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#this started as me wanting to draw dramatic wwx or jc
gingersnapwolves · 3 years
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thank you to everyone who answered my question about the Sunshot Campaign ... the general consensus seemed to be “eh probably not but through fanfic all things are possible” lmao
now as to why I was asking ... I’ve been working on the outline of the Mingli fic and am running into a dilemma
the whole first part is fun school shenanigans, which, okay, isn’t really different from the series itself, and I thought about just stopping it there but that leaves kind of an ominous “but we all know the Sunshot Campaign is coming” feeling ... like, yay, everyone’s happy, but storm clouds are on the horizon ... which isn’t really the way I want to end a fic
so that leaves me with three basic choices
say ‘fuck it, this is one of those universes where the Wens aren’t evil because I don’t feel like dealing with it’
I did this in An Atypical Courtship and nobody seemed to mind
this also gives me the bonus of that I could have Wen Qing and Wen Ning at the lectures in The Unclean Realm, which I can’t have otherwise since the Nie and the Wen hate each other
but it also cuts out some of the fun I could have later, like at the banquet with JGS trying to put the engagement back on and JYL being like “um, I think my husband might object”, as well as JYL insisting that WQ be allowed to come to The Unclean Realm and be NMJ’s doctor to help him prevent qi deviation
have the fic proceed through the Sunshot Campaign basically with a parallel to canon
this is marginally difficult because if the lectures aren’t at Cloud Recesses then I don’t get LWJ and WWX pulled into the cave together
additionally, WWX wouldn’t meet WQ and WN at the lectures
so okay, I could stray more into book canon here, have WN’s motivation for helping WWX be solely that WWX was nice to him that one time at an archery tournament, and maybe even say ‘fuck it’ to the yin iron in general because it’s not really necessary to the plot
smaller additional problem is that the stuff that happens in the first half of the fic will prevent NMJ and Meng Yao’s messy divorce, but I’ve gotten around that before and I can get around it again
the real reason I’m not wholly thrilled with this option is really just because I’ve already written so many fics centered around stuff that happened during The Sunshot Campaign, it’s honestly a little boring ... WWX lost his golden core again, oop
I could skip over it entirely and just give a brief summary but that seems kind of cheap
the last option is that I could use the changes in the first half of fic to dramatically change the trajectory of the Sunshot Campaign
the first thought I had was that JC could go to Qinghe for help, instead of Lanling, while WWX and LWJ are trapped in the cave of Xuanwu, and then NMJ could actually escort them back to Yunmeng (as an excuse to visit JYL) and he would actually be there during the Wen’s attack on Lotus Pier - LWJ could be there, too, because NMJ would pretty easily persuade him to travel together, maybe send a message to LXC, who’s currently on the run/hiding out with MY, to all regroup together at Lotus Pier
Canonically, WZL can fight both YZY and NMJ to a draw, but could he fight both of them together to a draw? Doubtful
But then I started asking, if I prevent the sacking of Lotus Pier, JC keeps his core, WWX doesn’t end up in The Burial Mounds - is the war against the Wen sect even winnable at that point?
So it’s like, on the one hand, this is way more interesting than yet another ‘and then poor WWX got fucked over six ways from Sunday’ (if nothing else, imagine LWJ being there when YZY is like ‘I’m going to cut off WWX’s hand’)
But on the other hand, it might end with everyone getting murdered and the Wen sect overrunning the world
Or if I do find a way to win The Sunshot Campaign, I have a different problem, which is that if the sacking of Lotus Pier doesn’t happen, the Yunmeng trio don’t end up sheltering with Wen Qing and Wen Ning, so there’s no reason they would be spared later, which makes me sad
tl;dr I can’t decide where the eff I want this fic to go
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any thoughts, opinions, additional plot bunnies?
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icecreamkink · 3 years
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watched all of the untamed / cql in two weeks after my friend 1 told me abt mdzs a hundred years ago and my friends 2 and 3 tried to get me into cql for like two whole years and there are.
feelings.
very first scene is a very dramatic death in the middle of nightmare battle on sith planet land . i will forget abt it in the next tenish episodes and then will be very surprised when it becomes Extremely Painful
anyway magic flying gays and possession and human sacrifice! we are off to a great start
in retrospect, chaos goblin wei wuxian must have had a blast pretending to be so cRaZy and be as disruptive as he could as mo xuanyu lbr
listen. why is fire always evil coded. cant a magic clan wear red, black and orange and have flame motif while being wholesome?
For Legal Reasons These Are Not Zombies
i wish the politics of the sect were a bit clearer, especially at the beggining when the wen clan had sm power, was wen ruohan the chief cultivator? is that why they were so slow in responding to the attacks? im v confused by the pre yiling patriarch politics
fighting in the roof by the moonlight as way of flirtiiiiiiing. as i understand this is a wuxia/xianxia trope and honestly...... thank u for ur service
slight bullying and being a nuisance in general, as a way of flirting we love to see it
wwx: if i drink on the rooftop, thats not inside the cloud recesses! hmmm check and mate :D lwj: i will fuck u up so help me god   wwx: :0
i lov them
through hell or high water (quite literally) wei wuxian rem ains a trashfire gremlin till the end and i love him with my whole heart
in the pt subs wei wuxian calls jiang cheng a stubborn duck and i dearly wish that had come back
my opinions on almost every character goes from love to hate u - Hmm Me Like U - BABY. ILY. and i am Very Pleased w that. its been a while since i loved such a complete cast so much i think
no really. i WONT go into a detailed rant abt what i love about each of these characters and each of their relationships to each other. but i COULD. 
some lan disciples in the loudest whisper ever: YEAH THATS THE JIN BASTARD MENG YAO HEARD THE GOT SUPER HUMILIATED BY HIS DAD LOL SURE HOPE HE DOESNT TAKE SLIGHTS TO HIS CHARACTER TO HEART
lan xichen, immediately: i must Love him 
being into problematic ppl is in the Lan genetics, we come to realize
wen qing deserves so many awards for so many things but not snapping and just stabbing wen chao is at the top 
that scene at lan qirens class where wwx talks about using resentful energy to fight a violent spirit. exquisite.
 It establishes Good Student lan wangji, wei wuxian as curious and questioning and not afraid of taboo,  lwj sees that wwx is not, in fact, a dumb ass hes just a Dumbass,  shows us the audience (esp. a western audience) how shocking the idea of disrupting the dead/dying and controlling resentful energy actually is,  the theoretical foreshadow arguing, everyone else like ‘shUT UP’,  “and how could you ensure that the resentful energy would obey you and not hurt other?” “well i havent thought that far” and of course, lan qiren just straight up lobbing a hard object at wwx head,. chefs kiss
fellas is it gay to bother the hot rule obessessed nerd from ur school and make drawings of him with flowers in his hair and then hide gay porn in his book to antagonize him and ask him to hold ur hand and be ur friend and talk to him all the time and get him drunk and give him bunnies bc you know he likes them and give him a lantern and always want his attention and dedicate yourself to getting him to smile-
and after all of that wwx rly said oh i Admire him, aksd like yeah we all were there in high school buddy
i have Learned. caves = gay.
 accidental marriage +beint physically tied together with the sacred married ribbon+ gay panic+foreshadowing+bunnies! in the cave (1)
the story abt lan yi and baoshan sanren tho. i would like to see it
early days wen bros pull my heart strings like a guqin 
EVERYTHING about the lantern scene; disaster hets jiang yanli and jin zixuan; how wwx made lwj a bunny lantern. how soft and touched lwj was. wwx gleefully pointing out he was smiling and lwj IMMEDIATELY PULLING HIW SWORD ON HIM LMAO. tragically foreshadowy promises to do right by pepople, living without regrets. lwjs 'oh no do i love him??' face. just. all of it. 
i have it on good acc that in the novel lwj is explicitly Repressed Gay Panicked Big Horny which is delightful and rly Adds to the performance
 baby lwj is really just conceal dont feel dont let them know u have EMOTIONS (derogatory)
jiang cheng rly went "why dont.u go play with HIM if u like him so much"
jc and wwx have big BIG annoying sibling energy dont think too hard abt it or youll cry
lotus pier is soo pretty :((((((((((((((((
up until episode 13 you could think this could be a magical ancient chinese gays pride n prejudice w swords and shenanigans ................youre just not prepared for the game of thrones of it all
seriously ha ha ha i cried so much w this show my eyes genuinely swelled up . like. physically. fun timez fun timez
that being said, its hilarious that wen xu goes to cloud recesses like 'come out or ill kill all these hostages' and then DOESNT WAIT FOR AN ASWER AND KILLS THEM ALL IMMEDIATELY. do u know how blackmail works sir
 would like to make it recorded that from day one i was like 'CALL A GODDAMN CULTIVATION G20 THIS ASSHOLE SECT IS LITERALLY MASSACRING YALL!!' and it took them like 3 or 4 massacres to do anything and they STILL sent their heirs into their territory  LIKE
when wwx cites the gusu lan rules to wen chao tho. that rebel/attention whore/cutie pie 'look lan zhan i DID memorize the rules after all' ‘also a big fuck you to the wen sect :D :D’ sweet spot that scene achieves . delicious
all the cultivator young masters being petty af even though they are practically prisoners at the cave is hilarious and i love them
hurt and comfort + gay mistunderstandings + watsonian gay declaration music + accidental evil acquisition! at the cave (2)
its like where do i start? the fact theyre both trapped and kind of heavily injured inside an isolated cave with a murder turtle? wwx gay panicking lwj into coughing up bad blood? lwj being jealous as wwx babbles abt mianmian? telling him he shouldnt play with people and wwx saying he never played him? wwx going Oh. I See what is happening. YOU like mianmian, and lwj absolute done face ??? (iconic) wwx touching the sacred married ribbon Again? the telepathic communication? the sword? WEI WUXIAN ASKING LAN WANGJI TO SING TO HIM AS HE IS PASSING OUT AND LWJ SINGING HIM. THE SONG. HE WROTE. FOR WWX. AND THAT HE CALLED. THEIR SHIP NAME????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
they are SO insufferable pleeeeease
in the words of my friend 1 : “CQL is so gay we were all amazed how it got past the censors Ofc unfortunately it can't be novel level gay But they did their best And we love them for it”
in the theme of songs THIS OST. WUJI HAS BEEN LIVING IN MY MIND RENT FREE SINCE I FIRST HEARD IT the whole ost is so so sO beautiful.
 the costuming in this is also soooo exquisite. the embroidery? the fabrics? the details? how every sect and clan has a distinct style and architecture? (also ik they based each off of dif periods in chinese history which is REALLY fucking cool) just chefs kiss
the direction too!. i enjoy the unusual camera movements and i think they give it that Vibe, also their composition is PARTICULARLY good when it comes to telling the subtext through position of camera/position of character (like nhs off to the side in scenes he at first glance doesnt need to be/ how lwj is often centered when hes Jealous Yearning at wwx being affectionate w other ppl, wwx return from burial mounds etc)
ik madam yu is like Badass Milf Check and shes not getting any mom of the year awards but im delighted at how messy she is. IMAGINE that woman on tiktok
you better have enjoyed gay cave (2) bc its Just Pain from here on out! 
jiang fengmian and madame yu win the Most Dramatic Way to show they do care about each other, actually ..... ever :)
i thought jiang yanli jiang cheng and wei wuxian forcing themselves to escape yunmeng barely holding on after their parents are killed was going to be the height of pain in this show. ha. 
the family dynamics in general on this showwwww, both blood/ adopted/ found families, brotherly bonds and lifelong friendships just. rly. truly. fucked me up. theyre all so important and complicated and well rounded and beautiful and tragic
and beyond being a Win For the Gays im so glad the relationships w wwx and jiang yanli/ wen qing were NOT changed from platonic bc they are so much better like that imo. like maybe if we didnt Live In A Society it wouldnt be so, but the fact wwx and others can love and value them so much and theres nothing romantic or sexual abt it is like. so refreshing. especially @ jyl, with the way he and jc are overprotective of her and shes such a nurturing/care taker figure for them, it would just not vibe as well if they made it romantic
i love that this is a story abt Wei Wuxian, the Yiling Patriarch aka Actual Satan/Boogey Man/Village With/Public Enemy Number One , my dude is literally a necromancer who only dresses in black and has evil smokey black tendrils wafting out of him, but the really edgy one is still jiang cheng, pastel purple fashion icon
and speaking of best/worst siblings wei wuxian and jiang cheng *immediately starts crying* 
The Golden Core Transfer i just. no thots only tears 
wen qing and wen ning putting themselves in so much danger just.... to help them. wn saving jc from wen chao. wq finding a way to get wwx to transfer his core. like thinking about the monumental work these two did to help wwx and jyl and jc... jyl trying so fucking hard to be strong and keep on moving and giver her little brothers comfort after losing everything... jiang cheng. losing his parents and his home and his ability to do anything abt it and his complete desperation and lack of self worth and turning on them with agression  when he didnt realize all that they did for him ... hhhhhhhhhhhhh
me, pointing at the whole cast “i just LOVE them mom!!!”
its sad tho, that BARELY ANY of the women have like.... actual important conversations let alone relationships with each other at all in the story. and like wq and jyl have stayed at the same place for extended periods of time, where wq actively took care of her TWICE,  and still! not one measly convo, nothing! ................ .𝓌ₕᵧ
everyone in this show need a good sip of Self Worth and Stop Sacrificing Yourself juice 
ngl the sword flying looks very dumb 
“a-cheng, please bring a-xian back.” “i will, i promise.” ;-;
the whole calling each other by the More Intimate Version of the name, first as teasing and later as true intimacy. mmmhmmm yes
untamed where everythings the same but wwx evil flute song is eoeo
related that scene when wwx comes back from the burial mounds for the first time w demonic cultivation and he acts all formal and calls lwj hanguang-jun and keeps being evasive and distant and mean and soooooo................. facetious 
and how hes kind of desperately trying to keep intense lwj at bay (A FIRST) and avoiding actually talking to either of them and its all tension ughhh and then he MOCKS his and lwjs relationship, he jokes w him in this like... mean echo of their usual ~banter~ oof 
 and like!!! uncertain but so relieved jc who just HUGS him w no reservations for once and its not like he isnt just as worried as lwj abt wwx and what hes doing, but he chooses in that moment to enjoy getting him back first and mmhmMMMmMm yes (maybe my favorite scene in the whole show? MAYBE SO. ) 
highkey hurt me but also. i might be into mean wwx. i will take no criticism.
lan zhans sad eyes tho :((((((((( 
on one hand i wish we could have seen what happened at the burial mounds but on the other the timeskip adds so much flair to his return so im hnnn
also i love that hes been missing for 3 months reappears kinda melancholic and bloodthirsty and knowing malign tricks and jc is like 'so. are u sad bc of lan wangji'
when ur bae survived the war but he thinks ur evil/ might be evil so you cant kiss :///
hmmm talking at the rooftop under the moonlight not mentioning everything that stands between usssss
they are the two jades of lan and we’ll be the two heroes of yunmeng is the type of line u dont even need to know whats gonna happen to know thats gonna be sad
when they fight wen ruoshan at the nightless city i thought that was the battle we see at the first ep and its not and its so easy and theyre all like ‘yayy we won go wwx!’ i was just. SCREAMS WHAT is gonna HAPPEN
so like. post burial mounds/sunshot campaign pre yiling patriarch wwx is like. ultra arrogant, ultra mocking, peak lil shit and it gave me e v e r y t h i n g i wanted
even tho having the wen prisoners at the targets at phoenix mountain and still having wwx and jzx shooting the arrows was???? so.... tone deaf 
wwx: fucking w demonic energy   jyl: he has never done anything wrong in his life, ever <3 <3 (mood)
the parallels between meng yao/wei wuxian (and even xue yang a bit?) are Seen and they are Valid
wwx post burial mounds: can yall SHUT UP abt the goddamn sword (suibian left the chat)
LIKE truly, we talk abt the angst and yearning with wangxian. but what abt wwx and suibian. xianbian / xianqing angst and comfort 100k
take a shot everytime someone coughs up blood
zidian is simply the coolest spiritual weapon rip to suibian and chenqing and bichen and sendou and baixa........ but tis the truth 
cons: everyones families died in a nightmare war! everyones homes burned to the ground! everyone is traumatized! pros: everyone gets cooler clothes and weapons!!
wen ning and a-yuan and yanli bestest babes squad dont touch me rn
everyone: brooding and fighting                                                                wq and jyl: why dont you try some acupunture/drinking some soup and calm down huh? how abt that bitch?? 
showing the battle/massacre at the nightless city first was genius actually bc then everytime we have a cute scene w yunmeng bros and theyre like 'we'll be together forever! uwu' youre like oh. oh no. oh no no no. 
justice vs lawfulness vs means and ends 👁
jc: stay in the right path and practice the art of the sword                        wx: yeah thats not gonna happen chief
my reaction to wwx renouncing to the sect politics to help the wens was just that elmo burning gif in succession
the dramatic rain. wen qing desperately calling out to wen ning. the ghosts/puppets killing the guards. how terrifying wn actually was while wwx was controlling him :( lwj goeing after him to try and stop him and then he just; he Sees him and understands him even if he cant actually do anything about it other than let them go. 
“there must be somewhere in this earth we can go to :(((((((((”
"IF I HAVE TO FIGHT THEM, I'D RATHER IT BE YOU. DYING BY YOUR HANDS WOULD AT LEAST BE WORTH IT." oh my god oh my god oh my goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooddddddd
also lwjs umbrella is white w black smoke.. .  . nice
yiling patriarch / demonic farming burial mounds settlement is like one of my favorite concepts. they an "EVIL" FARMING COMMUNITY LED BY THE VILLAGE WITCH COME ON
they planted TURNIPS and LOTUS FLOWERS and ONE (1) baby and made lanterns and a common hall :(((((((
wen qing and wei wuxian, baddest bitches and genius science best friends i absolutely LOVED to see it. they rly went ‘is anyone gonna sibling/project partner that’ and didnt wait for an answer
both wwx and jyl getting lotus ponds at the burial mounds and in lanling bc they miss lotus pier ;;;;;;;w
;;;;; wish jyl had actually gone into the burial mounds. we were robbed of jyl and wq meeting again and jyl meeting a-yuan and seeing the settlement and the homes and all ;w; at least jc did go, stab wounds and broken arms and all
wwx like... having thrown his whole life away to help the wens (yeah the sect leaders and jin guangshan in particular wanting his stygian tiger amulet was an Element but still) and not.... necessarily regretting it, but grappling with all of the consequences of it... becoming moody and drepressed at times, missing his family and lotus pier and his friends and probably simply missing being around people and causing trouble, extrovert that he is, lashing out at the wens and at a-yuan, just in general the whole messiness of that experience
the way the resentful energy does affect his temperament is rly nice bc its not too in your face,(i mean outside of the Shaky Hands of Rage) but like he clearly has a much lesser control on his anger and impulsivity (tall order) than both before bm and after hes ressurected
on that note A-YUAN BABIEST BABY BOY BEST BOY
lan zhan being like oh hey there wei ying fancy meeting u and our son here. just passing by u know how it is hmmmmMm and then PLOT TWIST having defied orders to go see him and being punished for it. oof;;
 they habent seen each other in like? a year? and now theyre tgt 10 seconds and are already parenting a child together
also lwj rly kneels down in the snow way too much to be healthy
wwx: calm down guyssss i wont lose control of demonic cultivation omgggg  .   spoiler alert: he loses control of demonic cultivation
did u enjoy cute children? good bc now the Real Pain Begins
jiang yanli and jin zixuan rly out there APROPRIATING both disaster gays AND bury ur gays huh ;w;
i KNEW jin lings birthday was gonna fuck something up but the GASP that left my body when wwx lost control of wn and killed jin zixuan .. . . 
im sorry and thank you aaaaAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaAAAAaAAAAA 
when wen ning and wen qing were telling wwx their plan i was saying NO NO NO NO NO NO out loud in despair 
also can we talk abt how wq is definetely talking about only the both of them surrending themselves but then? everyone else just surrenders w them? IT MAKES NO SENSE LIKE WHY WOULD THEY what would be the Point
 sometimes there are some pretty gaping jumps in logic and continuity that are just like                     ?          ?
wwx: oh so when you try to murder me its justified but when i survive through dark magic and murder all of you its a "war crime"
unsurprisingly, his most feral, most spiraling moment talking to the sect leaders on the roof and attacking them and even fighting lan zhan is among my favorite scenes... its like, so painful to watch but also   so       thrilling   (and maybe my wen bbs dying arose some resentful energy in me what can i say) 
and its JUST, all they ever wanted was to do good but then... war. and trauma. and hubris. 
jiang cheng on the ground clearly thorn between what to do and feel is a Mood, lets just say
i was already crying when jyl showed up, but if i wasnt-
 i suffered SO MUCH through this series trying to figure out WHY jc would kill wwx. and when i understood. its somehow not as bad as i thought and also MUCH MUCH WORSE
a look into my group chat during the last flashback episodes:
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SO ANYWAY. after the BLOOD BATH and RIPPING YOUR HEART OUT and FEEDING IT TO YOU  the untamed goes ‘ayy back to the present!! tu du dud ud du’ 
literally it ends a quarter into an episode and then KEEPS GOING i had to pause and stare blankly at the ceiling for an hour
babie cultivators and detective soulmates . i do need some cute after All of That 
(not that the pain is over LOL)
lwj is significantly less emotionally repressed in the present and its delightful. hes just ALL IN with wwx. and not just in the ‘i would and have killed various men and risked my reputation for you’ but also ‘ur tired here have a drink i brought it up cause i know u like it and it want you to be happy, always’
“when everyone praised me and wanted my power, you were the only one that challenged me. now that everyone hates me and wants me dead, youre the only one that stands by my side.” hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhnnnnnnnnnnnnnn 
and just filling in the blanks how lan zhan searched for him. for all of those 16 years he searched for him and was punished for it and raised a-yuan, the only survivor of the burial mounds settlement, as his own in gusu......
and jiang cheng.  being the tough love uncle . having raised the yunmeng jiang clan from the rubble all alone, his whole family dead, some of it on the blame of his own brother, his siblings, his closest friends gone.......and only jin ling there needing his guidance. 
THE PARALLEL BETWEEN JIN LING BEING A LIFELINE FOR JIANG CHENG AND A-YUAN FOR LAN WANGJI AFTER THE BATTLE AT THE NIGHTLESS CITY  
great now i made myself sad
and like . the fact! that lwj and jc dislike each other!!. jc projects blame onto him for wwx both “leaving” him and indirectly causing their families deaths and when hes so consumed by it he makes wwx an enemy, lwj is there now? trying to protect him?? and lwj, who can never understand the pain that wwx , indirectly or not put jc through, but who was right there when jc tried to kill him and will never allow him to hurt wwx again. and how they like. in a way project blame of their tragedies onto each other while dealing with some type of survivor guilt and in their own way still loving wwx through it all???  amd in way its kind of fundamentally selfish but also tragically understandable? and like when u put it against the fact that after he disappears during the sunshot campaign they were looking for him together and fought together??
JUST. THE CHARACTERS. AND THE RELATIONSHIPS IN THIS. MAN. UGH. GOD. 
and like i think thats what makes it so good? its such a sad and painful and violent story, edgy even, but its compelling bc at the center of it there are all of these relationships and different types of love and hope and. :( i love it
enough crying lets talk abt wwx sleeping at the jingshi with lwj and wearing his under garment for a minute 🙏
 jin ling just has that Was Raised by JC energy tho lmao i love him
babie cultivator squad is the perfect ammount of cute and comedic relief while still bearing the weight? of the narrative in a way, both from sizhui and jin lings existences, and also. like. how do i put this. they feel hopeful? they were born after a war, they came of age at a time of relative peace, they dont hold on so closely to the resentments of their parents/father figures, they are specifically shown as more accepting and open minded. and its like.... Hope for the future  
one of the ?? things  i love the most is the fact that the main cast are often in situations where theyre hunted/running but they like. never wear disguises... just going around in their gorgeous expensive clan clothes and hair ornaments and distinctive spiritual weapons.... maybe w a straw hat on, just for kicks
wwx teacher 🥺🥺🥺
so this is why its called Yi City Misery huh
a-qing is such. an icon. im so sad. my girl even knew to leave xys dumb self rotting by the road but no one listens to her thats why theyre all dead or sad 
her and xue yang measuring each other up was so entertaining lmao
 its the funniest thing when hes like. HERES MY SAD STORY. FOR WHY IM A SADISTIC MURDERER. I BROKE MY HAND ONCE. 
like ok someone broke his hand in a horrible way, and like Poverty, i get it but also like.......... that lost the brunt of a proper sob story like, 50 sadistic murders ago bby
and i love that xingchen does not entertain that for a second hes like ‘not ?????? good enough???’ and the best thing is he wasnt even like 'u hadto be the bigger person' or sth but ' well then break that dudes hand back, rip his arm off for i care, what do the rest of us have to do w anything???” 
anjo sensato :(
xue yang is like..... the sexy sadistic evil version of a himbo..... a meanbo...
the fucked upness of xy’s feelings for xxc/ xxc and sl feelings for each other... like my dude literally gave his bf HIS EYES. and xy getting so attached to xxc .... the fucked up fake domesticity.... having him hurt sl..... then desperately trying to bring him back ...................... oof
song lan........... literally had his eyes AND tongue removed, his bfs eyes put in place, was almost killed, turned into a puppet by his bf unknowingly, manipulated by xy, sees his bf killing himself in despair.... and STILL finds the strenght to get up from there, and keep on traveling and helping people and attempting to fix xxcs soul.......... like, my man. damn. 
wangxian looking at songxiao and seeing an Actually more painful parallel for themselves. ft. that Color Coding. 
THE A-YUAN/SIZHUI REVEAL PUNCHED ME IN THE HEART but in a good way for a change
should have know that he would be the Best Boy the cute one w all the braincells
the butterfly AND the bunny lantern. i see how it is
u know is very convenient that no one can see the stark black veins on wen nings neck, ever 
BAT WEN NING 
wns face when lwj comes into wwx room like ‘:0 omg did u two finally get your shit together? good for you master wei good for u’ 
(they didnt) (yet)
DISASTER DRUNK LWJ. JUST. THRUST SOME CHICKENS TO SHOW UR RESSURECTED BAE THAT U LOVE THEM.
i have absolutely no idea WHY they gave lwj the same punishment for fighting his own sect/allies to protect the burial mounds as when they got drunk on cloud recess class days.... like? its such a ... emotional continuity error again
also is lwj gonna get an actual friend besides wwx , ever
mianmian marrying and having a family and a cute life after saying FUCK U AND UR SYSTEM TOO in a much less unhinged and dramatic way than wwx......... fills me w joy
also lol the idea that like. her husband not knowing that shes friends w satan/the boogey man/the village witch is hilarious
i love nie mingjue bc hes the resident Though Guy but also the most dramatic bitch in this show and thats Saying Something
jin ling cant have one uneventful relative can he
the fact that everyone present already knew “mo xuanyu” was wwx at the stairs is so funny, their faces are like ‘oh............ wow. that. sure is a development. shock” 
in the tradition of extremely loud whispers wwx tells lwj with twelve guards standing like one meter away from them: HEY PSH LAN ZHAN PRETEND IM FORCING YOU TO STAY W ME DO IT
oh my god oh my god
the absolute Yearning on his face when he leaves wwx and a-yuan at the burial mounds and refuses to stay for dinner was already Enough but the fact?? they brought it back?? to this declaration of love?? their expressions??????? strike me dead right now just go ahead
lFor Legal Reasons We Cant Kiss but we will have a very sappy declaration of love and trust and look at each other in way that is the actualization of 💞💘💗💖💓💘💞💗💖💘💗💖💕💞
also icb all the sect leaders and guards are standing there watching them say they like like each other with a dozen swords pointing at their neck
i enjoyed the depiction of the fickle public perception and how easily it can be used to scapegoat people. when the sect leaders turn on jgy and wwx knows thats its more for convenience than anything else...
poor lxc is literally like 'oh so when YOUR problematic boyfriend gets called evil its a misunderstanding but when its MY problematic bf-'
ok like i cant get over nmj let jgy play a song that messed with his temperament at all, like maN u KNEW he might be shady wth
wwx: “hey dont say anything bad abt lan zhan hes not an arrogant dick, thats just his face. 
ME ON THE OTHER HAND"
the cultivators as wwx is poking holes in their narrative is literally *nazaré meme*
"wei wuxian-!" "what did i break your leg, too?" not to be problematic but i laughed so hard
not as hard as "you dont have the rank to talk to me " tho
i Enjoy that, over the course of story, wwx sees that... theres nothing truly to Do, but move on. he saw how his arrogance and his mistakes hurt others, and hes trying to fix what he can, but he already did die for his mistakes and there are things he cant fix and that's. just how it is. even towards jgy, the narrative doesn't go gleefully and completely with "lets make THEM pay bc theyre the big bad" bc its not that simple, and it wouldn't lead anywhere but more pain...
re him and jiang cheng and the wens and kinda. isnt that what nhs did? scheming to displace jgy out of revenge more than any justice and doing so in the most painful way?
idk if that actually makes sense im truly just babbling
i thought the scene at the lotus pond would be CUTE but the context was PAIN again
jiang cheng finding out about his golden core and his conflict with wwx at the guanyin temple .... destroyed me but in a nice way kinda.... same way it destroys him look at his face oh god
and. the fact??? he sacrificed himself for wwx?? first?? and he'll probably never tell anyone much less wwx???? keeps me up at night
i havent decided if the neckbreak transition between jgy does sth super Evil or does he he does OR Does He yes he does O R does heeeee is sth i dislike or not
jin guangyao and wei wuxians most interesting parallel is that... theyve both seen 'hmm hey this system is fucked up' and wwx went 'so fuck it all i will renounce it and challenge it' and jgy went 'so fuck it i will use all of it to my advantage and manipulate it to my goals and whims'
the fact jgys mom was actually great and he loved her and his whole issue w it was more than simply being ashamed of being a bastard kinda got me ngl
never trust a dude with a fan.
nhs and jgy: the first rule to a convoluted and decades spanning violent revenge plot is to have fun and be yourself! 
when a-yuan finally FINALLY remembers ;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;-;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;; wen ning has someone in his family back and a-yuan has someone to talk abt his wen family and wwx has him back bc he survived and lwj raised him anD HES THEIR SON. THEYRE MARRIED AND HAVE A SON. UGH.
and theyre allowed to heal. everyone is allowed to try and recover and be happy
netflix put all of the 3 endings on top of each other and it looks kinda weird actually BUT I DONT EVEN MIND :’’’’’’’’’)
the gasp that left me when lwj says ‘wei ying’ and wwx turns.........
there was also a screen with ‘thank you mxtx for creating these characters, we hope their wishes come true’ and i might. have cried then too. maybe. 
that was . a ride. as is proven by this behemot of a ramble clearly i just really needed and Outlet. i am currently trying to convince dumb monkey brain to not consume the other medias of mdzs immediately bc i REALLY need to like. live. a life. and take care of real responsibilities.  *longest oh boi ever*
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mianmiansimp · 3 years
Text
mdzs au: the one with wen xu (pt 1)
>>wwx has his bisexual epiphany much sooner in life bc Reasons
>>so when he starts crushing on lwj Immediately at cr, he knows it too
>>anyway: sometime pre-cloud recesses, wx and wwx cross paths and wwx is being his usual mischievous self
>>he's very dramatic and flirty and running around on roofs
>>wx is like Hey You're Cute but doesn't catch his name
>>wwx is oblivious so he didn't know who wx was lol
>>they cross paths a few more times
>>wwx just knows wx as 'that one gongzi i see sometimes'
>>then cr happens and they meet again when wwx is heading back to cr with his alcohol
>>wx is like my how charming
>>the next morning the wens show up and wc pisses everyone off
>>and then wwx is telling him off and wc gets pissed and tries to fight wwx while also insulting his status
>>and jc is like EXCUSE YOU and draws his sword bc i'm a sucker for protective jc and will throw in as much yunmeng shuangjie as i want
>>but then wx shows up and tells off wc (bc of wwx) and tells everyone to calm down
>>wx learns wwx's name, wwx learns who 'that one gongzi i see sometimes' is, only one of them is happy with the revelation
>>wx is being weird and oily to everyone and the lans begrudgingly accept the 'apology'
>>wx is publicly weird to wwx, wwx is publicly uncomfy, jc is publicly offended and pissed and defensive and also has an inkling of where wx's head is at
>>cue jc aggressively glaring at wens and shielding wwx from them
>>nhs, who's more aware of what's happening than anyone else bc nhs, helps
>>doesn't stop wwx from adopting wn as a bestie but wn is a kitten so it's ok
>>cr arc is largely the same, wangxian shenanigans, yunmeng shuangjie shenanigans, alcohol shenanigans, you know the drill
>>except for two major things
>>one - wwx has been crushing on lwj since day one but he Knows it
>>and he gets sad sometimes when lwj rejects him
>>so jc is not only angry at the wens but he's angry at lwj's audacity too
>>lwj, who hasn't a clue about anything:
>>two - wx sometimes shows up randomly to 'check up'
>>he isn't, he just drops by to make wwx uncomfy via unsolicited gifts and flirting
>>jc usually passive aggressively intervenes
>>or nhs makes some excuse that is usually 'jc wants to see you'
>>there's an incident during a wx visit where wwx panics bc he really doesn't want to deal with him
>>and essentially bolts from the vicinity and runs right into lwj
>>lwj almost starts telling off wwx but he sees quite clearly that wwx is Not Ok
>>and then they hear wx approaching and wwx basically begs lwj to Get Him Out
>>lwj dislikes wx far more than he dislikes acknowledging his affections for wwx
>>so they quickly run into and hide in a room
>>cue bonding moment where lwj and wwx have a Talk and lwj says they're friends for the first time
>>and then immediately goes silent bc wwx is looking at him with complete adoration and he has to force himself not to kiss him lol
>>this is also the point where lwj has it confirmed that wwx very much does not like wx's presence
>>which is how lwj joins the defend wwx against wx's advances club
>>jc isn't happy about it bc wwx is mooning for lwj still but he lets it slide
>>wn actually joined the club accidentally and discretely
>>jc's like why couldn't wwx get This wen to crush on him i like him so much better???
>>lwj vinegar moment + flustered wn who just thinks wwx is really cool and nice
>>wq catches wind of what's going on and is worried about wn's involvement
>>but also greatly dislikes wx and doesn't want some random innocent boy to suffer
>>which is how she too accidentally joins the club
>>mianmian joins too but loudly bc she's friends with wwx and lwj and also wx sucks
>>jzx is friends with mianmian so he gets dragged in
>>and he might be an arrogant prat atm but he's not a bad guy and wx's behavior is very despicable
>>jzx has some um Revelations about himself and his family
>>and accidentally becomes an honorary member of the club
>>they're all kinda friends now, it truly sucks, thinks jzx with a small smile
>>xuanli engagement is not broken/salvaged much earlier on bc of this whole
thing
>>anyway that's how all the major sects' youth became so closely entwined
>>lqr was very proud that his lectures enacted firm inter sect relationships
>>lxc is just egging on wangxian while also becoming an honorary member of the club
>>waterborne abyss and stuff still happens
>>jc is even angrier at the wens and straight up completely hides wwx the next time wx comes around so he doesn't even catch a glimpse
>>wx is not happy, especially when lwj is silently passive aggressive the whole time
>>cr study ends, there's this whole lingering wangxian moment when they say their goodbyes
>>wwx and lwj are close now but also lwj can sort of admit it instead of shoving it under years of repression and gay panic
>>lwj agrees to visit at lotus pier and wwx looks so enamored that jc gags and drags him away
>>mianmian snickers and pokes lwj in jest, who actually pokes her back
>>lxc is so proud, his brother has Friends
>>wx is a bit more careful around lotus pier, but he does visit once
>>jfm greets him and is very polite but yzy is very blunt and pissed
>>jc upon getting home had immediately spilled all the info on the wx thing
>>yzy doesn't like wwx but she hates the main wen and wx was being vv disrespectful
>>so she kinda tells wx that wwx isn't here (not a lie, he's on a nighthunt) and that he can go jump a cliff now thanks
>>wx is rather irritated when he leaves
>>comes back again on a later date, but this is the day that the cr friends are all hanging out
>>which isn't really an issue bc wwx is a social butterfly, it's part of what wx likes about him, obviously he has friends
>>but he sees the way wwx looks at lwj, and happens upon a moment where they're alone
>>he is Not Happy
>>in the meanwhile the cr friends are all chilling together and making fun of jzx flustering around jyl and eating lotus pods and whatever
>>yzy for once is like not overcome with irrational rage at wwx's presence bc he did something right for once in her eyes
>>so wwx gets some peace of mind at lotus pier
>>madam jin is also very delighted at the xuanli progress and approves wwx for enacting it
>>no one outside of jiangs + cr know why exactly xuanli are doing so well
>>so madam jin assumes wwx just kinda did some wingman stuff and doesn't know about the wx thing
>>anyway, wangxian is progressing quite nicely, and jc is all the more miserable for it
>>jzx kinda doesn't care lol, the rest of the club are delighted by the entertainment, yzy is further not angry at wwx bc wangxian engagement = lan-jiang alliance = advantageous
>>fast forward and we're at the discussion conference
>>jc is scowlier than usual and is literally holding wwx's hand the whole time
>>and wwx is like bro ty and ily but also this is a bit much
>>jc eventually lets go of his hand but he is never more than a few inches away from wwx's side
>>the state of wangxian at this time means we have wangxian blatantly and publicly mooning and everyone's like :eyes:
>>wx is not happy, shows up and immediately starts seeking out wwx, everyone is uncomfy
>>jc at one point grabs wwx and shoves him into the middle of all the jiang disciples
>>kinda doing that zebra camouflage thing but with jiang disciples lol
>>whenever it looks like wx is gonna ask him about wwx he crosses his arms and scowls severely
>>wx takes his seat very unhappily and the discussion conference proceeds as normal ig
>>but the friends are all taking part in the hunt together
>>wwx and lwj have a lil competition for who snags the most shots
>>lots of flirting during the competition, much to jzx and jc's chagrin
>>wn is just :pleading_face: the whole time but he does excellently and gives everyone a run for their money
>>the wc thing goes a lil differently in that wc is more incensed about wwx's existence bc he knows wx likes wwx
>>targets wwx, it backfired bc of lwj, wc leaves in a huff
>>lwj closely attaches himself to wwx after that, jc is pissed bc that's 2 wens who are making problems about wwx
>>the ribbon incident goes a lil differently
>>it happens after the competition, in front of all the sects
>>wx basically
goes oh your ribbon is crooked and fixes it gently and smiles at lwj and lwj says nothing, just quietly nods and thanks him
>>lqr approaches qi deviation, the sects are shocked, wwx is oblivious, lwj is smug, lxc and the friends are all metaphorically eating popcorn, wx is mad, wrh doesn't care, wq is worried bc wx
>>wx actually corners wwx at one point during a banquet when wwx's alone
>>interestingly, it's jzx who steps in to save the day
>>wwx doesn't need saving tbh but there's sociopolitics to consider + he's a lil scared of wx's persistence tbh
>>and he has a crisis bc on the one hand wwx can just run his mouth and hope for the best except he realizes that wx Likes when he runs his mouth
>>so yea jzx steps in and says something about jyl and wwx is like ahaha duty calls again and yeets
>>jzx just says compliments about jyl as they walk back to the jiang under the pretense of wanting to discuss the engagement
>>wwx reluctantly decides he's ok
>>the jiang keep a firm grip on wwx for the rest of the conference after that
>>jyl uses the shijie card to her advantage to get away with dragging wwx with her everywhere
>>the conference ends and wwx is relieved
>>oh btw wwx placed first by a small margin, lwj and wn following, then jc and jzx tied
>>so the sects are leaving and ofc wwx has to say goodbye to lwj
>>and lwj is like what is your request bc you won
>>and wwx is almost like kiss me but then he Doesn't ok
>>so instead wwx is like lemme think of something interesting :wink: to cover his pining
>>and lwj says mn and Smiles at him and wwx melts on the spot
>>wx catches the interaction and is very unhappy
>>fast forward to the burning of cr
>>there's a reason why wx did it personally, and targeted lwj especially
>>fast forward a bit again, wwx is a lil mopey bc his letter from lwj should've come a few days ago
>>they're pining pen pals bc ofc they are smh :rolling_eyes:
>>at this point, news of cr's destruction hasn't spread to lotus pier yet
>>jc is annoyed and yeets him into the lake and makes him swim off the pining
>>cue yunmeng jiang lake shenanigans
>>and then mf wx shows up to personally deliver the invitation to the wen indoctrination
>>jfm and yzy simply Do Not acknowledge wwx's existence at lotus pier in front of him
>>it's a very tense but quick conversation
>>and then wx leaves and hears wwx and heads in the direction of the latter's voice
>>he gets to the lake to see the jiang disciple swimming in the lake, but no wwx
>>bc jyl knew he had come and quickly run over to the lake to warn and hide wwx
>>jc perched himself on a roof to watch wx and let them know when he was gone
>>that meal they had in cql? yea it goes differently this time around
>>it's mostly yzy hissing at the wens and also having a conundrum over whether or not wwx should go
>>jc votes no, wwx votes shut up jc i'm coming with you
>>jfm concedes, jc is irate, wwx and jc go to the indoctrination
>>but jc makes wwx promise to not ever leave his side
>>and wwx is like that's kinda the whole point?? but ok
>>and then ofc that whole opening scene at nightless city happens
>>what with them standing around and then bam an injured lwj
>>ft the cr friends being all fhkjhkjsghk (/neg) internally
>>except wwx, he's very open about his concern
>>wc shows up, spends half the time glaring at wwx
>>he was supposed to be make it hell for lwj
>>but quite frankly he'd be happy if lwj snatched wwx
>>he very much dislikes his brother's infatuation with wwx
>>so yea it's roughly the same, those first few days
>>except wn secretly visits the disciples
>>slips snacks, gives info, exchanges messages between them, and treats lwj
>>wq finds out, scolds him, and then does the same, mostly treatment
>>and then the dungeon day comes
>>by which i mean that day wwx ended up in the dungeons with the dog thing
>>it goes the same as usual, except wc is particularly harsh, and is focused on wwx
>>so it happens sooner, and only wwx is involved
>>spends the night with the wolf thing, wn comes, yk the drill
>>except he knocks out at one point and wx gets him
>>and he wakes up
in a room and wq and wn are treating him
>>he's quickly given a coded warning
>>and then wx comes
>>wc had been forced out of leading the indoctrination and someone relatively competent is in his place
>>wx doesn't really let wwx go back tho
>>just makes wwx stay with him and basically invades his privacy and harasses him
>>for like. quite some time.
>>wwx also meets wrh a few times and it is. not fun.
>>wrh makes thinly veiled threats about war and attacking lotus pier and stuff
>>and wx reveals he was the one who requested and took charge of cr burning
>>and wwx is angry at wx but then wx gets angry and snaps threats
>>and wwx quiets and realizes wx is relentless
>>and that his connections are putting ppl he cares about at risk
>>it all kinda piles up and wx's insistence gets to his head
>>and then the bell scene (which started all this) happens
>>it might seem kinda ooc this whole thing but like
>>sexual trauma is very different from standard child abuse/classic asian toxicity
>>and you have to consider wwx's position as he has to put up with wx's everything
>>am i projecting? probably, but my au my choices
>>so the bell scene begins with all the heirs and their entourages gathered at that. place
>>idk what it's called but that place from cql where wc was lecturing
>>wc's substitute indoctrinator is like so. y'all can go home now. here's your swords.
>>and everyone's like omg????? but also cr friends are like ok where's wwx :upside_down:
>>and it's a very complicated moment
>>and then they give suibian to jc
>>and he almost kills someone bc he thinks they killed wwx
>>and then they're like no he's alive he just won't need that :upside_down:
>>jc is like WHAT does that even MEAN
>>and it's about to be a whole thing but then wwx shows up
>>and it's all ok for half a second
>>bc yes he's here but he is very obviously not ok
>>and it Shows, wwx is doing such a bad job hiding how not ok he is
>>cr friends are like. what did they do. who am i killing.
>>so now we enter - The Bell Exchange
>>wwx comes forward and (very poorly) tries to lighten the mood and tease jc and is like aw did you miss me
>>jc who was very much terrified is just like yes ofc come here Now let's go home
>>and wwx has this look on his face that's summed up as love and affection but also deep apology and secrecy
>>he slowly goes to jc and his hands are shaky as he takes off his bell and grabs jc's hands to give it to him
>>and wwx is very vague about it he's just like i won't be going back it's ok you're all free to go now i'm making sure of it go back home be safe
>>and jc is having the nth meltdown rn bc wwx what did you do
>>nhs has an idea of the gist, and all the c friends are very concerned
>>and then wen xu shows up and wwx does this silent flinch but in his bones and straightens up
>>and wx is mocking the others and stuff and then wraps an arm around a very uncomfortable wwx and is like
>>"you should be grateful to my fiance for his generous nature"
>>wwx is very obviously not having a good time and is not ok with this
>>he looks like he's going to launch himself from a cliff (hehehe) to avoid this
>>everyone is silent for a minute as they realize what happened
>>a lot of the disciples here were at cr indoctrination
>>so they know at least somewhat of wx's pursual of wwx and the unrequited feelings
>>and it becomes obvious that wwx exchanged something - his freedom, hand in marriage, etc - to set all the disciples free
>>jc draws sandu and is about to go for wx's head bc how Dare he
>>but wwx stops him and tells him very firmly but desperately to not try anything, just go, tell shijie i'm sorry, it'll be ok
>>lwj does that death grip on his sword, 2 seconds away from taking wx's head himself
>>jzx is having lots of feelings about this and a lot aren't nice
>>especially with the weird sort of parallels as far as betrothals
>>also he kinda likes wwx?? they're kinda friends?? and they're brother-in-laws to be anyway
>>and even despite all that, the whole situation just Sucks and jzx is kinda an airhead but he's actually pretty noble
>>mianmian is
like So offended and enraged on behalf of everyone she's ready to throw hands
>>nhs is half horrified for his friend and half cold rage and plotting
>>what really worsens the situations is just how bad wwx is taking it
>>bc he always covers up his pain and worries, and very well at that
>>the fact that he can barely even fake a smile now, and has resolved to outright desperate pleading, not even teasing anyone, says a Lot about how bad things were while he was gone
>>they have suspicions about what wx might have done to wwx while they were alone
>>tl;dr: cr friends kinda have an idea of what wx has done and really want him dead
>>but wwx is forcing them out, and eventually they all do leave, miserably
>>they don't know what had happened for them to be let go with their swords and without consequences
>>and they don't want wwx suffering for their (not really helpful atm) stubbornness
>>jc is stiff and clenching his jaw the entire way home, trying to figure out ways to get wwx out
>>lwj is drowning in his emotions as he goes back to the burnt cr
>>mianmian, jzx, nhs are having very complicated thought processes about everything
>>nhs actually goes with lwj to cr first, to make sure he doesn't do anything dumb and to be a friend
>>drops him off, and eventually heads out after a few days (lqr is appraised of the situation)
>>and lo and behold, he happens to find lxc on his way home, and brings big bro lan back to cr
[ main . ao3 ]
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sarah-yyy · 4 years
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Any chance you'd do the family gathering/little cousin (or nephew) asked after you and now I'm locked in the bathroom one for xicheng?❤
In hindsight, JC should’ve probably said no to the family dinner. It’s only been a little more than a week since LXC broke up with him, and he’s still feeling absolutely horrible, and he knows, he knows being around his mother can be...gruelling sometimes, but he goes anyway. 
To be fair, he does feel a little better to be home, to be surrounded by people who can’t just leave him. He even manages a couple of smiles at Jin Ling’s dramatic recount of his day at kindergarten and how he made not just one, but two new friends. He’s almost starting to think that he’ll be okay, that he’ll be able to walk out of this breakup not too bruised and battered, when JL turns round eyes onto him, and asks loudly, drawing the attention of everyone else in the room, “Xiaojiu, where is Xichen-jiujiu?” 
JC forces himself to smile. From the way JYL frowns lightly, JC gathers he’s not doing a good job. “He’s busy,” JC lies, and prays that everyone just leaves it at that. JL pouts at him, and tells JC that LXC promised that he was going to bring JL a present, can’t JC call him so that JL remind LXC of his promise? JC tells JL that they shouldn’t disturb LXC when he’s busy. 
He excuses himself to the bathroom shortly after. JYL and WWX both give him odd looks as he passes them, and JC can tell from the way WWX’s thumbs are flying over his phone that he’s texting LWJ about it. WWX will probably know that JC has been dumped very shortly. JC doesn’t want to still be in the living room for that. He thinks he might cry, if WWX shows him pity. 
It shouldn’t be so painful, breaking up with LXC. It’s not like JC didn’t know that LXC was still recovering from a past relationship. LXC made it very clear to JC that he was still, to some extent, in love with JGY. JC knows that JGY meant a lot more to LXC than JC does to him now, he does, and so he’d always figured that they would break up at some point, but this hurts a lot more than JC was prepared for. 
His vision blurs, eyes hot with tears, and he hates that he’s had to lock himself in his parents’ bathroom to cry over someone who probably never even loved JC the way JC loved -loves- him. He slides down onto the floor, presses the heels of his palms to his eyes to keep the tears from flowing. It’s pathetic. He’s being pathetic. He misses LXC so much, and he feels pathetic.
WWX knocks on the bathroom door, and JC tells him to fuck off, there are so many other bathrooms. JYL comes shortly after, and JC lies about having an upset stomach. JC keeps himself locked in the bathroom, scrolling through old photos of himself and LXC that he doesn’t have the courage to delete yet. They’d been happy, JC thinks. He doesn’t think LXC could look at him like that, and not have felt even just a little happy, in the time they were together. The breakup took JC too much by surprise, and LXC hadn’t explained it properly. Hadn’t really explained it at all. 
He sits there in the bathroom until his family sends JL to retrieve him, and JC finally puts his phone away, splashes his face with some cold water, and rejoins his family. He doesn’t know if JL has been coached by JYL, or if JL is just intuitive enough to know JC isn’t feeling well, but JL settles on JC’s lap once they’re back in the living room, and refuses to budge an inch, even when they move to the dining room for dinner. JC won’t say it, but he’s wretchedly glad for that. 
(buy me a kofi!)
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trensu · 4 years
Text
Episode 48: The One where JGY and SS Host a Pity Party and Everyone Wishes They Hadn't
The show just dunks us right into yunmeng bro feelings again
jc's all should i get on my knees and thank you?
and wwx is like i never wanted your thanks
and now jc is just spilling his insecurities all over the place
Blah wwx was always better than him blah blah everyone liked wwx more blah blah DADDY ISSUES blah blah blah
and wwx just looks more and more hurt as all this bitterness is pouring out of his little brother 😞
i mean even jl was like hey uncle, maybe don't do that???
lwj is glaring at jc the whole time ofc
and jc gets so mad he tries to start a physical fight EVEN THO HE HAS A GAPING STAB WOUND IN THE CHEST
which is actually quite hilarious if you ignore how utterly heartbreaking the yunmeng bros relationship is
thankfully jl and lxc hold him back (not that he could've gone very far bc again GAPING STAB WOUND)
and ofc lwj has to throw in his two cents
lwj: clan leader jiang. Discretion
oh lwj, a man of few words
Oh no, ohno, oh nooooo, jc’s starting on their oath oh god
“YOU SAID THAT I WOULD BE THE CLAN LEADER AND YOU WOULD BE MY SUBORDINATE. YOU WOULD ASSIST ME FOR LIFE”
“SO WHAT IF THE TWIN JADES OF GUSU ARE THERE. WE WERE THE TWIN HEROES OF YUNMENG”
*GROSS SOBBING*
CAN I TOO GET A GAPING STAB WOUND IN THE CHEST BC I'M PRETTY SURE THAT WOULD HURT LESS
OH GOD WWX'S EYES ARE ALL RED
"YOU DIDN'T TELL ME ANYTHING. YOU TREAT ME LIKE A LITTLE FOOL."
OH THIS HURTS SO MUCH
that last bit, tho. i can't even hold that against him bc wwx DID lie to him. he DID neglect to trust him and his judgement. 
he took jc's choice away and made it for him, and that's not cool. 
and, like, i get it, I do bc i would probably want to do the same thing wwx did if i were in a similar situation with my own siblings
BUT STILL
jc: shouldn't i hate you? can't i hate you?
WHICH REALLY JUST TELLS ME THAT HE DOESN'T HATE WWX
HE WOULD NOT BE THIS TORN UP, THIS TEARFUL MESS, IF HE DIDN'T STILL LOVE HIS BROTHER AND WANT HIM BACK
this whole time jc is inching towards wwx, getting closer and closer until he's close enough to punch him if he wanted
Jc does make a sudden sharp movement towards wwx 
Which obvs has lwj jolting forward to protect wwx
But wwx IMMEDIATELY puts a hand on lwj's knee
jin ling darts forward to hold his uncle and is like, hanguang jun, my uncle's hurt!!
BC JC IS THE ONLY NOT EVIL AND/OR DEAD FAMILY HE HAS LEFT 
AND EVEN JL KNOWS THAT LWJ IS SO VERY WILLING TO HURT ANYONE WHO HURTS WWX
I AM HAVING TOO MANY EMOTIONS
jc's angry and hurting and is like i'm not afraid of lwj, come at me bro
lwj GLARES at him, brow furrowed and mouth pinched
jc: why? why wwx? why didn't you tell me?
oh god, he's not even yelling anymore, he's just fucking crying and i'm crying and there's just wet icky tears everywhere
wwx takes a shuddery breath and tells him it's bc he didn't want to see him like this
JC: you said i would be clan leader and you would be my subordinate. you would assist me for life. you'd never betray the jiang clan. you said it yourself
HE'S NOT YELLING. HE'S NOT EVEN ANGRY
his voice is weak, and shaky, and weepy and he's just so, so hurt
AND I'M A SOBBING MESS
and wwx swallows passed the lump in his throat but his voice still sounds a bit raw when he speaks
wwx: i'm sorry. i broke my promise.
FUCK 
FUCKING HELL
MY YUNMENG BROS
jc: we've reached this point. i don't need your apology now. i'm not that delicate
STFU JC, YOU BALD-FACED LIAR, "NOT THAT DELICATE" 
YOU'RE AS MUCH OF A SOBBING WRECK RN AS I AM
GET A THERAPIST JC
"NOT THAT DELICATE" I'M GONNA PUNCH YOU IN THE FACE IS WHAT I'M GONNA DO. GOD. NOT THAT DELICATE
JC: i'm sorry
*sobsobsobsob* MY YUNMENG BROS
wwx: don't apologize to me. that's what i owed the jiang clan.
here wwx closes the distance between them to place a hand on his brother's arm
HUG HIM GOD DAMN IT, LET MY YUNMENG BROS HAVE A PROPER HUG
wwx: as for this matter, please don't keep it in your heart.
and he goes on to say smth like i know you probably won't let go, but it's water under the bridge, that was all stuff that happened in my past life
AND THEN HE REACHES UP AND GENTLY WIPES AWAY JC'S TEARS WITH HIS THUMB
AND GIVES HIM A SWEET LITTLE SMILE
AND I'M DYING. MY HEART HURTS SO MUCH I'M DYING
I SHOULD'VE KEPT A BOX OF TISSUES NEAR ME, MY SLEEVES ARE ALL SNOTTY AND DISGUSTING NOW, DAMN IT ALL
AND THAT WAS ONLY THE FIRST 10 MIN OF THE EPISODE WTF
I’VE BEEN REDUCED TO A SNIFFLING WEEPING MESS IN 10MIN FLAT WTF 
yunmeng bro moment ends (thank god) and we cut to the next scene where nhs is oh so conveniently regaining consciousness
now all the diggers are screaming to remind us that oh yeah, there's like Plot Stuff here, it's not just about the yunmeng bros
ss gives jgy some meds bc he's hurt or smth, who gives a damn
our boys follow jgy back to the dig site for Plot Reasons
and SURPRISE!! we have nmj's no-longer-headless dead body!!
lwj and wwx look at each other like WTF??
oooooh boy, nhs gave jgy the dirtiest look
wwx is being Clever again and pointing out Plot Relevant Things 
ss gets all offended and holds wwx at sword point 
but there's lwj with bichen in its scabbard, one step in front of him and ready to block anything ss sends their way bc lwj is not gonna let wwx get hurt if he can help it
ss is all like wwx you set him up! And wwx’s face is like, i aint even bovvered
wwx: i'm saying this with all modesty, but if i were the one who set him up, i'm afraid he wouldn't have just gotten one arm hurt
HOT DAMN
LOVE MY SUNSHINE BOY
and here my sunshine boy is being all Clever again and laying out all the facts and explaining how there's a 3rd party involved in all this
LOLOLOL HE'S REALLY PLAYING THIS UP FOR JGY TOO
he's like, there might be a predator behind you, the guy who's been spying on you this whole time...HE MIGHT NOT EVEN BE HUMAN
oh wwx, so Dramatic™
but hey it's working bc jgy looks spooked as hell
LOLOLOL
HE SEES JGY START FREAKING OUT AND HE LOOKS OVER TO LWJ AND GRINS AT HIM LIKE, HEY LAN ZHAN, SEE WHAT I DID, LOL, I SCARED THE SHIT OUT OF THIS LOSER, DID YOU SEE? 
oh, now wwx and jc are bound by the wrists but not lwj, for some reason? 
Which, rude, why deny lwj the chance to be tied up? Let him try new experiences! What if he likes to be tied up? 
NOW HE’LL NEVER KNOW BC YOU DIDN’T LET HIM TRY IT
jgy and ss have a moment that i don't care about but i have to mention it
bc RIGHT AFTER we see our precious beautiful sunshine boy lean WAY into lwj's space to talk shit about them
like, seriously, just a couple inches more, and wwx would be resting his cheek on lwj's shoulder 
IT'S WONDERFUL AND I WISH HE'D GET EVEN CLOSER
shockingly, lwj is NOT as distracted as i would be having wwx that close 
bc he's studying ss and SUDDENLY SEES HE'S GOT THE HUNDRED-HOLES CURSE ON HIM 
which btw, EWW?? THAT'S THE GROSSEST THING EVER 
I REALLY WISH THEY'D STOP SHOWING IT SO MUCH BC IT MAKES MY SKIN CRAWL
he tells ss to turn around to get a better look and wwx sees it too!! he's like, IT WAS YOU!!!
and for the audience's benefit, nhs goes to lxc and is all what's going on???
lxc and jc gives some exposition about blah blah blah stuff we know about already
amidst all this we keep getting shots of wwx looking stunned and hurt (but still oh-so-beautiful)
wwx: jgy, i didn't do anything against you back then. we were not even that familiar. you wanted to kill jzx. why did you push that on me?
HE LOOKS SO HURT AND ANGRY AND CONFUSED BC WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE HIM? WHY DID JGY HAVE TO USE HIM??
and lwj is watching wwx while he shouts this and god how can he stand watching his soulmate be hurt over and over and over again?? HOW DOES HE COPE?
jgy does a mini Rant of Evil Explanation and ss does a rant about classism
which, if said by literally anybody else, i'd say hm, yes, you have a point 
but bc it's said by ss, a spineless coward who never takes responsibility for his own actions, i'm like STFU SS
omg lolololol
ss: would i have been swept out of lan clan like a pile of leaves [if I were highborn]??
AND ICE PRINCE LWJ ANSWERS ALMOST BEFORE SS COULD FINISH ASKING
lwj: Yes.
AND THEN HE LOOKS SS DEAD IN THE EYE
lwj: betrayers won't be tolerated by the lan clan
HELL FUCKING YEAH
YOU WEREN'T KICKED OUT BC YOU WERE LOW-BORN, SS
YOU WERE KICKED OUT BC YOU'RE A TRAITOROUS COWARD
and like, i need to point out that lwj is sitting cross legged on the ground right now (along with wwx, ofc) and ss is standing over him while ranting
and YET, the way lwj holds himself and the way he speaks, does in no way indicate that he's at a disadvantage here
dude's unflappable. JADE OF LAN, INDEED
ss is like i am so sick of your condescending attitude
then he's like just bc i made that one little mistake you could never forgive me!!
FUCKING EXCUSE ME??? 
LITTLE? LITTLE MISTAKE??? 
HOW MANY PEOPLE DIED BC OF YOU SS?
HOW MANY DIED BC YOU BETRAYED THEM??
ss continues to rant and starts to go off his rocker
and then wwx starts to laugh but it's not a happy laugh
it is, in fact, a laugh very similar to the laugh we heard in The One where the Moonlit Rooftop Betrays Us
ss is like, what's so funny???
wwx: nothing. i just didn't expect...
AND HE'S GETTING TEARY HERE EVEN AS HE LAUGHS
WWX: i didn't expect you to get so many people killed just for...just for this
HE LOOKS SO DISILLUSIONED
MY POOR PRECIOUS SUNSHINE BOY
THE WORLD KEEPS DISAPPOINTING HIM
omg i want to RING JGY'S NECK WITH ZIDIAN
HE'S GETTING ALL UP IN WWX'S FACE
TELLING HIM THAT NO MATTER HOW KIND OR CHIVALROUS HE IS, HE WILL ALWAYS BE BLAMED FOR ANY BAD THING THAT HAPPENS, THAT NO ONE WILL EVER BELIEVE OR TRUST HIM
FUCK YOU JGY I HATE YOU SO MUCH
MY POOR SUNSHINE BOY IS TREMBLING WITH RAGE
bc he knows it's true. ppl really ARE always going to suspect the yiling patriarch.
oooh, jc just defended his brother! sort of.
But it has the unfortunate side effect of drawing jgy’s attention
so now jgy is cutting into jc
god jgy talks a lot. stfu jgy.
wwx has been teary eyed on and off this entire episode so far but hasn't actually cried
but jgy is now belittling all of jc's work, all the effort he put in to rebuilding lotus pier, implying that he wouldn't have been able to do if not for wwx
and that's the breaking point, that's what makes wwx finally shed a tear.
lwj is watching wwx, as always, and sees wwx cry
he must feel utterly helpless
ooooh, MY CLEVER SUNSHINE BOY
EVEN AMIDST ALL THIS TERRIBLE EMOTIONAL PAIN, HE PICKED UP ON JGY'S TRIGGER WORD(S)
wwx: just a "son of a whore" made you talk so much
oooh jgy tries to leave but wwx stops him in his tracks by asking him how he killed nmj
and then he's like "aren't you afraid?"
CHILLS, MAN, I'M GETTING CHILLS AT HOW HE DELIVERS THIS
SO CALM, COOL AND COLLECTED YET TINGED WITH A THREAT
jgy: afraid of what? (lol he whirls around angrily like the Drama queen he is)
wwx leans forward and looks him dead in the eye
wwx: afraid of him coming back to you
AND THE SMIRK HE WEARS
THAT'S THE SMIRK OF THE YILING PATRIARCH 
He smirks and leans back against the pillar, all easy and relaxed while jgy looks freaked the fuck out
and then
THEN
WWX STARTS TO WHISTLE
RESENTFUL ENERGY COMES IN TO STROKE AT JGY'S ARM ALL MENACINGLY
I'M GETTING CHILLS ALL OVER 
THIS IS SUCH A BADASS MOVE ON WWX'S PART
and also, holy shit do i enjoy those close up shots of wwx's eyes and his beautiful beautiful lips
the sound team did a great job making those whistles sound super eerie, btw
i can't get over how cool and confident wwx looks here
he's not worried or bothered AT ALL, this is him doing what he does best
Wait, do i have a competency kink…?
LOL JGY JUST GOT BITCHSLAPPED BY RESENTFUL ENERGY, LOVE IT
wwx has stopped whistling now, which is unfortunate bc that means no more extreme close-ups on wwx's gorgeous features
jgy: yiling patriarch, you're worthy of your title, aren't you?
YOU’RE DAMN RIGHT HE IS!
Okay yeah, i guess i have a competency kink now, THANKS A LOT WWX
FUCKING SU SHE JUST TRIED STABBING WWX
LWJ TO THE RESCUE, HELL YEAH
OUR MAN HANGUANG JUN LEAPS TO HIS FEET AND NOT ONLY BLOCKS THE STRIKE
HE FREAKING SLICES SU SHE'S WEAK ASS SWORD IN TWO 
THEN FOLLOWS UP WITH A SLICE AT SU SHE'S WRIST
I LOVE YOU HANGUANG JUN
Lwj calmly goes over to wwx and slices off the ropes that were keeping his wrists tied and does the same to jc
wwx goes up to jgy (who's held at sword point by lxc) and calmly takes his weapons
wwx: jgy, hand it over. it's not of much use in your hands.
with a deceivingly dainty clink, Plot Device 3 rolls out of jgy's sleeve and into his hand
then he lets it fall to the ground bc he's a petty bitch that way
we get to see wwx being all Smart Detective and revealing just how long jgy has been planning all this 
jgy’s all like even between me and xy we could only create Plot Device 3 half as powerful as Plot Device 2
LOLOL THAT'S BC THE TWO OF YOU ARE WORTHLESS HACKS.
WWX HAS MORE SKILL AND TALENT IN HIS PINKY FINGER THAN THE BOTH OF YOU COMBINED
man there's a lot of Plot Exposition happening and lxc is having Feelings about it.
DON'T FUCKING LOWER YOUR SWORD LXC WHAT ARE YOU DOING
look lxc, i don't mean to sound cruel or heartless or whatever, but omg i do NOT CARE about your complicated Emotions right now
NOT WHEN IT'S GIVING JGY THE OPENING TO MANIPULATE AN ESCAPE
jgy is now being like "oh, i was wrong" and acting all pitiful and TOTALLY PLAYING LXC FOR A FOOL (AGAIN)
wwx: hey, jgy, can't we stop talking? let's just fight? can we just start killing each other?
LOLOLOLOLOL 
HE TOTALLY SAW THAT JGY WAS MANIPULATING THE SITUATION AGAIN AND IS LIKE, NOPE, NOT DOING THAT AGAIN
LESS WORDS MORE SWORDS PLZ
LIKE, MY BOY IS JUST DONE. HE IS DONE WITH THIS. LET'S GET TO THE FIGHT NOW THX.
jgy ignores this and keeps talking to lxc AND OMG WWX'S FAAAAACE IS CRACKING ME UP 
GOD WORDS ARE NOT GONNA DO IT JUSTICE
HE JUST LOOKS AT JGY FOR A SECOND LIKE, SRSLY BRO? BEFORE ROLLING HIS EYES AND SCRUNCHING UP HIS EYEBROWS LIKE "CAN YOU FUCKING BELIEVE THIS GUY, JFC"
IT'S SO FREAKING FUNNY OMG
meanwhile jgy continues to throw a pity party that no one likes and the episode ends
There really wasn’t much wangxian time in this episode, fucking jgy and ss decided to HOG ALL THE SCREEN TIME, THOSE PATHETIC WHINY ASSHOLES
but we got a lot of Yungmeng Bros which was painful but waaaay better than anything jgy or ss has to offer
Return to Masterpost
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Text
Adaptations - Part 10: Who’s your uncle?
(Masterpost)
This scene appears in:
Mo Dao Zu Shi novel Chapter 7
Mo Dao Zu Shi manhua Chapter 15-16
Mo Dao Zu Shi donghua Episode 2
The Untamed / Chen Qing Ling drama Episode 2
In this scene, Wei Wuxian hears cries for help and sees several people trapped in spirit nets.
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A wealthy young man of the Jin sect comes on the scene and acts like a brat, refusing to cut the hapless people down and complaining about them wasting his nets.
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Lil’ Apple reveals WWX’s presence, leading to a confrontation.
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More under the cut.
The young master insults WWX (assuming he’s MXY) and WWX insults him back, saying some variation of ‘didn’t you have a mother to teach you manners?’ which he later regrets when he finds out the young man’s identity.
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This comment leads the young man to draw his sword and they start fighting in earnest.
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WWX uses a talisman to force him to the ground, at which point he threatens to call his uncle, then said uncle appears and turns out to be Jiang Cheng, WWX’s estranged stepbrother.
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In all versions except CQL, WWX then puts two and two together and realizes that the young man is Jin Ling, his late sister’s son, whom he just insulted in the worst way possible.
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So for me, if you can’t tell by the screen grabs already, this scene is all about the facial expressions. There is so much face drama happening here. The two pivotal moments, though, are (1) the moment when Jin Ling loses his shit and (2) the moment Jiang Cheng makes his grand entrance. Leaving all other factors aside for a moment, let’s just compare these.
Jin Ling’s moment of wrath:
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From left to right: donghua, drama, manhua (the manhua one is tiny, sorry - click to see more detail - I wanted to catch the progression).
Donghua JL seems more vaguely annoyed than angry. To be fair, I don’t think my screen capper quite got the right moment (the next one after this is a wide shot of him swinging his sword) - but I’m going to go with what we’ve got, and give it a 4/10, plus add a bonus of 1 point for benefit of the doubt since there might be a better expression between screen caps, so 5/10.
Drama JL is just boiling mad, and he is also very clearly a teenage boy (donghua JL seems a bit too pretty and girlish to me and manhua JL looks a bit too mature). That expression is quality furor. I give it 10/10.
Manhua JL has this progression where he first has a stunned, sick look in the top panel, moves to draw his sword, and then dramatically confronts WWX with the darkest of looks. It looks less like the adorable death glare of a teenager and more like the look of a young man who could actually kill. It’s good, but I don’t quite feel like JL is capable of killing intent yet, so I’m knocking off a point and giving it 9/10.
Jiang Cheng’s grand entrance:
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Left to right: donghua, drama, manhua (again click for better viewing).
Donghua JC is absolutely stunning here. The evil down-the-nose look floors me every time in animated shows. I just absolutely live for this. The disdain. The hotness. I give him a solid 9/10. 
Drama JC isn’t looking his best here. There was a very cool shot of the sword right before this, and it definitely loses a little something as a still, but even in motion, I don’t feel like he has quite the same dramatic effect in this particular moment as the other versions. He’ll get his chance later, no worries. For now I give him 7/10.
Manhua JC is pure perfection. Look at him stroking his whip. Look at that stride, that flapping robe, that no-nonsense glare. 10/10.
Adding up our totals, we have donghua: 14/20, drama: 17/20, and manhua: 19/20.
My personal fav: the manhua. Obviously based on the metrics mentioned above, I prefer the manhua for its badass portrayals of Jin Ling and Jiang Cheng. There are a couple of other factors at play, too, though. 
First, I really dislike the choice in the donghua to have this scene set at night. I feel like it’s really difficult to tell what’s going on at certain points because it’s so dark. The others don’t have this issue, though I believe the manhua does manage to convey that it’s set at night without it being too dark to see. 
Second, I absolutely love one more of the facial expressions in the manhua. This is Lil’ Apple reacting to the plight of the minor cultivators caught in nets: 
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He then goes apeshit and drags WWX out into the open. I do not accept alternate interpretations of this such as “he saw some grass / apple he wanted.” Nope, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
(Source: manhua) (Source: novel translation) (Source: donghua) (Source: drama)
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eyeslikefoxglove · 4 years
Text
Episode 4 - Meng Yao has a crush & Foxglove likes to babble
Hello everybody, welcome to episode 4. I slept like a baby last night, but I have a migraine so I may sound a bit incoherent. (Post episode Foxglove here, I’m not incoherent in this, I’m just ranty)
Poor WWX. Funny story, during my first? Second? Year of Med School I fell aspleep on my biophysics notes during exam period, woke up at 9pm when my alarm for my meds started ringing, realised what I’d done and called my mum (who was on a 24h shift at the hospital) crying. In hindsight is hilarious because I had something like two weeks until the exam so I lost no more than a few hours but oh well.
Full disclosure here: I don’t like the Lan sect, LXC, LWJ and the Ducklings excluded I think they’re a bunch of hypocrites. You can’t call yourself righteous and boast about your almost 4000 rules and then shrug when people decide to commit genocide.
Also, 4000-ish rules? Fuck that noise, there’s a post floating around here where some amazing soul translated what they could see of the Wall of Rules and yeah, some of them are in the “don’t be an asshole, don’t hurt yourself or others” vein which, absolutely fair. But things like “dress properly” who are you to tell me what and how I cover my body with? “Don’t be promiscuous” wow thanks for the slut shaming my dudes. “Don’t smile foolishly/don’t smile too much”, “sit properly”, “don’t be too sad”, “don’t be too happy”. You’re telling me these are rules, not guidelines, not common sense stuff. RULES. You’re telling me people get punished for grinning or crying. Fuck off mate.
And we can’t forget the golden example of hypocrisy “Don’t talk to Wei Wuxian” so much for “don’t speak ill of others”.
Is my Western Girl showing? I’m sorry, I’m from Spain and I was raised by the guidelines “don’t be an asshole, don’t hurt yourself or others, don’t take anyone’s bullshit, live and let live, have courage and be kind, we will always love and support you” so some stuff in here is very very grating. I don’t have enough knowledge about the culture to discern if it is because of my modern sensibilities or because my culture is so different.
Oooooohhh I don’t like birds. I mean, I love crows, ravens and birds of prey to an unhealthy degree, but they keep their distance. The other day a pigeon flew into my building and decided that my (very dark) doorstep was the place to have a rest. I screamed like a banshee.
Hey, those two assholes at the back, get the fuck out of here.
LXC protective mode activated.
You will never convince me Meng Yao did not develop a monster crush right then and there.
Oh no. It’s this asshole.
Oh WangJi about to cut a bitch.
Drag him WWX.
MY’s protective mode activated.
And LXC is too done with this shit. Yep, NHS also thinks MY got a massive crush.
WQ aka Qishan Wen’s only braincell.
It’s the One Braincell Trio!
Notice me sempai! Omg JC’s faces.
This is where I dump all my canon-divergence AUs:
Meng Yao stays in Cloud Recesses. He and LXC keep gazing longingly into each other’s eyes.
NHS introduces him to the other two from the One Braincell Trio. WWX takes one look at him and goes “yep, you’re my friend now, I’m kneecapping anybody who fucks with you.” Because there’s no way he wouldn’t be sympathetic to MY after his own childhood (omg, both of them drunk, making terrible gallows’ humour jokes about living poor and mostly homeless while JC and NHS just listen horrified). JC goes into overprotective bro mode with MY. I mean, he still can’t emote for shit but he’s made very very sure that he will cut a bitch for MY and at least he knows MY has a brain, not like someone else he knows.
Shijie makes friends with MY because Shijie is a goddess and MY is so confused because how the hell does someone so kind exist? And she wants to be friends? And she doesn’t care at all about his past? What? MY.exe has stopped working.
Maybe JZX gets his head out of his ass and goes to talk to MY and warn him about what an asshole JGS is, because I refuse to think JZX doesn’t know it. Maybe MY hears him disparaging Shijie and decides that nope, the Jins can fuck right off every single one of them is a rude idiot; it’s ok with him because of his parentage (it’s not ok) but no one touches Shijie. The Yunmeng sibs is where it is at.
And that’s when he unleashes his full Slytherin powers on behalf of his new family. Because he does indeed have a fully functioning brain and shit is going to get really ugly really fast for all the people he loves if he doesn’t try and mitigate the damage somehow.
(A lot of mutual XiYao pinning is going on in the background because I live for the angst ok. LWJ fully approves of him as a brother-in-law tho)
A lot of terrible shit still happens because this is my AU and I want pain, but not only does JGS not have MY’s enormous brain on his side when he tries to seize power, he’s actively working against him (you can’t tell me MY wouldn’t get the kick of his life publicly bringing down and exposing his terrible father).
I’m sorry, back to the commentary.
This two idiots omg.
It’s WQ! Drag him WQ (gently)
I’m going to channel my ballet teacher here for a second: put your hair up! (You bunch of spider crabs, as she would call us)
I mean, JC’s hair is clearly in his face when he’s doing drills and, while the visual of all that dark hair whipping in the wind with the robes (another beef I have, they look like they’d catch on everything) is very dramatic I can assure you it’s fucking annoying. Plus it limits your visual field a lot. Again, I know jack about the culture and people can fly on swords here so why am I complaining about hair but let me live.
I used to have that much hair (then I got a pixie, now I’m growing it back out) and smacking yourself on the face with your own braid hurts.
Shijie knows what’s up with Jiang “I can only show anger” Cheng.
My one track mind when I saw the fish: Anisakis!
I think I would absolutely become a vegetarian if I got dropped in the past tbh. Not only is there no quality control of animal products (hello Trichinella), there’s also no way to do a proper cold storage (hello Salmonella). I’ve read and seen to many horror stories due to contaminated animal byproducts and, while vegetables pose their own risk (hello E. Coli) usually you only have to be thorough at washing and peeling to not have trouble.
5am wake up call without coffee. Fuck that noise.
Wei “I’m a petty gremlin” Wuxian.
I once called WWX a “mad scientist with ADHD” on an AO3 comment and I stand by that assessment.
Ok, but why the turtle caricature? It’s because turtles are “old and wise” like LQR? Is that the joke? Or are they laughing at WWX’s balls?
AW NO PAPERMAN.
“Tell me, what would I get if I added powdered root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood? // Where, would you look if I asked you to get me a bezoar? // And what is the difference between monkshood and wolfsbane?” It’s pretty much the same energy. LQR is Ancient magic China’s version is Severus Snape down to the pettiness. He tries to catch WWX in a mistake, and when he can’t he dismisses his knowledge (look at Shijie’s face when he says WWX should not be proud to know what he does). He keeps pushing until WWX’s runs into a wall, then uses LWJ to “show him how it’s done” I mean, look how smug he looks and how uncomfortable everyone else is.
“Pity... clearly, fame isn't everything.”
(No, I don’t like LQR and I don’t like Severus Snape either; tragic past and sacrifices do not give you a pass to abuse children don’t @ me, I’m not interested in changing my mind)
And here is where all my “mad scientist with ADHD” hc stem from.
“No screaming in Cloud Recesses.” Screams LQR (yes, I’m 100% that bitch)
WEN NING IS HERE HI WN YOURE SO PRECIOUS.
But intercepting an arrow mid flight is some Geralt of Rivia Witcher bullshit right there.
Detective Wei strikes again.
The scenery is gorgeous my god.
Can we talk again about how this 16-year-old boy reacted to someone sneaking up on him by drawing his sword and attacking? That’s not fucking normal, that’s a common reflex in soldiers or people with PTSD.
(The Netflix translation has him calling LWJ “WangJi” and I die)
Thanks for reading!
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izanyas · 5 years
Note
It never even crosses wwx’s mind to talk to jyl & jc about what Wen chao did to him
no :( you have to understand that there are many, many layers to his secretiveness about it. there’s the society he was raised in, the constant obsession with people of his status and what they do with their lives and bodies... the fact that if word got out of him or anyone else like him being promiscuous then it would mean a world of trouble and judgment and no doubt renewed predatoriness. on top of the general predatoriness. wei wuxian wasn’t raised very normally, but he still knows about those things. even when he was young and relatively carefree, he knew. it’s why he didn’t say anything either when wen chao harassed him the first time. it’s why he knew he was doing something highly reprehensible when he spied on lan wangji in the cold spring at the start of the story, and why he was reserved and distant about it rather than shameless like in canon.
then there’s the fact that altho jiang cheng and jiang yanli love him, they just don’t get everything he’s going through. jiang cheng is embarrassed to even talk about wei wuxian’s status because he is uncomfortable with the topic, so wei wuxian never talks to him about it, period. and jiang yanli is a little more understanding but still miles away from showing the kind of open-mindedness and knowledge that would push wei wuxian into telling her about any of it.
his assault happened at a very dramatic time of his life too, right after the loss of his core and most importantly right after jiang cheng made very serious accusations to him about his relationship to the one alpha he feels more or less comfortable around. in wwx’s mind, if jiang cheng was so furious and disgusted with the thought of him being intimate with lan wangji, then what would he think of him and wen chao?
of course, this is all very skewed in wei wuxian’s perception of things, and at this time he lacks the ability to think about it being assault making a very, VERY big difference in their minds. of course they wouldn’t blame him if they knew. of course they’d believe him. but he’s not in any state to recognize this, let alone take the risk. and there’s no saying that either of them wouldn’t make a blunder in some way and hurt him.
and lastly—and most importantly—it’s just impossibly difficult to tell anyone in general, especially the people you’re closest to. especially family. i don’t expect this to be true for everyone of course, and i’m mostly drawing inspiration from my own life and experiences, but your family learning of this, and the ways that they can react to it (even if they believe you) can be cause for trauma as well.
people are insane about rape and sexual abuse. there’s really no other way to describe it. it flips a switch in people’s brains one way or the other, and this is even truer for family. i’ve lived and known too many horror stories about confessing those things and being met with frankly disturbing reactions, no matter how much you love the friends or family members in question. i won’t be putting wei wuxian through such extreme reactions in the story (he’s dealt with quite enough trauma already), but it’s impossible for me to write him willing to tell someone. the “being unable to tell anyone” and “not even considering telling anyone” aspects of this specific trauma are 80% of the reason i wanted to write the story in the first place. 
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tatselk · 5 years
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The Untamed (陈情令) Review: Ep 21
!!! SPOILERS AHEAD !!!
Previous episode review: 1 and 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16,17, 18,19, 20.
Some quality Yunmeng Jiang Siblings Fluff now that WWX is back from the dead. The teary reunion! The hugging! WWX’s (bittersweet on hindsight) promise that the three of them would never be parted again! :):):)
I have to bring up NHS randomly bursting in on WWX and telling him how worried everyone was in looking for him, ESPECIALLY LWJ and JC. Hey, NHS, why did you mention LWJ first? Are you secretly a WangXian shipper too? Hahaha. 
All the pining and estrangement btw WWX and LWJ was just-! I swear I could literally feel the secondhand awkwardness through the screen at that bit whereby WWX and JC suddenly came across LWJ and LXC in the corridors and had no way of avoiding them.
While this episode was technically about the 4 great cultivational sects trying to bring down WRH/the Wen sect and gossip swirling around WWX's miraculous return from the Burial Mounds, it basically just felt like a romcom whereby everyone else in a friend group was walking on eggshells due to the tension between certain members of the group (coughWangXianbreakupcough). XD  Like JC demanding to know why WWX wanted to look for LWJ after the falllout between them in episode 20, what was going on with WWX and LWJ, whether WWX planned to never communicate with LWJ again etc. 
I kinda like the symbolism of how JC and JYL are now consistently dressed in purple, as per the Jiang sect’s colours. Like now that their parents are dead and they have have been reunited again, the two of them have become the “face” of the Jiang sect.
Oh shit, WWX seems to have already started losing control of the demonic cultivation thing. AND JYL kept detecting traces of this. We already know all of this isn’t going to end well but isn’t this happening abit too soon?!
Oh shit X2, WRH looks like he is cooking up some diabolical zombie-related plan in his Villainous Abode. I... hope it wasn’t MY/JGY who helped WRH come up with that plan (see my review of episode 19). 0_0
Ok, I’m kinda loving WWX’s dramatic entrance (complete with special wind effects!) as he entered the meeting room where the others were having a discussion on how to attack WRH and how he casually dropped a few cryptic lines before leaving again. But I can also definitely see how/why this might piss the other characters off. Lol. 
My favourite part of this episode was probably that philosophical discussion between the Twin Jades about how one can tell right from wrong if there are no set rules in the world to follow; how one would not necessarily know the answer to everything just because one reads many books etc. 
The ending scene between LWJ and WWX killed me. Like why are they so bad at communicating with each other? Why does LWJ have to resort to drawing his sword to prove his point?! Why does WWX have to grin and evade LWJ’s questions/pretend not to know what LWJ was driving at??? GAHHH.
Overall: 8/10. I really liked how this episode fleshed out how WWX struggled and coped with dealing with everything after his return from the Burial Mounds. So this score would have been even higher if I weren’t so affected by all the underlying tension and potential for angst. Haha. 
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trensu · 4 years
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Episode 25: The One where They Frolic in the Forest but like, Sad This Time
Okay folks, buckle up bc this one has a lot of Hetero Drama and Stupid Plot Things
But look!! I’ve made it to the halfway point of the show!! I’m so proud of myself
We’re gonna skip as much of that as possible
BUT this one has some EPIC moments to make up for it
We start at Lotus Pier
Stuff’s happening that we’re not interested in 
except for how our resident Disaster Het jzx comes by to invite the jiang clan to the jin clan’s awesome sleepover with sweet sweet party games
Plot plot plot
WE’RE AT AN ARCHERY COMPETITION!!
I guess that’s how they open sleepovers in Ancient Fantasy China?
LWJ AND WWX ARE STANDING NEXT TO EACH OTHER
OUR BOYS ARE SHARING SCREEN TIME!! WITHOUT HURTING US!!!
Blegh, jgy is talking
And here the jin clan bring out their wen prisoners bc they think it’s fun to place them in front of the targets??? anD THEY GET AWAY WITH IT??
THEY DID THIS IN FRONT OF BASICALLY THE ENTIRE CULTIVATION WORLD AND NOBODY SAID ANYTHING!!
I WILL NEVER BE OVER THIS
WTF IS WRONG WITH THEM
Wwx at least tried to protest but jc shut him down, bc their clan really isn’t strong enough to stir up trouble rn 
BUT THERE WERE PLENTY OF PEOPLE IN MORE SECURE, POWERFUL POSITIONS THAT COULD HAVE SAID SOMETHING
I’M LOOKING AT YOU, LXC. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE LAN CLAN MOTTO, HUH?? WHAT HAPPENED TO RIGHTEOUSNESS???
*takes a deep breath*
Okay, okay
I’m calm, i’m cool
So that happened
Jzx tries to show off by shooting an arrow and getting a bullseye without hitting any of the prisoners
And wwx sees this and is like, hmmmm, i can humiliate jzx AND discreetly protect the wen prisoners!!! (and give the audience a bite of wangxiantics)
Wwx: lan zhan, do me a favor
Lwj: what’s the matter?
Wwx: can i borrow your forehead ribbon?
CAN I BORROW YOUR FOREHEAD RIBBON
THE SPECIAL ONE THAT NO ONE BUT FAMILY AND SPOUSES CAN TOUCH
I JUST WANT TO BORROW IT IN PUBLIC WHERE EVERYONE CAN SEE. NBD
Lwj just stares at him in response and wwx sulks but doesn’t push it
(lol, jc sees that go down and is just completely exasperated, like, one day, can we get one day when you don’t OVERTLY FLIRT WITH LWJ in front of EVERYONE??)
(the answer is no. no, he cannot do that, jc)
(he’s not allowed to not flirt with lwj)
Since he couldn’t get the super special forehead ribbon, he uses one of his own wrist ribbon things to blindfold himself
Please take a moment to appreciate the fact thAT HE WAS GONNA USE THE SACRED FOREHEAD RIBBON TO BLINDFOLD HIMSELF, THE KINKY BASTARD
Wwx: nbd nbd, imma just shoot 5 arrows whilst blindfolded and hit every bullseye there is WITHOUT harming any of these innocent war victims.
It’s all in the twirl, baby
He does a Dramatic Twirl, Smirks™ and then releases those arrows like nothing
And afterwards he has this proud little grin on his face bc hell yeah, he just owned jzx’s smug ass AND prevented any harm from falling on innocent people
Also, LOL, NMJ’S REACTION TO THIS WAS GREAT
He sees wwx be a badass with a bow and arrow and immediately turns to lxc next to him with an expression like HOLY FUCKING SHIT, DID YOU SEE THAT, THAT WAS AWESOME and starts clapping like a madman
For future reference, this is the correct response to wwx all the time, I’M SO PROUD OF YOU BB
After all that, wwx struts back to stand next to lwj and gives him a proud little smile. It’s so cute, so cute.
Jgy is talking again BLEGH
Now we’re in the forest!! For hunting reasons!!
Wwx makes himself comfy by a tree and plays Magic Music on his demon flute and is all pretty while doing it and supposedly gets all this prey to jump into Jiang nets
we never actually see this happen but everyone says it happened and who am i to argue?
(actually i like to argue one-sidedly at the screen a lot but this was not important enough so whatever)
Also, side note, jc is KILLIN IT with his fashion choices in this ep. LOOKIN GOOD BRO
But we don’t care about any of this 
We care that WWX SUDDENLY SPOTS LWJ WALKING ALL ALONE IN THE FOREST AND HIS WHOLE ENTIRE FACE LIGHTS UP LIKE THE FREAKING SUN BC HE’S SO HAPPY TO SEE HIS SOULMATE
IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL
And then it gets sad. Sad times in the forest :(
Wwx was totally making a move to get lwj’s attention but he stops himself
Bc he remembers the conversation he had with lxc about how the ones he cares about can be hurt by his decisions
Thank goodness lwj notices him back
Wwx looks so surprised but also pleased the lwj sees him
And ofc lwj does not hesitate to go to wwx
BC THEY LOVE EACH OTHER AND ARE SOULMATES
Wwx: hey lan zhan, i heard you got tired of writing out the Lan Fam Rules~!
He’s happily engaging him in conversation!! He’s trying to tease him again!
Too bad lwj does not go along with it
This whole “let’s ruin wwx’s attempts for pleasant conversation by bringing up sad things” is getting really old lwj, stop that
Lwj: i made some progress in composing the music score and i’d like to share it with you to see if it works
eXCuSe mE??
HE’S BEEN WRITING MAGIC MUSIC FOR WWX??
HOW THE HELL DID I MISS THIS BEFORE??
I THOUGHT HE WAS JUST LEARNING FORBIDDEN MAGIC MUSIC, NOT CREATING MAGIC MUSIC FROM SCRATCH SPECIFICALLY FOR WWX
HE LOVES HIM SO MUCHHHH
Wwx: lan wangji, lan wangji
Noooo he’s reverted to calling him formally!!
And his tone went all flat!!
DON’T DO THAT
Wwx: who do you take me for? Why can’t you leave me alone?
DON’T SAY THAT
WHY ARE YOU SAYING THAT
YOU DON’T WANT HIM TO LEAVE YOU ALONE
STOP HURTING ME LWJ LIKE THIS
The minute wwx asks him that, lwj lowers his gaze when previously he had his eyes glued to wwx’s face the whole time
Bc WWX JUST STABBED HIM IN THE HEART WITH HIS WORDS
Lwj: who do you take me for?
He says all somberly, STILL NOT LOOKING AT WWX
Oh god, their faces are breaking my heart
After lwj says that, wwx stares at him for a long moment before canting his eyes to the side AND THEY LOOK KIND OF TEARY??
I THINK??
THAT MAY JUST BE MY TEARS
SOMEWHERE, TEARS ARE INVOLVED
Wwx: i once treated you as my lifelong confidant (AKA SOULMATE)
Lwj: i still am
*SOBBING*
~THEIR SONG~ IS PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND
THEY’RE STARING AT EACH OTHER WITH SO MUCH FEELING
I WANT TO TEAR MY FACE OFF
Aaaaand the moment’s interrupted bc of stupid jzx and his Hetero Drama
Wwx hears someone approaching and he grabs lwj by the arm and drags him to a hiding spot where they can spy on jzx who just appeared with jyl
You know, i love how whenever wwx grabs lwj to drag him somewhere we get a bit of slo-mo stuff to, i guess, emphasize wwx is touching lwj or something
Not that we need the emphasis
It’s not like we’re not already hyper-aware of their EVERY INTERACTION
So now we get to watch wwx and lwj spy jzx and jyl
Lol, i wonder what lwj is thinking
Does he watch this and sympathize? Does he get secondhand embarrassment bc he knows he doesn’t do any better expressing his feelings to his soulmate??
I can’t imagine he has any actual interest in spying on Disaster Het jzx
Lwj is a Disaster Gay 
There can only be so much Disaster at a time, y’know?
or maybe he’s just thinking OMG WWX TOUCHED ME OMG WWX IS SO CLOSE
yeah, that’s probably it
Okay, there’s Hetero Drama going down 
Blah blah blah
BUT WAIT, jzx just made jyl tear up AGAIN
Wwx is all ready to tear jzx a new one but lwj holds him back before he could give away their location
Like, if asked, i’m sure lwj would say “oh, i stopped him to avoid an inter-clan incident” or whatever
But his REAL reason for holding him back was bc he was enjoying have wwx so physically close to him again
While secluded in a hidden spot
I mean, there’s less than a foot of space between them
I wouldn’t be so eager to give that up if i had wwx that close to me either
But lwj can’t hold him back for long bc jzx does another douchebaggy thing and wwx has had Enough
Wwx goes to defend his sister BC NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO MAKE JYL SAD, OKAY?
Wwx and jzx argue and then jzx draws his sword and takes a swing at wwx!!
SO OFC LWJ SWOOPS IN AND PARRIES THE BLOW
Lol jzx is so confused as to why lwj is there suddenly
You just tried attacking his soulmate, bro
what did you think was gonna happen
Ugh more Hetero Drama
Gotta say, i do enjoy watching jzx get scolded by his mother
Asshole cousin starts stirring up trouble and throwing a hissy fit about how wwx used his demon flute to catch 30% of the prey and how it’s Dishonorable and Cheating behavior
Lwj turns to wwx for a moment here and is like “30%??” idk if he’s impressed or concerned here.
Maybe both
Lwj gets a lot of Feelings around wwx, okay?
Lol, while asshole cousin is ranting, wwx turns his back on him to look at lwj
Wwx: oh, lan zhan, i didn’t thank you earlier for blocking that attack for me! Thank you~!
WHAT A POWER MOVE
HE GETS TO INSULT ASSHOLE COUSIN AND STARE AT HIS SOULMATE’S BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL FACE
WIN-WIN
Wwx is holding it together until asshole cousin accuses the jiang clan of having a corrupt or weak family or smth?
Then he starts getting all twitchy the way he does when Resentment kicks in
Asshole cousin continues to goad him and wwx starts to reach for his demon flute
Lwj flies to his side and grabs his arm!
Lwj: wei ying, concentrate. Wei ying, concentrate.
(wwx has a knack for making lwj repeat himself)
Jyl joins him to help wwx calm down
And now we take a break from wangxiantics for BADASS JYL TIME
Jyl goes and apologizes all sweetly to everyone for wwx’s supposedly rude behavior or whatever
And then turns to asshole cousin
Jyl: i might not know much about hunts, but i know there’s never been a rule about catching too much prey
DAAAAMN, GIRL
Jyl: it’s not his fault you can’t hunt prey. He used a different method that he worked hard to learn
Jyl: FURTHERMORE, you called him the son of a servant when he is my dear little brother
Jyl: so i would like for you to apologize to wwx
JYL IS THE GREATEST SISTER IN THE WORLD
Madam jin is like, ah, it’s not that big of a deal, let the boys squabble 
And jyl shuts that down by telling her that wwx is family, an insult to him is not a trivial matter for her
GOD I LOVE HER SO MUCH
Blah blah plot blah blah jzx is a Disaster Het in front of Witnesses blah blah 
Gross, sect leader yao goes off on a rant
We’re gonna ignore him
We cut to wwx downing a jar of wine in the middle of town 
*sigh* i don’t even know why i bother telling him off at this point, he’s obviously not worried at all about alcoholism
Ooooh, and now we’re getting Lan Bro time. Very wangxiantic lan bro time
Lxc: lwj, i can tell you’re worried about something. What is it?
Lwj: …
Lwj: lxc, i..i want to bring a man to Cloud Recesses
(guys, the ellipses here actually happened. We actually hear lwj do a start-stop on his sentence)
(THIS FROM A GUY WHO DOESN’T SPEAK MUCH BUT WHEN HE DOES SPEAK, SOUNDS LIKE A PRINCE)
(Our boy is Overcome with Feeling rn)
Lxc: bring a man back to Cloud Recesses?
Lwj: bring him back…and hide him there.
Lxc: hide him?
Lwj: …
Lxc: he may be unwilling to go, right?
LXC KNOWS WHATS UP BC THERE’S ONLY ONE MAN WHO HAS EVER AFFECTED HIS LITTLE BROTHER THIS WAY
Lwj stays silent here, and the lan bros manfully stare off to the distance
(I like to pretend that here lxc starts coming up with elaborate kidnapping plots bc he wants his lil bro to be happy and that’s only happening if he drags wwx back to their home)
(i mean, locking up your soulmate against their will is a Lan family tradition, isn’t it??)
AND THAT’S WHERE IT ENDS
THIS SHOW DOESN’T PULL ITS PUNCHES, DOES IT?
This forest frolic was not nearly as fun as the last one :(
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