#Lowkey sees MXY as like. kind of a brother kind of a son

[eleanorfenyxwrites]

After Each Midnight Begins A New Day

Extra #13a - 'Technically A Cutsleeve?' (Mo Xuanyu and Lan Jingyi)

[Part 1]

[Masterpost] [AO3]

-/-

For the first time since the arrival of their visitors in Jinlintai, Mo Xuanyu attends dinner with his family. He’s missed them this week and a half, eating his meals alone in his rooms, but he tries not to let it show too much as he listens to the familiar patterns of their conversation now interrupted and enriched by the voices of their three visitors. 

None of the guests speak to him directly during the meal, but that’s fine by him. Jin Lu monopolizes his attention for the evening instead, regaling him with every story she deems important that he’s missed while not attending family meals, and by the time she’s yawning over her last bowl of soup everyone else is preparing to leave for their beds as well. He rises and helps Jin Lu and Jin Zhuang to their feet, taking their hands in his and saying his goodnights to everyone he needs to before he leads the children from the pavilion to take them to their own rooms. He feels eyes on his back as he leaves, but what else is new.

Mo Xuanyu puts the children to bed with a story for Jin Lu and an affectionate, gentle headbutt - forehead to forehead - for Jin Zhuang, who has recently decided he’s much too old for lullabies unless he plays them for himself on his guqin. 

He’s making his way slowly back to his own rooms, lost in thought, when he hears his name and he stops, turning to look for the source only to realize he’s outside Jin Ling’s rooms. He climbs the steps on silent feet to shamelessly eavesdrop, surprised to hear Jin Zixuan rather than Jiang Yanli through the closed door.

“...-havior towards Yu-didi has been completely unacceptable, A-Ling,” Jin Zixuan is saying and it’s clear that though the scolding has already begun, it’s still early yet. Mo Xuanyu settles in with his shoulder and ear pressed to the wooden doorframe, arms crossed over his chest as he listens. “You singled him out as the only member of the family not to meet your friends when they arrived, and I said nothing because he agreed to it out of love for you; but today you treated him like he was beneath you in front of three visiting cultivators, two of whom are their sect heirs and the third of whom is his sect’s first disciple and a potential heir as well!”

“Dad -”

“Do not interrupt me right now, A-Ling. Yu-didi is not only your family, he is your senior, and he deserves your respect like anyone else of his rank - your mother and I raised you better than this. I don’t know when you got this idea in your head that Yu-didi is somehow less than my other siblings, but he is still your uncle and you do not have the right to tell him to stay isolated in the family quarters for over a week because you don’t want him to meet your friends!”

“Dad, he’s embarrassing! No one else in the world acts like he does!”

“I don’t care that you’re embarrassed, A-Ling!!” Mo Xuanyu’s breath hitches in his chest and for the second time that day his eyes fill with tears. “Have you ever once seen me lock my brother in his rooms because he embarrasses me? I’ve seen him do and say every shameless thing I can think of - and a thousand other things besides that I would have never even dreamed of - but I still make sure that he knows every day that I want him here, that this is his home and he has every right to be himself here. Do you want to know what he said to your mother after he left you and your friends in the garden?”

Utter silence greets the question and Mo Xuanyu puts a hand to his chest as if that would calm the thundering of his heart or make it easier for him to draw his next breath.

“Because of you, he’s afraid that not only you but all of your siblings will also want to keep him hidden away from everybody when it’s their turn to invite members of other sects here. He loves you so much, A-Ling, and he cried on your mother’s shoulder because he thinks you’re ashamed of people finding out you’re related, and now he’s scared that all of you feel this way. How could you do this to him?!”

“A-Xuan.” Jiang Yanli’s soft voice is hardly audible through the door. Mo Xuanyu tucks himself even closer, curling in on himself and closing his eyes to better hear her. “We should give A-Ling time to think of an appropriate way to apologize to A-Yu.”

“Fine. We’ll revisit it again tomorrow after dinner. And after your friends have finished with their visit you’re going to spend a month working with me, especially during the audiences we have with other sect leaders. It’s time you get a real look at what your uncle has to deal with from everyone outside of this family - and what he does for this sect every day without anyone’s thanks but mine, your mother’s, and Mianmian’s.”

Mo Xuanyu hastily backs away from the door and hurries soundlessly down the steps as he realizes their meeting is coming to an end and he darts around the corner towards his own pavilion with a shuddery sigh. He tucks himself into the eaves of the building to try to catch his breath, but he doesn’t get very many in before he’s tentatively interrupted.

“Mo-gongzi?”

He looks up, startled, to find Lan Jingyi hesitating a few paces away.

“Oh - Lan-gongzi. Hello,” he says with a hasty swipe of his fingertips under his eyes, grateful that Qin Su had neglected to add more kohl to his look earlier and had instead just given him a gentle kiss of pink rouge around his eyes. At least this time he isn’t in danger of smearing it everywhere with his tears.

“Ah-hah..you can just call me Jingyi if you want to,” Lan Jingyi laughs nervously and Mo Xuanyu manages to muster up a smile for him.

“Call me Xuanyu, then. I hate formalities.”

“Ah..alright. Xuanyu. Are you okay?”

“Oh. Um.”

“I’m just asking because Jin Ling was a real brat today, and..I mean. We all kind of figured he’d said or done something to get you in trouble, which is ridiculous because everyone knows he’s bound to be the bitchiest and most biased person in any confrontation, no matter who the other person is, so it’s not like whatever he could have said would have been believable.”

Mo Xuanyu blinks for a second before he has to stifle (slightly wet) laughter into his sleeve. 

“Oh gods are you sure you’re a Lan, kid?”

“To just about everyone’s confusion, yeah. I get asked that a lot.”

“Yeah I’ll bet you do,” Mo Xuanyu chuckles as he dabs at his eyes with his sleeve.

“Oh, here - you don’t have to use your sleeve like that,” Lan Jingyi fumbles with his own sleeve for a second before he passes him a snow-white handkerchief and Mo Xuanyu is caught off guard by the gesture, though he doesn’t let that keep him from using the cool silk to keep drying his eyes.

“Jin Ling has told us a little bit about his family tree...situation,” Jingyi prompts when the silence has dragged on for a few long moments and Mo Xuanyu can’t help but snort at that.

“‘Situation’,” he quotes back with a nod. “Sure, that’s one way to put it. You mean how the whole thing is pretty much a circle because his uncles are all already related, and the ones who aren’t are married to each other?”

“No, I meant - wait yes! What is with that?!” Lan Jingyi bursts out and Mo Xuanyu hides another laugh in the handkerchief. 

“Don’t ask me! They were all already married by the time I got here. Oh, except for Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang. I actually got to go to that one, but apparently that was just because their sect negotiations took forever since they’re both sect leaders, but they’ve been courting since they went to their lecture season in Gusu anyway so it barely counts.”

“Oh okay. Huh…Well I only mention it anyway because the idiot told us he has two Jin uncles and we all knew Lianfang-zun is in Cloud Recesses and you were here, but Jin Ling kept making really weak excuses for why you couldn’t meet us and we were all judging him. We think he was being awful.”

To say that Mo Xuanyu is startled would be the understatement of the century. He glances at the building they’re standing in the shelter of, remembers that Jin Ling’s rooms are right on the other side of the wall next to them, and without thinking he steps forward to loop his arm through Lan Jingyi’s with a conspiratorial wink.

“Walk with me,” he hums as he tugs Lan Jingyi along the path. His arm is stiff in his grip like he doesn’t quite know what to do with it and when Mo Xuanyu glances at him it’s to find that he’s blushing furiously and staring straight ahead as they walk. “So you all knew I was here, hm?” He prods as he leads Lan Jingyi away from the complex of family residences and back towards the guest quarters.

“Well I mean yeah,” Lan Jingyi snorts without a care in the world - absolutely nothing of the Lan stoicism in this one and Mo Xuanyu is delighted. “Jin Ling told us himself that you’re his uncle and that you don’t really travel so you’re always here to hang out with him and his siblings and stuff, but then you magically can’t make it to anything we’re all doing for over a week? Plus he looked guilty every time one of us asked about you. We’re not stupid!”

Mo Xuanyu is uncharacteristically quiet for a few slow steps as he thinks about how to answer. Normally he wouldn’t care, of course, but he had promised Jin Ling he wouldn’t scare his friends off, and he didn’t know yet what they could handle. He’s not very good at censoring himself though so after a long moment he sighs gustily and shakes his head a little, hair ornaments tinkling.

“A-Ling forgets sometimes, I think, that not everyone in the world is actually at his beck and call,” Mo Xuanyu says a bit tartly and Lan Jingyi laughs, short and barking. His arm finally relaxes under Mo Xuanyu’s hand as he no doubt gets over the impropriety of it and Mo Xuanyu allows himself a little smile. 

“Did he tell you not to talk to us or something?”

Mo Xuanyu clears his throat a little. “Yeah. Or something.”

“He really earns his title of Young Mistress, spoiled like he is,” Lan Jingyi scoffs under his breath and Mo Xuanyu can’t help but snort, which he quickly tries to cover with little success.

“Oh gods is that what you boys call him?” he asks, delighted all over again, and he’s pleased to see Lan Jingyi grinning down at him (perhaps still a little shyly, perhaps with something curious still in his eyes, but at least he’s smiling). 

“I came up with it when we were all in our lecture year. He acts just like one, don’t you think?” 

“It’s perfect! I can’t believe I never thought of it before, I’m heartbroken that there’s someone out there who can tease A-Ling better than I can!” 

“Mo-gongzi!”

Mo Xuanyu looks away from Lan Jingyi to find Ouyang Zizhen and Wen Sizhui sitting on the porch of the nearest of the guest pavilions under a few lanterns to ward off the gloom of dusk. He raises a hand to wave, startled when they both wave back - wave him over. He releases Lan Jingyi’s arm quickly, figuring after a moment that the gesture was for his companion and not him (and that he’d better stop teasing his nephew’s guest anyway), but even when Lan Jingyi goes to join his friends they keep looking at him as if they’re waiting for him too.

He drifts closer with a bit of caution in his steps - it’s been a very long time since he’s had a friend his own age or close to it, and certainly not young men. A-Ling is the closest he’s got since they were classmates once upon a time and could still be seen as the same martial generation if one squints, but that’s it. The concept has become a bit unfamiliar. How do people even make friends with people their own age?

“Mo-gongzi, Zizhen is telling stories to pass the time until it’s late enough to sleep,” Wen Sizhui says when Mo Xuanyu is close enough for the boy to be heard without having to speak up. “Would you like to join us?”

“Me?” he asks, startled, and though he’s expecting a flippant response like the type he usually gets from his nieces and nephews, this time all he gets instead is three quick nods, all just slightly out of sync with each other and painfully earnest. “Oh...Yes, alright,” he agrees with a little thrill for the novelty of it, being invited into a space. He steps up onto the porch to fall gracefully to his knees on the fourth side of the table, and something of his tentative pleasure for the invitation must show on his face because Lan Jingyi shoots him a smug smirk from across the table. 

It’s almost like..like he’s proud that they got him to join them. Like Mo Xuanyu’s presence at their table for the evening is something he’ll be able to gloat about in the future. 

(Mo Xuanyu does, incidentally, overhear him gloating about it to Jin Ling the next day, and he’s unsure why it makes him blush but at least his makeup hides it.)

[morifinwes]

Lauraa I finished all the fics, apart from decay (currently reading that now) and I love it sm! Especially the lip gloss one lmao the whole thing was so hilarious to me XD but also like the concept of lwj wearing lipgloss is >>> -yibobibo

@yibobibo then i'm going to rec you some more!! the lip gloss one was !!!!! ajsksks yes!! lwj wearing lipgloss is just so!! good!!

modern

this one is the painful one i talked about:

visitations by var_abelasan (12K, wip, divorced wangxian, post divorce, most of this is angst, uhm lowkey don't but also do want wangxian to end up together, it's messy, the jiangs & lans are shitty, wwx was in prison (brief mentions of that but it's kind of a major plot point), mxy & xy are the little brothers he never wanted but wwx picked them up anyways)

"Wei Ying-" Lan Zhan says, stutters, "I'm sorry." 

And now Wei Wuxian sees it, the red rimming Lan Zhan's eyes, the rumpled edges of his blazer. There is an old, familiar urge for him to reach over, to hold Lan Zhan's hand and smooth his hair, to tell him that everything will be fine. 

"We're all a bit sorry about this, I think," he says instead, and finds that he means it. For Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji and everyone else in that Guanyin temple, the pain must be unbearably fresh, like skin just flayed open. But Wei Wuxian's chest had been cracked open a long time ago, his wounds licked and cauterized and sewn shut over five long years - Ever hurting, but a dull, constant ache, "It's really alright, Lan Zhan."

 

Five years after being accused of corporate espionage and losing everything, the Guanyin Scandal breaks open and Wei Wuxian finds a familiar face at his door.

please don't let me be misunderstood by sysrae (3K, partly deaf!wwx, lwj notices, nobody else does though, idk wwx is like made out of fucking steel or some shit)

Lan Wangji has known Wei Ying for a fortnight, the first time he sees him get hit by a car.

light by redkosmos (10K, blind!lwj, which causes angst, but they manage it, best friends to lovers, fluff, lwj being insecure and feeling like a burden, college au kind of? but it doesn't matter too much)

The realization slowly dawns on him.

He can never again see the brightness of Wei Ying's eyes, the way they crescent when he smiles, never again see the rich black of his hair, the mess of it in the early mornings, never again see the beautiful tan of his skin, the beauty of the scars and marks adorned on it, how he wears his clothes, how it hugs his frame beautifully, how he looks like he's adorably swimming in cloth when he wears Lan Zhan's, and-

(Lan Zhan loses his vision in a car accident and learns to cope with it.)

don't leave me by trippinonskies (19K, brief very brief mention of lwj cheating, he doesn't but wwx is afraid lwj is cheating on him or just wants to break up with him, (he doesn't), marriage proposal, lwj acting distant = wwx's insecurities show up, fluff, angst and comfort)

Lan Zhan! Where are you lost today?” Wei Wuxian finally asks, at the end of his patience.

Lan Zhan looks a little guilty as he looks at Wei Wuxian, “Sorry, just a lot of work to deal with.”

Lie.

If there is one thing Lan Zhan can’t do, it’s lying. Especially to Wei Wuxian. But he doesn’t question Lan Zhan. He just accepts the reply, too scared to know that he is right. Too scared to know the truth.

// or where Lan Zhan is too hung up in planning the perfect proposal and ends up accidently ignoring Wei Wuxian making the other think that he wants to break up //

want you closer by xiaobucephalus ((3K, HORSES, only in the background tho, but wwx is an equestrian vet, which is so fucking valid bro, the lans own horses, a sick bunny, lwj the bunny parent!, super cute, dark bay throughoutbred chenqing is honestly so valid)

“Thank you,” Lan Zhan said, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Don’t thank me, Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying laughed again, his voice warming the chill of fear that had settled in his chest. “I’ve been looking for an excuse to get into your hutch for a while anyway.”

safe in your thoughts by anonymous (20K, it's a cherry magic au???? (i haven't watched it, but you have i think?), horny lwj but only for wwx (always for wwx))

Wei Wuxian learns three very important things on the night of his twenty-seventh birthday.

One, that Lan Wangji is ridiculously funny, which Wei Wuxian had known before but what Wei Wuxain hadn’t expected was Lan Wangji to be funny at his brother’s expense.

Two, that Wei Wuxian had finally gone mad, absolutely mental at the ripe age of twenty seven because nothing else would explain the third thing he had learnt.

Third, and the most unbelievable of the lot, that Lan Wangji wants to fuck him.

iura by yoo_im_finally_writing (1K, only added bcs op is right and wwx would've the cutest german accent, it's more fun if you understand german so hit me up if you want translations for the german sentences)

Wei Ying calls in the middle of the night to talk about German law, and Lan Zhan tries very hard not to fall asleep. Or at least, not to let Wei Ying notice he's falling asleep. (As best friends do.)

breathe in the air, the last of its kind by wereworm / @neverdoingmuch (27K, getting together, jealous!lwj, but also kind of supportive, brief mention of cheating bcs of miscommunication, no actual cheating tho, college au, lwj pov)

Following Wei Ying’s line of sight, Lan Wangji can barely prevent a smile from crossing his lips when he sees the short row of rabbit statuettes placed at the front of the display. Silver, with bright gems for eyes, they look elegant yet lively and animated.

“A-Yuan would love one of those,” Wei Ying murmurs, almost as if to himself.

Lan Wangji frowns; the rabbits, while cute, don’t seem like a suitable gift for Wei Ying’s A-Yuan.

...

It’s only when he glances back at the rabbits and notices what has been placed on display behind them, that the pieces fall into place. They’re engagement rings, there’s no doubt about it. Lan Wangji feels his heart sink – Wei Ying isn’t just dating A-Yuan, he wants to propose to him.

Or: the five times Lan Wangji thinks that A-Yuan is Wei Ying’s boyfriend and the one time he learns the truth.

paint smears on sunny days by snowshadowao3 / @angstsexual (53K, getting together, art teacher!wwx, single parent!lwj, they're rich if i remember right, wwx & lwj are both good with kids!!!, this is so good actually, fluff)

To say that he runs to his car would be incorrect, as he is a Lan, and running is both undignified and unnecessary unless in immediate danger. Nor does he slam his key into the ignition, or aggressively swerve around the cars on the freeway, or have a mild panic attack at the fact he is picking A-Yuan up late from school for the first time ever.

He comes close, though.

By the time he arrives, it’s 4:35PM, and he has imagined about fifty different worse-case scenarios. The door is partly open when he gets to it, a messy label of 104B—Art Room scrawled with chalk on a placard next to the faded wood. As he opens it fully, he expects to see a wailing, terrified child, or perhaps a scene of utter misery and betrayal.

What he finds is his son, hands covered in paint, being sung to by a beautiful, dark-haired stranger.

“Ducks live in the pond, yellow ducks, happy ducks!”

Lan Wangji stops in his tracks.

(Or: Falling in love with your son’s art teacher, in five parts)

no bunny compares by gusucloudbunny (4K, god this is cute, fluff)

“Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian cornered his friend one week before his birthday. “If you could have anything in the world, what would it be?”

Lan Wangji furrowed his brow at Wei Wuxian, not exactly sure how to answer that question in a truthful manner that didn’t involve confessing his undying love for his best friend.

Wei Wuxian is on a mission to get Lan Wangji the perfect gift for his birthday. What Wei Wuxian doesn't know is that the only thing Lan Wangji truly wants is him.

wei wuxian's week of realizing things by photojenny (12K, i have read this multiple times, i always forget what happens, idk why but my notes say it's good, the tags say drunkji makes an appearance and i'm always up for that)

"Lan Zhan, do you like Mianmian?" asked Wei Wuxian.

Lan Wangji blinked, and stared. It was not the first time Lan Wangji had questioned the perceptiveness of the boy he had a crush on. Wei Wuxian had been smart in the class they had taken together. Yet time and time again, Wei Wuxian had tested the old wisdom that there are no stupid questions.

---

Lan Wangji must figure out how to confess when Wei Wuxian is the most oblivious person he's ever met.

are you my wisdom tooth? because i'd like to take you out by yellowcarnations (1K, crack, fluff, lwj stop flirting with a stranger, even if he is your husband, drunkji but make it to max level)

Lan Zhan wakes up and he has no idea where he is.

There are bright lights and his jaw hurts, he doesn't who this man next to his bed is but oh he might be in love, maybe, probably, definitely.

–

based off that guy-forgets-who-his-wife-is-and-hits-on-her vid but its wangxian.

beep! goes his heart by wearing_tearing (3K, fluff, lwj is like "he, he likes me right? he likes me" and everyone is like "yes, yes he does")

“Wei Ying’s heart monitor,” Lan Wangji starts.

Wen Qing blinks at him. “Yes?”

“It beeps.”

“That’s… what they generally do, yes.”

“The beeps change,” Lan Wangji continues, “when others are around.”

*

Wei Ying’s heart only sings for Lan Wangji.

canon

obedient and bellicose by thunderwear (19K, lwj is cursed by the lan elders, they notice too late, fix-it fic kind of?, lqr being a good uncle and lxc is a good brother, wwx accidentally uses the curse but he doesn't know about it)

It took Lan Wangji a long time to realize he was cursed. Too long really, anyone else would have noticed so much sooner. The problem was, he liked following the rules.

Ella Enchanted AU that no one needed but I wanted.

hello my old heart, how have you been? by ravenditefairylights (10K, amnesia, fluff, wwx taking care of lwj, so much fluff and softness, angst too but not that much)

The issue is, Lan Wangji brings his thoughts back before they stray too far, that it is impossible for someone to be in his bed, unless Lan Wangji himself invited them. He has not. He would remember doing so, and besides, all his night clothes are still on and there is no headache to imply that he was inebriated last night. No, the situation is simple.

There is someone in Lan Wangji’s bed. It is impossible for anyone to be in Lan Wangji’s bed, and yet that doesn’t seem to have stopped the stranger.

or lan wangji wakes up, and wei ying is there. he doesn't understand how or why, and he can understand even less why his hallucination of wei ying is so insistent on bathing him, and braiding his hair, on holding him and fixing his clothes. why the hallucination of wei ying seems so happy to see him.

teach me the way by likeafox (58K, rogue cultivator!wwx, horny wangxian, lwj wants wwx to teach him how to be a good lover, ....wwx is a virgin, the porn is the plot, but there's less of it than i thought)

"I do not wish to leave my future spouse… dissatisfied with my intimate knowledge,” Lan Zhan says, very seriously. “I am hoping to find an instructor, to better prepare myself for such matters."

Wei Ying feels his mouth drop open. He's pretty sure the Second Jade of Lan just told him he's a virgin who wants to learn how to do sex good.

Rogue Cultivator Wei Wuxian is the stuff of local legends. Some of those legends are even true! The ones about his tremendous experience in bed, on the other hand, are not so true. Which becomes a problem when Lan Wangji, on the verge of an arranged marriage and worried he won’t know how to please his future spouse, enlists Wei Ying's help to teach him the art of love-making. Wei Ying's great at improvisation, though, and is pretty sure he's got this sex mentor thing under control. What could possibly go wrong

other aus

of god: my love unholy by tunnelodfawn (3K, tw blood / war, dark!lwj, god!wwx, kind of poetry)

Lan Zhan takes everything as a sign from his god. The blood staining his fingertips—a holy anointment. He sanctifies himself through blood. The strings of his guqin gleam red in the sun—a divine blessing. This is an instrument of destruction. A single note—a cry of power—and in this note the voice of his god unravels the earthly threads tethering man to earth.

The Yiling Patriarch blesses Lan Zhan with war. Wei Wuxian blesses Lan Zhan with agility. Wei Ying blesses Lan Zhan with love.

The base of the Yiling Patriarch’s shrine is the home of Lan Zhan’s knees. He worships. There is something of the blasphemous and the unholy in his prayers. He prays not for victory but for the sight of Wei Ying. Bless me with your presence, he begs.

Or, wherein, Lan Zhan bridges the gap between the mortal and the divine—the worshipper and the god—with blood.

the river and the sea by sasamelons / @sasamelons (7K, soulmate au, arranged marriage (wangxian with each other), they're both kind of dumb but i love it)

Lan Wangji gritted his teeth, wishing to just be left alone. "I am looking for my soulmate," he ground out.

"Oh."

It took Lan Wangji a few moments to realize that Wei Wuxian had stopped following him. When he looked back, the other boy seemed to be frozen to the spot, eyes wide and lips still parted. He quickly looked away when he saw Lan Wangji looking back. "I see. Well, have a good trip!"

--

At six years old, Lan Zhan met his soulmate on the streets of Yiling and promptly lost him again.

At sixteen years old, Lan Wangji met his betrothed and was determined not to like him.