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ghcstchild-a · 7 months

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Addressing Wei Ying’ lack of self respect, self preservation and braincells.

It’s honestly just tragic how he completely misses out on the most obvious things, like Lan Wangji being in love with him, not because he’s dense but because not a single part of his mind can even remotely fathom that he can be loved. The very possibility of it eludes him.

WWX has been taught to see himself as something innately wrong and disposable, and the courtesy for this goes mostly to Madam Yu. There are a few major factors at play here:

• She punished him a lot as a child, for... behaving like a child, even though his antics are often annoying and it's hard to blame her for that. It's quick to form the belief of 'being myself is punishable' = 'something is wrong with me'. The idea is strengthened at Cloud Recess for obvious reasons.

• She treated him with open hatred. The last words he's heard from the only mother figure he was allowed to have were literally those of hate. Jiang Fengmian's kindness paired with absolute lack of involvement where it mattered also played its part: he made his wife angrier by doting on some other woman's son, he pushed his own son away, essentially wrecking the relationship between brothers from the start because it really hurts when your own dad chooses some random kid over you (and the one who has to deal with this mess is WWX himself, he takes the responsibility to comfort and reassure Jiang Cheng, while it shouldn't even be his job). Besides, it never occurred to the Jiangs that fighting in front of the kids while actively involving said kids into the whole mess is a terrible idea.

• WWX's parents are a forbidden topic at home. He knows virtually nothing about them, and whenever his mother is mentioned it only causes more rage on Madam Yu's part and more dirty rumors regarding his origins. This part is probably the worst factor on the list, as it serves the idea that something has been wrong with him from the start, it's in the way he was born. He doesn't remember his parents, others badmouthing them is the only information he can get.

• Wei Ying sees his life as a debt to be repaid, precisely because of the aforementioned factors: he is an inconvenience, someone not worth mentioning, someone who is forced to feel ashamed for all the praise he gets. The idea of having his arm chopped off for the sake of the clan doesn't even bother him much, the acceptance of it comes so easily, so naturally to him. That's why Madam Yu's words about the whole 'protect them even if you have to die for it' thing bring the same easy acceptance, it's something that's already existed in his mind for a while, something he's used to. He genuinely believes that this is how it's supposed to be.

• If something bad happens, he's the one to blame. Somehow it's his fault that the Wen clan decided to destroy Lotus Pier. Somehow it's his fault that Jiang Yanli decided to shove him out of the way and save him from a sword. But he too believes that it was, indeed, his fault.

Now to top it off, the only person who's ever treated him with actual kindness and warmth is Jiang Yanli. Jiang Cheng loved him, but his temperament got the best of him quite often, and the envy Jiang Fengmian planted between them has always been there, eventually exploding and leading to the Burial Mounds siege. Lan Wangji kept pushing him away, but guess what? Wei Wuxian is okay with this BECAUSE that's... love language at home? He was raised to believe that this is exactly how he's supposed to be treated – as an annoying inconvenience that matters less than anyone else, hence his self-sacrificing habits.

And taking his certain... bedtime preferences into consideration, they also originate from the same root. I won't delve deep into this mess for now because that's a whole other level of messed up (incense burner trauma, you know what I'm talking about, and if you don't – it's better if you never find out), but someday I might explore this part of WWX too because well, it's very much there.

TL;DR: WWX is used to being mistreated and perceived to matter less than anyone else due to his upbringing.

#── * HC : a ghost behind the mask.#i feel like this has been said by someone at some point already #but it needs to be here #he might not acknowledge the trauma but it's there alright

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youhideastar · 1 year

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For WIP Wednesday, here's a scene from the next fic in the Wangxian A/B/O Bingo series, which will be the alpha/alpha entry. It'll probably take me a little while to get this one finished because I have some rewatching to do so I can really get the tone right, but here's a little taste for now!

At the Yunmeng courier station, when the figure holding the flute stepped into their view, from their vantage on the roof, Lan Wangji had grasped Jiang Wanyin’s arm and held him back.

He had breathed into Jiang Wanyin’s ear, “That thing is not Wei Ying.”

Jiang Wanyin had turned to him, eyes lost and angry, hissed, “What are you talking about?”

And of course, he was a beta. He could not tell, not like Lan Wangji could tell.

So Lan Wangji told him.

“Wei Ying is a beta.”

“I know th—”

“The creature wearing his face is an alpha.”

Jiang Wanyin stared, bereft.

“Are you—you can smell that?”

“Mn.”

“It’s—far,” Jiang Wanyin said desperately, “how can you tell from here—”

“It is not subtle,” Lan Wangji informed him. “The creature’s scent is very strong.”

But when Wen Zhuliu had attacked, Jiang Wanyin could not hold back from defending the thing with his brother’s face. And then Lan Wangji was embroiled, whether he wished to be or not.

He watched the creature carefully, ready to attack at any false move. The similarity was strong, but in small ways, Lan Wangji could tell the difference even beyond the alpha scent: Wei Ying was never this thin, never had dead eyes like this, never smiled like a knife, never called him “Lan-er-gongzi” except to tease. Wei Ying never smelled like decay and blood. He had never made Lan Wangji want to bare his neck. To kneel.

“Lan-er-gongzi says you’re—you’re an alpha now,” Jiang Wanyin said, smelling of concern; he was completely taken in by the creature’s act.

And then—

Lan Wangji was shaken. Because that look of surprise… it was pure Wei Ying. Even the scent of his surprise was familiar: sharp and slightly sweet, like a broken jar of wine.

Quietly, Wei Y—the thing said, “Would you believe me if I told you… ah, Jiang Cheng, you remember Wen Qing and her clan. Doctors.”

“Of course,” said Jiang Wanyin, swallowing.

“What if I told you Wen Ruohan found some new doctors, to replace her? Some… not as… ethical as Wen-guniang.”

“Wei Wuxian…”

“Ah, how annoying it is, too! Alphas and omegas love to talk about how they can smell all kinds of things we can’t—they don’t tell you how bad everything smells.”

“Idiot,” huffed Jiang Wanyin, thumping his brother in the chest.

Wei Y—the creature winced.

It was a preposterous story. Lan Wangji knew of no cultivation, medical or otherwise, that could alter a person’s dynamic in such a way.

And yet. Lan Wangji knew of no cultivation that could do precisely what Wei Ying—or this being imitating Wei Ying—could do, either. Something unprecedented had happened. Was it truly so unlikely that two such strangenesses could exist, when the existence of one is plain?

Which was more unlikely: that Wei Ying had suffered greatly at the hands of their enemies, and come away altered? Or that a new type of demon had emerged, mimicking Wei Ying for the purpose of going on a rampage against those same enemies?

But if it was Wei Ying…

Then Lan Wangji was very afraid for him.

“Why did you turn from the sword path?” he asked. Wei Ying did not answer.

“There will be a price to be paid for using wicked tricks,” he warned. “They harm the body. And the temperament worse.” Wei Ying did not care.

“Come back to Gusu with me,” he ordered. He was so frightened that he put the force of his scent behind it, releasing his hold on his pheremones, exuding command.

He forgot that, now, Wei Ying can tell. That Wei Ying’s scent, roiling and untamed, was suddenly, out of nowhere, as strong as his own. There was no hint of yielding in Wei Ying’s face, his voice, or his scent.

“Gusu? With its three thousand principles? No,” he said, with the same razorblade smile that made Lan Wangji doubt it was even really him. “I refuse.”

There was nothing Lan Wangji could do except walk away, and leave him to his brother, and his violence. He left for Qinghe to the sound of screaming.

#the untamed #wip wednesday #my writing #wangxian a/b/o bingo

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mdzscontent · 1 year

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Crossposting from my twitter:

That one scene in supergirl where Kara confronts a hologram of her mom but make it Jin Ling using a talisman (created by Wei Wuxian for him to talk to his parents) to confront Jin GuangShan (or Jin GuangYao not sure which) about the reasons Wei Wuxian was out of the burial mounds.

Him and the other juniors along with WangXian are on a night hunt and Wei Wuxian is surveying they area they are staying in and Sizhui shares some of the things he remembers about the burial mounds with the other 3. He brings up how he thought he felt when he knew his family Wouldn’t return especially his Xian-gege and Jin Ling makes an off-handed remark about his fathers death and Wei Wuxian about that time even if he knows what happened it still sometimes bugs him.

Lan WangJi in spite responds “it was because of your 100 day celebration he was out Of the burial mounds and away from safety.” Jin Ling in a fit of denial and frustration stomps away with talisman paper and cinnabar to make the talisman to confront Jin GuangShen (or GuangYao Yao). As soon as he saw one of them he pounced before the hologram could great him.

“Did you Use me to get Wuxian framed.”

The hologram responds, “hello a-Ling”

“dont say my name right now, did you use me to draw Wuxian out of hiding?”

“Yes”

Jin Ling gasps as he is told, “how could you do that” Disbelief in his voice noticeable.

“you where the only person he wanted to meet. It was necessary”

“could he have saved them?” He asked staring at the hologram. He thinks of his friend Sizhui, young a child who lost his parents and then lost a care taking figure and his family because of his own clan and the corrupt cultivation society.

“He was a criminal” it responded blankly.

“But was he right?!”

He yelled in frustration the hologram responds with “I am not made to give you that information” because Wei Was still thinks it Of it as his fault so he didn’t include anything about it.

Jin Ling gets more frustrated and yells, “tell me!”

The hologram repeated itself, “I’m sorry, I am not programmed to give you that information. Tears are falling at this point and Jin Ling finally just breaks and yells at it Meanwhile Wei Wuxian heard the commotion and went to check on Jin Ling and decided this is something that he should figure out on his own (he also didn’t hear the first part).

“You let everyone that I love die, you left me...” his tears are falling faster than he can stop them.

“You left me alone, you sent me away” he says speaking of the times he felt alone without his parents and going to lotus pier surrounded by deciples who mine as well been the same as the ones in LanLing.

“How could you do that?!” He yells and Wei Wuxian decided maybe it’s time to To step in as the hologram repeats itself, “I’m not programmed to give you that information.” Suihua sensing its users anger and frustration unsheathes and rushes towards the source. The talisman is quickly destroyed and Wei Wuxian rushes over to comfort his nephew.

“Hey, hey It’s not really him.” He says pulling Jin Ling into a hug. Sure he hadn’t seen the whole thing but he can guess some of what happened. He would have to ask the rest of the juniors and his husband what fully happened for his nephew to be out by himself.

“They lied to me.” Is all His nephew says. Really it doesn’t help much but at least he’s figured out that it has to do with the many lies within the Jin clan. They stay like that for awhile until Jin Ling is sniffling and pretending like he hadn’t just cried until he couldn’t breath, Wei Wuxian used to it Seen as Jiang Cheng did the same when they where younger he lets the younger gather his thoughts and asks about it. Jin Ling can’t help the feelings of guilt he knows Wei Wuxian wouldn’t want him to feel he knows how much guilt the older holds but he is the only one who told him About the things he wants to know about his parents and he can see he holds back some of the biased things about his father. He tells them of the conversation with the others, the things Huanguang-jun said and how he wished he had known. He is crying again but he doesn’t mind now. They stay for a little longer, Wei Wuxian uses the extra paper and cinnabar to created holograms of the peacock and his Shijie. After awhile they go back to the others. He tells them what he found out, he also pulls his two Lan’s aside, scolds his husband but hugs both. In the end after finishing the hunt he and Jin Ling spend awhile and Lan WangJi (reluctantly) apologized for what he said even if he didn’t mean it (I totally 100% believe he would be spiteful towards Jin Ling as well even if he had no provable part in Wei Wuxian’s death man’s probably still made at Jin Ling for stabbing Wei Wuxian).

If you’ve seen my twitter thread of this it’s still up but if not I think this is something that’s been in my head for ages and I had just heard the audio when I made thread, obviously I changed bits to match the scene and characters in my head to this better.

#mdzs wwx #mdzs jin ling #post canon #mdzs

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wangxianficfinder · 2 years

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Fic Finder

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1. I've been trying to find a fic that I saw on AO3. Its a modern au where wwx is a farmer and (I think) a youtuber (sort of like li ziqi) and lxc and nmj show lwj his videos and he immediately falls in love and decides to visit. I remember wwx mentioning that he was going to have to resort to the farmers only dating app to find love. Thank you in advance!

FOUND? Winter Sun by brojorlas (M, 38k, wangxian, youtuber!WWX)

FOUND? ❤️【那夏天的我們】a stroke of fate by puddingcatbeans (G, 60k, wangxian, youtuber!wwx, musician!lwj) also fits

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2. hello! thank you for your hard work! i'm looking for a fic, it was post-canon but modern times, and all i remember from it is that historians were confused about wwx's death, because they had records of him dying a certain date but they also had records of him being alive years later and married to lwj.

FOUND? Future Cultivation AU series by Aki_no_hikari (G, 23k, wangxian, modern w/ magic, the characters from MDZS have been reincarnated and are studying the legendary historical figures Hanguang-Jun and the Yiling Patriarch)

Similar:

living in my memory/living in my mouth by tardigradeschool (T, 33k, wangxian, Mojo’s post, modern w/ magic, reincarnation)

The Life Cycle of the Frog and the Fish by Aerlalaith (T, 53k, wangxian, Mojo’s post)

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3. Can u tell me the title of fanfiction about wangxian time travel to the past. Wei wuxian, lan wangji, lan xichen, jiang cheng and kids a-yuan time travel to the timeline where they still study at cloud recesses. The future time traveler from the siege of wei wuxian. Wei wuxian end up hurt on his leg I think bitten by the corpse. Lan wangji already being punished by the discipline whip and a-yuan got a fever. I don't remember the title nor the author. Forget to save the fanfiction.

FOUND! How did I end up with this Frozen Heart? by Grace_ShadowWolf (TaubeLePigeon) (T, 37k, wangxian, time travel, fix-it)

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4. Sort of a fic finder - I saw someone mention the cuddler fic, where WWX is a professional cuddler and LWJ is a client, but I can’t find the link. Can you please post it again?

FOUND! Just You, Just Me (Just Us, Just We) by wincechesters (E, 20k, wangxian, Mojo’s post)

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5. Im looking for this specific fic where they address wwx by his rightful titles as lan er gonzi's spouse and the lan apologize, also a-yuan was young.Honestly any recs that are like that are welcomed, i cant get this out of my head so anything is goodThanks! Have a great day!

FOUND? Ghost Wedding by nirejseki (G, 4k, wangxian, ghost marriage; no young A-Yuan, but insisting on WWX being called 'Madam Lan' is a plot point, Mojo’s bookmark)

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6. hi! thank you for the wonderful work yall do!! i need help finding a fic. it's a modern uni au. i remember this one super specific part where there was a party at the jin mansion. it was a huge party. but they got snowed in. (according to my notes) they were stuck there for 3 days but now im not too sure? there was an Incident with a Vase that someone broke and jzx complained about how it was a rare and wwx snarked back. wangxian found a gorgeous room and stayed there to Bond. ringing any bells?

FOUND! and here comes the summertime by ribena (M, 72k, wangxian, modern, slow burn)

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7. Hi! Thank you so much for everything you do! I was wondering if you could help me with a fic? LWJ wakes up in an AU and back in time in during the war, and WWX behaves very differently. I assume LWJ is originally from a timeline where WWX is dead? And WWX sleeps in LWJ's tent, while LWJ is panicking. I hope it's not too little information! Thank you!

FOUND! ❤️More than a Dream of You by VoidRune (T, 8k, wangxian, timetravel, fix-it)

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8. Thanks for bringing help to the fandom.🤗 I'm looking for fic where the Lan's have a really progressive sex ed program and they have live examples with question and answer s. Wangxian are the only couple available to do it for the year and they do it so well and for so in long, the students want to be cut sleeves as well. @iwillbetrash4eva

FOUND? what do you mean this goes in that by lao_you_tiao has WWX and LWJ teaching a popular Sex Ed class at Gusu Summer School but it’s been put under an anonymous collection w/ no access to others, my post

More sex ed in Gusu Lan shenanigans can be found on #9 of this post.

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9. Looking for a story where the Wens and wwx wind up in CR. To further protect them, a marriage is proposed between wwx and lwj. Lwj protests, bc wwx is being forced into this and that's never what lwj wants. He asks to speak w wwx first, to explain. Only the talk goes badly. Wwx totally gets the wrong impression. They still get married, but neither thinks the other wants it. They're living apart in the beginning, but wwx starts spending time in the Jingshi and eventually moves in. Lwj is trying to be good, but they start sleeping in the same bed. One day, lwj thinks he's dreaming of kissing wwx, but they're actually kissing. Lwj straight up panics and tries to flee, thinking he forced himself on wwx, but he doesn't quite make it. Wwx manages to calm him down, lwj didn't force the kiss (wwx initiated the kiss) and in the process they both realize they love each other. @whisperprime

FOUND! The Vermillion Ribbon by Unforth (E, 223k, wangxian, wen!wwx)

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10. Honestly, Idk how to use this. But im swallowing my pride asking for help in finding a fic. Its about wwx and lqr, where they play a board game then wwx apologized to lqr for being a terrible student then. Its because wwx has a student who is as disruptive as he was. They talk, lqr telling him about regretting sending his perfect nephew to a troublemaker then fall in love. He realizes the parallel was his adopted son, not lsz and his student. Pls forgive my insolence and broken english [You’re doing a wonderful job, no worries!]

FOUND? someone like you by Basingstoke (G, <1k, wangxian, Future Fic, Cloud Recesses, Teacher WWX)

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11. Hi i was wondering if you could help me find a fic. It’s a modern AU where wwx wakes up with no memory and doesn’t remember divorcing lwj. lxc and jiang cheng were married and keeping it a secret from wwx. i think wwx had an extreme sports show or something. thanks!

FOUND! no balance by silverclaw (G, 20k, wangxian, JC/LXC, modern, post-divorce)

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12. Does anyone else remember a fic where LWJ does some kind of ritual and sacrifices/kills a lot of people to bring back WWX? It might or might not have happened in Golden Carp Tower?

FOUND! I just wanted to see you so bad by Blackberreh & ThatOnePlatypus (T, 1k, wangxian, dark!lwj)

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13. Hi! Was looking for a modern AU where Sizhui is adopted by LWJ and WWX as a teenager? It had some things about them as teens first and two timelines. Thanks for your work!

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14. Hello, I was hoping you could help me find a fic. I don't remember much of it, only that wwx was having some suicidal ideation. Like he was sitting or standing at a cliff's edge. I think lsz stops him and lwj stops him as well. It was post canon and they're already together.

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15. Hi mods thank you so much for running this blog! Could you help me find a time travel fic (it may have been deleted? I fear) of lwj and nhs traveling back in time to when yllz was still alive and not-so-secretly helping him? They became friends from exchanging nsfw books somehow lmao. I remember lwj wore this hat disguise and ayuan called him "hat gege." Wwx finds out who he is eventually and also writes his own cultivation manuel which becomes pretty popular. I really appreciate your help! <33

According to @mikkeneko this one has been deleted :( which is a shame, I remember liking it ~Mod L

Not to be sobered by anything(like regret) by astrobandit (deleted)

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16. Thank you so much for all the lovely fics you find!!! Do you remember one where Lan Zhan gets cursed by merchants trying to take over the salt trade(i think) in Guzu- Wei Ying finds him through a blood link and has to unmake the merchants to save Lan Zhan. Appreciate any help you might give!

FOUND! the field meets the wood by astronicht (T, 8k, wangxian, this one’s a perfect storm of BAMF! WWX, Protective! WWX, Hurt! WWX (as well as Hurt! LWJ), YLLZ! WWX, and Genius! WWX.)

Podifcs available here by semperfiona_podfic (semperfiona) and here by jellyfishfire

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17. Hi, I'm looking for a fic that I read probably three years ago?? And I just remember that LSZ is still a kid prob 5-6yo, and WWX is in a coma state, he got injured(?) by accidentally burning his and Wen's apartment. His unconscious soul (ghost) keeps LSZ company and helps him remember his childhood with WWX. And LSZ got adopted by LWJ, and keep saying that he got a ghost friend that is his bunny plush toy (I guess?) teaching him some mandarin words with a song (Xiao Tuzi Guai Guai). Can you please find it? Thank you🙏🏻

FOUND! Good Little Rabbit, Open The Door by ElopeToTheSea (G, 33k, wangxian, modern, fluff and angst)

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18. Two asks for you! (18a) One is a hot fic where Wei Wuxian is a fox, first one he gets the old ‘stuck in a wall’ trope, (18b) second one he sneaks in to try and blow Lan Wangji. The second one ends with Lan Wangji declaring that the jade seal marked WW as his pet, & he’d helpfully collared himself already. The second ask is not nearly so easily found I’m afraid. All I really remember is LW idly asking about watching WW ride a dildo, and WW trying to play it cool but blurting put “will you tell me what to do?

18a)

FOUND! naïve little fox by celerydragon (not rated, 4k, wangxian, fox wwx, dragon lwj)

18b)

FOUND! An Education in Biting off More Than You Can Chew by celerydragon (E, 4k, wangxian, non-con somnophilia) sequel to 18a

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19. Each chapter was a different au. There was one where wwx was in the nie sect and found a way to counteract the nie saber problem. Another is where when wwx died he rejected a part of himself and that part became another entity and wwx was fragmented and lost his memories and at the end when he accepted back the parts of himself that he rejected, he became a god. there was one where he made a ritual to help people pass on and grew flowers for that purpose. @alwaystiredinsomniac

FOUND? ❤️ Death of a Ghost by gotcocomilk (E, 107k, wangxian, Mojo’s post) the second description matches a complete fic

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20. I'm looking for a fic where the Juniors decide to break Wei Wuxian's record for how many rules he's broken. At the start, they scare Wei Wuxian by waking him up with Fairy (because of Jin Ling), and they release Little Apple to ransack Jiang Cheng's room (because of Lan Sizhui), who is visiting soon. They get caught by Wei Wuxian in their last rule breaking stunt, who figures out what they did this morning.

FOUND! a game of dares by t_why (Not rated, 7k, fluff, humor)

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#wangxian #mdzs #wangxian fic finder #wangxian fic search #the untamed #wangxianficfinder

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besanii · 3 years

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MA'AM PLEASE that wangxian/xixian ficlet absolutely RUINED me. if you are so inclined, i would love to see wei wuxian's perspective on the whole thing. thank you for your hard work <3 have a lovely day!

[ part one (LWJ) | two (LXC) ]

Wei Wuxian has always tried to live his life without regrets. Everything he does, he puts all of himself into and does not look back, even when circumstances take a turn for the worse. It has caused him some strife in the past, but he's always found a way to come out the other end relatively unscathed.

He's not sure there's a way out this time.

Lan Xichen is kind to him, kinder than he'd had any right to expect from the man to whom he owes his life. The brother of the man who holds Wei Wuxian's heart, the man now laying alone in a watery grave far from home; by all rights, Lan Xichen should have handed him to Wen Ruohan as retribution for injuring Wen Chao. Instead, he had chosen to save him at the cost of Qishan's loyalty.

He looks around at the bedchamber, the sheer silk drapes around the bed offering only minimal privacy to its occupants, and at the curtains made of strings of seed pearls leading to the chambers beyond. He's always pictured his wedding night to be bathed in red and gold, for there to be celebrations and drinking and laughter. And Lan Wangji.

What he gets is a quiet chamber within the Emperor's private quarters away from prying eyes, sparsely but tastefully furnished in the pale blues of the Imperial family. There is no music, no ceremony, no laughter, no wine.

No Lan Wangji.

Let me help you.

Wei Wuxian has not had many dealings with the Emperor before, but he has always thought him to be a fair, impartial figure, involving himself very little in the squabbles between clans unless it has implications on state matters. So why now? Why has he stepped in now to save Wei Wuxian?

For Wangji, if nothing else. He would want you to be safe.

Was it really that simple? Was it really enough to put the throne at odds with one of the most powerful clans in the country? It seems almost absurd to risk a potential uprising for the sake of one man, however much he means to the Emperor's brother. If Qishan did revolt and the country was thrown into civil war, would that not cement Wei Wuxian in history as the culprit who brings strife to the nation?

He contemplates escaping, slipping out into the night and disappearing, and is halfway to his feet when he remembers. If he leaves now, he will be branded a coward and a traitor, an enemy of the state—the Jiang clan, as his benefactors, and Yunmeng as his home will be held responsible. He cannot be selfish.

So he sits back down on the bed, hands curled into fists on his lap, and waits.

Lan Xichen is good to him.

He's good and kind and gentle, a soothing balm on Wei Wuxian's bruised and battered heart. From the moment he walks through the door that night, leaving his servants in the outer chambers so allow them some semblance of privacy, he treats Wei Wuxian with nothing but kindness and respect.

"You do not need to do this," he tells Wei Wuxian when he reaches for the fastenings of Lan Xichen's robes to help him undress. "I can prepare for bed on my own."

"Huangshang, it is your concubine's duty to serve you," Wei Wuxian replies, and slips the heavy belt from around Lan Xichen's waist.

Let me do this for you, he doesn't say. But Lan Xichen must see it on his face because he acquiesces.

"Very well."

So Wei Wuxian sets about removing each item of clothing and accessory with methodical precision, draping the outer robes over the rack beside the bed and placing the golden guan and jade waist pendant carefully on the vanity table. The servants will have to put them away later, when they have both retired--

His fingers falter over the laces of the inner robe.

"Wei Wuxian?" Lan Xichen asks. When Wei Wuxian looks up, his eyes are soft, concerned. "It's alright. Leave the rest to me."

His heart plummets to his stomach. His hesitation must have disappointed Lan Xichen—no, the Emperor. He's displeased him.

"No, no, Huangshang, please allow me," he says hurriedly. "Your concubine was merely distracted by--by the embroidery work on your robes. They are so very fine, you see, much finer than what we see in Yunmeng—"

His fingers are trembling too much to get a firm hold on the laces. If he cannot perform so simple a task, how can he keep the Emperor happy? How can he keep Yunmeng safe? He needs to do this—needs to do this properly—

A large hand wrap around both his, stilling their movements with gentle pressure against the broad chest in front of him. He inhales sharply.

"Wei Wuxian," Lan Xichen says again. "Stop."

He should apologise and beg for forgiveness. That's what people do when they have displeased the Emperor right? He should be—

"Wei Wuxian." A sigh. "You are afraid of me."

"I-I'm not!" Wei Wuxian says quickly, his head flying up to glare at Lan Xichen before he catches himself and lowers both his head and voice again. "Begging your pardon, Huangshang, your concubine spoke out of turn."

Lan Xichen’s other hand slides under his chin, tilting his face upward again to meet his gaze—warmer and darker than his brother’s, more akin to honey than to gold—and the pounding of Wei Wuxian’s heartbeat fades to silence in his ears.

“You do not need to fear me,” Lan Xichen tells him, voice so gentle it sends a tingle down his spine. “And they cannot touch you here. You are safe here.”

The soft, incredulous snort escapes before Wei Wuxian even realises he’s made it. He ducks his head again, breaking free of the hand on his chin.

“Forgive my impertinence, Huangshang,” he says. “But if someone has put their mind their mind to hurting another, there is nothing they would not do—or find a way to do. No place they would not go.”

Lan Xichen raises an eyebrow.

“You would doubt the Son of Heaven?” he asks, voice tinged with amusement as Wei Wuxian moves immediately to fall to his knees. He catches him by the elbows before he can. “I am only jesting. There is no need to kneel.”

He reaches up to brush a stray lock of hair from Wei Wuxian’s temple. The intimacy of the gesture—the touch of warm skin against his sends warmth flooding his cheeks and neck, burning behind his ears.

“I really am very grateful to you, Huangshang,” he says. “If not for your intervention, I would already be dead, or worse. I have nothing to offer you in return except my life—cheap and unworthy as it is—and I will spend the remainder of it repaying this debt to you.”

The corners of those honey-coloured eyes soften and the hand at his temple slides down to his shoulder as Lan Xichen sighs.

“It is what he would have wanted,” he says.

Everything changes with the sunrise filtering through the window the next morning.

The servants who come in to serve them keep their heads bowed and gazes lowered, shuffling about them on tenterhooks. They address him as Wei-xuanyi and help him into fine robes of Gusu blue silk, brushing his hair until it is smooth and gleaming, and rubs creams into his calloused hands to soften them. He follows their careful directions without protest, his mind too numb to comprehend anything beyond the comfort of their practised movements.

He is startled out of his lull when warm hands come to rest on his shoulders and he looks up to see Lan Xichen smiling at him in the mirror.

“Huangshang,” he exclaims. “Forgive me, I was lost in thought.”

“Wuxian,” Lan Xichen says, his smile widening. “I have a gift for you.”

A tray is presented to them by a eunuch standing in the corner of the room. On it sits a long, thin box lined with light blue silk. And nestled within the bed of silk—

“It is too expensive,” Wei Wuxian protests immediately. “Huangshang, I cannot accept such a valuable gift. It should be for the Empress—”

“The Empress has her own,” Lan Xichen tells him, lifting the fazhan from the box and turning back around to face the mirror. The smile has not left his lips, nor has it dimmed in any way. “Now, let me put it on for you.”

Wei Wuxian watches his movements through the mirror with bated breath, all-too aware of the keen eyes watching them from the shadows of the room. Lan Xichen does not seem bothered by their attention, running his fingers leisurely over the length of Wei Wuxian’s hair, as if Wei Wuxian were a creature to be calmed and soothed.

He slides the fazhan into the base of the half-knot in his hair with careful precision and stands back to admire the way the jewels catch the morning sun as Wei Wuxian turns his head to get a better look. The shape and design of it is simple, understated, taking nothing away from the deep blue sapphire on the end, cut into shape of flowing clouds.

“It suits you very well,” Lan Xichen tells him. There is an odd lilt to his voice Wei Wuxian cannot quite place, but it is gone when he next speaks. “It is almost as if it were meant for you.”

It is much too expensive, much too precious. He swallows through the lump that has suddenly appeared in his throat, his eyes hot.

“Your concubine thanks Huangshang for his affections,” he murmurs.

buy me a ko-fi!

more paper-thin fic | verse

Notes

I guess this is a thing now? XD

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pumpkinpaix · 3 years

Note

hello there, hope you're having a nice day <3

so i've been reading a lot of fics lately, uk for sanity's sake, and i've noticed that in most of them, lwj doesn't use contractions (eg., says do not instead of don't)?? and i think he doesn't in the novel either but i don't remember lol so i can't be sure but anyway that made me curious - does chinese have contractions as well? does he not use it bc it's informal?

hello there! I’m doing all right, i started to answer this ask while waiting for a jingyeast loaf to come out of the oven 😊 many thanks to @bookofstars for helping me look over/edit/correct this post!! :D

anyways! the answer to your questions are complicated (of course it is when is anything simple with me), so let’s see if I can break it down--you’re asking a) whether chinese has contractions, b) if it does, how does they change the tone of the sentence--is it similar to english or no?, and c) how does this all end up with lan wangji pretty much never using contractions in english fic/translation?

I’m gonna start by talking about how formality is (generally) expressed in each language, and hopefully, by the end of this post, all the questions will have been answered in one way or another. so: chinese and english express variations in formality/register differently, oftentimes in ways that run contrary to one another. I am, as always, neither a linguist nor an expert in chinese and english uhhh sociological grammar? for lack of a better word. I’m speaking from my own experience and knowledge :D

so with a character like lan wangji, it makes perfect sense in english to write his dialogue without contractions, as contractions are considered informal or colloquial. I don’t know if this has changed in recent years, but I was always taught in school to never use contractions in my academic papers.

However! not using contractions necessarily extends the length of the sentence: “do not” takes longer to say than “don’t”, “cannot” is longer than “can’t” etc. in english, formality is often correlated with sentence length: the longest way you can say something ends up sounding the most formal. for a very simplified example, take this progression from least formal to absurdly formal:

whatcha doin’?

what’re you doing?

what are you doing? [standard colloquial]

may I ask what you are doing?

might I inquire as to what you are doing?

excuse me, but might I inquire as to what you are doing?

pardon my intrusion, but might I inquire as to what you are doing?

please pardon my intrusion, but might inquire as to the nature of your current actions?

this is obviously a somewhat overwrought example, but you get the point. oftentimes, the longer, more complex, more indirect sentence constructions indicate a greater formality, often because there is a simultaneous decreasing of certainty. downplaying the speaker’s certainty can show deference (or weakness) in english, while certainty tends to show authority/confidence (or aggression/rudeness).

different words also carry different implications of formality—in the example, I switched “excuse me” to “pardon me” during one of the step ups. pardon (to me at least) feels like a more formal word than “excuse”. Similarly, “inquire” is more formal than “ask” etc. I suspect that at least some of what makes one word seem more formal than one of its synonyms has to do with etymology. many of english’s most formal/academic words come from latin (which also tends to have longer words generally!), while our personal/colloquial words tend to have germanic origins (inquire [latin] vs ask [germanic]).

you’ll also notice that changing a more direct sentence structure (“may I ask what”) to a more indirect one (“might I inquire as to”) also jumps a register. a lot of english is like this — you can complicate simple direct sentences by switching the way you use the verbs/how many auxiliaries you use etc.

THE POINT IS: with regards to english, more formal sentence structures are often (not always) longer and more indirect than informal ones. this leads us to a problem with a character like lan wangji.

lan wangji is canonically very taciturn. if he can express his meaning in two words rather than three, then he will. and chinese allows for this—in extreme ways. if you haven’t already read @hunxi-guilai’s post on linguistic register (in CQL only, but it’s applicable across the board), I would start there because haha! I certainly do Not have a degree in Classical Chinese lit and she does a great job. :D

you can see from the examples that hunxi chose that often, longer sentences tend to be more informal in chinese (not always, which I’ll circle back to at the end lol). Colloquial chinese makes use of helping particles to indicate tone and meaning, as is shown in wei wuxian’s dialogue. and, as hunxi explained, those particles are largely absent from lan wangji’s speech pattern. chinese isn’t built of “words” in the way English is—each character is less a word and more a morpheme—and the language allows for a lot of information to be encoded in one character. a single character can often stand for a phrase within a sentence without sacrificing either meaning or formality. lan wangji makes ample use of this in order to express himself in the fewest syllables possible.

so this obviously leads to an incongruity when trying to translate his dialogue or capture his voice in English: shorter sentences are usually more direct by nature, and directness/certainty is often construed as rudeness -- but it might seem strange to see lan wangji’s dialogue full of longer sentences while the narration explicitly says that he uses very short sentences. so what happens is that many english fic writers extrapolated this into creating an english speech pattern for lan wangji that reads oddly. they’ll have lan wangji speak in grammatically incoherent fragments that distill his intended thought because they’re trying to recreate his succinctness. unfortunately, English doesn’t have as much freedom as Chinese does in this way, and it results in lan wangji sounding as if he has some kind of linguistic impediment and/or as if he’s being unspeakably rude in certain situations. In reality, lan wangji’s speech is perfectly polite for a young member of the gentry (though he’s still terribly rude in other ways lol). he speaks in full, and honestly, quite eloquent sentences.

hunxi’s post already has a lot of examples, but I figure I’ll do one as well focused on the specifics of this post.

I’m going to use this exchange from chapter 63 between the twin jades because I think it’s a pretty simple way to illustrate what I’m talking about:

蓝曦臣道：“你亲眼所见？”

蓝忘机道：“他亲眼所见。”

蓝曦臣道：“你相信他？”

蓝忘机道：“信。”

[...] 蓝曦臣道：“那么金光瑶呢？”

蓝忘机道：“不可信。”

my translation:

Lan Xichen said, “You saw it with your own eyes?”

Lan Wangji said, “He saw it with his own eyes.”

Lan Xichen said, “You believe him?”

Lan Wangji said, “I believe him.”

[...] Lan Xichen said, “Then what about Jin Guangyao?”

Lan Wangji said, “He cannot be believed.”

you can see how much longer the (pretty literal) english translations are! every single line of dialogue is expanded because things that can be omitted in chinese cannot be omitted in english without losing grammatical coherency. i‘ll break a few of them down:

Lan Xichen’s first line:

你 (you) 亲眼 (with one’s own eyes) 所 (literary auxiliary) 见 (met/saw)？

idk but i love this line a lot lmao. it just has such an elegant feel to me, probably because I am an uncultured rube. anyways, you see here that he expressed his full thought in five characters.

if I were to rewrite this sentence into something much less formal/much more modern, I might have it become something like this:

你是自己看见的吗？

你 (you) 是 (to be) 自己 (oneself) 看见 (see) 的 (auxiliary) 吗 (interrogative particle)？

i suspect that this construction might even be somewhat childish? I’ve replaced every single formal part of the sentence with a more colloquial one. instead of 亲眼 i’ve used 自己, instead of 所见 i’ve used 看见的 and then also added an interrogative particle at the end for good measure (吗). To translate this, I would probably go with “Did you see it yourself?”

contained in this is also an example of how one character can represent a whole concept that can also be represented with two characters: 见 vs 看见. in this example, both mean “to see”. we’ll see it again in the next example as well:

in response to lan xichen’s, “you believe him?” --> 你 (you) 相信 (believe) 他 (him)? lan wangji answers with, “信” (believe).

chinese does not do yes or no questions in the same way that english does. there is no catch-all for yes or no, though there are general affirmative (是／有) and negative (不／没) characters. there are other affirmative/negative characters, but these are the ones that I believe are the most common and also the ones that you may see in response to yes or no questions on their own. (don’t quote me on that lol)

regardless, the way you respond to a yes or no question is often by repeating the verb phrase either in affirmative or negative. so here, when lan xichen asks if lan wangji believes wei wuxian, lan wangji responds “believe”. once again, you can see that one character can stand in for a concept that may also be expressed in two characters: 信 takes the place of 相信. lan wangji could have responded with “相信” just as well, but, true to his character, he didn’t because he didn’t need to. this is still a complete sentence. lan wangji has discarded the subject (I), the object (him), and also half the verb (相), and lost no meaning whatsoever. you can’t do this in english!

and onto the last exchange:

lan xichen: 那么 (then) 金光瑶 (jin guangyao) 呢 (what about)？

lan wangji: 不可 (cannot) 信 (believe)

you can actually see the contrast between the two brothers’ speech patterns even in this. lan xichen’s question is not quite as pared down as it could be. if it were wangji’s line instead, I would expect it to read simply “金光瑶呢？” which would just be “what about jin guangyao?” 那么 isn’t necessary to convey the core thought -- it’s just as how “then what about” is different than “what about”, but “then” is not necessary to the central question. if we wanted to keep the “then” aspect, you could still cut out 么 and it would be the same meaning as well.

a FINAL example of how something can be cut down just because I think examples are helpful:

“I don’t know” is usually given as 我不知道. (this is what nie huaisang says lol) It contains subject (我) and full verb (知道). you can pare this straight down to just 不知 and it would mean the same thing in the correct context. i think most of the characters do this at least once? it sounds more literary -- i don’t know that i would ever use it in everyday speech, but the fact remains that it’s a possibility. both could be translated as “I do not know” and it would be accurate.

ANYWAYS, getting all the way back to one of your original questions: does chinese have contractions? and the answer is like... kind of...?? but not really. there’s certainly slang/dialect variants that can be used in ways that are reminiscent of english contractions. the example I’m thinking of is the character 啥 (sha2) which can be used as slang in place of 什么 (shen2 me). (which means “what”)

so for a standard sentence of, 你在做什么? (what are you doing), you could shorten down to just 做啥? and the second construction is less formal than the first, but they mean the same thing.

other slang i can think of off the top of my head: 干嘛 (gan4 ma2) is also informal slang for “what are you doing”. and i think this is a regional thing, but you can also use 搞 (gao3) and 整 (zheng3) to mean “do” as well.

so in the same way that you can replace 什么 with 啥, you can replace 做 as well to get constructions like 搞啥 (gao3 sha2) and 整啥 (zheng3 sha2).

these are all different ways to say “what are you doing” lmao, and in this case, shorter is not, in fact, more formal.

woo! we made it to the end! I hope it was informative and helpful to you anon. :D

this is where I would normally throw my ko-fi, but instead, I’m actually going to link you to this fundraising post for an old fandom friend of mine. her house burned down mid-september and they could still use help if anyone can spare it! if this post would have moved you to buy me a ko-fi, please send that money to her family instead. :) rbs are also appreciated on the post itself. (* ´▽` *)

anyways, here’s the loaf jingyeast made :3 it was very tasty.

#mdzs #mdzs meta #the untamed #the untamed meta #lan wangji #lan wangji meta #mine #mymeta #linguistics #chinese #english #cyan chinese school #cyan help desk #languages #contractions #register #look man idk how am i gonna tag this #*yeets into the void*

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no--envies · 3 years

Text

For most of his life, JC considered himself a victim. He thought his father disliked him and preferred WWX; he blamed WWX for everything bad in his life, from the fall of Lotus Pier to his sister’s death, and took WWX’s defection from the Jiang Sect as a personal betrayal. For thirteen years, JC felt entitled to hate WWX and kept venting his own anger and hatred on every demonic cultivator he met. After WWX came back, he still tried to use him as a scapegoat to avoid reflecting on his own faults.

It took something as extreme as the golden core reveal to make him realize how much he had wronged WWX: not only had WWX long since repaid his debt to the Jiang Sect, but the fact that he made such a huge sacrifice without telling anyone was the ultimate, irrefutable proof of WWX’s greatness.

After realizing this, JC couldn’t hate WWX anymore, but he still didn’t want to let go of his hatred, because otherwise everything he had done until that moment would make him look like a clown at best and a horrible person at worst. This is why his rant in the Guanyin Temple was so full of venom. JC wasn’t ready to reflect on his own mistakes and flaws, so he took all of his frustration out on WWX, who didn’t deserve any of his harsh words. In his rant, JC brought up everything he couldn’t stand about the situation: how WWX was such a great person and had always been better than him at everything, even though JC was supposed to be the heir; how he had brought ruin to the Jiang Sect and everyone from JC’s family, leaving only an orphaned JL; how he had broken his promise to be his right-hand man and had defected to protect outsiders, people whom in JC’s opinion WWX didn’t owe as much as he owed to the Jiang Sect.

After this outburst full of bitterness and resentment, we see JC have his first real moment of self-reflection in the whole novel:

Jiang Cheng cried soundlessly, but tears had already streaked across his face. To cry in such an unsightly way in front of others was almost impossible for him in the past. But every single moment that passed from now on, as long as the golden core remained in his body, as long as it could still revolve, he’d forever remember this feeling.

He choked, “… You said I’d be the sect leader and you’d be my subordinate, you said you’d help me your whole life, you said you’d never betray the YunmengJiang Sect… You said so yourself.”

“…” After a moment of silence, Wei WuXian replied, “I’m sorry. I broke my promise.”

Jiang Cheng shook his head, burying his face deep into his palms. A second later, he suddenly burst out with a laugh. His muffled voice mocked, “It’s such a time already, and I still need you to say sorry to me. What a fragile person I am.”

(Chapter 102)

Sect Leader Jiang’s words were eternally tainted with mockery. But this time, whom he mocked was no one but himself.

Suddenly, he said, “I’m sorry.”

Wei WuXian hesitated, “… You don’t need to say sorry.”

At this point, it was impossible to figure out who should apologize to whom.

Wei WuXian continued, “Take it as my repayment to the Jiang Sect.”

Jiang Cheng looked up. He looked at him with teary, bloodshot eyes, and a hoarse voice, “… Repayment to my father, my mother, my sister?”

Wei WuXian pressed his temples, “Forget it. It’s all in the past now. Let’s not mention it again.”

(Chapter 103)

This is the first and only time we see JC apologize to someone. He even admits that his need to hear WWX say sorry to him after so long makes him a fragile person. JC doesn’t want to feel guilty, he’s too proud to fully admit his faults. This is why he keeps bringing up old debts and promises: it’s the only way for him to keep holding onto the illusion of being a victim. JC knows deep down that the golden core transfer was an immense sacrifice and that now he can no longer hold WWX responsible for everything he has always accused him of, but he struggles to accept it. In this moment, it’s easier for JC to see WWX’s sacrifice as a repayment or as a form of redemption. WWX knows JC very well and doesn’t want him to keep ruminating on this for the rest of his life, because that would only make him more unhappy and bitter. Making JC feel guilty is not the reason WWX gave him his golden core in the first place. He made such a huge sacrifice as an act of true selflessness: to save JC’s life and repay his debt to the Jiang Sect, without expecting anything in return.

Wei WuXian, “Uh, I think it’s best if you… also stop keeping it on your mind. I know you’ll definitely always keep it on your mind, but, how should I say it…” He clenched Lan WangJi’s hand, saying to Jiang Cheng, “Right now, I do really think… it’s all in the past. It’s been too long. There’s no need to struggle with it any longer.”

Jiang Cheng wiped his face roughly, drying his tears. He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes.

(Chapter 103)

At the end of the whole confrontation in the Guanyin Temple, JC finally stops using WWX as a scapegoat. He understands that he can’t hold WWX to old debts anymore, that WWX has a new life now and owes nothing to JC. This is why he gives him back Chenqing and doesn’t follow him outside the Guanyin Temple: after an entire lifetime of holding onto his grudges, JC finally starts letting go of some of them and recognizes that he and WWX should leave the past in the past and move on, “each to their own sect”.

Wei WuXian took the flute. Remembering that Jiang Cheng was the one who brought it, he turned over there and commented casually, “Thanks.” He waved Chenqing, “I’ll… be keeping this?”

Jiang Cheng glanced at him, “It was yours in the first place.”

After a moment of hesitation, his lips moved slightly, as though he wanted to say something else. However, Wei WuXian had already turned to Lan WangJi. Seeing this, Jiang Cheng remained silent.

[...]

Jin Ling exclaimed, “You let them go just like that?”

Jiang Cheng mocked, “Or else? Have them stay for dinner? Say thank you and sorry after the meal?”

Jin Ling began to simmer, pointing at him, “No wonder he wanted to go. It’s all because of that attitude of yours! Why are you so annoying, Uncle?!”

Hearing this, Jiang Cheng raised his hand with glaring eyes, scolding, “Is this how you talk to someone older than you? You asking to be beaten up?!”

Jin Ling shrunk back. Fairy tucked in its tail as well. Yet Jiang Cheng’s slap never landed at the back of his head. Instead, it was retracted powerlessly.

He spoke, irritated, “Shut up. Jin Ling. Shut up. We’re going back. Each to their own sect.”

(Chapter 110)

#mdzs #mdzs meta #jiang cheng #wei wuxian #character analysis

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robininthelabyrinth · 3 years

Note

Prompt~ hoping you'll like it ♥️

Things between the Nie brothers are not always nice and happy, they fight, just like any other pair of brothers, and sometimes things are said, sometimes these things are heavy and painful. Sometimes they're said in the wrong moment (maybe at the eve of a battle? Sunshot campaign?) and huaisang doesn't know what to do with the broken look his brother gives him before leaving the unclean realm. Because what if he doesn't return? What if the last thing he said to him was how much he hated the man he became?

Labyrinth - ao3

“But I didn’t mean to wish him away!” Nie Huaisang cried out.

“That’s really too bad,” the goblin king said, looking pleasant and humble and charming the way he always did, even in his cape of glittering gold and high-browed hat. “I wish there was something I could do for you, but the rules are the rules. You wished him away, and I took him.”

“Aren’t you supposed to only take babies?” Nie Huaisang demanded.

“Your brother’s enough of a crybaby to count, it’s close enough.”

“It is not!” Nie Huaisang wrung his hands. “You don’t understand, the last thing I said to him was that I hated him! Meng Yao, please!”

“It’s Jin Guangyao,” the goblin king corrected. His smile looked a bit strained. “Listen, do you think I’m happy about this? He’s my sworn brother! I’m only doing what I have to –”

“Oh, save it for Lan Xichen,” Nie Huaisang growled. “Show me the labyrinth already.”

“You’re going to face the labyrinth,” the goblin king said. His voice was very polite, and yet still expressed significant doubt. “You.”

“Yeah, me!”

“You remember that it goes ‘through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered’, right? Not ‘through a nice teacher and a forgiving grading system’?”

“Yeah, well, your father is a fragging aardvark. Let me at the labyrinth already!”

“You know what,” Nie Huaisang said thoughtfully. “Thanks, but no thanks.”

The life-sized animated puppet blinked at him. “You – don’t want my help?”

“Nope. I’m good.”

“You haven’t even gotten into the labyrinth yet!”

“It wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t have a chance to get in,” Nie Huaisang said, patting around his sleeve and pulling out a fan. “So I’m just going to walk over and beat at the wall till something happens.”

The puppet followed him, staring blankly. Quite a change from his original apologetic ‘I’m sorry, I’m busy with my own things, I really can’t help you, also it’s too dangerous and you shouldn’t go’ response.

“You were blackmailing me to help you just a moment ago,” the puppet said after a little. “Don’t you need a guide?”

“Listen, I’m bad at memorizing things and I’m a little useless, but I’m not actually dumb,” Nie Huaisang said, fanning himself. “Jin Guangyao is a demon of the mind above all else, and the labyrinth is supposed to be ‘fair’ – which means, more than likely, that the labyrinth is a reflection of the subconscious, specially tailored to each person’s strengths and weaknesses. And that means that you, who sound exactly like Lan Xichen, are almost certainly a set-up sent by Jin Guangyao to ‘reluctantly’ aid me and then betray me.”

“Uh,” Lan Xichen-the-puppet said. “My name’s Hoggle, actually.”

“Whatever makes you feel better, er-ge…A-ha!” Nie Huaisang beamed at the gates that automatically opened. “Perfect!”

“Oh, don’t go that way,” the worm said. “Never go that way. And are you sure you don’t want to come in for a cup of tea?”

“No time,” Nie Huaisang said. “Thanks a lot – wait.”

The worm blinked at him.

“You’re a pretty attractive worm, in a slimy sort of way,” Nie Huaisang said, frowning at him.

The worm blinked again. “Why, thanks!”

“No, that’s not what I meant. Is your name Su She, by chance?”

“Definitely not!”

“Mm. Oddly vehement of you. Never mind. Just, quick, could you tell me exactly why do I not want to go that way?”

“I don’t suppose straight ahead is an option?”

The hands-faces stared at him.

“I’m just saying, I feel like most of my problems so far have come from the fact that I decided to accept the whole concept of turns. It seems like a mistake.”

“…it’s a labyrinth,” another set of the hands said. “You have to make turns!”

Nie Huaisang shook his head mournfully. “I should’ve brought Baxia or something and just – ZIP. Gone straight through. You know what I mean?”

“I’m dropping you in the oubliette regardless of your decision,” the first set of the hands said. It sounded a bit like Sect Leader Yao. “Just so you know.”

“My life is so hard,” Nie Huaisang sighed. “So hard! Do you know what it’s like to be overlooked by everyone? Do you know how hard I have to work at being this useless?”

“Drop him,” the set of hands that sounded like Sect Leader Ouyang said, and the set of hands that sounded like Sect Leader Yao said, “Yes. Now!”

Down Nie Huaisang went.

“I can take you back to the beginning of the labyrinth,” Lan Xichen offered.

“What, and waste all that time? I have a time limit, er-ge!”

“It’s better than being stuck in an oubliette. That’s where they put people to forget about them, you know.”

Nie Huaisang’s eyes filled with tears. “You want to forget me, er-ge? You think I’m useless, don’t you? A good-for-nothing, who’ll never amount to anything –”

“Please don’t cry.”

“ER-GE! WHY DON’T YOU LOVE ME!”

“Please stop crying!”

“So what’s the point of you?” Nie Huaisang asked the Wise Man with the Talking Hat.

“Not everyone exists to contribute to your storyline,” the Talking Hat snapped at him. “Some of us’ve got our own problems. Now hand over the candy!”

“Don’t be mean,” the Wise Man said. He had a white cloth over his eyes, and was smiling like he found the hat funny.

“Awww, but daozhang…!”

“Different plotline entirely, I guess,” Nie Huaisang decided. “Probably just here as a foil. Shall we keep going, er-ge?”

“I can’t believe you scammed me to get out of the oubliette,” Lan Xichen mumbled. “I can’t believe…”

“Oh, leave him alone, he’s just sensitive!” Nie Huaisang snapped.

“Am not!” the upside-down creature snarled, curled up on itself and trying to hide from all those that had been hitting him. Its fur was a vivid sort of purple. “Go away!”

“Don’t you have some sort of special power to help you here,” Nie Huaisang asked him as he tried to get him down before the goblins came back with weapons. “Rocks, maybe?”

“…lightning?”

“Well then get to it, will you?” Nie Huaisang frowned. “Wait. Lightning, constantly being tormented, terrible at communication, and purple? You’re Jiang Cheng, aren’t you?”

“…maybe.”

“Well then get down faster! I need to copy someone’s notes here!”

“Leave me aloooooooone!” Nie Huaisang howled, running away from the measuring snake.

“Wow,” Lan Xichen said, holding his cheek. “You kissed me.”

“You saved me from the snakes,” Nie Huaisang said. “Can we focus on how we’re in this awful stinking bog?”

“It’s not that bad!” a voice piped up. “I don’t smell anything!”

Nie Huaisang turned to stare, then pinched the bridge of his nose. “Of course you don’t,” he said. “I bet the total absence of a sense of smell helps when you eat spicy food, Wei-xiong.”

“There’s nothing wrong with spicy food!”

“You’re short,” Nie Huaisang informed the small goblin-like creature with the big grin and the red ribbon in its hair. It looked vaguely fox-like, or possibly like certain large breeds of rabbit.

“Why you..!” Wei Wuxian crossed his furry little paws over his chest. “Just for that, I’m not going to help you.”

“Uh-huh,” Nie Huaisang said. “Really. That’s awful…oh no! A dog!”

Wei Wuxian jumped high into the air. “A dog?! Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan! Save me!”

Much to Nie Huaisang’s surprise, a furry dog immediately darted out of nowhere – only Wei Wuxian didn’t seem afraid of it, but rather hid behind it, teeth chattering.

Truly, Nie Huaisang reflected, the eyes of love are blind.

“I think the ‘dog’ is gone now,” he said. “Your brave and noble Lan Wangji must’ve scared him away.”

Wei Wuxian’s head popped out from behind dog-Wangji. “Well, Lan Zhan is really cool…hey. Are you trying to manipulate me?”

“Is it working?”

“No!”

“So you won’t help me?”

“No!”

“Not even if it means you get to figure out a really tricky puzzle?”

“No – wait. A puzzle?”

“I can’t believe this is going to work,” Lan Xichen muttered from behind Nie Huaisang. “I mean, I can. But also…Wangji…I love you, but you could do so much better than this.”

“Ugh,” Nie Huaisang said. “I’m so thirsty.”

“Have some Emperor’s Smile,” Lan Xichen said, offering a jar.

“Amazing,” Nie Huaisang said, accepting it and taking a swing. “I had my doubts, you know, but you’re actually good for something after all, er-ge –”

The golden bird was Nie Huaisang’s favorite.

He’d worked so hard to bring it back to his aviary – it couldn’t be forced, he knew; it would play along at first but in the end it would turn on you and bite you. It had to be coaxed with gentleness and kindness, approached indirectly so as not to spook it, convince it that you really did mean well – that you were harmless, that it had no reason to fear you. It was arrogant, too, proud of its shining feathers and ashamed of the brown plumage of its chick days, which still remained visible on its tender underbelly. Ironically, that was Nie Huaisang’s favorite part of it, the soft and gentle part; it might not be as pretty as the gold, but it felt more genuine.

Nie Huaisang smiled as he brushed the beautiful feathers, and the golden bird allowed him. He felt cherished, treasured. So what if he had to hide all the sharp parts of himself to get this close?

It was fine. He didn’t like to be sharp.

He wanted to be soft. Soft and gentle, careless and free, relaxed and without effort, good for nothing –

Wait.

No!

“It’s all junk,” Nie Huaisang hissed at the pile of burning fans, tears in his eyes. “I want my da-ge!”

“You’re all right!” Wei Wuxian exclaimed, helping pulled Nie Huaisang up.

“Huaisang-xiong,” Jiang Cheng said, looking relieved. “You’re back.”

“We have to go to the temple beyond the Goblin City,” Nie Huaisang said, teeth gritted together. “We have to. I won’t let that bastard…we’re going to go there and throw all his damned tricks right in his face!”

“Just us?” Wei Wuxian asked. “I mean, I’m awesome, Lan Zhan is fantastic, and of course Jiang Cheng is great, too, but…uh…there’s a lot of goblins in the city.”

“We’ll sneak in,” Nie Huaisang said. “He thinks he’s sidelined me entirely – he thinks I’m useless. He won’t be expecting me to get this far.”

“I can get help,” Jiang Cheng said. “I have friends.”

“…not to be rude, Jiang-xiong,” Nie Huaisang said. “But – really?”

“You know what,” Nie Huaisang said, eyeing the pile of rocks following Jiang Cheng around, each one painted with a name. One of the names was yellow. Two were in white, with forehead ribbons. “This is fine. I feel like it says something really rude about my empathy for and interest in our junior generation, or lack thereof, but you know what? I don’t care. It’s fine.”

“You saved me,” Nie Huaisang said blankly, looking at Lan Xichen, who shrugged, abashed. The remains of the mechanical temple guard were scattered all over. “Over – him?”

“Huaisang –”

“No,” Nie Huaisang said, holding up his hands. “Don’t. Don’t…I don’t want to hear you talk.”

Lan Xichen’s head dropped down and he looked at the ground. “You knew from the beginning what I was like,” he murmured. “I never tried to hide it –”

“I forgive you for being what you are,” Nie Huaisang told him, and Lan Xichen looked up at him, startled and pleased. “I forgive you for not having the backbone to stand up against Jin Guangyao for me – or for da-ge. For being willfully blind for so long, for needing someone else’s proof of his ill-intentions, for always picking him first, for never trusting me…I forgive you, even if you’d never forgive me for the same.”

He dashed away the angry tears in his eyes.

“I just wish this wasn’t a fucking metaphor.”

Nie Huaisang left the fighting to the people who knew what to do – Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji, Jiang Cheng, even the rock-juniors – and went to the temple at the center of the city alone.

Some things, he knew, needed to be done alone, even if it was the type of alone when you were surrounded by other people. Even when those other people stood by his side and made him promise that if he needed them, he would only need to call. Some things…

“I want my da-ge back,” he said to the maze of stairs.

“Then go and find him,” Jin Guangyao replied, looking smug, and Nie Huaisang had to go up and down all those fucking stairs, because Jin Guangyao was nothing if not predictable with his trauma, looking all over, looking for –

Looking for pieces.

“It’s just a metaphor,” he whispered to himself, ignoring how tears were streaming down his face. “It’s just – I need to put him back together, it’s fine. I’m not too late – I’m not too late –”

Jin Guangyao held Nie Mingjue’s head in his hands, blinded and gagged and bound with talismans, pulled out of whatever oubliette he'd shoved it into to forget about what he'd done. “Beware, Huaisang,” he said, still smiling. Always smiling. “I’ve been generous up until now, but I can be cruel.”

Nie Huaisang laughed, scoffing. “Generous? What have you done for me that’s generous?”

“Everything! Everything you’ve wanted, I’ve done – I cared for you, I gave you attention, I got you out of work, doing your schoolwork for you and coming up with excuses to get you out of saber training. I gave you presents, fans and pretty clothing, and when that brute of a brother of yours tried to take them from you, I rescued you. And then I even managed your sect for you, answered all of your questions, any time you had – Huaisang, I’m exhausted trying to live up to your expectations of me. Isn’t that generous?”

Nie Huaisang bared his teeth. “Half of those are burdens that only fell on me because of you. Why should it matter to me that cleaning up your own mess and satisfying your own guilt is hard? Why should I pay such a price when all I wanted was to be your friend? When all da-ge wanted was to be your friend? How dare you, Meng Yao!”

“Huaisang…” Jin Guangyao shook his head mournfully. “Huaisang, the last step here is to say the words to break the spell. But you were never good at memorization, were you?”

Nie Huaisang bit his lip until he drew blood.

“Through dangers untold, and hardships unnumbered,” he said. “I have fought my way here to the temple beyond the goblin city –”

“Huaisang, stop! Look at what you’re risking here. You know how everyone loves me – do you think anyone will forgive you for taking me down, for tricking them all? You’ll be all alone!”

I already am, Nie Huaisang thought.

“My will is as strong as yours,” he said. “And my kingdom is as great…”

His voice trailed off.

“I ask for so little,” Jin Guangyao said beseechingly, convincingly, looking just like he always did, like the man who'd been their friend. “Just let me fool you, and you can have anything you want. No responsibilities, no stress, a life of your own. You can even have Lan Xichen, if that’s what you want…”

What’s the last line, Nie Huaisang thought, hating himself for being such a poor student, for cramming things into his mind without any order, for never being able to retain a single drop of it no matter how hard he tried. What is it? Why can’t I ever remember?

“It’d be so easy,” Jin Guangyao crooned. “Much easier than this. Just fear me, love me, believe me, and I’ll be your slave.”

Sharp teeth in a false smile.

Nie Huaisang shook in terror. He couldn’t – his da-ge needed him – he couldn’t be afraid, couldn’t be a coward, couldn’t be good-for-nothing – couldn’t let Jin Guangyao win – couldn’t let him –

That was it.

Nie Huaisang raised his head until his eyes met his enemy’s.

Sensing something wrong, Jin Guangyao’s eternal smile dimmed, and he began to step forward, reaching out, but it was too late.

“You have no power over me,” Nie Huaisang declared, and the world within a world collapsed.

Nie Huaisang opened his eyes.

Nie Huaisang sat in his desk in the Unclean Realm, trying to amuse himself by trying to figure out what exactly he’d eaten the night before that had given him such bizarre dreams. It was not successful, on account of him being alone.

Alone, just as he had been every night, and every day as well, since the success of his scheme at the Guanyin Temple.

Just as the dream-Jin Guangyao had threatened.

It wasn’t that Nie Huaisang regretted what he had done – the dream was clear enough about that; he’d do it all again in a heartbeat if he had to. But in the dream he’d been working alongside his former friends, with Lan Xichen betraying but then returning to him, with Wei Wuxian dragging Lan Wangji around, with stone-faced Jiang Cheng and the rather interchangeable junior squad behind him…and in his dream, in the end, they’d let him go to take his revenge, telling him that if he needed them for any reason, he could just call.

Just call, and they’d come back to him. Instead of turning from him in disgust, they’d stand by his side…

“Stupid subconscious,” Nie Huaisang mumbled to himself. “What do you expect? That I'd write to them and say ‘for no real reason at all, I find that I rather need you’?”

Silence answered him.

“Well, I do,” he said with a sigh, putting his chin on his hands. “Does that make you happy? I do need you.”

“You do?” Wei Wuxian’s voice rang out, and Nie Huaisang jumped nearly out of his skin. “Well, why didn’t you say so?”

Nie Huaisang turned, staring: it was Wei Wuxian at the door, the human version of him, and of course there was Lan Wangji right before him, and Jiang Cheng, and the (still mostly interchangeable) juniors, and – and even Lan Xichen, who Nie Huaisang was sure had gone into seclusion with no intent to leave.

“What are you doing here?” Nie Huaisang squeaked. And why hadn’t any of his sect disciples warned him?

“We just bullied our way though the door before anyone could stop us,” Wei Wuxian said cheerfully, answering the unspoken question first. “As for the rest – it turns out that I had the strangest dream the other night, really, truly bizarre, and obviously I had to tell Lan Zhan all about it, except it turned out he had a strange dream too.”

Nie Huaisang’s jaw dropped. “But –”

“I felt da-ge’s qi woven into the labyrinth,” Lan Xichen said quietly. “I thought it’d have long ago dissipated or been locked away, but – it was there, in every stone, in every turn. Every obstacle that didn’t really hurt you, every goblin that was more silly than scary…he was there. It was unmistakable.”

Nie Huaisang swallowed. The story of the labyrinth, baby-stealing wish-granting goblin king and all, had been one that Nie Mingjue had told him as a bedtime story, when he'd been a child in need of comfort; he hadn’t thought of it in years before last night. “But…why…?”

“Because Chifeng-zun has a demented sense of humor?” Jiang Cheng suggested, looking irritated.

“Jiujiu means that he hasn’t had that much fun in years, and also that you should throw a party,” Jin Ling said. “You are hosting all three of the sect leaders of all the other Great Sects. Also, why were we rocks?”

“Uh, no idea,” Nie Huaisang said. “Da-ge’s weird sense of humor, no doubt! Anyway, did you say party? I can do a party!”

He rushed out of the room, calling for his servants, calling for them to bring food and wine and tea, and as he did, he looked out of the window – a golden bird was flying away, looking hunted as if something was chasing it, and even as he watched, it crossed the borders of the Unclean Realm and suddenly dissolved into a fizzle of golden dust.

Nie Huaisang put his hand on the stone wall, and felt a familiar echo.

A very familiar echo.

“Oh,” he said, to his servants, feeling somehow simultaneously sheepish and filled with joy. “And while you’re at it, can you bring me my saber? I seem to have – misplaced it…”

#mdzs #nie huaisang #jin guangyao #lan xichen #jiang cheng #wei wuxian #lan wangji #su she #sect leader yao #sect leader ouyang #xiao xingchen #xue yang #my fic #my fics #labyrinth

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silverflame2724 · 3 years

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Happy Prompt (if you feel like it): WWX being the genius/ex first disciple of great scet that he is realizes they can't sustain the Burial Mounds. So he comes up with a Plan to make them all dissappear. Knowing how important lineage is so them, he asks them to give up the Wen name and take up Wei. (The wens are mostly common folk who just want to live so they agree). He the proceeds to hide them among other clans. People who have met and remember all the good young master Wie always did. He hides them among the Jiang and Nie. (I always head cannon that part of WWX'S flirty reputation comes from him helping women who are in bad situations/ NHS somehow finds out/knows and begins to help him. I figure theyhad to get several Lan women out. Mama Lans ghost helps?). JC knows but ignores it, they aren't WENS anymore, so his pride can leave it be. I'm not sure if A'yuan would still end up with Lan Zhan? But then WWX, WN, and WQ all fake thier deaths and go travel as rogue cultivators. But now WWX has all these living and dead people praying to/for him as the patron Saint of lost causes? And he accidentally becomes an immortal without realizing it? To the absolute fond disgust of WQ, of course. Anyway, I figure old Jin perv still pulls his bullshit at a discussion conference and between NHS, JYL, and LWJ? They somehow clear everyone's nsme. And then newly immortal WWX rocks up in there (to the horror of the Lan Elders who now have to face thier own bullshit/ hypocrisy) and lives happily ever after.

I think I read a prompt or a fic somewhere with the concept of the Wens hiding in plain sight.

________________________

The thought came to him out of nowhere.

It had been a peaceful day with the Wens as he farmed, invented and tinkered with various incomplete contraptions when Wei Wuxian was struck with a thought: they could not continue like this.

Wei Wuxian wasn’t an idiot. He knew that they couldn’t sustain themselves in the Burial Mounds. Their crops hardly prospered, one by one the more elderly individuals of the Wens got sick and died, the resentful energy messed with everyone’s temperament, the cultivators never stopped trying to break his wards.....the list went on and on.

He had to come up with a plan. He thought they could live here for a time, but that was just wishful thinking.

With this in mind, he takes the next few days to come up with a concrete plan.

...............................

The first task, and perhaps the most important one, is to ask the Wens to give up the Wen name. It would be easier from then on.

As he presented this suggestion, he was surprised by how readily they agreed. He knew how important lineage was to them, so the rapidness of them giving up their name was shocking.

“Would you......take up my name?” Wei Wuxian asked quietly.

The Wens were silent before cheering. Wei Wuxian didn’t know how to react to this. The Wens told him that they were more than happy to accept his name since they were his family.

Wei Wuxian held back the tears and laughed happily instead as he went on to tell him the next plan of action: hiding them in plan sight.

Various people from various clans owed him favors and remembered the good in him, as they were more than happy to take on the refugees he hid away now that they were no longer Wens.

They had to do this quietly and slowly though. It would be suspicious if a large group of people suddenly left Yiling all at once. So Wei Wuxian took each of them to different places. Some of them went back to their original homes, some went to the Nie, some to the Yao, some to the Ouyang clan.

He even sends some to the small village of women who he helped run away from their horrible home situations.

It was a little tricky with Nie, but Nie Huaisang pulls through and Nie Mingjue suspects nothing.

He sends some to the Jiang and Jiang Cheng grudgingly accepts them, knowing that they are no longer Wen.

And for A’ Yuan.......He sends A’ Yuan to Lan Zhan, who is familiar with A’ Yuan. Wei Wuxian sends a letter to Lan Zhan asking him to meet and instead of appearing, A’ Yuan is there in his stead. The letter to Lan Zhan details what to do with A’ Yuan and to hide his identity.

Wei Wuxian trusts that Lan Zhan would take his suggestion and tell his brother and uncle that A’ Yuan was a child that Lan Zhan was asked to take care of by a dying mother.

Wei Wuxian watches from afar as Lan Zhan takes A’ Yuan away and takes the last step in ensuring that the cultivation world forgets him: He fakes his, Wen Qing’s and Wen Ning’s deaths. There’s enough corpses in the Burial Mounds and ones with their physique to replace the Wens and him. He gossips to the town that he’s going to destroy his weapon, the Seal, and subsequently fakes an explosion of resentment, quickly disappearing with the Wen siblings to a random direction.

He always thought how nice it would be to be like his parents and be rogue cultivators. He guesses that he’ll find out now.

..................................

Years pass and Wei Wuxian makes decent salary by taking care of monsters in the area. Wen Qing is a doctor, of course, and Wen Ning becomes her assistant.

They move to a little village near Dongying and settle down there. The people there a little more open to demonic cultivation and dark arts and don’t bat an eye at Wei Wuxian using such means.

Wei Wuxian invents more contraptions, selling them under a false name in towns far away from Dongying.

One day, on a chance night hunt near Yunmeng, Wei Wuxian hears whispers and gossip about Nie Huaisang, Lan Wangji and Jiang Yanli clearing his name and capturing the actual people responsible.

He’s happy to hear this. Overjoyed. But that doesn’t mean he’ll gladly return to the cultivation world. He’s had enough of that life.

He walks around town for a bit longer, catching bits of gossip here and there. As explores the town, wine jug in hand, he nearly chokes around a mouthful of wine as he sees a small shrine encasing a statue of his likeness. What.....the hell??

He quickly asks around and finds out that people are praying to him for protection. Wei Wuxian squirms a little at this, glad he’s wearing a weimao to cover his face.

All of this...praying makes him uncomfortable. Not long ago, people were spitting on his name and now he’s suddenly become some sort of Patron for protection? The change is remarkable and cements Wei Wuxian’s decision to firmly stay out of the cultivation world.

People’s opinions change like a tide and Wei Wuxian doesn’t want to stick around long enough for them to switch back. He sighs, disposing of his empty jug, and leaves the town.

.......

Surprisingly, that’s not the end of the changes.

He got careless on a night hunt and ends up with the claw of a yaoguai piercing him all the way through his stomach. When the yaoguai pulled out its claw, though......Wei Wuxian healed quickly. Too quickly.

He recovers from the shock at this and finishes off the yao.

What just happened?

A quick trip to Wen Qing answered everything.

“Congratulations.” Wen Qing says dryly. “You’re an immortal.”

“........What.”

Wen Qing sighs, “From what you told me, you healed unnaturally quickly, right?”

Wei Wuxian nods.

“There have only been records of immortals recovering that quickly. Even Wen Ruohan healed slower than you did.”

“But I don’t have a core???”

“You do. Sort of.” Wen Qing replies. “I’m actually surprised you haven’t you felt it.”

“.....” I mean, I did think it was odd that I didn’t freeze to death in the winter or die of hunger when money became tight over these years, but I thought those were side effects of demonic cultivation! Wei Wuxian quickly goes through the motions of feeling for his core, willing the surge of hope he felt down.

And he......didn’t feel a core. He felt more of a large mass of energy congregated in his dantian.

Wei Wuxian is glad that he is sitting down right now because he feels very faint. “But.....this......how?”

“Hmm. Well, from what I’ve been hearing, you’ve become some sort of Patron Saint?” Wei Wuxian nods. “It’s rare, but cultivators can gain power from prayers. Take Wen Ruohan for example.”

“He became powerful through the same means?”

“Yes. Well, his people believed him to be all powerful, not so much as what people are praying to you. As the Sunshot alliance chipped down on his people, so too did they chip down on Wen Ruohan’s power.”

“So if people stop praying to me, I’ll stop being immortal.”

“Yes and no. Right now, there’s just a mass of energy concentrated there. It’s basically unrefined energy. All you have to do is refine that power into a core and cultivate normally. Otherwise, yes. You will lose this power as soon as people stop praying to you.”

“I see.......”

Wen Qing raises an eyebrow and brandishes her needles. “What are you doing just sitting here? Go and cultivate!”

“Aiya, Qing-jie! I’m in shock here, give me a moment to absorb this all!”

“I have patients to see! Get your ass to your room and cultivate!”

“Are you my mom or something?”

Wen Qing’s expression turns thunderous.

Wei Wuxian didn’t want to provoke her any further despite wanting to banter more and left to his room.

..................................

“You should visit your siblings.” Wen Qing says one day. “And Hanguang-Jun. I want to hear about how A’ Yuan is doing.”

“Where did this come from?”

“Wei Wuxian.” Wen Qing says patiently. “It’s been over a decade. Your name and our name has long since been cleared. People no longer hate you. And.....they miss you. Your siblings have commemorated the day you “died” and go into mourning for that day. Hanguang-Jun is a little subtler but he wears a mourning sash now.”

“They’ll be better off without me.”

“Says who?”

“The rest of the world.” Wei Wuxian says weakly.

“And why should you care for their opinion? You never seemed to mind it.”

“Ummm.....Lan Zhan hates me? Jiang Cheng might resent me? And Shij---Jiang-guniang---the Young Madam Jin has a life already.”

“First, if Hanguang-Jun hates you, why would he frequently glare at people who badmouthed you?”

“Because he’s a good person. How do you know this anyway?”

“I have friends. Try again. Hanguang-Jun is a famously reticent person. Would he do this for every person?”

“.........I don’t know.”

“The answer is no.”

Wei Wuxian pouts.

Wen Qing then begins to tell him how Jiang Cheng frequently takes demonic cultivators back with him in hopes that one of them would be Wei Wuxian and even added Wei Wuxian back to the Jiang sect register. Jiang Yanli smiles while ruthlessly talking people into apologizing every time she hears something bad said about Wei Wuxian.

She even lectures him on his feelings towards Lan Wangji, that he would entrust A’ Yuan to him.

Wen Qing closes off her speech with threats of her needles if Wei Wuxian doesn’t get his ass over there.

“There’s a Discussion Conference at Lotus Pier. Wei Wuxian, wait till they’re done and go meet them.”

Wei Wuxian, sufficiently threatened, hightails it back to what was his home.

.......

Wei Wuxian also decidedly forgets that he was supposed to wait for the Conference to end. Well, he had assumed that they would be done considering the empty state of the area in front of the conference room and stupidly bursts through the door to a room full of people.

Wei Wuxian blinks, “Uhh......”

“Wei Wuxian?!”

“Wei Ying?!”

“A’ Xian?!”

Wei Wuxian tittered from side to side, “Hello, all! I bet you thought I was dead! Well, you guessed wrong! Hahaha......”

..............................

Lan Wangji did not know what this time’s discussion conference would be like. He expected Jin Guangshan to try and subtly slander Wei Ying. He expected Jiang Yanli, Jiang Wanyin and himself to stand up for Wei Ying, as he was unable to do before Wei Ying died.

But he certainly didn’t expect Wei Ying, who he thought was dead, burst into the room.

Everyone was silent as soon as they heard Wei Ying speak, but soon burst into a cacophony of noise.

Continuing the Discussion Conference was futile after that and it was quickly closed. Lan Wangji watched Wei Ying be surrounded by many people, some crying, some happily angry, some exasperated and he couldn’t help his reaction after seeing him once again.

He rushes forward and hugs him.

“Wha--Lan Zhan?”

“You’re alive.” Lan Wangji breathes, voice full of wonder. “You’re alive.”

Wei Ying’s arms come up around him and Lan Wangji feels the strong heart beat through their robes. His elders yell at him for his shamelessness and he comes back to himself, embarrassed at his lack of control.

“Aww, Lan Zhan! I’m so glad you missed me!”

“Mn. Missed Wei Ying a lot.”

A slight blush rose to Wei Ying’s cheeks and he laughed, a little shy. Lan Wangji couldn’t help his response to hearing his laugh again after so, so long. He kissed him.

The crowd gasped around them and Lan Wangji pulled back quickly, wanting the ground to swallow him up. But then......Wei Ying kissed him back.

“Aiya, Lan Zhan. How bold of you! To steal a kiss from me in public!” He giggles, not seeming mad at all and even pressing forward, tangling his fingers in his forehead ribbon.

Lan Wangji’s breath stutters at the gesture.

“You’d better take responsibility!”

Is Wei Ying asking what I think he’s asking? “Responsibility?”

“Yes! You took a kiss from me in public! It looks like I can’t marry anymore.”

“Will marry Wei Ying.” Lan Wangji replies, voice hoarse, ignoring the cries of outrage from his elders, the angry shouts from Jiang Wanyin, and the smirks from Jiang Yanli and his brother. “Will take responsibility.”

“I hope that isn’t the only reason.”

This is his chance to come clean. Lan Wangji already told himself that he wouldn’t hold himself back if he met Wei Ying again. “Like Wei Ying. Love Wei Ying.”

Wei Ying laughs brightly. “I like Lan Zhan too. Now, you’ll finally admit we’re close?”

Lan Wangji ignores everyone, eyes only on Wei Ying as they should have always been, “Mn. Let’s get married.”

___________________________

I feel like Lan Wangji may be a bit OOC......hmm. Well, whatever. I finally got this done and with that, I think I’ve cleared all the prompts I haven’t answered, so asks will open up again!

Hope you all enjoyed this!

#wei ying #wei wuxian #wen qing #wen ning #wen qionglin #lan zhan #lan wangji #wen remnants #lan yuan #canon divergent au #wei wuxian hides the wen remnants #immortal wei wuxian #fluff #confessions #JYL and NHS and LWJ clear WWX and the Wen remnants' names #this is only happy #I hope

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trans-xianxian · 3 years

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I don't remember the specific episodes but I can't stop thinking about the parallel between WWX in the Lan Summer School talking about "what if you cut off a corpses head and used its resentment from that to do what you wanted" and then JGY doing exactly that.

oh the gusu eps are CHOCKED full of bby wei wuxian predicting the future (his, most of the time). including, and these are just off the top of my head:

this happens in the same scene you mention but wei wuxian fully just designs demonic cultivation in the middle of class age 15. I know that in cql he's not the one who invents it so in reality he's just referencing something that already exists but I Literally never realized that someone else created demonic cultivation in cql canon until I saw posts about it so from my perspective teen wei wuxian was like "haha what if we used resentment instead >:3c" once in class and then 4 years later he's half dead n is suddenly like "wait a second.. I think I was onto something there..."

also in the same scene but uuuh a little lan qiren prediction cameo with this one but when he asks wei wuxian how he would make demonic cultivation not hurt others and wei wuxian is like idk haven't figured it out yet! and lan qiren tells him that when he does the world will not allow his existence..........

Yet Another Prediction From That Scene is when they're talking about scenarios or whatever and wei wuxian says something along the lines of "what if the persons last dying wish was to kill lots of people in revenge" just to be annoying but then like 25 years later wei wuxian is resurrected by a man whose last dying wish is for him to kill lots of people in revenge

he just outright tells lan wangji that no woman will ever marry him and. well.

when he says that it doesn't matter what sect he grew up in he knows whats right and what isn't as a very hopeful and cheerful way to tell lan wangji he's going to help him with the yin iron, and it ends up looking viciously niave when compared to him standing up for the wens because it doesn't matter what sect they're from, he knows that whats happening to them isn't right

on a similar note the wish he makes when they send the lantern off vs when he literally quotes it back to lan wangji later

jiang cheng assisted prediction where he tells wei wuxian that no one in the lan sect would be able to put up with him and wei wuxian literally just goes "hey! I'm adorable!"

when wei wuxian brags to nie huaisang and jiang cheng about being the first one to get lan wangji to break the rules.... oh honey

and this doesn't even include all of the parallels and foreshadowing done through actions/imagery/etc! this is just the shit that wei wuxian outright says! that I can remember fron my brain! and there's even more that he predicts After the cloud recesses! fuck in UP cql

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thebiscuiteternal · 3 years

Note

Wei Wuxian and/or Lan Wangji visit the Unclean Realma

Okay so this is sort of cheating, but it turns out I actually already have a story for this that I just kinda forgot to post anywhere? So I've prettied it up for this. Set in a timeline where Jin Guangyao survived the temple incident and Lan Xichen and Jin Ling managed to argue for life imprisonment instead of execution.

__________

Three days after Jin Guangyao is warded into a little house on the edge of the Cloud Recesses, word comes from up north that all of the inter-sect liaisons and visiting disciples have been expelled from the Unclean Realms and no one new is being permitted to enter.

"Should've guessed the Headshaker would throw a tantrum about the trial. It's all he's good at anyway," Wei Wuxian hears being muttered among a knot of gold-robed cultivators.

He... has a bad feeling. A feeling that warns him this likely isn't so simple as that.

The wine having soured in his stomach, he leaves the jar unfinished and goes to collect his things and Little Apple.

Then he heads towards Qinghe.

He's long been used to cold stares and angry muttering at his presence, but the tone takes on a distinct change once he crosses the border. There's not one word mentioned about the Yiling Patriarch, or even demonic cultivation in general.

No, the people who whisper at his presence seem to think he's here as a spy, or even an assassin for the Lan.

He'd laugh at the absurdity, except the implications behind the rumors leave him cold.

After all the gossip, he's unsurprised when the guards at the gates of the Unclean Realms tell him in no uncertain terms to get lost. Even though he knows it probably won't help (and it doesn't), he lays out that he's here on his own terms, without any knowledge of the Lan sect. Turned away still, he decides it would probably be better to set himself up a camp rather than trying his luck at an inn.

Using a paperman out in the open forest is considerably more dangerous than indoors, but the questions in his mind keep eating at him until he groans and flops against Little Apple's side, relying on the donkey's bulk to keep him grounded as he activates the spell.

The thing that bothers him the most is the quiet.

He could count the number of times he'd been to the Unclean Realms on one hand, but whether in war or peace, the place had always been almost as bustling as Lotus Pier. Right now though, as he floats around the courtyards and into the hallways, he is met with faces blank as stone slabs and conversations spoken so lowly that he has to strain to hear.

None of it is good.

He gleans over the course of following several knots of disciples or servants that the isolation adopted by Qinghe Nie was not on the orders of its sect leader.

Rather, the elders and disciples have closed rank around him.

As he thinks about it, he can start to understand their reasoning. One sect leader was murdered, and all of their supposed allies turned their heads from the issue until the murderer went after them as well. A second sect leader was murdered in a similar fashion, and two of the supposed allies had actively argued for the life of the killer.

Why wait to see how little their supposed allies would care if something happened to a third?

___

He's starting to get tired, but he can't leave until he's seen Nie Huaisang himself.

As luck would have it, a maid passes by his hiding spot with a large bowl of soup and a pot of tea, both of which have the sensory tinge of qi-infused herbs commonly used to treat a minor deviation.

She doesn't sense a little wisp of paper clinging to her sleeve, and he rides along as she enters a garden deep enough within the Realms that it's clearly not meant for visitors.

A lone figure sits in a chair, staring in the vague direction of nothing in particular, and Wei Wuxian makes a tiny involuntary noise that thankfully doesn't translate through the paperman.

Nie Huaisang looks absolutely wrecked.

His eyes are rimmed in red, either from the qi deviation, crying, or both. The effect is worsened by the sheer exhaustion that creates shadows on his face and bows his shoulders. His hair is unbound, his clothing is wrinkled, and all of it put together makes Wei Wuxian wonder if he has slept at all since that night at Guanyin Temple, let alone during the trial.

The maid silently lays down the tray and fixes a cup of tea with honey, then gently presses it into Nie Huaisang's hands, making sure they are fully holding it before pulling away.

"Thank you, Hui-er."

The tell-tale rasp of a voice recovering from having blown itself out screaming makes the little paperman rustle as Wei Wuxian shivers.

He should leave.

He's seen what he came for, he really should lea-

"Wh- hey!"

Oh, shit.

He tries to flutter out of reach, but Hui-er is surprisingly quick and he finds himself snatched out of the air.

"Leave that with me, please."

"Zongzhu... are you sure?"

He doesn't see any noticeable change, but something in Nie Huaisang's expression must convince the maid, because she nods and places his paper form into an outstretched hand.

"Would you kindly give Min-jie my thanks for the soup?"

"Of course." Hui-er bows and heads back towards the garden entrance.

Once they are alone, Nie Huaisang sighs quietly. "Hello, Wei Wuxian. I suppose I should have expected you to come poking around."

There's no anger in the words. Except for the rasp, one could almost mistake it for his teasing from their class days.

But he genuinely can't remember a single time in their lives that Nie Huaisang ever full-named him, even at his most irritated or upset, and hearing his courtesy name fall from his mouth makes Wei Wuxian feel ill.

Little paper arms wrap around long fingers and their bruised knuckles.

"You should leave," Nie Huaisang says, gently stroking the little paper head with a fingertip. "The sides have been chosen again, and you already know what it's like on the wrong one."

He does.

He also knows what it's like to be grievously wronged.

If the possibility of avenging everything Wen Chao and Wen Zhuliu had done had been taken from him... if he'd had to sit there and listen as the cultivation world decided they still deserved to live...

Little paper arms hug tighter.

Nie Huaisang finally smiles. Or tries to, anyway, and the attempt is both painful and worrying. "I see. Stubborn as ever. Fine, I will tell the guards not to block your way the next time you visit."

When he has made his way back to camp, back to himself, Wei Wuxian feels drained in more ways than just physical or spiritual tiredness.

He... he should tell Lan Zhan that this isn't just some petty show of spite on Nie Huaisang's part.

But that's all he'll tell.

That's all he’ll tell.

#mdzs #wei wuxian #nie huaisang #fanfic

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ancientstone · 2 years

Text

Random Untamed Alchemist Thoughts: WangXian Edition!

Masterpost

Lan ‘Am I having feelings for my childhood friend? No, that’s ridiculous. I must be getting sick. Yes, that is the only explanation’ Wangji

Wei ‘Hey Jiang Cheng, I kinda want to punch Lan Wangji, but like, in a nice way?? Is that weird?? Hey, why are you laughing at me!?’ Wuxian

When they were both three, they declared to an amused Lan Xichen that, “When we’re grown up we’re gonna marry each other! We even promised!”

Neither remember this, Lan Xichen never brings it up, and honestly it’s a saving grace that Jiang Cheng was only two at the time, because if he knew then Wei Wuxian would never hear the end of it.

(Lan Xichen will, however, finally bring this story to light during his Best Man’s speech. Lan Wangji all but hides under the table.)

Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng have a habit of sparring whenever Wei Wuxian gets fitted with repaired upgraded automail. Lan Wangji will watch them on the porch, arms crossed and eyes critical, to make sure they don’t break his work again and that everything moves as it should.

At least, that’s how it started out.

Recently, when he watches, his brain chants happily: Biceps. Biceps. Biceps. Biceps.

It’s very unhelpful.

I’ve mentioned before that some of their biggest arguments are based around Wei Wuxian’s dedication to sacrificing anything to get Jiang Cheng’s body back, but once that’s over and done with, a new kind of disagreement emerges.

On the one hand, you have Lan Wangji, who has been all but single-parenting Sizhui (and then also Jin Ling) with the occasional visit from Wei Wuxian.

And on the other hand, you have Wei Wuxian, now permanently home, trying to parent as well and going against Lan Wangji’s techniques and rules.

Contrary to popular belief, Lan Wangji won’t let Wei Wuxian walk all over him, and while he agrees that letting Lan Sizhui and Jin Ling wander the surrounding countryside will do them some good (accompanied by Fairy, and sometimes Jiang Cheng), schoolwork and automail lessons and cooking dinner and doing their chores are equally important and he will not budge on their established nightly routine of bath, book, bed.

These arguments aren’t really shouting and yelling, more hissed, tense conversations behind closed doors.

Everyone debate in the tags: which brother has is worst?

Lan Xichen, who has to deal with Lan Wangji's silent, longing sighs?

Or Jiang Cheng, who has to put up with Wei Wuxian's utter obliviousness?

What I’m saying is that after the post-we-got-our-bodies-back saga Wei Wuxian is in bed one night snuggling Wangji with Sizhui curled between them and is suddenly struck with, “Wait. Holy fuck. This is a Thing.”

There is a very, very painful year after the two FINALLY become an official couple where Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian don’t really know how to function or how to progress the relationship.

Because their previous bet came to an end now their brothers have Figured It Out, Lan Xichen and Jiang Cheng have make a new one: Who will propose first?

Jiang Cheng wins this bet. I won’t say on who.

Ok but in all seriousness let me gush about their wedding.

It’s autumn. Resembool is awash in beautiful hues of red and deep orange. The fields are full of crops, ready to be harvested. The summer months are still lingering, but there’s just an edge of crispness to the air to signal cooler times ahead.

Lan Wangji wears a white suit with a delicate embroidered silver trimming. He stands out like the glowing moon against the autumnal colours, his hair neatly combed into its natural parting (He spent three hours fussing and panicking over it before his brother intervened.)

Wei Wuxian wears a black suit, his long hair braided into something more intricate than his usual style - one that, Jiang Chen will realise with a lump in his throat, mirrors their sister’s on her wedding day. He has red pins in it, the same shade as the small leaf motifs decorating his shirt collar.

Lan Xichen and Jiang Cheng are both in mauve. Lan Sizhui is the ring barer, a duty he takes very seriously. Jin Ling is only allowed to bring Fairy as long as he keeps her on a lead.

If you think Wei Wuxian doesn’t orchestrate it so when he throws his bouquet (red roses), Jiang Cheng catches it, then you do not know Wei Wuxian.

Jiang Cheng is going to fucking send him back to the gate of truth fuck off Wei Wuxian!!!

Lan Qiren bakes the wedding cake. Later, when the festivities are underway, Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng will sneak away and place a slice on Jiang Yanli’s gravestone. They will also visit the site where their house once was.

The next morning, Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian leave by train for their honeymoon off by the coast.

Unknown to Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen, they both have a bet on which of their brothers will cry as they leave first.

They both lose when Lan Qiren bursts into tears.

#the untamed #cql #fullmetal alchemist #fma #fullmetal alchemsit brotherhood #untamed alchemist #wei wuxian #lan wangji #wangxian #jiang cheng #lan xichen #lan sizhui #jin ling #lan qiren #written in stone

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gusu-emilu · 3 years

Text

miscellaneous MDZS/CQL fic recs (AO3)

broken into sections: Character Study (-esque), Wangxian, Jiang Cheng ships, Yi City (or Yi City-adjacent), Humor/Crack, and Other

Character Study (-esque)

Wei Wuxian

my eyes got used to the darkness by @curiosity-killed (M, Sunshot Campaign era, 4.4k): The funny thing, the thing that makes his lips curl in a grin and his hands shake with laughter, is that all these cultivators with their lofty principles and noble ambitions can’t even notice the ghost among them. Sure, they shiver at his presence and flinch from his cold hands, but not one of them puts it together. Lan Wangji chases him with healing music and Nie Mingjue frowns solemnly at his dancing corpses—and he laughs and laughs and laughs because they just don’t get it. Emilu's commentary: CW for mild body horror.

Jiang Cheng

in our respective ways by @veliseraptor (T, Sunshot Campaign era, 5.7k): Jiang Cheng has his golden core back. But he seems to have lost Wei Wuxian.

You Know I've Fallen, but I Know How High by villainais (M, Post-WWX's death, 2.7k): Jiang Cheng loses both of his siblings in Nightless City. Minutes apart. He trudges home to Yunmeng with one body, holds a private funeral with a single coffin, and allows himself to wear his mourning robes for ten days—permits himself not a single day more. He is still too young and inexperienced, an unfledged boy to the cultivation world, and he is rebuilding Lotus Pier on his own. He will not gift the other sect leaders the satisfaction of seeing him vulnerable. Propriety be damned. Hanguang-jun emerges from his seclusion wearing white. He does not stop.

Nie Huaisang

it deepens like a coastal shelf by @wolffyluna (M, Post-WWX's death, 21.6k): When Nie Huaisang meets Mo Xuanyu, he realises two things quickly. One, this kid is so doomed. Two, this kid would be a great unwitting spy in his plans to bring down Jin Guangyao. It would be so easy to get into Mo Xuanyu's confidences, and so easy to get him to tell him anything he needs. ...only thing is, that wouldn't be very good for Mo Xuanyu's life expectancy. But he'll do it anyway, if it helps him avenge his brother. A fic about man handing on misery to man, the parallels and cycles in the relationships between Jin Guangyao and Nie Huaisang and Mo Xuanyu, and the lengths these characters will go to meet their goals and if there are lines they won't cross.

Lan Xichen

an old man in dried mouths by @tenacious-minds (T, Post-Canon, 3.3k): Xichen thinks. The tea had always stained the crockery red. Emilu's commentary: Lan Xichen and Jin Ling talk about Jin Guangyao.

can you be a quiet man? by @basket-of-loquats (Unrated, Post-Canon, 70.7k+) But something inside him snapped at Guanyin Temple-- and Lan Wangji watched it happen, saw the exact moment that Lan Xichen went from broken to shattered, when he buried his sword into Jin Guangyao’s chest, when his sworn brother stared up at him with wide eyes, blood dripping from his mouth, when he pulled himself closer and closer and closer-- When he whispered "Why don’t you die with me?", and Lan Xichen hadn’t argued. Emilu's commentary: Lan Xichen / therapy with a side of Wangxian.

Wen Ning

breathless (but i'll pretend to breathe for you) by swordsainted (T, Burial Mounds Settlement era, 4.1k): Wei Wuxian is silent for a long minute, and then he looks at Wen Ning, something raw and open and hurting behind his eyes. “I’m sorry,” he says again, softer this time, and Wen Ning shakes his head, still smiling. “You’ve protected everyone. How could I hate you for that?”

Mo Xuanyu

stand at the pit's mouth by @eldritch-elrics (M, MXY's death, 9.3k): The dreams and regrets of a man on the edge of oblivion. Emilu's commentary: Surrealist/absurdist screenplay.

Wangxian

I would wait for a thousand years by bleuett (T, Immortality Post-Canon, 10.4k): During the worst of winter, a traveler comes to stay at Lan Wangji's inn. He wears a red ribbon in his hair. “Do you see the rabbit?” Wei Ying asks and points at the moon. “That’s the moon rabbit, he helps make Chang’e more immortality elixir. He keeps Chang’e company.” “I do not wish the rabbit for company,” Lan Wangji says tightly. “You are the one I want by my side.” “And I’m here, Lan Zhan. If you go to the moon, I’ll follow you, I’ll always be here now.” Emilu's commentary: Lan Wangji meets Wei Wuxian centuries later and does not remember the past. There is also an excellent podfic by @forgotten-envies

Look Not With The Eyes by Spodumene (G, Post-Canon, 28.1k): Wei Wuxian returns from his travels to join Lan Wangji on a routine night hunt, but when things take an unexpected turn, Wei Wuxian will have to fight for what he's really looking for. Emilu's commentary: Case fic.

All In A Good Time by bigboobedcanuck (E, Post-Canon, 8k): Lan Zhan is struck by a curse that brings him intense physical pain unless he's being touched. He is stoic and tries to hide his suffering. Wei Wuxian is worried and protective. Perhaps they will finally admit their feelings?

Across a Lake of Glass by Zizzani (E, Figure Skating AU, 92.2k+): Each year, Gusu Skating Club runs a camp for only the most elite athletes of each region. This year brings a new skater from the Yunmeng Club who wears skates lined with red and a smile made for war. He skates like a demon. Figure skating au featuring lots of healthy rivalry, pre and post-competition bonding, and an inexplicable fall from grace through the eyes of the media.

Jiang Cheng Ships

Chengqing

display my heart for you to see by @souridealist (M, Post-Canon Wen Qing Lives AU, 5.5k): Jiang Cheng has his own secrets. Some of them are part of the unburied past; some of them are about how long it's been since anyone has touched him.

while I'm in this body by @souridealist (E, Post-Lotus Pier Massacre, 3.9k): For just a few minutes, alone in her office, Wen Qing allows her self-control to slip enough to cry. It's just her luck that that's when Jiang Cheng comes looking for her. Emilu's commentary: Femdom.

Chengning

it may be that it doesn't matter by @wildehacked (T, Post-Canon, 6.6k) “Are you crying?” Jiang Wanyin asks him, and Wen Ning frowns. Pats his cheek with one hand. “No.” Emilu's commentary: Holy Grail of Chengning.

Whatever It Is by morau (E, Post-Canon, 20.5k): It starts, as with a lot of things, with a very poorly thought out prank, courtesy of Wei Wuxian. Emilu's commentary: A LOT of sex and even more emotions lol

won't run away (we're here to stay) by @qi-ling (T, Post-Canon, 3.5k): "Please don't feel any pressure to accept this, and you can take as much time as you need to think about it." It's a set of robes, in shades of deep purple, complete with leather bracers. Cut in a different style than that of the disciples or household staff, closer to the understated robes Wen Ning typically wears. He reaches out to feel the fabric. His deadened nerves can't sense delicate textures well, but even he can tell it's of a quality on par to Wanyin's own wardrobe. This is startling enough coming from Jiang Wanyin, but then Wen Ning notices the belt. In particular, the silver bell in the shape of a lotus affixed to it. Only recognized members of the Jiang sect may wear the clarity bell. Or, Jiang Cheng has an invitation for Wen Ning.

Zhancheng

By Proxy by @veliseraptor (E, Post-WWX's death, 12k): Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji, looking for comfort in all the wrong places. Emilu's commentary: Hate sex that made me cry

Yi City (or Yi City-adjacent)

Songxuexiao

Heaven Has A Road But No One Walks It by @silvysartfulness (M, Post-Yi City arc Canon Divergence, 123k+): One of the most complex spells of demonic cultivation the world has seen is brought to fruition, and Xiao Xingchen draws his first shaking breaths in over seven years. This, it turns out, is only the start of his problems. Emilu's commentary: Pretty sure everyone already knows about Silvy's happy songxuexiao road trip fic but it has to be here.

Xue Yang & Lan Xichen

Hours On Empty series by @lady-of-the-lotus (M to E, Post-Canon, 57.8k+): AU where Wei Wuxian never came to Yi City and Xue Yang is still running around post-canon disguised as Xiao Xingchen. "Fractured Ice" - Xue Yang whisks a nihilistic Lan Xichen off on a murder roadtrip to raise Xiao Xingchen and Meng Yao from the grave. Because that will solve all of their problems, right? "Control" - "Fractured Ice" retold from Xue Yang's pov. "A Thousand Miles In Its Light" - Alternate ending to "Fractured Ice" and "Control"

Songxiao with Xuexiao Flashbacks

Nothing Beside Remains by @eldritch-elrics (T, Post-Yi City arc Canon Divergence, 21.9k): And Xiao Xingchen is dressed in dark clothing that is not his, and his sight is all of a sudden sharp in a way that it has never been before, and Xue Yang is not here. “He wouldn’t,” he breathes. “No, he wouldn’t do that. He’s too—” “He’s too what?” Wei Wuxian steps a foot closer, face hard-set. “Too cruel? Or too kind?” Or: Xue Yang uses the Sacrifice Summon on Xiao Xingchen. Xiao Xingchen lives with the consequences.

Humor/Crack

The Hangover: A pre-wedding Dramedy series by natcat5 (M, Modern AU, 51.6k): It is not a bachelor party. That was made clear on all the invitations. It is a congratulatory get together for Jin Zixuan, attended by his family, the family of the bride, and the young masters of the other two families in their circle. The gathering is not to go later than midnight, everyone must drink in moderation, and no one is allowed to be hungover tomorrow. Wei Wuxian had promised Yanli, three fingers in the air. Jiang Cheng had rolled his eyes, but promised as well. Saturday morning, Nie Huaisang and Jiang Cheng wake up alone in a hotel room, missing shoes, phones, and almost all their memories of what in the world happened last night. Also missing: Wei Wuxian, brother of the bride, Lan Wangji, esteemed guest, Lan Xichen, esteemed guest, Jin Zixun, cousin of the groom, Jin Guangyao, brother and best-man, Jin Zixuan, THE GROOM, who is due at his bride-to-be's house in six hours. That's plenty of time to find everyone...right?

Jiang Cheng Loves Jar Jar Bombad Mui by @lady-of-the-lotus (G, Post-Canon, 1.7k) Jar Jar Binks washes up on the shores of Lotus Pier. Can he win the lonely Jiang Cheng's proud heart? Neb neb answer is yesa. Emilu's commentary: There's also a podfic by @aowyn. Yes, with a Jar Jar voice.

Other

Nie Huaisang & Wen Ning

By Name by nirejseki (G, Post-Canon, 1.3k): After the traumatic events in the now-collapsed temple, Wen Ning lingered behind and unexpectedly saw Nie Huaisang, the undisputed victor of an all-around terrible evening, sitting on the steps of the temple, looking exhausted and miserable, as if he’d won nothing at all. Wen Ning found himself drifting over to him.

Jiang Yanli & Nie Mingjue

utility by magicites (G, Arranged Marriage AU, 2.3k): Jiang Yanli and Nie Mingjue's wedding is a political one — a gesture of unity between their Sects. A way for her parents to finally get some use out of the plain-faced sham of a cultivator they call a daughter. “Jiang-guniang,” Nie Mingjue says, and the formality in such a setting as intimate as their wedding chambers startles her, “I don’t wish to bed you. Or any other woman, for that matter. It isn’t fair for you to live alone because of my own preferences.” She rests her hand on his arm, cool relief flooding her body like water on a summer afternoon. “If it helps, I don’t feel desire for men,” she whispers.

Jin Guangyao / Nie Huaisang

Pulling Strings by @eldritch-elrics (E, Post-WWX's death, 5k): Nie Huaisang, quite drunk, turns up at Jin Guangyao’s door one night with an unexpected request. Emilu's commentary: Nie Huaisang knows Jin Guangyao killed Nie Mingjue. This interaction is more symbolic than anything else...

#mdzs #cql #the untamed #mdzs fanfiction #cql fanfiction #the untamed fanfiction #mdzs fanfic #cql fanfic #the untamed fanfic #fic recs #emilu talks #emilu creations

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wangxianficrecs · 3 years

Photo

Follower Recs

Stories I haven’t read yet, but clearly need to put on my ever-expanding List.

~*~

Welcome back queen [Thank you, it’s so lovely to be back!] if ur still doing follower recs I gotta recommend I would wait for a thousand years by bleuett it’s soooooooo good

[This one was actually recced to me by two different people, the other of whom said, “ Maybe I'm crying a little so I feel like a should recommend ‘I would wait for a thousand years’ by bleuett on ao3.”]... it’s def. on my List!

I would wait for a thousand years

by bleuett (T, 10k, wangxian)

Summary: During the worst of winter, a traveler comes to stay at Lan Wangji's inn. He wears a red ribbon in his hair.

“Do you see the rabbit?” Wei Ying asks and points at the moon. “That’s the moon rabbit, he helps make Chang’e more immortality elixir. He keeps Chang’e company.”

“I do not wish the rabbit for company,” Lan Wangji says tightly. “You are the one I want by my side.”

“And I’m here, Lan Zhan. If you go to the moon, I’ll follow you, I’ll always be here now.”

~*~

I just read a great fic by aisthuu "every love story is a ghost story", didn't see it in your recs so wanted to recommend it! LWJ is a guqin composer and teacher, buys a cheap guqin off eBay which ends up being attached to WWX's spirit from canon era. It's bittersweet, LWJ deals with Lan's homophobia (implicit in a Lan way) and his feelings towards the ghost. This is author's only ao3 fic and honestly I don't remember how I stumbled upon it, but I'm happy I did and hope you will enjoy it too! [I’ve recently read this one, and loved it!]

every love story is a ghost story

by aisthuu (M, 59k, wangxian, my bookmark)

Summary: The man is in Lan Zhan’s bed. Did they—he begins to wonder, eyes trailing to where the man’s body lies under the blanket. Had Lan Zhan—?

Then the sleep-fog clears and Lan Zhan realizes that the young man isn’t quite opaque around the edges.

“You’re a spirit.”

The spirit narrows its eyes. “I’m so much more than that.”

(Lan Zhan buys a guqin off eBay for a suspiciously low price, only to find that it’s haunted. And now there’s a ghost in his bed.)

~*~

Ok so I absolutely have to rec "see you yesterday" by glyphic. It's a wip, but it's currently at 101k so there's a whole lot there, and it's terrible and wonderful and beautiful all at once. The way the backstory of canon events is adapted to the modern-with-cultivation setting is brilliant, and then there's the amnesia, and then there's the time loop. This fic lives permanently rent-free in my brain.

see you yesterday

by glyphic (M, 101k, wangxian, WIP)

Summary:

Wei Ying 21:09 hey lan zhan what’s the weirdest way youve died

Lan Zhan 21:11 Falling encyclopedias.

Wei Ying 21:12 omg no way that’s so rude turning books against you???

Lan Zhan 21:13 A betrayal I will never forget.

On Halloween night, an exiled demonic cultivator and a Lan disciple get stuck in a time-loop, find each other, and try to figure it all out.

~*~

If you are looking for recs for yourself I absolutely love (the complete!) story Just as the Snow Melts by draechali on AO3. It's a canon divergence where everyone lives, even WWX! ~ @airmidcelt

Just as the Snow Melts

by draechaeli (T, 67k, wangxian)

Summary: Like a snowy mountain top in spring the residents of the Burial Mounds trickled down the mountain and joined the flow of society.

“I went to the Burial Mounds,” Lan WangJi said.

“Ah, yeah… I’m sorry Lan Zhan,” replied Wei WuXian, “I hadn’t thought anyone would come to visit. I am still not sure how it happened; I brought A-Yuan to Yiling to play by the river and then ended up somehow teaching a bunch of children swimming and writing along with him.”

~*~

Hello! It's come to my attention that you have not as yet read Grandmaster of Meme-onic Cultivation! Please do! It's the only thing that gave me joy during 2020 😆 like proper belly laughs and disney villain style cackling. It is a wip, and it is long but so so worth it!! The author has reworked the entire canon through these message crystals and still conveys complex characters despite the tricky format. It's just so good!! Highly highly recommend it! ❤ ~ @theladypeartree [Oh! I’ve been subscribed to this one, and know that @swaglexander-the-great is a reliable provider of Hilarity, so I’m excited for it to be finished!]

Grandmaster of Meme-onic Cultivation

by Hades_the_Blingking (T, 49k, wangxian, WIP)

Summary: The Untamed universe is exactly the same, except everybody has magical crystals that have a suspiciously familiar messaging system. The story is pretty much the same as the show, except everyone lives!! (so minor changes).

or in which Wei WuXian tries his darndest to date Lan Zhan, Jiang Cheng possibly has a aneurysm, Jin ZiXuan is still the most awkward human alive, and Xue Yang makes me write some VERY cursed things. Written in chatfic format! :3

~*~

Chomrafy on AO3 deserves love and encouragement; she’s written a body of compact, poetic, and eloquent shortfics each of which can stand alone, but that comprise an intricately cross-referential and mostly internally-consistent universe. They’re grouped as chapters in works according to theme; for example, “in cupped hands” focuses upon Jin Ling and his second-generation baggage; “Departure in Autumn” portrays the last years of WWX’s first life. Follow the tag “Chomrafy’s MDZS shortfics.” [I don’t see this tag?]

in cupped hands

by chomrafy (G, 2k, wangxian)

Summary: Of secrets, of futures, of love. A Jin Ling-centric collection of 200-word fics.

Ch.1: Jin Ling repays a debt (JL, JC, & WWX). Ch.2: Jin Ling and a ghost in the mirror. (JL & JYL) Ch.3: A matter of friends (JL & the other kids) Ch.4: In this house we don't keep dogs (JC & WWX) Ch.5: In the end, he remains silent (JL & uncles) Ch.6: A first night hunt, of sorts (JL & the other kids) Ch.7: Jin Ling, forgiving, forgetting (JL & LXC & JGY) Ch.8: Jiang Cheng and Jin Ling argue (JL, JC, & WWX) Ch.9: Jin Ling and his father (JL & JC) Ch.10: Jin Ling speaks up (JL, JC, & WWX) Ch.11: Jin Ling and a piece of home (JL, JC, & WWX)

Departure in Autumn

by chomrafy (not rated, 6k)

Summary: Four perspectives. A steady march to the end.

Ch.1: Because if anything happens to them, Wen Qing would never be able to heal with these hands again. Ch.2: As long as this is still home, Jiang Yanli will wait as long as she needs to. Ch.3: Five times Jiang Cheng reaches for Wei Wuxian, one time he turns away. Ch.4: Whether the road is broad or narrow, bright or dark, they would have to keep walking. Wei Wuxian digs Wen Qing's grave.

~*~

Hello, hope all is going well. I don't have an ask, by I do have a recommendation. I read this fic a while ago and found it again. I just wanted to recommend this for everyone. Let me know what you think please. Thank you. [Oh! This one’s in my To Read list, but I’d forgotten about it. Mmmm, fox!wwx and dragon!lwj.]

Ten miles of Lotus Flowers

by Yukirin_Snow

M, 274k, wangxian

Summary: He was a mischievous fox spirit, wreaking havoc where he went, about to depart on a journey that would span centuries.

He was a heavenly prince, a proud dragon destined to ascend the throne to become emperor.

Neither expected their paths to collide over the span of three lives.

~*~

I forgot if it was your blog 😥 that recommended “Bestseller” (when Wei Wuxian writes the Xianxia cut-sleeve equivalent of Fifty Shades of Grey, based entirely on his experiences with Lan Wangji, he doesn’t expect it to become the next big hit) (https://archiveofourown.org/works/21528316/chapters/51318766)

But OMG IT WAS HILARIOUS!!! I LOVED IT!! And if it wasn’t your blog, I’m so sorry for how weird this sounds 😭😭😭😭 I just loved this fic so much that I have to tell it to someone 😢 [It’s on my List, but I haven’t read it yet!]

Bestseller

by pupeez4eva

M, 8k, wangxian

Summary: He had written the book to prove a point. It was never supposed to be a big thing, and he certainly never intended for everyone — Jiang Cheng, Zewu-Jun, the Juniors, literally everyone— to be reading about his sex life.

Oh God, he definitely needed to make sure Lan Zhan didn’t find out about this.

(Or, when Wei Wuxian writes the Xianxia cut-sleeve equivalent of Fifty Shades of Grey, based entirely on his experiences with Lan Wangji, he doesn’t expect it to become the next big hit).

~*~

I’d like to rec On Your Marks, Get Set, Bake! by @blackwiresgrowonherhead

It’s one of my absolute favorites and I laughed out loud so many times when reading it

on your marks, get set, bake!

by BlackWiresOnHerHead

G, 41k, wei wuxian & juniors

Summary: Jin Ling resumes thumping on the door to room 721, and the small collection of freshmen starts chanting “Senior Wei! Senior Wei! Senior Wei!” with increasing volume until finally Wei Wuxian opens the door.

“Yes?” he says with his widest, most innocent eyes.

“Senior Wei!” demands Lan Jingyi, shoving himself to the front of the group. “Why didn’t you tell us you’re a contestant on this year’s season of The Great Gusu Bake Off?!?”

Several months ago, college student Wei Wuxian secretly competed in the most popular reality show in the country. The show starts airing in the fall. The freshmen in his dorm collectively lose their minds.

~*~

If you're in the mood for v. short ridiculous fun fic, may I suggest My chain hits my chest/When I'm bangin' on the radio by x_los It's 2k modern cultivators AU, featuring WWX calling LWJ's sword Bitchin' [omg I’m laughing so hard] and I think it's more fun going in blind?

My chain hits my chest/When I'm bangin' on the radio

by x_los

T, 2k, wangxian

Summary: Lan Wangji finds he doesn't even need to call for help for Wei Wuxian to come running.

#follower rec #wangxian fic rec #I HAVEN'T READ THESE YET #wangxian #mdzs

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ouyangzizhensdad · 3 years

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What keeps stumping me is this: LWJ takes WWX to the Cloud Recesses to protect him from JC, then, when they leave with the arm, he keeps dragging him back when WWX tries to escape to, again, protect him from JC... But then, after the Xinglu Ridge, he lets him go and trusts that WWX will meet him back at the inn. Why? And anyway, what was he planning to do, drag WWX around all his life? He had duties, he couldn't have followed WWX himself to provide protection, so it would have been exactly [1/2]

that — dragging him around or leaving him shielded behind the walls of the Cloud Recesses. In theory, if "MXY" became a Lan disciple, JC couldn't have touched him... But LWJ knew who "MXY" was and that WWX would mostly refuse, like he did multiple times before. It's great that after WWX realizes LWJ doesn't intend to harm or punish him, he goes along willingly — but what if he didn't? What then? JC was still out there, after all. [2/2]

Hi anon,

I think it's a little bit of a stretch to imagine LWJ's plan was to just keep 'dragging' WWX along forever. They arrived in the CR, spent one night there, and the next day LWJ was busy with the arm which was of course a priority. What would have happened if the Lans had been able to suppress the resentful energy of the arm on that day, and LWJ had not felt the responsibility to leave to solve the mystery? It's hard to say. But now that they were in a place that was safe, and that there wouldn't have been another matter that would have taken priority, I don't think it's far fetched to believe that LWJ would have discussed things with WWX or put into place a way to bring him to a safe place outside of the CR if he did not want to stay. Considering his grief over his mother, and her situation, as well as his care for WWX’s welfare, I’m wary to believe his gameplan could ever be just ‘guess I’ll keep WWX in the CR, even if against his will, forever, bc jc is out there’.

I think it's important as well to remember that regardless of LWJ's motives, WWX does not choose to remain with him because of the protection LWJ can provide him, or simply because he suddenly decided to trust him out of a single demonstration of trustworthiness.

Even before they left the CR, WWX's words and actions revealed he was attached to and protective of LWJ--even as a crisis is occurring, his thoughts keep going back to LWJ, and whether he is okay:

When the bell of the watchtower started ringing on its own, it only meant one thing—that an accident happened to the people performing the summoning ritual inside. [...]

Seeing that Lan Wangji did not appear, Wei Wuxian had a foreboding feeling. If Lan Wangji were still in the Cloud Recesses, he would have hurried over immediately, as he heard the alarming chimes of the bell, unless…

Suddenly, the black door burst open with a bang. A white-clothed disciple rushed outside, staggering and stumbling.

[...]

Wei Wuxian grabbed his hand at once, speaking in a low voice, “Which being’s spirit are you summoning? Who else is inside? Where’s Hanguang-jun?!”

It seemed as if the disciple had trouble breathing, “Hanguang-jun told me to run away…”

[...]With the hastily created bamboo flute still by his waist, he went up the stairs in just a few strides. He kicked the door of the mingshi and commanded, “Open!”

WWX is the one who offers to go with LWJ, but of course we know it was because he thought it would be an opportunity to get away.

The few nodded, “Okay! Are you going to travel down the mountain?”

Lan Wangji gave a slight nod. Wei Wuxian had already stealthily shifted behind him, talking to himself in a loud, cheerful way, “Yes, yes, yes, we can finally get off this mountain and elope together!”

[...] Wei Wuxian originally wanted to sneak away during their expedition off the mountain. However, even though he attempted to run away multiple times, it always ended with Lan Wangji carrying him back with one hand holding the back of his collar. He changed his strategy, sticking to Lan Wangji as hard as he could. At night, especially, he would persistently climb into Lan Wangji’s bed, with the intention that Lan Wangji would become disgusted and use his sword to throw him away. Despite this, no matter how hard he messed around, Lan Wangji steadily stood his ground. Whenever Wei Wuxian wriggled into his blankets, he would use a light slap to make Wei Wuxian’s body rigid, and then stuff him into the other set of blankets in a proper position, where he would remain until daylight broke. Wei Wuxian suffered a ton of losses and complaint about his sore body after he woke up. He could not help but think: Now that he grew up, he also became less fun than before. In the past, he would become shy whenever he was teased, not to mention that he did it in quite an amusing way. But now, not only does he remain unmovable no matter what, he even learned how to counterattack. How can this be?!

However, in the same chapter, as they have spent more time together, WWX starts hating the idea of being separated from LWJ, although he cannot yet put into words why he feels this way:

After walking for some distance, Wei Wuxian unintentionally turned around and looked. Lan Wangji was behind him, still standing at the same place, staring toward his direction.

Wei Wuxian could not help but slow his footsteps.

He could not tell why, but he vaguely felt that he should not walk so fast, should not be leaving Lan Wangji behind like this.

We can also to a degree concur that WWX already feels safe enough around LWJ to seek him as a source of safety and comfort when faced with a dog, which happens a lot during the Xinglu Ridge arc, to the point that he unconsciously calls for him when JC sics Fairy on him while LWJ is away. WWX is also protective of LWJ in his own way even at that point:

Wei Wuxian immediately understood whose name he had unconsciously called out.

“It really is quite curious how far he went to protect you,” Jiang Cheng smiled menacingly, “back on Dafan Mountain.”

A moment later, he corrected himself, “No. You weren’t necessarily the one whom Lan Wangji was protecting. After all, the GusuLan Sect couldn’t have forgotten what you did with that loyal dog of yours. How could someone so celebrated for his righteousness tolerate the likes of you? Maybe he’s familiar with this body that you stole instead.”

His words were cruel and sinister. Every sentence seemed well-meaning on the surface, but was actually derogatory. Wei Wuxian could not bear with it any longer.

“Watch your language.”

“I’ve never cared for such things, don’t you remember?” Jiang Cheng responded,

“Oh, right.” Wei Wuxian mocked.

Although WWX tells LWJ that he would meet him back after they separated, he could have easily chosen not to do it. After all, compared to all the tricks he tried to flee before, it would have been nothing to go back on this 'promise'. He was in a forest, at night, where no one but JL knew he was. He could have left at any time. And when LWJ left, he knew this--that WWX would potentially not come back, hence why his expression is so shaken after having waited hours for WWX to return (now we can wonder how long he would have stayed on that bridge, waiting, hoping). But, again, solving the mystery of the arm took priority over ensuring WWX's safety (and, considering WWX managed to be discovered and taken by JC during these few hours, it's not like his fears were unfounded).

While WWX seems to realise that LWJ is on his side, there is no big moment of thinking "he doesn't want to punish/harm me". Likewise, there is no considerations of how JC could be looking for him after his escape and the dangers inherent in that. It seems almost like another unconscious decision.

He had always thought that Jiang Cheng would be on his side, and Lan Wangji on the side opposite to him. He could never have imagined that things would turn out so differently.

Wei Wuxian walked toward the rendezvous point where he and Lan Wangji were supposed to meet. Nobody walked among the sparse lights that flickered in the night. Without having to look around, a white-robed figure stood at the end of the street, standing motionless with his head hung low.

In conclusion, WWX would have never stayed alongside LWJ (or anyone else for that matter) simply for protection. As well, it is extremely unlikely that LWJ's thought process at this point of the narrative was 'I'll just drag WWX along for the rest of our lives''--but that the arm took priority over resolving the conundrum around WWX's safety, and that indeed, when the situation presented itself, he put first what I'll call his night hunting duties for a lack of a better term while taking the risk that WWX would decide to leave on his own. Is it the most 'healthy' way of approaching the situation? Honestly, I don't care. Instead I think it’s much more important to wonder: is it coherent with the characterisation, the characters' motivations and the unfolding of the plot?

#mdzs meta #mdzs #wwx #lwj #wangxian

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