An important lwj characteristic that I feel like people ignore is that his meeting with wwx is essentially a crunchy mom-raised homeschooled kid who only ate organic carrot sticks and hummus as snacks meeting a public school kid who got lice 4 times in one year and has the military industrial complex equivalent of an immune system because kids used to pay him $5 to eat random shit off the playground equipment
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One thing I love about Lan Wangji is that how the way he’s viewed by others changes with the progression of his arc.
When we meet him in the Cloud Recesses, he’s already well known in the cultivation world. He’s known for being one of the Twin Jades of Lan – for being a model disciple, for being perfectly skilled in everything you’d expect a young master to be proficient in, for perfectly encapsulating all the Lan Sect’s principles, including their immovable adherence to the rules. And that’s immensely impressive. But the thing is, he’s not really defined by himself – it’s not his own identity he’s carving out, but the identity of a perfect disciple of a clan. That’s even echoed in his title as one of the Lan’s Twin Jades. He’s known, first and foremost, for being a son of the Lan Clan’s Sect Leader.
But as he starts to develop, as he starts to grow, what he’s known for changes, and people begin to know him for who, not what, he is. He’s not famous, first and foremost, for being Lan Wangji, one of the Twin Jades – but for being Hanguang-Jun, the ‘light bearer’, the person who goes where the chaos is, and for a title and reputation he’s carved out of his own merits. Instead of being known for perfectly embodying rules and principles, he becomes known for being righteous*, fair, and for caring about the common people; for prioritising their safety over his own reputation in a way that no other important member of a clan did. And I think it’s important to note that although doing this doesn’t break any rules, it does stand in contrast to the actions of most cultivators (and is even look down upon by some people, like Jiang Cheng, though I’m not sure how much of that is due to their personal history). Instead of being famous for embodying the values of the cultivation world, he becomes known for what he does that sets him apart from it.
People begin to define him by his actions and by everything he does that shows who he is as a person; not as somebody defined by embodying the status and clan he was born into. His reputation given to him as a Twin Jade has been carved into a reputation he’s made for himself, as himself.
And I think that’s beautiful.
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Karma in MDZS - Part 3 - Wangji
Part 3 of 3
Part 1 | Part 2
Wangji: freedom from worldly dust
This is the name of Lan Wangji's zither
The story begins with Wei Wuxian's rebirth. In this life, he was summoned by Mo Xuanyu, who asked for him to kill his family. Wei Wuxian does not need to kill the Mos, they die on their own, and Wei Wuxian's debt is repaid without him needing to resort to murder. This concept of repaying a debt is also foreshadowing for what is to come in the story.
There is something of a turning point in Wei Wuxian's luck. He has repaid every debt that he needed to repay, he is now free of the three sins. He's rewarded by... Wangji, being free of worldly dust.
Jiang Cheng, the metaphor for worldliness or samsara keeps following him, trying to capture him, trying to get him to play his game, but WWX is now fiercely guarded now by the metaphor for his good karma, Lan Wangji. The worldly dust cannot touch him now.
Wei Wuxian now has changed. Not only has HE changed, but also, his circumstances have changed entirely. He's not going to be put into terrible situations anymore, because he has already repaid any debts he had.
Wei Wuxian stops approaching the world with pride or arrogance about what he's worth. When the Juniors insult him unknowingly, he just takes it, and gently earns their respect through his generous actions. He isn't attached to his material worth anymore.
Wei Wuxian sees the legacy he left behind with the ghost cultivation. The Juniors use his talisman for nighthunts, and it's positive. Xue Yang uses his techniques negatively, and Xue Yang also dies. Interesting to note that... it's not Wei Wuxian who kills Xue Yang. Wei Wuxian now has the type of karma where he doesn't need to do all that. His cultivation, too, now isn't used for cruelty, but rather, to give peace to spirits who have been wronged, such as A-Qing, Xiao Xingchen, and Song Lan. He has become wiser, as he got rid of his ignorance.
The story ends with the people who made Wei Wuxian's life worse getting their comeuppance. But, and crucially, Wei Wuxian does not take revenge against them. He does not care, and he sees the people he would have hated in his previous life, and approaches them with some level of empathy. He has no more aversion left in his heart, he is too tired to hate anyone.
The second part of Wei Wuxian's life is about getting comfortable with his new status quo, it's about healing. He has come out of a lot of trauma of a life that was frankly hellish, but this time, he gets to relax, be gentle, and enjoy a comfortable life with Lan Wangji. He gets to be taken care of, to be spoilt, to enjoy the comforts of life.
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me?? incorporating the canon wwx confession into my fanfic??? it’s more likely than you think
idk i love it so much. unmatched
the “back then, I really wanted to sleep with you!” is a little embarrassing BUT the rest of it is so good
“You’re really great. I like you. Or in other words. I fancy you, I love you, I want you, I can’t leave you, I whatever you. I want to nighthunt with you for the rest of my life.”
its so good
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