#which is a breaking point for all Jiang Chengs

[wutheringskies]

List: Wei Ying's Attitude Towards Lan Zhan (Pt 1)

Cloud Recesses Arc (Chronological)

1. First Impression: Lan Zhan is very, very pretty with a stern expression on his face, as if he's in mourning. Learning of his reputation, learning that he's well-spoken, smart and academically an ace.

2. Their dynamic forms: Wei Wuxian is annoyed by how Lan Wangji treats him, how he appears to be an immovable polished piece of jade and wishes to break through his composure by annoying him - he wants to be treated specially.

3. Respecting Lan Zhan's talents and genuine desire for friendship: Learning that Lan Zhan's reputation isn't fake. Despite being so young, he can carry three people onto his sword, think logically, and help people. Secondly, Wei Wuxian respects his integrity as Lan Zhan punishes himself as well for breaking the rules, despite the gap in their status. He wishes to become closer to Lan Wangji as they share similar values.

4. The first tones of romance: Wei Wuxian has always been interested in seeing how Lan Wangji would be as a romantic partner, thus baiting him with porn and "girls in Yunmeng." As Wei Wuxian hangs out with his friends, he sees Lan Wangji alone and wants to give him friends as well - the kind that Lan Wangji will like - so, he gives him two rabbits, which were in a compromising position and turned out to be both male. Secondly, he is very interested in Lan An's story as this is a new context to be applied to Lan Wangji.

Pre-Sunshot Campaign

1. Lan Wangji as his maiden: Wei Wuxian unknowingly always puts Lan Wangji into the place of a "maiden" - what I mean by this is that, when the girls chase after him in Yunmeng, he sighs and thinks of Lan Wangji. When he sees Lan Wangji's forehead ribbons, he thinks of pulling a girl's ponytails and tugs it. Thus, he has moved on from baiting Lan Zhan with girls to see how he would be in a romantic context to placing Lan Zhan as the maiden in a heterosexual context.

2. Stage of Denial: As Wei Wuxian's feelings for Lan Wangji keep surging subconsciously, yet he keeps facing with one rejection after the other, a proud man as him enters the stage of denial. Here, he constantly lies to himself, gives excuses for his actions, hides his thoughts and reframes events - aka, he gaslights himself.

• We know he has been thinking of Lan Zhan well after studying in Gusu (he studied for 3 months, Jiang Cheng studied for a year. In the lotus pod extra he's still talking about Lan Zhan and it's a common occurrence, so at least until 9 months later, he's still talking about him) yet he says in Qishan Archery Competition that he has forgotten about him. Secondly, he says he doesn't recognize Lan Wangji, yet he mentions that his fingers look suited to playing the guqin, thus he already recognizes this handsome man and his emotions surge, yet he calms himself down by framing his thoughts to make himself seem less attached.

• This behavior continues throughout the Qishan Wen Indoctrination. He went to Mianmian's side to get the perfume pouch after he heard it had medicinal herbs, and Lan Zhan's leg was injured. Yet Lan Zhan gets jealous and refuses his help, Wei Wuxian later takes a jab at his broken leg when he's bejng supported by Jiang Cheng - upset that he was refused once more.

• At this point, 2 years after meeting Lan Zhan, Wei Wuxian is giving up on his thoughts of them becoming friends, even petulantly whining to Lan Zhan, that "why do you not like me???"

• He shoves all of his feelings down, and accepts that he needs to give Lan Zhan more space.

• Yet even after the Xuanwu Cave, we can see that though he wished to give Lan Zhan more space, he continued to ask questions after question about him to Jiang Cheng.

Sunshot Campaign

1. Takes a Hint: Now, Wei Wuxian is no longer a child. He has been through too many things, has too many responsibilities to worry about his "childhood ambition" of becoming friends with Lan Zhan. After his return, the first thing they do is have a fight - to Wei Wuxian's point of view, it is that, after each of his attempts to become closer have been squashed, now finally they're fighting - aka, they are on opposite sides. Thus, Lan Wangji suddenly turning 180 degrees back by wanting to take him back to Gusu registers as a "punishment." He simply can't even imagine a context where Lan Zhan likes him. Thus, this stage, I call - Wei Wuxian takes a hint (the wrong one.)

2. Confusion and Hurt: Wei Wuxian is already suffering through major identity crisis and plenty of trauma. In such a setting, he cannot evaluate Lan Wangjj's actions and arguments with him as "concern, care or worry." He cannot think of his opinions over digging graves etc as "righteous." Lan Wangji is "against him." Wei Wuxian suppresses his feelings well, and has moved on from wanting to be friends. Yet he does not agree with those who call them enemies - refusing to take Lan Zhan's behavior towards him as "hate."

Post-Sunshot Campaign

1. Hiding all his weaknesses: Now, Sunshot Campaign is over and Wei Wuxian is very aware that he's going to be hated by everyone sooner or later. He's scared and he doesn't know what to do, where he stands, and also regrets some of what he has done. He is without any backing, without any support - he covers up his vulnerability by standing up too tall, by talking arrogantly, by pretending that he's so strong - in his act, he doesn't notice Lan Zhan subtly moving towards him (metaphorically and literally), and walks past him, leaving him behind.

2. Shifting of Dynamic, Rekindling Hope and Extreme Fear and Vulnerability: Now that for the first time in years, that Wei Wuxian has time to breathe and momentarily, no immediate responsibilities or distractions his feeling surge again. He is still in denial about his feelings, but now the amount of gaslighting he does is truly remarkable. Firstly, he wished to place Lan Zhan in a romantic context (whether or not it included him), secondly he imagined Lan Zhan as a maiden for HIM, now thirdly, he is placing himself into the spot of "the maiden"

-> Throwing flowers at Lan Zhan along with other girls

-> Conveniently making the remark that of course, he doesn't imagine that Lan Zhan will ever take the initiative and kiss someone (aka, he wishes Lan Zhan will take initiative because he's put himself out there for so long, and he is tired.)

Now, Wei Wuxian's feelings towards Lan Zhan are very much real, the minor crush growing into something more - like a flower bud that wants to be watered to bloom. But since it isn't welcomed, he forces them back into his heart:

1. Admitting he finds Lan Zhan handsome - admitting some degree of physical attraction and admiration by throwing a flower at him.

2. Asking for his headband knowing it is somehow symbolic (something important to him, a privelege). Subconsciously playing Wangxian, and then finally getting kissed. For some reason, he FAILS to mention Lan Zhan's signature scent of sandalwood despite his senses being so keen. Why? In my opinion - it's him suppressing that thought. He knows the maiden is remarkably strong, he has an inkling that it is HIM so, he allows the kiss to go on, excusing it with the excuse that "how embarrassed the maiden will be once he sees her." After all, even when Lan Zhan asks him much later "you didn't know whom the person was so why didn't you resist, and then why did you tell me this?" Wei Wuxian doesn't answer him, but instead laughs at him for being jealous. In truth, I feel, this is another one of Wei Wuxian's deflections.

He knows admitting that he smelt the sandalwood would make it impossible for him to not relate to Lan Zhan. He knows only Lan Zhan was in the vicinity. He knows only Lan Zhan has showed any significant connection to him - someone like Wei Wuxian would definitely know if a girl liked him. But he can't read Lan Zhan. He also knows Lan Zhan is conveniently acting different than usual - yet, he doesn't probe too much, which is uncharacteristic of him. Not to mention, Lan Zhan is showing significant negative emotion towards him - asking him to go away. Wei Wuxian subtly sneaks in one of the doubts he's carried for three years now, "do you hate me?" But it's unanswered. Wei Wuxian is afraid and he's feeling self conscious again, eyes tearing up, so what does he do?

Act pretentious.

"Of course, I've a lot of experience. Even if it was you, it doesn't matter, haha. This isn't special to me. You aren't making me feel anything special. You aren't making me weak. You aren't hurting me."

After this, he is relieved. He has hid well. His feeling are hidden perfectly. To confirm, he even asks Lan Zhan og he's ever kissed, etc. Lan Zhan doesn't say yes or no, but Wei Wuxian has convinced himself that it wouldn't have been Lan Zhan. He makes up an imaginary maiden who kissed him. He says he never tried to find her to not embarass her. After he is sure it wasn't Lan Zhan, he is not interested in finding out who kissed him.

Successfully gaslighted □

The next incident is at Yunmeng, and it's by far the most obvious thing Wei Wuxian has done to show his feelings towards Lan Wangji. He casually admits that Lan Zhan is very handsome, and bestows plenty of flowers of all meanings upon him.

But the most important is the peony. Wei Wuxian reaches out towards Lan Wangji all the time. Each time, he's a bit more hurt, a bit more scared, a bit more vulnerable. So, this time, he's giving Lan Wangji and his surging feelings a chance - either Lan Wangji takes it and he allows his feelings to surge, or Lan Wangji doesn't take it and he swallows all his feelings back inside, rewrites the whole narrative and moves on with his life.

Thus, he throws out a flower that can either mean "a confession" or a separation.

He doesn't expect Lan Wangji to come up the inn. He expects it to be a separation. But he does come up - yet what follows is an argument, their last one. From Lan Wangji's point of view, it is also last time he asks Wei Wuxian to come to Gusu with him - to walk the same path moving forward, a last offer of protection. In a way both of them are confessing, yet they don't know.

When they part on dubious terms, Wei Wuxian doesn't know what to do - Lan Wangji DID come up, he did talk to him - that is not indifference or hate. It does not guarantee separation. Wei Wuxian just takes it as concern, without any confirmation from Lan Wangji himself.

Now, Wei Wuxian goes back to Lotus Pier in a dark mood. He says he met someone who wanted to lock him up - in a way, it must be addressed that Wei Wuxian's feelings are like chains for him. They don't liberate him. He needs to constantly suppress them. Jiang Cheng remarks it must have been Wei Wuxian who called out to Lan Wangji. Wei Wuxian comments that he himself is ridiculous. He is frustrated over his feelings, unable to understand why he is placing himself into a position like this, why he has hopes only for them to be crushed again and again, yet unable to actually realize anything as he hasn't admitted it all to himself yet. Later, they talk about Yanli and Zixuan, and Wei Wuxian finds himself the perfect cover to talk to his shijie. He asks why people like one another - why does he have to feel so scared and afraid and vulnerable - and tells himself he's asking on part of his shijie. He convinces himself that he won't ever like anyone that much, thus once again - suppressing his feelings.

Later, at Koi Tower, he drinks from Lan Wangji's cup, unable to see him be disrespected and presents his case to the banquet. He ends up having to threaten everyone. Wei Wuxian HAS to make himself into something he is not. He's unafraid. At least that is what he wants to think.

Wei Wuxian glanced over at him (Lan Wangji). In those eyes, light as cat’s eye chrysoberyl, he saw his own near-hideous reflection.

This is how he truly feels - not just about himself (my boy literally has to carry a fake persona and be so strong and so alone for YEARS) but also how he perceives Lan Wangji's attitude towards him, and it stings him, but luckily he has more things to do than worry about how Lan Zhan feels about him.

YiLing Laozu

1. A ray of hope, separation and acceptance: Few weeks in the Burial Mounds has matured Wei Wuxian. He is naturally someone who works better when there is a goal, when there are people depending onto him. He has made his decision to walk his chosen path to its bitter end. Far away from the public's eyes, with his fear of being hated and ostracized, realized, now it is like he has little to lose, so he tries to make the best of it. When Lan Zhan visits YiLing, Wei Wuxian doesn't throw any curveballs to him. He doesn't ask too much, doesn't hope for anything, doesn't play around. Just enjoys some company time with him. Even when Lan Zhan brings up their persistent issues and pushes back them into the sphere of reality, Wei Wuxian deflects and only then shows some of his frustration. Yet, when Lan Zhan leaves, he chases after him to bid him goodbye. He tells him of his chosen path, asks him to form his own opinions about things, shows some trust in his integrity. They eventually go their own ways, the mood sombre. This time Wei Wuxian accepts that they aren't meant to be friends, but does say that they aren't enemies. Just people meant to walk separate paths. Thus, his feelings are no longer useful to him. They can't lead towards anything. He accepts it.

2. Extreme, Extreme Hurt: Acceptance doesn't mean it does not hurt. Just how long has Wei Wuxian suppressed his feelings? Just how long has he swallowed every hurt, every rejection? Just how many times has he called out first? Just how many times had he waited? When Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji stand on different sides in Nightless City with their weapons pointed at each other, Wei Wuxian finally "terms" Lan Wangji's attitude towards him: I knew from the start that we would have a real fight like this one, sooner or later. You've always found me disagreeable, no matter what.

"Wei WuXian had already lost his judgement. He was already half-mad, half-unconscious. All evil was being augmented by him. He felt that everyone loathed him and he loathed everyone as well. He wouldn’t be scared no matter who came at him. It wouldn’t matter no matter who came at him. It was all the same anyway."

He'd been scared, vulnerable and weak for so long, masking it with a layer of arrogance and humor. Yet now he simply can't do it any longer and his fears spill out, the darker thoughts he'd suppressed. He's like a child crying, saying it won't matter whatever his feelings were, he'd hurt them all. He was done of being hurt and scared, of hiding, of being treated like the problem. Note, that he has always wanted to be Lan Wangji's friend, always stated that they weren't enemies even when everyone around him laughed at his audacity. Now, he is done harboring hopes. He is ready to spill out all those things he's been holding back, all the fears he held.

Yet later, Lan Wangji is the one who helps him, hides him away, talks to him softly. If any part of Wei Wuxian was conscious, he'd have felt utter and complete exhaustion. "Get lost." As in, he is done. He doesn't wish for Lan Wangji to owe anything to him. He doesn't wish to change his perspectives once again. He has lost all hope, all will. He doesn't want to deal with it anymore. He can't leave by himself, he can't pretend otherwise, he can't make excuses, he can't hide in the face of Lan Wangji's action - so he can only drive him away.

Conclusion

If Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji ever had a few years of peace after they hit the age of eighteen, they would've figured their feelings out. Yet, everytime something is about to come out of their relationship, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji go through a major ordeal that pushes them back to base zero. In their first life, their relationship ends on a tragedy.

Lan Wangji's full-grown tree of his feelings doesn't get to provide Wei Ying with its shade, left forever alone until the tree eventually dies. Meanwhile, Wei Ying's sprouts never get the water it needs to grow spontaneously.

One can't fall in love as deeply as Wei Ying is with Lan Zhan after his revival in just three months. Thus, I hope this post made it easier to see just how deep his feelings ran. I will write a follow-up post about his attitude towards Lan Zhan in his second life!

Do let me know your thoughts as well.

#mdzs #mdzs novel #my meta #my thoughts #mdzs meta #my essays #wangxian #lan wangji #wei wuxian #lan zhan #wei ying #mo dao zu shi

[in-danmei-hell-send-help]

I think what kills me about Jiang Cheng antis is that a lot of their talking points reek of anti survivor rhetoric. As someone who is a survivor and has done a lot of advocacy for victims and survivors of power based personal violence, I want to be the first to inform you that the narrative of the “pretty survivor” (which is steeped in cishet normative, white supremacist, and ableist ideas) is an extremely rare case. Trauma survivors are rarely pretty. The Wei Wuxian’s of the world are incredibly uncommon. 

Trauma--especially intense, horrific trauma like what Jiang Cheng went through--often leads to intense issues of anger and hatred. It makes you deeply emotional and can often lead to you becoming unstable. Jiang Cheng lost his entire family and community in the span of a few years. He didn’t have access to therapy (something that literally anyone would need to heal from that), he had to rebuild his entire sect, likely had to fight an uphill battle in order to be a significant part of Jin Ling’s life, all while cleaning up the mess that Wei Wuxian left behind.

This is not to hate on Wei Wuxian, he’s my third favorite character (after Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji) and I love him deeply, but he left behind a legacy that Jiang Cheng had to clean up. Whether or not he realized this would happen, Wei Wuxian created a cultivation path (gui dao/ghost cultivation) that is extremely dangerous and horrific. While I still don’t know if I believe that Jiang Cheng killed every demonic cultivator he came across, I don’t know that it was necessarily a bad thing that he did kill them. We’ve talked a lot in the cxc server about gui dao and demonic cultivation and just how much it harms the mind and body. Wei Wuxian is the exception to the rule in having such control over it and even he eventually succumbed to it. If demonic cultivators are causing great harm, then a cultivators job is to stop that harm and the source of it. That may mean killing the demonic cultivator. I think people get mixed up when (I think it was Jingyi) said that Jiang Cheng kills the wrong person. I believe it was @twilightarc-gm who said that “wrong” doesn’t imply innocent but rather the fact that the person isn’t Wei Wuxian. We know that Jiang Cheng spent thirteen years trying to find Wei Wuxian and when he does find him, he doesn’t kill him despite having literally every reason to.

Like idk y’all, if the guy that got my entire clan wiped out, my sect burned down, and caused the deaths of my sister and her husband died and came back from dead, I wouldn’t just threaten him with a dog and yell at him. I would kill him. But he doesn’t he has every opportunity to in multiple instances after confirming that it’s Wei Wuxian, but he never does. He seems more interested in dragging Wei Wuxian home (literally stating that he’s going to bring Wei Wuxian home to Lotus Pier to kneel before his parents’ graves). Like that doesn’t imply that he’s going to kill Wei Wuxian, but rather make him repent. 

I think it’s telling that despite a lot of Jiang Cheng’s hurt and pain, he still chooses to not severely hurt or kill Wei Wuxian, it would be within his right to do so, but in the end after it’s all over, he let’s Wei Wuxian go. He doesn’t tell Wei Wuxian that he sacrificed himself for him, because he knew that Wei Wuxian would feel guilty and obligated to him, just like Wei Wuxian knew Jiang Cheng would feel guilty and obligated. That to me shows a survivor choosing to break the cycle of hurt and pain and I have to question why Jiang Cheng antis so often choose to ignore the side of him that does love Wei Wuxian (it’s up to the viewer whether they see that love as romantic or platonic), enough so to let him go and not burden him with pain.

Jiang Cheng’s story and character arc is at it’s core about trauma, survival, and rising above dire circumstances despite the odds. He attempts the impossible and manages to succeed in it. And to ignore that is a disservice to his character, survivors of trauma, and the effort MXTX put into creating such a complex and interesting character.

#Jiang Cheng #canon jiang cheng #jiang wanyin #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #yunmeng shuangjie #the untamed #cql #this sounds like a fucking essay #tell me u were a lit major without telling me u were a lit major #mdzs meta #jiang cheng meta #stop being shitty to characters that are ugly victims #it's fucking telling to a lot of survivors that u aren't a safe person #and that u don't care about survivors if they aren't a 'good' victim #news flash #the way abusers isolate their victims is by acting like pretty survivors #if ur gonna pull the the shit u do #and say with ur whole chest that characters like jc are irredeemable #then maybe don't say ur a safe person for people with trauma

[wangxianficfinder]

Fic finder

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1. I'm looking for a fic that's during the Cloud Recesses study arc where, WWX I think, found out Wen Chao couldn't read and started teaching him. I think a couple of the other kids started helping him, MianMian maybe? I can't remember much but they definitely helped him learn how to read and became friends. TIA

FOUND? Wei Wuxian’s Super Special Super Secret Book Club by Anonyma (T, 31k, WWX & WC & LQY, WangXian, Canon Divergence)

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2. hello!! All good? I'm looking for a collection of one shots, and I can't find it, I read it a little while ago but I remember a one shot, where Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying were discussing the fact that Wei Ying had saved the heirs of the sects in cave and Jin Ling was listening and Wei Ying was saying that if he hadn't saved the heirs Jin Ling wouldn't exist and Jiang Cheng said something like, Whatever.... Honestly, I don't even remember the tags, but Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying realizing that Jin Ling had heard, Wei Ying asks what Jin Ling wants. @sweettiebah

FOUND! 🔒 Chapter 11: Careless Words of Short Prompts by Vrishchika (JL POV - Not JC Friendly - WWX loses his patience)

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3. Hello !! Ive read this fanfic a while ago and I have multiple ss of it since i like to save memorable parts of the fic but now i cant remember it anymore </3 i dont remember the synopsis but there was a scene where Lwj and Wwx were in an inn while out night hunting, and wwx suspected the person serving them to have poisoned lwj, wwx got really angry and threatened the guy to the max

quote:

Wei Wuxian slammed him against the wall again, cutting off his rapid ramblings and jostling his fractured arm. "Your stories bore me," he spoke lowly, peering his head around slightly so as to almost look into Heng She's face. He still had yet to acknowledge Lan Wangji's presence. "Tell me why you poisoned the tea, or I will hang you in the street by your intestines, ripped open to let the crows feed on your liver." @jingyisbff

FOUND! let me sing to you by greybird_crookedbranch (T, 61k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Canon Compliant, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, adorable Juniors, Minor Original Character(s)for plot purposes, Minor Violence, Demonic Cultivation, resentful energy, Trauma, Guilt, Protectiveness, BAMF WWX, Hurt wwx, Protective WWX, Protective LWJ, Baby Lans, Mental Instability, Possession, it's a case fic but the case is for the hurts, Angst with a Happy Ending, POV LWJ, a tasteful seasoning of Yunmeng Bros Reconcilliation, CQL canon except LWJ is not chief cultivator, Nightmares)

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4. Hello! T__T I have my focus mode on so my distracting apps like twitter (x) are paused. I took a 5 minutes break and opened it. I saw a threadfic of Bottomji/Topxian (Omegaverse) They already have 3 kids (Yuan, Twins) but they are all alphas. lwj wants a daughter (or an omega son). He rode wwx that night then let him knot him for 3x. They were on a date and lwj bought some robes for a girl the confronts wwx that he wants a daughter.... Thats all Ive read. I want to read the whole thread but my app closed. 💔 Can you guys help me with it? I cant find it anymore.

FOUND! sounds like this twt threadfic by @/omegawangji

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5. Hi, I need help finding a fic I’m pretty sure I’ve seen recommended on here a couple years ago.

I don’t remember the title or the author. It was on AO3. It was an Alternative Universe fic where WWX is an art student (and lived in a dorm with the Wen siblings) and LWJ has a very active but discreet sex life. WangXian know each other but they’re not together. Eventually they start sleeping with each other (WWX doesn’t realize LWJ actually likes him and he’s not just another hookup). There is also a secondary plot about one of LWJ’s past hookups stalking and tormenting them at a club or party at some point? T

his is all I can remember, unfortunately. I hope to reach someone who knows which fic this is by asking on here. WangXian nation, do your thing! 🙏

FOUND? show me a quiver, give me tonight by spookykingdomstarlight (E, 115k, wangxian, lwj/others, communication failure, mutual pining, artists, demisexual wwx, angst w/ happy ending) It doesn't match exactly but some details do

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6. For fic finder, a fic I read a good while back.

It was one of those “jgs magically spies on the burial mounds to get people to hate wwx and the remnants” but in this one wwx and lwj did the “a-yuan is birthed from wwx” thing and the people spying believe it. Lqr passes out for a bit and lxc and jc start planning a wedding since lwj apparently deflowered wwx. I think it was completed

FOUND! Assumptions by draechaeli (T, 50k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Mainly Novel with a few CQL and Donghua bits, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Adoption, Adoption but WWX birthed them all, not mpreg, Not Established Relationship, Fluff, Canon-Typical Violence, Fix-It, gender non-conforming titles)

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7. Hello! Here's one I've read a dozen times and would swear I have bookmarked, but now I can't find it. Basically, LZ is a courtesan/assassin who's sent by JGS to seduce and kill the powerful Yiling Patriarch. Meng Yao is working with LZ, although he has his own plans against JGS, of course. WWX later realizes LZ's brother is alive and looking for him, so he brings them together. (By the way, are you thinking of adding a Courtesan compilation? There are plenty of good ones to rec!) Thank you! @ladysalieri (we don't have a courtesan au specific comp but we do have a royalty one that includes a few! ^^ - Mod C)

FOUND! out to get you (to get you) by iliacquer (E, 41k, wangxian, graphic depictions of violence, switching, top/bottom LWJ, top/bottom WWX, power play, courtesan LWJ, assassin LWJ, dark lord WWX, bondage, happy ending, past slavery)

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8. Hello i am looking for a fic where modern lwj time travels to the canon era and becomes original lwj, in the fic he is betrothed to yilling patriarch wy who sends him letters, and wy becomes more desperate and insane because lwj doesn't answers his letters. @ahiku-chan

FOUND? if this is a dream, i pray to never wake up by dangodangomilk (M, 27k, WangXian, Marriage, Weddings, Engagement, Canon Divergence, Parallel Universes, YLLZ WWX, false amnesia, Implied/Referenced Sex, Fluff and Angst, Sexual Content)

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9. hello! i'm looking for a fic from lwj's pov. he runs into wwx (dark) in yiling i think, after burial mounds but before his new body. lwj is horrified by how bad he looks and convinces him to go to an inn (wwx mean), they have sex. during this lwj realizes that wwx's bones are all broken from his fall in the burial mounds and he is holding them stable with resentful energy. he can't heal them, but the resentful energy is working as a stopgap. possibly of it's own volition? bittersweet? thx! @saydams

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10. Hello!! I love this blog, where I find fics to read!! A few days ago, I asked someone to find me a fic, but I'm here again because I remembered med and another fic that I loved reading, but currently can't find.

The things I remember: Wangxian has an spiritual connection, which is why the golden core transfer does not occur (and it is qing who informs Wei Ying of the connection, as Madam Yu knew and gave tea to undo the connection but it did not work ) and if I'm not mistaken Yanli is the one who told Wei Ying that the spiritual connection no longer exists (which is obviously wrong)

If you can't find it, I ask you to recommend something similar.

Thank you ❤💛🖤 @sweettiebah

FOUND! Half of my soul by Asphodel_Meadow (T, 8k, wangxian, Canon Divergence, No Golden Core Transfer, Fix-It, 5+1 Things, kinda soul bond but with their golden cores, POV Outsider, POV Alternating)

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11. Hi, im looking for a fic where when Wei Wuxian was dead others tried to flirt with Lan Wangji. I remember one of the scenes where Shizui was walking to the jingshi and overherd someone (a cousin of Lan Jingyi?) trying to flirt with Lan Wangji. I think it was a 5+1 type of deal. No matter the way i word it, i cant find it. I`ve been looking on and off for months. @herebedragons02

FOUND? Criteria by incendir (T, 10k, LSZ & LWJ, WangXian) Criteria from the Resolutions series! I've reread ot enough to know that description on site

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12. I hope you don't mind me asking, i'm looking for a wangxian fic where there is a scene that takes place in the cloud recesses where jiang cheng injures nie huaisang and nie mingjue almost declares war on the jiang sect. Thats as much as i remember I hope it's enough to go on. If it helps any it was either a Jiang Cheng bashing fic or a Jiang Family bashing. / Hi i'm looking for a Jiang Cheng or Jiang Family Bashing fic (can't remember which it was) where Nie Huaisang gets severely injured by Jiang Cheng and Nie Mingjue almost declares war on the Jiang Sect. Thank you. @hanabichan2018

FOUND? Ad Oblivione by Baph, HikariNoHimeWriter (M, 70k, WangXian, Time Travel Fix-It, Temporary Character Death, Canon-Typical Violence, POV Multiple, Hurt/Comfort, Grief/Mourning, Identity Reveal, Golden Core Reveal, Cultivation World Critical, Not JC Friendly, Abusive YZY, Angst with a Happy Ending)

FOUND? A Future Family In A Broken Past by Hauntcats (T, 121k, wangxian, Not JIang Family Friendly, Not Cultivation World Friendly, WWX Needs a Hug, Family Dynamics, What is a good family?, Fear of emotions does not excuse abuse, Not Jiang Clan Friendly, Angst with a Happy Ending, Time Travel Fix-It, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon Divergence, LXC needs a hug, Everyone Needs A Hug, Homophobia, Homophobic Language, Not YZY Friendly)

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13. Hello I’ve been looking for this fic but I cannot find it I remember seeing it before it’s where in order to survive the burial mounds WY exchanges his heart which changes how he acts and then at the end JC, JYL, LWJ and NH decide to go to the burial mounds to see what happened to WY

FOUND?🔒 between the shadow and the soul by Reverie (cl410) (M, 22k, wangxian, JYL/WQ, JC/NHS, Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Family, Dark WWX, Feral WWX, Memory Loss, Magic, Magical Realism, Protective LWJ, Protective JC, Protective JYL, Grief, BAMF WWX, POV Alternating)

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14. Hi! For next fic finder, could you help me find a modern wangxian au with combination of arranged marriage, marriage of convenient (i think it is), and contract marriage. YZY arranged a marriage between WWX and LWJ for a bussiness cooperation. WWX agreed to that so he can get away from the Jiang (especially YZY) and to make his own carrier. Then LWJ and WWX make a contract to make the marriage last until 2 years and decided if they want to keep the marriage or not. I think LWJ playing his guqin and WWX is used to that and when 2 years almost up, WWX didnt want to get divorce. The fic is focused about them getting to know each other. I think thats all i can remember. I read that in 2021 so the detail is kinda patchy. If you dont know the fic at least a confirmation that im not the only one that ever read this. Thank you! @idontknowwhattowriteforusername

Hi, im #14. Unfortunately its not the fic that iam searching for. The one that iam serching for focused on wangxian, other characters barely appears. Even the jiangs only gets mentioned. Wwx didnt work for Jiang, i think he is graphic design freelancer? The agrement for divorce is between the two of them, their family didnt know about their agreement. They choose how long they stay together before divorce after they think that the project between their family is finished so their divorce wont effect the project. WWX even has a plan after their divorce to open his own office. If i remember corectly, WWX realize he didnt want to get divorced is a few days before the day of their divorce. Like he is in his room and thinking that after their divorce, he cant listening to LWJ playing his guqin and spend their days together and he didnt want that.

I really hope i didnt mix several fic together. Thank you!

NOT FOUND! you're the only thing i think i got right by sandustorms (lucianclouds) (M, 48k, wangxian, Arranged Marriage, Falling In Love, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Domestic, Married Life, Eventual Smut, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, do you remember that fake reddit post abt the guy that fell for his husband, that he was arranged to be married to, that was kind of what inspired this, Happy Ending, Modern, Strangers to Lovers, Romance)

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15. Hello Mods, hope you are having a good day (^ ω ^)

This is for the fic finder and I'm not quite sure about this so just to be safe I don't want to upset anyone so

Trigger Warning! Trigger Warning! Trigger Warning!

This is what I remember: WWX is roofied or SA'ed in the Cloud Recesses ( I don't remember if that is shown) and there's a lot about how he handle it (denial? minimizing? disassociation?), and LWJ is there, he didn't do it, he is good, and anti-victim-blaming? if that makes sense?

FOUND? obscura: ink stain by AvoOwO (M, 20k, wangxian, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Canon Divergence, Emotions, Heavy Angst, Painting, Temporary Amnesia, Drugs, Drug Use, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Date Rape Drug/Roofies, Drink Spiking, Victim Blaming, LWJ Has Feelings, LWJ Has a Crush, Soft wangxian, Holding Hands, Blood and Violence, Good Sibling JC, Protective JC, WWX is a Mess, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Politics, Protective LXC, Good Sibling LXC, Good Uncle LQR, LQR Tries, OCs, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, WWX Needs a Hug, someone gets punched a lot, LWJ contemplates murder for a moment, JC almost gets it done, not quite about romance, as much as romance elements there, more so about the small things, LWJ loves how WWX smells, some nasty things are said, WWX def needs a nap, he gets one dw, LQR Gets Shit Done, NHS Is A Little Shit, Scheming NHS)

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16. Hi! For fic finder, I am looking for a short-ish fic where Jin Ling learns that Wei Wuxian is the one who named him “Rulan.” Jin Ling then realizes he is named after the Lans, and he has a teenage meltdown about how he is named after his uncle’s crush. Does this sound familiar? Thank you, everyone, for all your help! @gloriousclotpole

FOUND! three days gone by occultings (microcomets) (G, 4k, JL & WWX, WangXian, Post-Canon, Family Bonding, Homophobic Language, Fluff) there may be a few fics that fit, is it maybe the one where jin ling and jiang cheng are reading sect letters together, and jin ling got mad about being called "rulan"? so far i found another fic, ig it's "similar" since jin ling's only mad for one sentence, but i thought to link it anyway

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17. Hi! I'm looking for a fic, but i only remember a specific scene from it: wwx and the wens on the horses and it's raining and lan zhan lets them go, but then i guess granny wen says go back and get him, and when they return, lan zhan is soaking wet and she says something along the lines of 'dramatic young people'. Thank you so much!

FOUND? Turn Around by mondengel (Not rated, <1k, wangxian, humor)

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18. Hi, I'm looking for an AU WIP fic where WWX has to wear a mask; nobody but family is allowed to see his face. He and LWJ have an arranged marriage, but LWJ still refuses to let him take his mask off, and doesn't make any effort in the marriage. Very soon after they are married, he takes Wen Qing as a concubine, without explaining anything to WWX. WWX moves to a house near Lotus Pier, and there is a bit about him adopting children, but I can't remember how that came about... Thank you! @godiva696

FOUND! Sounds like the deleted "A price to pay" by wangxianist.

Not FOUND! sounds sorta like shana's identity porn fic here on tumblr

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19. Hello! 😃 I hope you can help me find this fic that I have been looking for!

I only remember that Wei Wuxian gets reunited with the sect leader of the Yu sect,(she is basically his grandma I think) and he get very emotional, it is also at a discussion conference or something like that, it is a very sweet/happy scene.

thank you 😊

NOT FOUND!🔒补救; to remedy, to do something to correct or improve something that is wrong by ravenditefairylights (G, 21k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Fluff and Angst, Healing, JC & WWX Reconciliation, Getting Together, Everybody Gets Their Shit Together, Family Feels, Teacher WWX, Soft WWX, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Crying, Marriage Proposal, Assassination Attempt(s), Family Bonding, soup as a metaphor, Meishan as a metaphor, Twin Prides of Yúnmèng Feels, Forgiveness, BAMF WWX, Assassin WWX) i'm not positive this is it, but has a scene like that

Not FOUND And Time Is But a Paper Moon by sami (M, 139k, WangXian, XiChengQing, Time Travel, Fix-It, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Healing, Mental Health Issues, PTSD, Hurt/Comfort, Depression, BAMF WWX, BAMF JC, BAMF LWJ, BAMF JYL, Getting Together) has a wwx-Sect Leader Yu relationship a bit like that? They meet up in Meishan, though, it's not a conference

Not FOUND The Housewife's Guide to Causing Chaos by dvasva (M, 127k, WIP, WangXian, Canon-Typical Violence, Functionally Trans Character, Mild Sexual Content, Domestic Fluff, Love Confessions, Transphobia, Good Parents LWJ and WWX, Pining, WWX is a Tease, Grief/Mourning, Body Dysphoria, Fake Marriage, Canonical Character Death, Misunderstandings, Doting LWJ, Canon Divergence, Arranged Marriage, WWX is not in MXY's body, Misgendering, Mild Angst, Assumptions, Comedic Elements, non-sexual nudity, Blood, Discussion of Various Bodily Functions, Cloud Recesses Shenanigans, 4 years of mourning instead of 13, Méishān Yú Sect, POV Multiple, Corporal Punishment, Trans WWX, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, pregnancy mention, Timeline What Timeline, Sexual Harassment Threats) has wwx summoned by an OC Yu cousin instead of mxy, so there is some wwx-Yu sect interactions in the story. I don't remember it being particularly sweet or happy, but the setting is a conference

Not FOUND Moments of Revelation by meyari (T, 133k, ChengSang, WangXian, XiYao, POV JC, Canon Divergence, Temporary Character Death, Character Death, not anyone we care about, Time Travel Fix-It, Self-Sacrifice, Torture, Chronic Pain, Chronic anxiety, magical healing and how it fails, Grief/Mourning, PTSD, Chronic Mental Health Issues, Assassination, renamed my, Families of Choice, Original Supporting characters, Unreliable Narrator(s), Demonic Possession) last suggestion, and this probably isn't it, but it has a lot of Yunmeng Trio & Yu sect interactions (mostly Jiang Cheng centric, but wwx is there too lol)

FOUND! Twelve Moons and a Fortnight by stiltonbasket (M, 290k, WangXian, Humor, Slow Burn, Post-Canon Fix-It, Long-Distance Relationship, Epistolary, Love Letters, Family Feels, a-qing lives, teenage romance, Adoption, Romantic Comedy, Happy Ending, Weddings, Case Fic, Parenthood, Politics) the reunion scene is on ch31

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20. Hello! I’m looking for a fic where during the Sunshot Campaign, Wei Wuxian was able to tame the Xuanwu, resulting in victory. However, he wasn’t fully able to control its bloodlust so it was sequestered onto an island in Lotus Pier.

However, he leaves one day for a brief visit to Jiang Cheng and Jiang Yanli, JGS paid a child to visit the island and the child is killed. This causes WWX to go with the Xuanwu into the water surrounding the island and he disappears for many years.

Later on, Jin Ling ends up trying to prove himself by going into the forest surrounding this island (which has since filled with resentful energy). And finds that WWX has come back and the Xuanwu has been purified.

I’m not sure if it’s been deleted??

FOUND? The Turtle Master by Gotcocomilk (M, 40k, wangxian, JC & WWX, JL & WWX, Eventual Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Character Death, Temporary Character Death, Character Death Fix, shijie lives, Hurt/Comfort, OC Child death, zombie turtle!!, BAMF WWX, isnt he always, Fluff and Angst, first half is pain second half is soft)

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

[piosplayhouse]

what are your controversial wwx views? 👀 (asking as a fellow controversial wwx view-haver)

In the grand scheme of things I personally think my opinions are pretty lukewarm but I got a lot of shit a while back for making a post saying that it's important to acknowledge that wwx has privilege as a male cultivator member of the gentry and certified genius, and that that's important because even though he knows that his position in society is extremely tenuous and that so many people are willing to fight to force him to lose it, he still chooses to stand up for those even lower in society (in that post I was thinking specifically of the women in mdzs, particularly the brothel women because they're basically never considered). And then? A bunch of people started shittalking me because apparently wwx is the most underprivileged character in the story? And he's lower status than even the non cultivating sex workers because he was homeless as a kid?

I'm also neutral-positive on Jiang Cheng and made the great sin of making a completely neutral poll asking for people's opinions on him correlating with if they grew up with siblings and got a bunch of accusations of being a wwx anti, rigging the poll, and misrepresenting the answers (the results of which were completely even btw) based off . The fact I used a picture of grapes as the poll banner. Yeah . Wwx was never mentioned in the poll at all also. You can probably still find all that shit if you search my username, anons were just fully accidentally pinging me and everything, it's why I don't name search any more even though I know some people make posts based off my ideas but are afraid of pinging me (don't be btw!!! Please ping me 🥺🥺)

I actually really didn't like wwx in my first read-through of mdzs because I really related to teen lwj and felt very personally about the idea of overly pushy boundary breaking teenager attitudes, but I definitely grew to like him lol. I don't know how much that shows through in my posts, I think I've made a few comments about thinking that he was definitely a little bit of a dick as a teen but I don't know how controversial that is

So overall I'm sorry to disappoint, not very controversial opinions, but I've gotten so much grief for them anyways you'd think I posted some shit like wwx is my least favorite character in all of fiction 😵‍💫😵‍💫 there's probably more stuff that could be considered controversial but I'm so disconnected from mdzs fandom at this point that I don't really know what the general consensus is. I'd love to hear yours though!!!! Feel free to anon or message or whatever you feel comfortable with, I won't judge

#sorry this got kind of ranty i feel the need to bring this up because this is like . the only reason i think im maybe controversial #and i wouldve never known except someone forgot to block me BEFORE POSTING AN ASK FULLY @ING ME #its been like a year since that so whatever im still just recovering from how embarrassing that is.. childs play vaguing . #jiang cheng level subtlety. come on at least put a space between the @ and my username so i dont have to see that shit #😭😭 #long post #long posts

[icyolive]

"[Wei Wuxian] was terrified that he was lost in this fantasy all alone; that all of this was only his own wishful thinking and that he was overly confident to presume otherwise."

I love a good oblivious-Wei-Wuxian as much as anyone, but by the time they were drunkenly making out and breaking bath tubs, he pretty much knows what's up. He's worried it's "wishful thinking," which means he's clearly been thinking.

So what put doubt in his head? or rather, who? There's a whole confused web of miscommunication happening between Wangxian, but it's sparked by Jiang Cheng. Wei Wuxian is worried that Jiang Cheng's insinuations have upset Lan Wangji*—made him balk at the idea of thinking "differently" (gayly) of Wei Wuxian, or that he'd never felt that way at all.

*Of course Lan Wangji is upset by it, but not because he's offended. He's worried Wei Wuxian's denials mean his advances are unwanted, something he's clearly terrified of.

Over and over and over, throughout the novel, Jiang Cheng has insisted Lan Wangji hates Wei Wuxian: stop bothering him, he hates you, he can't stand you, etc. etc.

There are plenty of posts pointing out how Lan Wangji's bad communication made it impossible for Wei Wuxian to know his feelings, but I'd argue the constant whispered shouted he hates you in his ear was just as damaging.

#mdzs #mdzs meta #rereading mdzs #wei wuxian #wwx #wangxian

[wangxianficrecs]

the universe would turn to a mighty stranger by RavenclawLoki

the universe would turn to a mighty stranger

by RavenclawLoki

T, 11k, Wangxian

Summary: “I understand many of you may not be taking this indoctrination to heart.” Wen Chao pompous voice rang through, finally breaking the silence. If Wei Ying was next to him, he would roll his eyes so dramatically that Lan Wangji would be able to hear it - the thought comforts him. “Which pains me; submitting to the rules will makes this a much more pleasant experience. This is supposed to be educational for all of us. So, in case any of you aren’t taking this seriously still…” He eyes traveled to his side where two guards holding something lifeless by either arm, walking towards Wen Chao and the teens following his gaze. Nie Huaisang stiffened next to him. Jiang Wanyin screamed his brother’s name. Jin Zixuan’s inhaled sharply. But all Lan Wangji saw was Wei Ying.

Kay's comments: This fic offers some delicious, delicious angst. In which, after Wei Wuxian spent a night in the dungeons during the indoctrination, his "corpse" is dropped in front of the others the next day to make a point and to show them that actions have dire consequences. Wei Wuxian isn't dead of course and instead scheming with Wen Qing and Wen Ning and only pretending to be dead, but still, his little stint definitely inspires some confessions! Also, Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng are forced to be roommates while they still think that Wei Wuxian is dead and well. Hopeful ending because this story kick-starts a canon-divergent timeline that might end up being better than canon!

Excerpt: “Was your little mission worth Wei Wuxian’s life?” If Jiang Wanyin’s voice cracked at the question, who was going to judge? Lan Wangji stiffened. No. Of course not, how could he – how dare he? “No,” Lan Wangji snarled. A small part of him knew that Jiang Wanyin was grieving in his own way, anger and resentment outweighing his grief and despair; Lan Wangji should keep silent, let him rage…but fury was overwhelming him. Nothing was worth Wei Ying’s pain. Jiang Wanyin scoffed bitterly. "I thought it was against your precious sect rules to lie.” Lan Wangji eyes narrowed dangerously. “It is.” “Oh look, he does have emotions,” Jiang Wanyin’s scathing laugh of worthy of Wen Chao’s. “It only took getting someone killed. How sweet.”

pov lan wangji, canon divergence, the untamed compliant, yin iron, qishan wen indoctrination, assumed major character death, angst with a happy ending, angst and hurt/comfort, hopeful ending, getting together, love confessions, first kiss, everybody lives/nobody dies, good friend wen ning, good sibling jiang cheng

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(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for this hard-working author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)

#Wangxian Fic Rec #The Untamed #wangxian #MDZS #Kay's Rec #pov lan wangji #canon divergence #the untamed compliant #yin iron #qishan wen indoctrination #assumed major character death #angst with a happy ending #angst and hurt/comfort #hopeful ending #getting together #love confessions #first kiss #everybody lives/nobody dies #good friend wen ning #good sibling jiang cheng #teen #short fic <15k #RavenclawLoki #the universe would turn to a mighty stranger

[lunarriviera]

why Du Cheng can't hold a grudge: a little  猎罪图鉴 | Under the Skin meta

When Shen Yi first joins the Beijiang City precinct, Du Cheng can't stand him. Not only is he still pissed off about Tragic Backstory, but he doesn't believe a sketch artist can hold any real value, especially not in our era of policing via surveillance. In another drama, he might have continued to nurse his animosity for the duration of the season. But there's one moment very early on which expresses Du Cheng's whole character so succinctly that you know he'll very soon give it up, and quite quickly succumb to Shen Yi's charms usefulness.

First, though, he stomps into Bureau Chief Zhang's office pitching a fit about Shen Yi, of all people, occupying the late Captain Lei's office. But Zhang-ju is not a woman to be messed with. She promptly calls his bluff.

Du Cheng, still hacked off, doubles down. He throws his badge on her desk. Fine! Fuck being a cop! He'll deliver pizzas! Anything, not to have to work with THAT VERY PRETTY GUY.

But then Jiang Feng comes to the door to announce that a body's dropped. Try to sound a little less thrilled, please, Jiang Feng.

A murder you say??? This is Du Cheng catnip. Can he hold out?

Look at his big dumb head swiveling around helplessly, like someone's just announced there's free cake in the break room.

Zhang-ju is canny as fuck, though. She looks down at his badge and idly wonders aloud who's going to catch this one. No idea really. Who could it possibly be.

At this point, Du Cheng has managed not to be a police officer for a whole fifteen seconds.

UGH FINE GIVE ME MY BADGE BACK YOU WIN. But Zhang-ju has not finished winning.

(This woman is a mother of four or I will eat my laptop.)

Du Cheng has to pretend to think about this for another whole three seconds or so.

UGH FINE JUST GIVE IT BACK I'LL TAKE HIM WITH ME OKAY? OKAY???

(And then they proceed to drive off without him anyway, so that our little hero must ride to the crime scene alone on his bicycle. But the ways in which Shen Yi returns everyone's cold shoulder with this kind of serene tai-chi-like nonresistance is another meta entirely.)

All of this underscores two things: 1) Du Cheng's compulsive need to clear cases himself, and 2) his imminent practicality about so doing. When it turns out that Shen Yi is actually incredibly useful, Du Cheng stows his shit with remarkable rapidity and they do an enemies-to-friends speedrun in like three episodes, because nothing else matters to Du Cheng like solving crimes. It's truly the way to his heart. And when Shen Yi gets captured by Cai Dong in episode 3, what does Du Cheng say? "He's got one of our own." It's not just blind loyalty to the force; Shen Yi has already proven to Du Cheng that he really is a cop.

(And, ACAB; and China suffers from massive police corruption. So this procedural, like all the others, isn't reality, isn't a valorization of police work, but is probably some secret third thing.)

#under the skin #猎罪图鉴 #du cheng #shen yi #jin shijia #tan jianci #cdrama meta #cdramas #meta

[resonancewitness]

dehumanisation and re-humanisation in MDZS/ CQL

this is, arguably, the main theme of the whole masterpiece

Being of mixed Eastern-European, Jewish and Roma (gypsy) descent, I easily see the ghost of Nazism in the Wen Clan supremacy. "We are the one and only supreme race/ clan, we are entitled to anything we fancy, and all others must prostrate themselves before us and surrender to our rule, otherwise they must be exterminated". "I give the orders here, and you all are nothing but my dogs", says Wen Chao. An extreme example of dehumanisation.

But the Jin Clan, using the remnants of the Wen clan (non-combatants, pacifists, healers) as bait, is also a blatant example of dehumanisation/ objectification practice. And, strangely enough,

most people there take it for granted, or even if they disagree, they do not actively protest. A nice demonstration of the definition of privilege ("when something is not considered a problem because it does not affect me personally").

The only person who openly objects to this and voices aloud the similarity in the dehumanisation practices of the Wen Clan and the Jin Clan, is Wei Wuxian, by that time already himself being objectified by the rumour-mongering mechanisms of "creating an enemy". He is a necromancer, doesn't this mean that he is treating people as objects?

The most amazing, for me, part of MXTX's masterpiece is that she gives the most clear and defined re-humanising stance to Wei Wuxian. All the Burial mounds settlement arc is based on Wei Wuxian staunchly refusing to deny the Wens their humanity. He treats them as human beings, deserving to have as much dignity as possible.

One of the very few people who fully understand this is Lan Wangji, and not the least important in this understanding is the seemingly small incident at the banquet, when Jin Zixun challenges the Lan brothers to drink with him. Lan Xichen is facing a dilemma: to say "Lan Wangji can't tolerate alcohol" means to publicly embarrass him, but to let him drink is to cause a complete loss of face. In CQL, the earlier drinking scene in Gusu is necessary to make Wei Wuxian the only person in the world to know what kind of laughingstock Lan Wangji turns into when drunk. So, coming into the banquet hall and swiftly evaluating the scene, Wei Wuxian drinks the cup meant for Lan Wangji, saving his face and protecting his dignity (...and this uncouth behaviour wouldn't tarnish Wei Wuxian's reputation much more that it is already tarnished, would it?). For Lan Wangji this becomes some sort of revelation.

When Wei Wuxian promises to bring back Wen Ning's consciousness, this is the most obvious re-humanisation project, in a way — the central line of the whole story. Wen Ning is the most soulful, gentle and humane walking corpse that ever existed. But at the same time, people who use dehumanisation as a normal modus operandi, think of Wen Ning as a tool, a weapon, a "knife". The whole part of the story of the relationship between Wei Wuxian and Wen Ning during Wei Wuxian's second life is about Wen Ning re-asserting his own agency over his life and choices, from kneeling before Wei Wuxian and calling him "master" to breaking his promise to him, choosing to honour his own values instead (and telling Jiang Cheng about the golden core), and finally choosing independence from Wei Wuxian.

But there is another re-humanisation project that Wei Wuxian is involved in, more subtle and possibly more difficult, from a certain point of view: re-humanisation of Lan Wangji. Because being made into the "epitome of perfection", into an example, — is also a form of dehumanisation and objectification. It is difficult to do, because Lan Wangji has internalised this practice and he constantly dehumanises himself in this way. Wei Wuxian's compassion, appreciation of merit and "flaws", and easy-going attitude creates a different environment in which Lan Wangji finds himself.

The same dehumanisation/ re-humanisation is the source of the tragedy of Lan Xichen. Whereas Jin Guangyao takes dehumanisation to a level of particular "finesse" (everyone for him is either an asset or a liability, a tool to advance himself or an obstacle to be removed), Lan Xichen's respect, friendship, trust and loyalty is a constant re-humanisation of him, — unfortunately, only in Lan Xichen's own mind.

#mxtx #mxtx meta #wei wuxian #lan wangji #lan xichen #jin guangyao #wen chao #wen ning #dehumanisation #dehumanization #re-humanisation #re-humanization #cql #mdzs

[gentil-minou]

Xiantober Day 8 - Head Disciple!Xian

Yunmeng Jiang celebrates the promotion of their newest head disciple with festivities and merriment that last well into the night. It's a right of passage a chance for the new head disciple to shine.

Madame Yu canceled Wei Wuxian's ceremony.

She made a fair point, Wei Wuxian thinks. It was a difficult growing season and the harvest wasn't as good as last year's so it wouldn't do for them to celebrate while the villagers were suffering.

And yeah, the request for aid was also really important. It's just a shame that Uncle Jiang and Jiang Cheng both had to go for it, today of all days. Wei Wuxian had asked if he could have gone too, Jiang Cheng behind him nodding furiously as well. It would have been a great way to start his new role.

But Madam Yu said no.

Then, she took shijie off with her to visit their family. It wouldn't make sense for Wei Wuxian to go with them, he's not really their family. Shijie made him soup before she left, which will be perfect!

Wei Wuxian is okay with not having a ceremony. He sits on his favorite dock overlooking the lake, where the lotus blooms are especially big and he can see out behind the sea for miles, over to the vast landscape that awaits on the other side.

Years ago, when he first came to Yunmeng with Uncle Jiang, he couldn't even swim in the water for very long. It was the former head disciple who helped him then, teaching him to breathe between strokes so he's not holding his breath forever. They were also really kind, and never said anything about him being behind all the other kids. They gave him some extra practice after everyone left, and then some when Wei Wuxian had started to surpass the others.

He's gonna miss them now that they've moved off to marry into a new clan, but Wei Wuxian thinks he can keep their memory alive.

He didnt actually care much for the head disciple role. It was just a role and well as long as he gets to go on night hunts and save good people what does it matter what title he wears?

Still, when Uncle Jiang sat him down and told him he'd got the role, Wei Wuxian accepted it with gravity for what it would mean.

He liked helping with the younger trainees. At Yunmeng, everyone trains together, from the moment you can hold a sword properly you can join the older disciples.

Wei Wuxian had loads of experience helping the younger kids out, and it's a lot of fun!

They're a sneaky bunch and gangly and 3-shimei really needs to stop waving her sword around like it's still made of wood for crying out loud.

But they're also earnest and hardworking and adorable, and they look at Wei Wuxian like he could never do wrong, and well, he wants to prove them right.

So it doesn't matter if he doesn't get a fancy ceremony. He doesn't need it. All he needs is to help the other disciples and make Jiang Sect the best there is and ever was. Attempt the impossible, and succeed.

"Da-shixiong?"

A timid voice calls out from behind Wei Wuxian and he peers around to see a group of disciples, some around his age and some a little younger, loitering near the pavillion.

"Aiya, what are you guys doing here? Didn't Jiang-shuhu give you drills to run through?"

Technically, Wei Wuxian was supposed to help them with these drills, but okay maybe he needs a break sometimes and maaaaaybe he wanted to wallow just a little bit.

This disciples shuffle together, nudging at each other to say something. They're so funny Wei Wuxian has to bite his lips to keep from laughing at them.

Finally 6-shidi, the youngest and probably Wei Wuxian's favorite, comes over to Wei Wuxian's side. "Da-shixiong! We wanted to show you something!" he yells directly into his face, spittle flying everywhere. It's a good thing he's so cute.

Wei Wuxian raises a brow. "Okay…"

He follows the nervous group back from where they came, really hoping they haven't broken something. First day on the job and already there's something for Madame Yu to yell at him about.

Ah well, better him than the kids.

Before they turn the corner into the main training grounds, 6-shidi does an abrupt about face and stares determinedly up at Wei Wuxian, since he's still a good couple heads shorter than him.

"Da-shixiong, close your eyes!"

Wei Wuxian does so, and the little hands pull him forward. Someone covers his eyes so he can't perk but he can hear them moving around and whispering. At some point there's the sound of something dropping, a plate? Then the sound of furious whispering and Wei Wuxian has to laugh now.

Finally, the hand moves away from his eyes and he opens them, blinking as he adjusts to the bright afternoon sunlight illuminating the courtyard. When he can see, he looks around at the tables on the floor piled high with sweets from the market and freshly cooked dishes, even an extra large tureen of shijie's soup.

There's a space set up for games on the other side of the yard, simple ones like kite shooting and an archery set up with funny faces drawn on the target. A table near the center that must be the place of honor is covered with jars of liquor, and beside the table is… Jiang Cheng?

Wei Wuxian gapes at him. Jiang Cheng scowls at something unseen in a corner, arms crossed protectively over his chest. "I snuck away. Dad knows. Don't make a big deal out of it."

How can he not??? Wei Wuxian practically leaps across the courtyard to smother Jiang Cheng in a hug.

And even though Jiang Cheng complains, Wei Wuxian notices he doesn't try to shove him off.

6-shidi tugs on his sleeve to get his attention and says, "What do you think, Da-shixiong? We put this all together for you! I helped draw the faces!"

A chorus of voices sounds out around him as all his little shidi and shimei clamber over to tell him how they contributed. Wei Wuxian beams at them all, laughing and laughing and not sure if he's ever going to stop. He sniffles a little bit.

Like he said, he doesn't need ceremony when he has a sect like this one.

#i've been thinking a lot about grief in mdzs and how it's such a central theme that i feel like this fandom overlooks a lot #and just how these characters spend their whole lives losing and grieving and gaining and how it's a universal feeling in a way that is #beautiful coming from something as impossible as a world with cultivation...i just like it a lot i like to think about it a lot #i know the fandom has a lot of mixed opinions about the Jiang sect most of which I disagree with but i think the one thing that we can be #sure of is that wwx was a great da-shixiong and he definitely cared a lot for his shidi and shimei #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #mdzs fanfiction #wei wuxian #the untamed #xiantober #mdzs musings #bushy writing #yunmeng siblings #just a little bit

[admirableadmiranda]

Hii, there is some thing I wanted to ask your opinion about

About that time Jiang Cheng sacrificed himself to save Wei Wuxian from Wen cultivators, I say it in the most non-bashing way possible but do you think there's a chance his sacrifice was pointless?

What happens is: JC distracted the Wens from unsuspecting WWX, causing them to chase and then capture him, which results in him getting whipped and more importantly him losing his golden core. When WWX can't find him where he left him he makes haste and finds him the same day, runs and gets help from Wen Ning. I hope I got all that correct.

Now, is it possible that if JC never saw anything and WWX was captured instead... he would scare Wen Chao again and be thrown in the Burial Mounds? Because sadly WWX does get captured by the Wens in the end anyway and it was after the core removal, which was a surgery he experienced awake for 2 days, and he was basically helpless and unable to protect himself and yet he tricked them into leaving him alive. Obviously, experiencing hell on earth for 3 months isn't the nicest but still, he survived.

So, if he got captured with a golden core could something similar happen? Even being thrown into BM would be better with a golden core and he could have escaped earlier.

At the same time, while he had his GC he could fight back and make things worse for himself but I don't know if after everything we've seen of him I believe in that. It's established he's a genius, a quick thinker and will manipulate his opponents if he has to so I believe he would survive.

Could it be possible or are there flaws in my reasoning? I'm very interested in your opinion, I think it's fun speculating about what ifs and such but if it's something you have no interest in don't worry about replying too! No pressure!

Hi! It was interesting to read your thoughts, I think I understand what you’re asking, but I think there’s a different way to phrase it, which is that if Jiang Cheng isn’t captured by the Wen, none of the novel shakes up the same way because none of the tangles of the plot can shake out the same way and I’d say you’d actually get a much worse ending for everyone involved.

Because Jiang Cheng gets captured, Wei Wuxian runs back to find him and runs into Wen Ning. What with the two of them attempting to avoid Wen detection, the odds of Wen Ning being able to find them, let alone talk to them long enough to re-earn Wei Wuxian’s trust drop to almost nothing. They are too wounded, reasonably distrustful and in some sort of shape to actually stop and listen at the time and it was only because Wei Wuxian truly had no more options that he slowed down even then.

If Jiang Cheng doesn’t get captured, then they don’t go to Yiling with Wen Ning, the odds there are either that they go to Meishan to find Jiang Yanli or one of the other great clans for some sort of aid since it’s just the two of them. Wen Chao therefore can’t run into Wei Wuxian, Wei Wuxian isn’t in worse enough shape to be captured and he never gets thrown in the burial mounds.

And in all honesty… they probably lose the war. Jiang Cheng wouldn’t degrade as far because he didn’t hit the full breaking point of having his core crushed in the end and that sort of debt with Wei Wuxian in his head never comes to exist and their relationship would be a little better, but the odds without Wei Wuxian’s guidao are very bad, what with the Lan having been attacked and not in as good shape and the Jiang having been all but wiped out, leaving only the Jin at full fighting strength since the Nie have been skirmishing them for a while. And given how Wei Wuxian was being the front line of the Jiang border for a while, without the power of him being a whole army by himself, at best it ends in a war where everyone’s pretty much lost in the end and none of the clans are in a state to do anything, or the Wen under Wen Ruohan win and everyone we’ve grown to love gets executed for fighting against them.

So in the end, as awful as it sounds, Jiang Cheng’s actions do lead to the war being won because without Wei Wuxian’s guidao, they weren’t going to win, but they do doom Wei Wuxian in the process. Which really just goes to show how well MXTX thought out the whole process that as harmful as JC’s sacrifice is, it is very, very hard to change things in such a way as to where it does not happen and they still win the war.

As for your question, I think in the unlikely odds that he does still end up in the burial mounds, it’s possible that Wei Wuxian could invent his guidao to get out and have the golden core to supplement, but the problem there is that having a golden core doesn’t change Wei Wuxian’s fate in the novel. People are scared of him for having the power that he has, even if Jiang Cheng doesn’t have the serious grudge of losing his core, his relationship with Wei Wuxian isn’t strong enough to withstand people poking at his sore spots, so I guess in a sense it’s pointless because there’s too many elements by the time lotus pier falls to change that.

I don’t know, mdzs is a very hard novel to change without losing the good elements and even small actions have seemingly wide spread consequences. Just look at how many things are impacted by Su She’s desire to be seen as cool and impressive both in past and present. It’s very difficult to determine which things are pointless or could be changed to improve things in the past because it’s just so tightly layered.

#mdzs #wei wuxian #canon jiang cheng #asks #anon #anon asks

[wutheringskies]

Post-Canon Fics in MDZS...

You know, what would make post-canon fics great? If they adhered to canon! This post is honestly just a list of character tropes, and plot tropes I find incessantly OOC, replaced by plot tropes I wish we hyped up more.

1. Yunmeng Bros Reconciliation

There are plenty of reasons this will never happen. Firstly, Jiang Wanyin will not apologize to Wei Wuxian further beyond the apology that he has made in Guanyin Temple, because to apologize, you need to see "wrong" in your actions and regret them. Jiang Cheng doesn't have a similar morality index as Wei Wuxian and their beliefs have always been different. Not to mention Jiang Cheng is inherently bitter since he was young; following down the path of his mother. His first instinct when someone is being praised is so squash them down.

Secondly, Wei Wuxian will not apologize to Jiang Cheng beyond the apology of breaking that promise that only Jiang Cheng was left holding onto - a culmination of their broken dreams and desires, a marking of them being a generation of war.

The only thing both of them have in common is their love for Jin Ling and a shared, painful past - a past that Wei Wuxian wants to move on from, a past that Jiang Cheng is simultaneously rooted in, and moved away from.

Note: that this, I am speaking for is MDZS canon. Not CQL, as well, Jiang Cheng didn't directly kill those Wens which is the tipping point.

Replaced by: Loving Jin Ling

In the MDZS Novel, we go from seeing Jiang Cheng become increasingly abusive and violent towards Jin Ling as the stakes worsen and Jin Ling becoming annoyed and having arguments with him, not agreeing with his thinking.

We also see, Wei Wuxian, being the one to push Jin Ling to talk to Jiang Cheng in the Iron Hook Extra. We see Wei Wuxian being disgustingly affectionate towards Jin Ling, and Jin Ling being a tsundere about it and promising to himself that from the next time, he'll stick around Wei Wuxian in night hunts, implying these two will be consistently in each other's lives.

We also learn that Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji take Sizhui out on night-hunts (a family). And that Sizhui and Jin Ling go on night-hunts together. Also, that Wen Ning often joins their night-hunts.

So, hear me out, post-canon fics revolving around this strange, muddly, messy support system and family that Jin Ling has amassed.

Yunmeng bros reconciliation is never going to happen; too much interaction might worsen their tentative mutual ignorance of each other. Wei Wuxian, who's always pushed himself into other's personal spaces, is fine with just ensuring Jiang Cheng is okay. Distance is better than proximity.

But what plausibly might happen is Jin Ling forming deeper connections with his scattered, support system. Jin Ling might open up to Jiang Cheng for help with this or that, as Wei Wuxian has advised. Jiang Cheng might learn how to not be emotionally abusive or harsh and show the love he has for Jin Ling in better ways. Jin Ling will probably end up getting closer to Wei Wuxian and Sizhui and understanding just so many things about, everything. He might be supported by Hanguang-jun.

He might grow up to be the best Jin sect leader there ever was.

2. Wei Wuxian navigating through a world where everyone hates him, withering away.

This is, not only one of the saddest post-canon takes, but also very OOC. It might not make sense what I'm talking about so I'll list out common tropes I put under this categorization:

a) Wei Wuxian has terrible self esteem

b) He feels undeserving of Lan Wangji's love and keeps him at a distance emotionally by seducing him for sex instead

c) He has a childlike innocence, he goes out and hears everyone talking shit about him and stays indoor most of the time

d) He is mistreated by Lan clan and Lan Wangji is oblivious to it all

And such. I definitely understand why these tropes are so popular. It feeds into a particular sort of misery but there is a lot that it ignores:

a) Wei Wuxian firstly doesn't have terrible self esteem. If he did, he wouldn't have made it this far (coughs, the big age of 21 or 22). People ignore the fact that Wei Wuxian is a strong protagonist. He is proud, and aware of his worth. He never plays down his talents. He understands quickly the perspective of other people, and already knows that the people who talk more, do less.

In his first life, he went through being coreless and powerless, hated by all, but still standing up for stuff he believed in and lounging and drinking. He's not afraid to make others uncomfortable with his presence. That is a part of his charm. He cares for the opinions of only few people - and those few love him.

b) The one where he's emotionally distant towards Lan Wangji is the one I possibly hate the most. Especially because these sorts of fics often have him distracting Lan Wangji from his bouts of worthlessness and insecurity by his body, and Lan Wangji jumps straight into action.

Lan Wangji knows Wei Wuxian well enough that he offers comfort to Wei Ying even when he doesn't realize he needs it; like hugging him in Intrustion extra when they are on the topic of servants. Wei Wuxian can read Lan Wangji well, and so can Lan Wangji. Both of them have a relationship built on mutual trust and understanding. Wei Wuxian isn't sticking around with the Lan Clan and the jingshi because it's what Lan Wangji wants, but it's also what Wei Wuxian wants.

Also, Wei Wuxian doesn't feel undeserving of Lan Wangji. He knows he has caused Lan Wangji a lot of pain, intentionally or not, and is dedicated to making him happy, and being in love. It was all in his Guanyin Temple confession - their relationship is not out of gratefulness or anything like that.

c) Wei Wuxian is innocent at his soul, but he's not a child. He knows what the world thinks and he doesn't care. He doesn't expect the world to talk nicely about him; he probably doesn't even hear half the chatter, and even if be acknowledges it, it doesn't need to emotionally hurt him. Unrelatable? Yes. But that's how his character is like.

And if he ever is hurt or surprised, he's going to seek comfort. Act childish, ask to be pampered, etc.

d) THIS one is so... We see Wei Wuxian stepping into the Lan Clan. One day later, he's sitting next to Lan Wangji in a banquet, accepted as his cultivation partner. Lan Qiren is definitely against his presence. But like, sincerely, how long will that go on when we know that Wei Wuxian is the one who takes Lan juniors to night hunts everyday? We also see Wei Wuxian acting independently with juniors onto missions where assistance from the Lan Clan was requested (Iron Hook extra) without any Lan Wangji or anyone else. He even has a jade pendant, just four days after settling in. Lan Qiren has to hear his moans like... every night. A few hours in and he's talking to a Lan female cultivator?

Lan Wangji himself has injured thirty three Lan elders and been punished by the worst punishment, probably, ever assigned. Beyond Lan Qiren's glares and admonishments, I sincerely doubt anyone can do or say much. What I don't doubt is that Wei Wuxian is loveable and makes friends easily, and that despite everything, he's Lan Wangji's cultivation partner. A teacher. Accesses all Lan cottages and buildings. And now an addition to the Lan family.

And as for what the general people speak, perhaps the Yiling Laozu will always be a figure that haunts children bed time stories. But Senior Wei, and Hanguang-jun's husband, and Wei Wuxian - is shown to be a figure that is loved, respected by many.

The whole of cultivation world TRIED to kill him (Second Seige). They were embarrassed. Only like 20 people were actually there to kill him.

These 20 people will probably never be able to touch a hair on his head.

The WHOLE of cultivation world was saved by Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji and the Wens' remains. Stories always travel fast, don't they? The cultivation world has found their newest figure to hate - and it's not Wei Wuxian. Not just that, even the one with the most hostility towards him (Jiang Cheng) didn't DISALLOW him from coming to Lotus Pier where in front of him, they transferred crimes previously "done" by him to Jin Guangyao (like the death of Jin Zixuan - let's not fool ourselves and think anyone other than Jin Ling cares about the truth). Not just that, the cultivation world asked "Master Wei" for help.

Wei Wuxian didn't come back to life only to live a terrible, hated, agonizing life. Most people don't care. He doesn't care. Those who care are not strong enough. Those he cares about love him.

Replaced by: Wei Wuxian navigating through life without heavy burdens on his shoulder

Much of the fics focus on the "burden" of the trauma he's been through his life in the fics. Very few focus on the lack of burdens. Like... the guy is now well fed. His feelings are returned. There's nobody in danger. He has a body that can grow a core again. He can slowly pick up Suibian. He can learn new tunes on Chenqing. He can hang out with Wen Ning. He can think back to fond memories. He can paint, read, travel, teach, have great ideas and tap 100% into his actual personality.

He can process stuff he's been through in a healthier way. Like, I don't know, that intrusion scene where LWJ immediately hugs him when the topic of servants come is so important to me, because, it makes me wonder what sorts of conversations they have had. He now gets pampered and indulged - and we all know he loves it, but often the portrayals of his thoughts about being loved is very self critical which isn't canon. And it would be really cool for Wei Wuxian to have just, time, on his hand.

He was barely free for a year and changed the ways of the cultivation society forever. Without much resources or money. Now, the possibilities are endless. He can not only travel, but buy expensive stuff and have a bunch of Lan texts and a very educated and smart husband to help him invent more.

3. CQL Shade but Post-Canon Fics where Wangxian is too busy with responsibilities for each other ???

Why are you guys hurting yourselves? Like, there's only a certain amount of these sorts of fic that's acceptable until it becomes a sort of widely accepted canon.

I think it definitely has to with Chief Cultivator Lan Wangji. My poor baby, his romantic heart, extremely concise replies, and disdain for worldly matters (HIS LITERAL NAME IS WANGJI. HIS SWORD IS BICHEN) was ignored in the favour of making him a cold, busy husband who's sorting minor clan disputes, surrounded by length drabbles and politics by those that once killed his husband.

This is just so awful for me. In the intrustion extra, even after dressing up early, with a guest waiting outside (Master Qin), he lets the guest WAIT than wake Wei Ying up (who sleeps until noon).

If he became chief cultivator the world would collapse. If Wei Ying held onto his robes a little too tightly, he wouldn't even step out of the Jingshi.

Like he told Wei Ying, "I've been damned since long ago." Lan Wangji is a pure romantic. He's never going to be too busy for Wei Wuxian, or too distant, or too cold.

Like, guys just no. Let's write post-canon Wangxian. Not Madam Yu-Jiang Fengmian inspired Wangxian.

#yunmeng nos #canon jiang cheng #wei wuxian #no jiang bros reconciliation #mo dao zu shi #mdzs #wei wuxian does not have a low self esteem #on the topic of post canon fics #jin ling #lan wangji #lan zhan #wei ying #post canon #wangxian #mdzs meta #meta #mdzs essay

[ineffectualdemon]

"Wei Wuxian never did anything wrong and Jiang Cheng is at fault for their relationship by being disloyal, ungrateful, and selfish!"

"Jiang Cheng never did anything wrong and Wei Wuxian was the one who betrayed him first and was ungrateful and selfish"

You're both wrong.

Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian were raised in an abusive home where the parents took sides and pitted them against each other

And while Madam Yu was the one physically and emotionally abusing both boys and doing her damnedest to make them hate each other Jiang Fengmian was just a culpable as his wife because he didn't do anything to protect his son or really show him he was loved

Anyway Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian despite the repeated attempts to drive them apart only got closer. To the point where both of them put themselves in harm's way to protect the other

But because the way they were raised was so fucked up they weren't ever really able to talk about it or be honest to each other

Because they do love each other but also have been raised to have a toxic relationship

And it's really fucking hard to unlearn that resentment and overcome your parents

Like the whole point of their relationship is it's a tragedy. They loved each other so much but Madam Yu instilled so much resentment and distrust between them and so much self loathing into both of them that it ultimately destroyed what they had

Jiang Cheng lashes out with anger because he's hurt and he's never been given permission to show his feelings any other way. All he wants is to prove himself, to be respected by those he loves and have them rely on him. He wants his efforts to be acknowledged and have people turn to him for support because that's acknowledgement. He's forever chasing approval. And he resents Wei Wuxian both for having the approval from his father that he always wanted but also because he is so quick to walk away and leave him alone again.

Because Jiang Cheng is always alone and left behind.

And Wei Wuxian expects to get in trouble. He expects to be rejected. He has no expectation of being accepted so he doesn't see the point in trying to win approval. He just doesn't want to be a burden to those he loves. He doesn't want to "ruin" those around him with his presence or decisions. He is quick to leave and push people away because he sees himself as expendable. When Jiang Cheng lashes out he doesn't hear the concern and worry and desperation to keep Wei Wuxian close.

He hears that he is a burden that makes Jiang Cheng's life worse so it's better to leave then be abandoned

And that's why their story is so tragic

They are both flawed and have both hurt the other by keeping secrets and making assumptions about the other person's feelings

Both of them are responsible for the breakdown of their relationship and both of them are victims of Madam Yu

And I think it's interesting how neither of them passed on the abuse or trauma they received. We know Wei Wuxian showered Baby A-Yuan with love and affection

But Jiang Cheng and Jin Ling have a very close relationship and even though Jiang Cheng is always threatening to break his legs or leave him alone or whatever Jin Ling says it's all talk and that Jiang Cheng has never lifted a finger against him

He's grouchy but Jin Ling trusts him over anyone else in his life really and that says a lot to me about how he treats his nephew

Anyway Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian are both flawed men with trauma in their past which led to a breakdown in their relationship and neither is more at fault then the other but both are to blame

#long post #mdzs #mdzs meta #wei wuxian #jiang cheng

[wangxianficfinder]

Fic Finder

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1. Hi, I'm looking for two fics:

A) In this fic wen ruohan will send all the sect heirs into the burial mount. Some sect heirs died and others learned demonic cultivation and came out. Jiang sect send wei wuxian to the burial mount instead of jiang cheng.

B) This is a time travel story where wei wuxian and lan wangji time travelled to the past after attack on cloud recess. Some mysterious cultivators attacked gusu lan and they wore green dress. Name of the clan is Shen I guess. @purpleorchidzz

1B)

FOUND? If Wishes Were Donkeys by NightOwl1 (M, 82k, WIP, WangXian, SVSSS,  Time Travel Fix-It, Case Fic, Mpreg, Fluff and Humor, Dysfunctional Jiāng Family, Bad Parent YZY, WangXian Get a Happy Ending,  Period-Typical Homophobia, Crossdressing, LWJ and WWX Have a Breeding Kink, It’s All The System’s Fault, Post-Canon, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Warning: JGS, Good Uncle LQR, LWJ and WWX Are LSZ’s Parents, Inappropriate Humor, Family Feels)

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2. I'm looking for a fic where LQR thinks wwx actually is LSZ's parent and asks for more grandchildren. The lan clan also thinks this is true. A little girl Lwj/wwx adopt is confused with their actual kid. Wwx gets letters calling him yiling matriarch. @napping-tiger

FOUND? The Grandmaster of Demonic Reproduction by likeafox (E, 7k, wangxian, kid fic, pregnancy kink, smut)

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3. Hi! I hope you all having a great day! I’m looking for 3 fics. Please help me. Thank you very much.

A) I only remember a scene where WWX had a talisma which can trace who are blood-related in the family. I remember wwx used the talisma to Jin zixuan which pointed who are his parent, his siblings. I remember the Sect leader Qin wants to kill Jin Guangshan because it pointed that his daughter is actually Jin’s. This is a time travel fic i think

B) Lan qiren and the elders want lan zhan to marry a girl even though they knew that lwj is married to wwx. Lwj forced to spends time to the girl. Because of insecurities wwx left lwj and isolated himself. Then I remember Lwj rejects the girl who wants to marry him, announcing that he’s married to wwx, and removing himself as the chief cultivator in a conference. After that he left his sect and went looking for wwx.

C) I hope you can help me with this one. Lan xichen can hear the Jiang wanyin clarity bell ringing. He eventually learn that the clarity bell rings differently according to the emotions of Jiang wanyin. Thank you very much

3A)

FOUND! And Time Is But a Paper Moon by sami (M, 138k, WangXian, XiChengQing, Time Travel, Fix-It, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Healing, Mental Health Issues, PTSD, Hurt/Comfort, Depression, BAMF WWX, BAMF JC, BAMF LWJ, BAMF JYL, Getting Together)

NOT FOUND! I think it is chapter 57 of Debts of a Child Part 2 by Hauntcats (M, 111k, WangXian, YZY Bashing, Not Jiang Family Friendly, Angst and Feels, lots of anger, JC Bashing, not Jiang friendly, Angst with a Happy Ending, Content warning for icky spiders in later chapters.)

hey! for the most recent fic finder, i know 3a was already found, but something very similar also happens in chapter 6 of all things belong by kuroi_atropos in case the requestor is interested

3B)

FOUND! What Comes After Love  by Rainbow_Horizon (T, 17k, WangXian, POV LWJ, Protective LWJ, LWJ Has Feelings, POV WWX, Sad WWX, Jealous WWX, Módào Zǔshī & The Untamed Combination, Post-Canon, Insecurity, Chief Cultivator LWJ, Break Up,   Separations, Healing, Husbands, Angst with a Happy Ending, Established   Relationship, marriage issues, Marriage Proposal)  

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4. Tried asking, but I can’t get your ask box to load even though it doesn’t say it’s closed. I’m looking for a fic where Jiang Cheng of the future sends a very comprehensive letter back to Yu Ziyuan begging her to change the future. She goes to see Jiang Cheng at Gusu, and arrives as they’re dealing with the Waterborne Abyss. Niè Huaisang sent a fan back to his younger self, painted in his private code that says, “I was painted by Sect Leader Niè,” and calling himself a coward. Jin Zixuan ends up forming a study group with Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng, and Niè Huaisang on how to use fans as cultivation weapons. The Lan are spending a great deal of time copying Absolutely Everything in the library. @any-mouse​

FOUND! If you only knew then (the things I only know now) by Nillegible (T, 34k, JFM/YZY, wangxian, JLY/JZX, time travel fix-it, jiang family fix-it, WIP)

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5. Hey was hopeful that you could find this fic

The most I remember was that when wei ying went to go to jin lings one month, a yuan ends up going. I'm pretty sure wei ying ends up hurt some how so a yuan ends up with lan wangji and the rest of the sects? @yilingpatriarchsimp

FOUND? Those Who Defy by qurbat (G, 31k, wangxian, LWJ & LSZ & WWX, canon divergence, found family, everyone who matter lives au, justice for wen remnants, WIP)

FOUND? To Ride A Stygian Tiger by Madyamisam for Duochanfan (M, 93k, WIP, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Time travel, Angst with a happy ending, BAMF WWX, Dark LWJ, Slow burn, Family Feels, Misunderstandings)

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6. Hi! I'm trying to find a fic I read that I don't remember the name of! It's a modern au, where lan zhan and lan xichen are the heads of a company and wei ying is a copier repair person (or something like that? Some kind of repairing) and lan zhan keeps filing complaints against wei ying, and lan xichen (I think they refer to him as lan huan in this fic) jokes about "someone staring at you for too long" not being a reason to file a complaint (idk if it's that exact wording tho). Lan zhan starts stocking the break room fridge with a red drink that wei ying likes, and the final scene is in an elevator and there is some kind of comment about his red tongue when they finally kiss (something like sucking the red out of his mouth or off his tongue or something?). Was slow burn and pining but not sure if it has those tags. I think it was a one shot and not that long but not sure on the exact length or chapter number. Thank you for your help! @toopunkrockforshul

FOUND! threadfic by saltyfeathers (Not Rated, 46k, WIP, WangXian, threadfic, chapters will be tagged individually) okay #6 is from saltyfeathers! it's chapter 16 of this ao3 multichap where each chap is a story. they're all amazing!

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7. Hi, I am looking for a fanfic where WWX and LZ get married and or handfasted. WWX does not think he is good enough for LZ and gives him a list of 7 things and LZ was like "Mark your words" and he completes the 7 things. They handfast in a secluded area? There was maybe water near them? And they maybe got caught or spied on? @abrat4u2

FOUND! Cultivating immortality by KizuKatana (E, 231k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Rogue Cultivator WWX, Mutual Pining, BAMF WWX, BAMF LWJ, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, unreliable narrator, Found Family, First Time, novel canon relationship dynamics)

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8. hi!! looking for a fic i read a while ago where wwx was either resurrected or captured by the jins after nightless city. he's found years later in koi tower by jin ling who sends a letter to jiang cheng and he's eventually rescued. I think there was also a scene where wwx was forced to experiment on a dead tiger? can't find it anywhere on ao3 :,)

Sorry I don’t have the link, but this sounds a lot like a twitter thread fic I read a while ago. Some more details in case anyone recalls. WWX is kept by the Jin and blackmailed with the safety of JYL and Jin Ling. Little Jin Ling goes exploring and find WWX through a gate. WWX realizes that JGY put a curse of Jin Ling so he gives Jin Ling a letter to give to JC. Lans remove the curse and JC and LWJ rescue WWX.

FOUND? of all the hands by typefortydeductions (E, 51k, WangXian, Arranged Marriage, Canon Divergence, Emperor LXC, PTSD, Nightmares, Dual Cultivation, Mental Health Issues, Fluff and Angst, Dom/sub Undertones, Consensual Non-Consent, Bonding, Mutual Pining, Orgasm Delay/Denial Politics ,Improper Use of the Lan Forehead Ribbon, yunmeng trio reconciliation) Lan Zhan stops Meng Yao from making Wei Ying work on tiger corpses that is causing him to be depleted of energy

FOUND? This threadfic by @/greenteafiend1 here's the threadfic! No tigers but hopefully it's at least similar

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9. Hi! I hope you can help me find this fic. Lan zhan learned that Wei Ying had their child. He learned this when he saw a mark on A-yuan back similar to his. Thank you very much

FOUND! The Emperor’s Love for Lotus Flowers by cherrieblossoms (M, 46k, WIP, WangXian, A/B/O Dynamics, Alpha LWJ, Omega WWX, Single Parent WWX, Emperor LWJ, Knotting, Unplanned Pregnancy, YLLZ WWX, Family Drama, Family Bonding, Domestic Fluff, Family Fluff, Angst and Romance, Sharing a Bed, Anal Sex, Anal Fingering, Oral Sex, Shameless Smut, Creampie, Light Dom/sub, Light Bondage, Inappropriate Use of Gūsū Lán Forehead Ribbon, Nipple Play, Blow Jobs, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mating Bites, Mating Bond, Soulmates, Scenting, Scent Kink, Scent Marking, Breeding, WangXian Have a Breeding Kink, Protective LWJ, Male Lactation, Belly Bulge, Love Confessions, Idiots in Love, Love Bites, Nesting, Mpreg, Rough Kissing, Rough Sex )

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10. Hey, I’m looking for a fic that I remember SO CLEARLY but can’t find?? Its multi chapter omegaverse during a war against the wens, wei wuxian is an omega that goes on to create this massive guerilla warfare faction/effort. But every time he goes into heat he goes absolutely feral and goes on a black-out killing spree. It starts with gets captured by wen chao and meets lan zhan for the first time while they’re both in captivity. Anyway lan zhan helps wuxian escape, and they both believe the other lost forever. So there’s that. I’m pretty sure wuxian gets a name/rumor about it as the red demon from yiling, something like that? Please help me find it, I’m worried the author might have taken it down, but it was so long and so good! @pisceseelie

FOUND! I Will Not Go Gentle into the Quiet Night by TriviasFolly (M, 89k, WangXian, A/B/O Dynamics, Omega WWX, Alpha LWJ, no cultivation au, Vaugely Historical AU?, royal au, War AU, Slow Burn, Attempted Rape, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Murder)

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11. hi! i'm looking for a wangxian fic: wangxian were engaged & lwj sees mme yu whipping wwx with zidian bcs he refused to break off the engagement to lwj & lwj stops her & says she has no right to punish wwx when he'll be a member of the lan clan. jyl also saw him get whipped i think

NOT FOUND! If Wishes Were Donkeys by NightOwl1 (M, 82k, WIP, WangXian, SVSSS,  Time Travel Fix-It, Case Fic, Mpreg, Fluff and Humor, Dysfunctional Jiāng Family, Bad Parent YZY, WangXian Get a Happy Ending,  Period-Typical Homophobia, Crossdressing, LWJ and WWX Have a Breeding Kink, It’s All The System’s Fault, Post-Canon, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Warning: JGS, Good Uncle LQR, LWJ and WWX Are LSZ’s Parents, Inappropriate Humor, Family Feels)

FOUND! standing by you; holding on by Anonymous (T, 8k, WangXian, Arranged Marriage, No Sunshot Campaign, YZY's terrible parenting, that is., Child Abuse, Hurt/Comfort, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Yúnmèng Siblings Dynamics, little bit of BAMF lwj too)

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12. I would LOVE to find this fic again: one shot, less than 10k, WWX does not come back. Guanyin Temple happens somehow but LWJ is absolutely brutal against his brother. Like, everything he said in defense of JGY was a rethread of how LWJ tried to defend WWX, and it ended with LWJ saying something like then I will do as you did and then kills JGY and walks away. It was righteous (as befits our LWJ) and totally a balm on that day you want to strangle LXC for being such a naive idiot sometimes. @mreisse

FOUND! Bitter Recompense by mondengel (M, 1k, LXC & LWJ, Angst)

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13. Hello i'm for a fic where wwx dies and everyone mourns for him (including wens in burial mounds) and everyone tried to revive him. @aycee0806​

Is 13 the one where WWX died right at the cusp of immortality right around when the first seige was supposed to happen, and because of that even though he was dead his body didn't decay? So a type os glass casket/shrine was set up for him up in the Burial Mounds I think? Or is it some other fic? I know I've read at least one other fic with this vague premise, but either way I absolutely CANNOT remember the fic name either

FOUND? could be the deleted "When I'm gone" by qiankun_pouch. I have a copy of it. ~bluekittenfire

FOUND? If One for you, then One for us by KusakabeNAyako (T, 85k, wangxian, WIP, Canon Divergence, WN is precious Cinnamon roll, WWX is precious cinnamon roll, Rape/Non-con Elements, YLLZ WWX)

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14. I’m really hoping you can help me find this fic! It takes place during the cloud recesses study arc and lan qiren or someone uses a spell/talisman that allows the whole class to experience the pain at the moment of their death (or maybe it’s a spell gone wrong?) but the whole class gets shocked when wei ying end up experiencing getting ripped up by corpses. i also very clearly remember wei ying slamming his arm on a desk hard enough to break it while the spell is active. it’s angsty and i think the first few chapters are in lwj’s pov? it’s also on ao3 if that helps 🙏🏻 @shoalghost​

NOT FOUND! To Gaze at the End by mondengel (M, 1k, LXC & LWJ, Horror)

mondengel: About #14: I forget the title and author now, but a year or two ago someone did ask to use the initial bit I wrote on tumblr as the start of a continuation, which I granted, so there is a chaptered fic out there with a rougher version of To Gaze at the End in italics at the beginning of it. That might be what they're looking for.

FOUND! The Shattered Smile by Amaranthines (M, 26k, wangxian, canon divergence, canon-typical violence, non-graphic violence, fluff & angst, eventual happy ending, falling in love, mental health issues, mental instability, mental breakdown, pining, WIP)

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15. HII!!, I was wondering if you have the fanfic where wei wuxian is going through a hard time bc of his gf jenny and lan wangji the son of a ceo who is working a sex shop to close it down also jiang cheng works at the bar-

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16. Hi mods, thanks for all you do! Fic finder request: I don't remember the rest of the plot, but WWX returns from the Burial Mounds and is using resentful energy to literally hold his body together (i.e. all the broken bones from WC/WZL dropping him in). WQ is found to fix him and she does a surgery where WWX has to pull back the resentful energy one body part at a time so she can fix it without him bleeding out. (The surgery might happen in Qinghe?)

FOUND! ❤️ three surgeries and a mercy kill by MarbleGlove (T, 11k, medical procedures, fix-it, Demonic Cultivation, Canon Divergence, Fix-It, Self-Indulgent, WWX Has a New Golden Core, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies)

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17. Hi! I've been searching for a certain time travel Wangxian fic for a while now, and I can't find, probably cause I don't remember the name!

Basically, it starts with LW and Nie Huaisang getting into a book exchange (porn, it's very awkward at first) during LW's seclusion that leads to them getting closer and becoming friends. fast forward years later (possibly 13, I dont remember) and NH approaches LW saying that he's found a way to fix this whole mess: Time travel! LW agrees and they both get flung back to the Burial Mounds Era.

But things are a bit different. LW's body has his old scars, both the brand and the whips, but he's closer in physical age to where he should post-sunshot. This comes up later.

Anyway, LW and NH know some of the goings on that they have to prevent, but the don't have all the answers, cause the whole murder-mystery-Jin Guangyao-reveal never happened. But they do know they need to get WWX and Wens some immediate help, like money and food, as well as a better means of income than radish sales. LW, in the hopes of starting all this, creates a fake identity, dressing in simple dark clothes and using a sort of magic-glamour and large hat to obscure his face (mostly cause he thinks WWX hates him and doesn't trust him, I think) and goes to talk to WWX. He asks him to write a book about ways to help the common people deal with monsters and little cultivation things. WWX almost immediately recognizes LW, even though he can't see his face, and is struck both with immense curiosity about what has driven LW to hide and also creating this book sounds fun. So he does, and LW publishes it. He also, in disguise, visits the burial mounds a lot. WWX doesn't reveal who it is to the Wens, but he does go on about how they can trust this mysterious strange and acts very friendly and very close and Wen Qing thinks the whole thing is suspicious.

Next, NH remembers that Jin Jin accused WWX of cursing him, which led to the whole Qiongqu Path and murder of Jin Zixuan and kicked off everything else. So, they need to find who really cursed him.

LW, in disguise, asks WWX to create a curse tracker, and when asked about what kinds of curses it should work on, he specifically says the hundred holes curse.

During a couple of these disguised visits, WWX says that LW is really good with A-Yuan. LW is, obviously, missing the boy who grew up his son, but is also happy to him with his family. LW tells WWX about Sizhui, described as a child he cared for but who has returned to his family and therefore LW can't see him anymore. In another visit, (for reasons I can't remember) LW faints (gets injured??) and WWX, obviously, freaks out and demands WQ take care of the shadowing face hiding stranger. It's as she's doing that that she discovers some interesting things. Namely, a Wen brand on his chest and a fuckton of whips scars on the guys back. But all these scars are old! Like, maybe 10 years old, and so it's weird. If this was someone the Wens had tortured, his motives are not great for helping them but also, she would have definitely helped treat these wounds and she didn't! WWX promises that the stranger is trustworthy when she brings up questions, but is also professional enough to not mention a patients scars to someone unrelated.

After that, WWX finishes the curse tracker and gives it to the LW, who gives it Jin Zixun who trackes it to Su She and attacks him in the middle of a conference. LW and NH are enjoying the show and hiding the curse tracker. But! Rumors spread all the way back to Yiling, but how a Jin managed to track down the one who cursed him. Specifically the Hundred Holes curse. And WWX goes, 'wait a minute, I made a thing that did that. How did LZ know about that 2 WEEKS in advance?'

I think the last chapter, (it's unfinished) was NH and LW arranging to sneak WWX into Jing Ling's one month celebration. And WWX overhears someone who caught a glimpse of LW taking a bath remarking on all those scars. But WWX has seen LW's back, back in the Cloud Recesses, and there were no scars then. And it ends there, with WWX with some pieces and absolutely no logical way to put them together.

I have searched EVERYWHERE!! Everything I can think of!! Do you recognize it?? Could you find it?? It's a fantastic read. I love the subtle friendship of LW and NH as they try to fix the world, but not telling anyone what they're doing or why they're suddenly spending so much time together. And WWX enjoying time with LW not worrying about his cultivation getting in the way and without LW asking him to go to Gusu, but still trying to figure out why LW needs a fake identity to do it. @several-things-in-abundance

FOUND? A Narrow Bridge by FrameofMind, Jo Lasalle (Jo_Lasalle) (E, 700k, wangxian, time travel fix-it, slow burn, getting together, first time, pining, pining while fucking, burial mounds settlement days, angst w happy ending) might be this one though not super sure, it's been a long time since I read it last.

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

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18. Heyoo back again for the next FF~

A) Looking for  a time travel fic in which WWX comes up with a cover that he knows the future because of the "Prophetic bird sh*t".

B) Everyone thinking tht WQ and WWX had something going on at the burial mounds, and WWX correcting it later on when a junior ask him about his wife.

Thanks again mods!! ~♡~ 

18A)

FOUND? In Eclipse by oleanderedits (G, 45k, WIP, WangXian, Time Travel, Post-Canon)

18B)

FOUND? the tragic and entirely true story of the romance between the yiling patriarch and his wife, most renowned doctor of her generation by ravenditefairylights (T, 18k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Angst, Rumors, Getting Together, Idiots in Love, Heteronormativity, Fake Marriage, Chronic Pain, Misunderstandings, Mutual Pining)

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19. Hi! I looked through your warprize compilation but couldn't find the fic I was looking for. In that fanfic, Wwx and Wq make up a plan to have Wwx marry Lwj, so that they could buy some time until the sects attacked and since Lwj was the least likely to try to murder Wwx. Wwx acts distantly, but after the mid-autumn festival, they start getting closer. Some time later, Xy invades the Burial Mounds and tries to attack a-Qing, who was out and about on the middle of the night. Lwj saves her, but is almost killed while trying to do so. Wwx had been called to Baixue temple with Wq, and, when he was there and received Lwj's ask for help, he believed it was a trap from Lwj and almost didn't go back. He felt really guilty about using Lwj and almost getting him killed.

FOUND? 99% sure this one is 💖 love, in fire and blood by cicer (E, 360k, wangxian, immortal WWX, slow burn, pining, arranged marriages) XY attack is somewhere in the middle chapters I think 🤔

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20. Hello! I hope you can help me find this fic. I remember it is in Outsiders pov (or OC’s POV). Wwx got kidnapped. Then wwx reveal his ruthlessness (of being yiling patriach) to his kidnappers. The OC became terrified of wwx and wishes he didn’t join the kidnappers lol. Then, when Lwj came to rescue wwx, wwx switch to a weak being. The OC was dumbfounded because the terrifying person became a fragile, weak, innocent being when Lwj came.

Thank you very much! Have a great day!

FOUND? pitfalls of greed by glitteringmoonlight (T, 3k, WangXian, POV Outsider, BAMF WWX, Kidnapping, Violence, YLLZ WWX, not exactly but the vibes are there, Post-Canon)

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

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

Once more, I do not post links directly leading to any blogs that are not from my mutual friends and followers regarding meta, anon, but I will break this down.

In cultural context, it is not meant to be romantic regarding the idiom of (青梅竹馬) qīng méi zhú mǎ. Literal meaning, green plums and play horses. The innocence of youth and the wonder of simple (childhood friend) games. Please note that endearments such as "sweet heart" in modern context, as the direct translation means, is vastly different than what is entailed by the idiom itself, and is bad, awful machine translation that does not take into account the linguistic meanings that are needed for tone meaning and reading.

If it meant the direct romantic connotation of romantic, it would be 恋人 (liàn rén) compared to the character used within the idiom 青 (qíng) (which does denote a more platonic meaning for the relationship and childhood friends). You do not use this to mean "lovers" as an idiom, it loses contextual meaning otherwise and loses the point of the word play.

The poem itself was originally a romantic poem, by Li Bai. And as such should be one of most well known Chinese poets and usual literary fair elementary students know as much as the West would with the usual school fare of reading assignments.

妾髮初覆額

折花門前劇

郎騎竹馬來

遶床弄青梅

同居長干里

兩小無嫌猜

十四為君婦

羞顏未嘗開

低頭向暗壁

千喚不一回

十五始展眉

願同塵與灰

常存抱柱信

豈上望夫臺

十六君遠行

瞿塘灩澦堆

五月不可觸

猿聲天上哀

門前遲行跡

一一生綠苔

苔深不能掃

落葉秋風早

八月蝴蝶黃

雙飛西園草

感此傷妾心

坐愁紅顏老

早晚下三巴

預將書報家

相迎不道遠

直至長風沙

My hair had hardly covered my forehead.

I was picking flowers,playing by my door,

When you, on a bamboo horse,

Came trotting in circles, throwing green plums.

We lived near together on a lane in Channggan,

Both of us young and happy-hearted.

...At fourteen I became your wife,

So bashful that I dared not smile,

And I lowered my head toward a dark corner

And would not turn to your thousand calls;

But at fifteen I straightened my brows and laughed,

Learning that no dust could ever seal our love,

That even unto death I would await you by my post

And would never lose heart in the tower of silent watching.

...Then when I was sixteen, you left on a long journey

Through the Gorges of Changgan, of rock and whirling water.

And then came the Fifth-month, more than I could bear,

And I tried to hear the monkeys in your lofty far-off sky.

Your footprints by our door, where I had watched you go,

Were hidden, every one of them, under green moss,

Hidden under moss too deep to sweep away.

And the first autumn wind added fallen leaves.

And now, in the Eighth-month, yellowing butterflies

Hover, two by two, in our west-garden grasses

And, because of all this, my heart is breaking

And I fear for my bright cheeks, lest they fade.

...Oh, at last, when you return through the three Pa districts,

Send me a message to home you come

And I will come and meet you and pay no mind to the distance,

All the way to Changgan.

I hope in comparison the vast sarcasm of the idiom is apparent in context to what the random nameless gossiper is exhibiting in the original reference this sentence used:

江澄居然就让这厮嚣张了这么久，换了是我，当初魏某人叛逃时就不是只捅他一刀，而是直接清理门户，否则他也没机会做出后来那些丧心病狂之事。对这种人，还讲什么同门同修青梅竹马的情面。

Translation (mine, seven seas and ExR:)

1: Jiang Cheng allowed that servant to live for too long. If I were him, when he defected, I wouldn’t have just stabbed him, I would have thoroughly wiped him out so he couldn’t commit his deranged acts later. Who cares about the sentiments about childhood friendship when people like him don’t care.”

2:

“I can’t believe Jiang Cheng allowed that guy to run amok for so long. If it were me, I wouldn’t have just stabbed him when he first defected, I would’ve cleaned house! He wouldn’t even have gotten the chance to do all those crazy things. What does a childhood friendship matter when facing people like him?”

3:

Jiang Cheng allowed this fellow to live for too long. If I were him, at the time of the defection, I wouldn’t have just stabbed him. In fact, I would have thoroughly examined the disciples of the clan again, so that he doesn’t do those crazy things he did later on. Who cares about the so called ‘considerations’ that he gave to his childhood friend.”

Now, with the idea that while the original meaning was meant to be sweet and sentimental, the idiom is certainly not any longer nor is the meaning to mean lover literally. Mandarin plays heavy upon the context of meaning for each of these words.

In short: this is why actual understanding of the language you are lecturing of is important as you can easily twist it to what is not there for ones that literally do not know and take it all at face value.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #putting meaning to an author's words that is non existent #literally #nothing annoys me more than claiming something that it's not

[joys-of-everyday]

Wei Wuxian and the Difficulties of Morality

Wow so I did not realise how much discourse there was around Wei Wuxian and moral greyness. Let me erm… poke around a little because that’s a hobby of mine.

Btw, I usually write about SVSSS. This won’t change. This is a one-off thing (for now).

Firstly, an Anecdote

Fun story, I watched cql and the mdzs donghua with my mum. There were many memorable things that came out of this, but one of the relevant points is an offhanded comment from my mum. She said (translated into English): ‘Wei Wuxian has no face to show Jiang Cheng, because he broke his promise to stay by his side’ (1). For context, my mum grew up in a fairly traditional Asian household. They take their declarations of loyalty seriously (or at least, that is my impression).

I find this interesting, because when it comes to moral judgement, I (who grew up in the west, with a lot of western values) get far more hung up on the things WWX did, rather than some promise he made in his adolescence. Breaking a promise is not ideal, but in my books, doesn’t really count as a huge moral failing.

The point here is not to say anything about the ethics of promise breaking, but to illustrate a point. Different people have different values. Or one person can have conflicting values. There are many scenarios where it’s not possible to say with certainty what is right or wrong. This is moral ambiguity.

(Funnily enough, the issue that my dad took with WWX was the fact he was fiddling around with dead bodies, which was like… the least of my concerns, but then I realised that bodies have a lot of religious significance.)

What even is moral greyness?

There are two possible and equally valid definitions of moral greyness.

1. Characters who are not 100% evil or 100% good

2. Characters who do not fall into the categories of ‘good’ or ‘bad’.

Note that definition 2 is a strictly stronger definition than definition 1. It is not that hard to argue that WWX does not fall under definition 2, in that he is somehow overall ‘good’. (I would also argue that MXTX encourages you to not think too hard about these dichotomies, particularly via SVSSS, but that’s a rabbit hole for another day.) It is also not that hard to argue WWX does fall under definition 1. Mainly because it’s quite hard not to breathe without falling under definition 1.

The Two Kinds of Uncertainty  

When it comes to ethical questions, there are two uncertainties you naturally run into. Firstly, uncertainty of the world, which comes from having imperfect information about the situation or consequences of any given action. Secondly, uncertainty around the underlying moral question. Is it okay to sacrifice few for the sake of many? Should we place more value on those close to us in comparison to a stranger?

Humanity has not figured out morality, and certainly not for a lack of trying. Standards change over time. We look at the behaviour of our ancestors just a few hundred years ago with no small amount of repugnance. Most likely, in a few hundred years’ time our descendants will do the same. This isn’t to pass judgement on anything or anybody, but to make an observation that there is nothing you can do in the world that doesn’t inherently come with moral ambiguity, because there is always uncertainty – both of the world and the morals you are applying. And wherever there is moral ambiguity, there is moral greyness (definition 1).

That being said, ‘everything is morally grey’ is not really a helpful statement. There are things that we (society today) generally agree on e.g. ‘killing someone for no reason is bad’ or ‘being nice to people is good’. So the argument I want to posit today is that WWX’s moral greyness goes beyond this in a substantial way.

The Uncertain Character of WWX

The Fundamental Principle of MXTX is that all narrators are unreliable. At the bloodbath of the Nightless City, did WWX kill 5000? 3000? Far fewer? Had WWX acted in a different way, could JYL’s death have been avoided? We’ll never know.

To add to this complexity is subtle shifts in canon depending on the adaptation. WWX tortures Wen Chao pretty brutally in the novel (and even if you hate him, it’s a bit ick). In cql, it ‘fades to black’. In the donghua it’s a nice quick stab. Then there’s all of the fiddling around they did with JGY depending on the adaptations, giving him more or less blame for the events. I’m not sure if ‘novel is the only canon’ is the correct way to go, mainly because adaptation!WWX is interesting to analyse in itself. I won’t explore this too deeply here, but something to keep in mind.

Anyway, I want to argue that WWX is morally grey, through commentary on a few elements of his character.

1. The Horrors of War

WWX does a lot of things that are somewhat eyebrow raising. You know, killing people and stuff. Now it has been pointed out plenty of times that his situation was unusual (it was war!). The moralities surrounding warfare are in itself complicated. A pacifist might argue that war is no excuse for violence, but even without going to such extremes, these days we appreciate that there are some actions that cannot be condoned, even during times of coflict – this is the notion of war crimes.

War crimes are a surprisingly modern thing (people started to care a lot after the atrocities of WWII). Medieval warfare was brutal. Anyway, these include things like ‘torture or inhuman treatment, including biological experiments’ and ‘wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages’. Note that while killing large numbers of enemy soldiers doesn’t fall under war crimes (although some methods of going about this do, like biological weapons), torture does, so that’s one strike against book!WWX. Now there is subtly in these things, because if you judged people by these standards for anything more than 200 years old, basically everyone is committing war crimes without thinking too hard about it. WWX did do a lot of arguably good things in the Sunshot Campaign (whatever good means in war) – he fought against the tyranny of the Wens and was one of the key things that shifted the tides towards victory. Without him, the world might have looked a lot darker. Whether these ‘goods’ weigh over the ‘bads’ is something to think about.

On a slightly softer note, weapons of mass destructions are another cause of serious discussion. Those involved in the Manhattan Project creating the first atomic bomb weren’t exactly all war criminals (moreover, many of them genuinely believed they were doing what was right and necessary) but the consequences of their actions are what they are. So while WWX made the Yin Tiger Talley as a method of deterrence and assurance, considering the consequences of its use and the potential for future misuse, here lies another moral ambiguity.

2. Intent vs Consequences

It’s fair to say that most of the time, WWX’s intentions were good. Whether it be to protect the weak, to stand up for justice, these are all things we can get behind. The consequences of his actions? Well, JYL is dead, as well as a bunch of other people, and most the Wens didn’t survive anyway. That’s a big oof.

Now most people don’t subscribe to the strongest version of consequentialism which judges whether something is right or wrong by its consequences only. As in, for one, it’s almost impossible to apply in practice because you can’t predict the consequences of your actions at the point at which you chose to do them. Case in point, most of the consequences of WWX’s actions weren’t wholly down to WWX and it’s difficult to say if there was anything at all that he could have done to lead to a better outcome. (Arguably, WWX should have tried harder to negotiate with the rest of the cultivation world instead of being a one-man army against them, but in that case, they might have just mowed down the Wens anyway.)

Then again, I think most people do subscribe to at least a weak form of consequentialism. No matter how good the intentions, no matter how righteous and commendable… if the outcome is bad, it’s hard to label those actions as ‘good’ (play pumps is an example if you want to look into how charities can do more harm than good).

I draw no conclusions here. It’s food for thought.

3. On Conflicting Values and Lose-Lose Scenarios

A lot of the above comes from applying modern ethics to a character in a world largely based on ‘Ancient China’ (the quotation marks from the fact Ancient China is several thousands years old and changes significantly over time). We do this all the time. Hell, people are still reimagining the Three Kingdoms and making commentary on the morality of Cao Cao (155-220). MDZS makes a lot of commentary on modern social issues (the ‘mob mentality’ of MDZS feels like Weibo/twitter lol), so viewing it through a modern lens makes sense.

But let’s put that aside for a second and return to my mum’s comment about WWX’s broken promise. By traditional values, family is important. In Confucianism, the Four Virtues are ‘loyalty’, ‘filial piety’, ‘continence’, and ‘righteousness’. To illustrate just how serious family was, in the conflict between Liu Bang and Xiang Yu, Xiang Yu at some point threatened to kill Liu Bang’s father. Then Liu Bang was like ‘we’re sworn brothers, so technically he’s your father too’, and Xiang Yu didn’t kill him, because it would be unfilial to do so. All this is to say, WWX turning his back on his sect and his family was a big deal. Equally, loyalty towards a superior was valued greatly, even towards eyebrow raising superiors.

But Confucianism also teaches the importance of things like ‘righteousness’ and ‘benevolence’. Throughout many dynasties, important people have cared a lot about the grievances of the masses. Bullying the weak and hoarding power unjustly is seen as one of the ultimate evils, a big reason for a leader to lose the Mandate of Heaven, thus becoming unfit to rule. Plenty of subordinates have stood up against the tyranny of their superiors. So WWX standing up to the evils of the Jin clan is highly commendable by these standards too.

Another thing is ‘paying back your benefactors’. In the west, although we do have concepts like ‘owing a life’, I don’t think it’s as strong??? This is also serious business. In the Three Kingdoms, Cao Cao spared his enemy general Guan Yu, and later Guan Yu briefly fought for Cao Cao even though he was an enemy, in order to repay this debt. Wen Ning and Wen Qing saved WWX’s life and helped him when he was in need – WWX has a moral obligation to help them in return.

Thus we see WWX between a rock and hard place. Turn away from the Jiangs and he turns away from his family, and from someone he promised his loyalty to. But turn a blind eye to the treatment of the Wens, and he is a not only allowing evil to go unchallenged, but also abandoning his benefactors. The game is rigged. There is no right move here. Morally ambiguity -> moral greyness.

(Note: A lot of the previous two points can also be viewed from a 'traditional' lens. Mohism has been arguing about pacifism and universal love since 400BC. Taoism has many things to say about intervening in world affairs. Life has always been complicated, and while our language/framework may shift, many of the underlying questions remain.)

(Second note: my knowledge of Chinese philosophy is all the stuff I learnt in Saturday school+a few books/youtube videos aka. not a lot. Please call me out if I'm sprouting nonsense.)

Let’s wrap up

Tl;dr WWX is a morally grey character.

And I haven’t even started on what went down at the Nightless City, or how interesting (read: morally sus) his methods of murder were, or his fantastic takes on risk assessment.

Maybe he’s good overall. Maybe he’s a hero. But heroes too can be morally grey. That’s just a part of life.

1. This is really hard to translate actually, and I think the way I’ve written it makes sense but comes across stronger than it was. More literally it was ‘can’t raise his head towards’. It was sort of explaining why JC was giving WWX a lot of shit later on and WWX wasn’t arguing back, more in a sympathetic way rather than a critical way.

As usual, thank you for reading! Comments and criticism appreciated, but I may be significantly slower getting back because my brain is in svsss mode rn :)

#mdzs #mdzs meta #wei wuxian #wei ying #i started writing this at midnight #its now 4am #why do i do this?

[wangxianficrecs]

found your writing on my wall by howodd5ever

found your writing on my wall

by howodd5ever

T, 25k, wangxian

Summary: “Do you know how old you are, a-Ying?” “This many,” Wei Ying said and held a hand out with three fingers up. He looked at his hand, considered for a minute, the point of his tongue sticking out between his teeth, put another finger up, then put it down, then up again, before he finally shrugged. “That many,” he said, as if he’d given them a satisfactory answer. In which Wei Wuxian is cursed, Lan Wangji is protective, and Jiang Cheng is tired. All three of them have to learn how to deal with each other in the aftermath.

Mojo's comments: Oh, this was so nice. I had a rough day today, and apparently needed some slightly traumatized, de-aged, skittish wwx in my life to make it better. :)

Excerpt: “Slow down, Wei Ying,” Jiang Wanyin grumbled, and frowned when Wei Ying froze up at his words and swallowed hard, tension pulling his spine into a straight line. “I mean, I just don’t want you to choke, that’s all, ok?” He thumbed a stray grain of rice from Wei Ying’s cheek in a surprisingly gentle gesture. “No one is going to take it away, and there will be more when next you are hungry, a-Ying,” Lan Wangji said gently, and Wei Ying looked doubtful, but he nodded. Jiang Wanyin’s eyes widened with understanding. Jin Ling took a second longer to process the implication, but Lan Wangji could see realization passing over his features as he studied Wei Ying. Sizhui was watching Wei Ying, too, the slightest of creases above his brows to mark his feelings on the matter. “Sizhui did the same thing when he was young. It took several years to break the habit entirely.”

age regression/de-aging, the untamed canon, post-canon, child wei wuxian, homeless hungry and skittish, pov lan wangji, pov jiang cheng, jiang cheng is trying to be better, soft lan wangji, dad lan wangji, adorable juniors, caretaking, hurt/comfort, fear of dogs, malnutrition, childhood ptsd, lan wangji and jiang cheng try to get along, best gege lan sizhui, @wei-ever

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(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for this hard-working author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)

#Wangxian Fic Rec #The Untamed #wangxian #MDZS #Mojo's Rec #age regression/de-aging #post-canon #child wei wuxian #homeless hungry and skittish #pov lan wangji #pov jiang cheng #jiang cheng is trying to be better #soft lan wangji #dad lan wangji #adorable juniors #caretaking #hurt/comfort #fear of dogs #malnutrition #childhood ptsd #lan wangji and jiang cheng trying to get along #best gege lan sizhui #found your writing on my wall #howodd5ever #medium fic 15k-49k #Teen