’s not bad.”

“Not bad at all,” Lan Qiren agreed, and rolled up his sleeves, settling down beside the girl. “Not bad at all.”

#mdzs #lan wangji #jiang cheng #jin guangyao #nie mingjue #lan qiren #original characters #my fic #my fics #children's day #some untamed elements

[flyndragon]

One of the biggest problems with any half-serious reconciliation between WWX and JC is the fact that WWX's post-canon family, the ones he now loves as much if not more than JC, all have reason to loathe and mistrust the latter (LWJ - look at canon, LSZ and WN being the 'leftovers' (JC's word) he wanted put down and whose entire family he voluntarily led and contributed the most to slaughter. I don't think any of the three would 'ban' a detente but they couldn't possibly want JC (cont)

2/ in THEIR lives and why should they? WWX wouldn;t ask of of them. So how do you think the WWX and JC would manage to connect - just at Koi Tower? JL would probably like that, and it would respect WWX's other loved ones' feelings and history.

Anon, first of all - thank you for sending me my first ask? I am very much not an expert on anything mdzs, and have only written one (arguable) meta on why I like a ship. I haven't published any fanfic (due to my own insecurities, not necessarily because I don't write it, lol) on this topic either.

But, if you really want my little opinion about it, I can give you a couple thoughts! In a list, because that's how my brain functions.

1. Lan Shizui - He is going through a time after canon, but that is completely disconnected to JC! He probably has very few thoughts about the guy post-canon other than the fact that one of his adopted dads really doesn't like the guy.

He basically is rebuilding his identity as a Wen and learning more about them (implied by his post canon road-trip with WN) and is going to be busy reconciling this new identity he may have suspected was missing but didn't know about with his identity as a Lan. Jiang Cheng wasn't the only person at the siege! LQR and LXC were there too!! That's his uncle and (essentially) his grandpa! I think he's going to be way more preoccupied with the deep emotional issues from that than he will from any interacting WWX does with JC

And we also have to question how close is he with wei wuxian post canon in our fanfic. I know we as the fandom and fanfic authors love to make them act as a father and son, completing, along with LWJ, a nuclear family. But LSZ has lived the vast majority of his life without any idea he had a connection to the yiling patriarch! They share a cute moment at the very end, but he's off to find himself with WN. Lan Shizui has been raised by lan wangji and had wei wuxian as an occasional babysitter for 6 months or so when he was four, and he only has barely started remembering that time in his life.

When I look at Shizui I don't think he has the power or desire to stop WWX from reuniting with his brother. And, even if he wanted to, I don't think any reconciliation would make a big enough impact in his life such that JC was 'forced' on him. Even if jiang cheng visited the cloud reccesses, LSZ is gone. And even if they were there at the same time, would they be forced to interact? The way JC is most likely to be 'in [shizui's] li(fe)' is through Jin Ling. Which isn't going to be affected by the relationship between wwx and jc.

2. Wen Ning - Admittedly, I am the least familiar with his character out of the three you cited. But, although his big snapping moment with the golden core reveal, I don't know how specifically afraid of or pissed off at JC he is post canon. I think he mostly doesn't like Jiang Cheng for emotionally hurting WWX more than for anything involving the Wen. WN participated in the war, he knows what JC went through. I think that if he sat down for a minute and contemplated the things he said at the reveal, I think he would know they were a bit unfair. If he is going to be angry at JC for the burial mounds siege, he also has to be angry with LQR, LXC, a lot of unnamed cultivatiors from every other sect, and most minor sect leaders. Along with anger for the previous major sect leaders who are now dead.

And he wasn't even at the siege.

I think that most of wen ning’s anger at JC is on behalf of wwx, who he feels was wronged by JC. So if wwx wanted to reconcile, I highly doubt WN would stand in his way. And again, as with shizui, I don't automatically think that wwx reconciling with jc means that WN is automatically going to be forced to interact with JC.

3. Lan Wangji - Why does lwj hate jc? Seriously. You said 'look at canon', and I agree, LWJ does hate JC in canon. and JC responds to that hate with hate. It’s not hard to nail down - LWJ hates jc because of wwx. because even though he was at wwx's death and knows that JC didn't actually stab his sword into wwx, he firmly believes that the actions JC took drove wwx to his death. Its the same reason he hates himself during the timeskip.

That, and LWJ is used to being the only petty bitch in the room (cloud recesses). He doesn't have the emotional insight to recognize that sometimes yelling at someone can be a sign of how much you care. They have different communication styles, and that mostly comes with lwj judging how jc interacts with wei ying. Though we, as the audience, with wwx's pov and our own insight, see they love each other, lwj cannot. So he thinks JC is just actually being mean for no reason.

But again, like WN, he is weak for wei wuxian. if wei wuxian chooses to have a better relationship with his brother, LWJ might protest but I think he would ultimately relent.

This will mean he might have to spend actual time with JC, but ... he's chief cultivator. He's GOING to have to anyway. Not to mention, it seems like he did anyway, judging by their junior night hunt supervision.

I don't think wei wuxian would mind their continued animosity. In fact, in certain scenarios, like their night hunt chaperone death glare match, I bet he'd find it kinda funny.

4. You seem to taking specific umbrage with JC calling the wen remnant 'leftovers', and believe that he specifically wants wen ning and wen yuan to die. You probably took this specific word from chapter 73 of the exiled rebels translation of mdzs. If you look a bit closer, you can also notice that JC's next line of dialogue "I doubt you'll even return all of them". He is making this argument because he wants the brother he loves to be safe and somewhere JC can protect him. He is, throughout this entire scene, pointing out that this is a political disaster and how this hurts both his brother and the jiang. and even then, he does NOT expect all of the wen clan to be returned. He is expecting Wei Wuxian to smuggle a few (or even a lot!) of them away - perhaps people like granny and any children?

Also, wen ning is a fierce corpse who just killed some dudes. Although he did so justifiably, he is still the sort of demon that cultivators kill all the time, and wwx hasn't shown that its even possible to bring back his consciousness. We know he will, but that’s a ridiculous idea to the average cultivator. JC doesn't think he's telling WWX to kill a person at this point but a zombie, which they as cultivators kill all the time.

5. But, in the end, should LSZ, LWJ, and WN all hate JC's guts and refuse to even look at his fucking face post canon - they DO NOT control wei wuxian. WWX has met someone and listened to what they wanted him to so when he wanted the opposite perhaps three times in his entire life. If there is a reason that he thinks he should go talk to his brother, if there is a reason he thinks he should go to lotus pier, if there’s a reason he thinks his brother doesn't hate him anymore and wants to have WWX in his life, WWX is GOING to GO. That’s just his nature.

(the reasons are obviously the territory of fanfic)

WWX respecting 'other loved ones' feelings and history' does not mean denying himself of an equally important relationship in his life. Maybe it means not taking them when he goes to visit JC (and yes, I mean at lotus pier). Maybe it means not talking about Jiang Cheng to them. But it doesn't mean abandoning any hope of ever having a positive relationship with his brother again.

Reconciliation is not about them. Its not about how much hurt JC arguably caused other people surrounding WWX. Its about these two brothers reconnecting with the last person from their family living.

#no extremes here! #wei wuxian #can have a positive relationship with his husband and his best friend and his son and his brother at the same time #also #if i have two people in my life that dont like each other #the solution is not to simply abandon one #and i feel sorry for you if that is your go to solution #i will absolutely understand some people will respond that #jiang cheng #is different because hes an abuser or some shit #but your wrong and if you want to know why you can simply click on my blog and backread #JC anti's don't interact challenge #but also i would like it to be clear that I love all of these characters just #so much #and i didn't mean any of this to be negative towards any of them #they're all precious precious babies #lan wangji #lan shizui #wen ning #mdzs