#autistic lan wangji

[feralplantwife]

Rent-Free Special Interest Thought of the Day:

1) Lan Wangji is autistic. (This theme invades my every thought about him. We love to see good, if possibly accidental, representation.)

2) He, like many of us autistics, does not take criticism well AT ALL except maybe from Lan Xichen or Lan Qiren. (He would take criticism from Wei Wuxian well, but Wei Wuxian thinks he's absolutely perfect, so it's a moot point.)

Anyway:

LQR: Wangji, this particular night hunt situation might go better if you try This next time. I encourage you to experiment and record your observations if you choose.

LWJ: Mn. (Translation: I will do that, because I love you. Not because I agree. We have a pattern of Teacher&Student behavior and share a relationship.)

Random Lan Elder: You should try it this way instead.

LWJ: Mn. (Translation: I will not be doing that. I will remember this moment for years and possibly forever. You have made an enemy for life. I will dwell on this in the dead of night, thinking about how wrong you are.)

But nobody outside of his family can tell the different between "Mn." and "Mn." So nobody really notices and Lan Xichen and Wei Wuxian think it's incredibly funny to watch crusty, dusty old cultivators think they got Lan Wangji to do something he doesn't want to do.

He's just like me fr

[ichverdurstehier]

If you want to describe your characters as autistic without explicitly saying they are autistic, you csn say they have the lonely disorder.

In China, the word for mild autism (higher functioning autism, level 1, low support needs, whatever you call it, you know what I mean) literally translated to "lonely disorder" which I love so much. So damn accurate 🥲🥲🥲🥲🥲 狐独症 gū dú zhèng

The word for a more severe autism is 自闭症 self enclosed disorder, zì bì zhèng. My autism is more mild so I can't speak as to whether I like that, as a translation.

A bit of writing tips!

[seasealwaters]

Anyway, Lan Wangji is autistic, Wei Wuxian has ADHD, both put the "divergent" in "neurodivergent", and this plays a part into why they're so drawn to each other and can understand each other so well. No, I will not be elaborating.

[jayktoralldaylong]

MDZS Headcanon - Headcanon that Lan Wangji couldn't go to sleep for the first few weeks of Wei Wuxian's return. Once Wei Wuxian was asleep, he'd check on him every five minutes just to make sure he was real and actually there. It grew to every ten minutes, then every twenty minutes as time went on, followed with a small brush of his hand over Wei Wuxian to ensure that he was a solid being. Lan Wangji made sure to never sleep before Wei Wuxian did and made sure to wake before Wei Wuxian did. Not just to do his morning ritual of prayers and meditation, but to make sure that Wei Wuxian wouldn't get up and leave him behind. Anxiously applying too much medication to any cut or bruise on Wei Wuxian because he didn't want it to fester into something serious. Months later, when Lan Wangji finally felt enough peace to doze off before Wei Wuxian, curled safely beside his husband, Wei Wuxian made sure not to move a muscle out of place. His husband deserved the rest.

[jamrroll]

This one cannot decide if they like Modern AU Lan Wangji to have long or short hair more…

(Obviously if it what just a matter of my preference for appearance it would be long hair because swoon but I digress)

Like on one hand hair is sensory(and maintenance) hell, so just chop it all off and make your life easier…

But on the other hand haircuts are no fun either(I personally don’t have sensory issues with getting haircuts but I imagine LWJ might), AND on top of that part you have to adjust to the change every time.

I just can’t decide which I feel fits his character better :(

(I do instinctively however lean toward long hair just because that’s what I’m used to + find to look better though :p)

But Wei Wuxian definitely has some sort of mullet(but like one of the not ugly ones), which he usually hasn’t had cut in ages, and is always finding either the most creative or crazy-looking ways to tie it up. imo.

[iamxuechengmei]

"you're not like other girls" the politically correct term is Autism Spectrum Disorder

[the-ma-an]

I see a lot of autistic Lan Wangji posts, which is great, but I don't see any posts on how the two people closest to him (Wei Wuxian and Lan Xichen) accommodate him. So here it is!

(Please keep in mind that this is based on my own experiences of growing up autistic, having less than a handful of close autistic friends and doing a tiny bit of research. I'm far from an expert, so I apologise in advance if I said anything that doesn't gel well with other MDZS fans on the spectrum.)

-----

Lan Xichen:

- Is a literal saint in part because of his brother, because showing frustration at every little thing Lan Wangji did didn't help either of them (especially since he had a lot more difficulty understanding why Lan Xichen was always angry when they were little). However, he made a note not to enable certain behaviours when Lan Wangji actually did something wrong and will gently let Lan Wangji know when his patience is being pushed.

- Lan Wangji learned to follow rules religiously from Lan Qiren, but Lan Xichen was always there to encourage him to bend them a little bit when need be (within his comfort level of course).

- This leads me to my next point of Lan Xichen generally just being there to act as a wingman to Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian, not only because there was someone who was so invested in befriending him (a rarity because of his reputation and seemingly aloof persona) but also to encourage the above. Plus it was endearing to see that eventually turn into his brother's first crush.

- Lan Xichen was always there to translate what Lan Wangji wanted to say (especially because of his tendency to respond in three words or less), as well as politely excuse him to a safe space whenever Lan Wangji was getting overwhelmed at social gatherings. He'd also be the one to ask as soon as they arrive (always a full hour before the social gathering starts) if there's a quiet room they can go to.

- I'm aware this is something a parent should have to deal with, rather than a sibling who's only 1-3 years older, but Lan Xichen knew from a young age that their actual parental figures weren't able to care for Lan Wangji the way he needed, because one was too busy and generally had little patience (Lan Qiren) and the other was just not around to help (their actual dad). However, he's also learned to manage his frustration in healthy ways when it started to get too much for him.

- Lan Xichen picked up a lot from how their mother treated Lan Wangji before she passed away, so continuing to behave like her is his way of honouring her memory and to provide comfort to Lan Wangji.

- Lan Xichen made sure Lan Wangji knew how to take care of himself, because he knew he would become sect leader once he was 20 (I'm assuming that's how it would have gone if their dad didn't pass away sooner?) and would be too busy to always be there for him. So when he does become sect leader at 17-19, he did so knowing Lan Wangji would be fine without him.

- While I'm on the topic, I really didn't like Lan Zhan leaving Lan Xichen alone after Jin Guangyao's death, so I headcanon that he and Wei Wuxian do immediately leave the Cloud Recesses (since Wei Wuxian is incapable of following their rules), but live close by enough for a few years so that Lan Wangji can visit his brother every few days. This is Lan Wangji's way of caring for his brother after everything Lan Xichen has done for him. (Also, I like to imagine he and Wei Wuxian find an abandoned house at the edge of the woods, and rumours eventually start of screaming and moaning coming from it at around the same time every day lol)

-----

Wei Wuxian:

- Wei Wuxian was a newcomer in Lan Wangji's life and didn't have the same experience as Lan Xichen, so he behaved in his usual hyperactive self around Lan Wangji. However, after seeing Lan Wangji have a shutdown for the first time during their month of isolation (something that may have been caused by WWX), he had the insight to give him space at that moment.

- The second shutdown was when they were in the cave, when Lan Wangji suddenly became so overwhelmed by having to mask through recent events (the burning of Cloud Recesses, his father essentially being in a coma and Lan Xichen missing). Wei Wuxian learned from his previous experience to give him space. However, Lan Wangji was comfortable enough around him at this point to let him hug him, so that's what Wei Wuxian did. That was also the first time Lan Wangji cried around anyone that wasn't his brother and uncle.

- The rest of the novel's events pretty much play out the same up to them meeting again after Wei Wuxian's resurrection. It's from then on that Wei Wuxian gets to really know Lan Wangji. I won't get into specifics because there are a ton of really great autistic LWJ readings and headcanons out there and this post is long enough already, but I personally have one of Lan Wangji clenching his clothes (around his hips specifically) to signal when he's overstimulated. Eventually, he adds gently squeezing Wei Wuxian's hand as a signal once they get together.

- Wei Wuxian has ADHD, so while he isn't able to fully understand Lan Wangji's autism, he at least can relate to having hyperfixations, the need for stimming, and so on.

- Wei Wuxian's constant chatter has become something of a comfort to Lan Wangji, as it reminds him of better times and also that Wei Wuxian is back and with him.

Edit: Mistook shutdowns for meltdowns, so I corrected it. Since it doesn't tie into his relationships as much, I personally headcanon LWJ as being more prone to shutdowns than meltdowns, regardless of who he's around. However, I imagine he did have meltdowns a handful of times when he was very little.

[yiling-patriarch-kinnie]

Okay, but Autistic characters somehow being portrayed as rude and definitely aware of their rudeness whilst being viewed as fucking infants is so weird and shitty.

Like, Lan Wangji is seen by all the other characters as intimidating and shit because he's formal with his speech (when he even speaks, which he rarely does) and he has a "deadpan face".

Like those are just neurodivergent and probably even autistic traits????

And then there's Quan Yizhen who's asocial af and doesn't seem intered it in any form of social etiquette (it's "asocial" not "antisocial" ffs, those are two completely different things) and he's seen as a rude and brash god.

He's also viewed as a baby because he doesn't understand sarcasm or jokes and has a very straight forward thought process unless someone actually bothers themselves enough to explain it to him (which I doubt anyone even does).

Just stop??? The characters, the narrative, the fandom, everyone is just being abliest in one way or the other when it comes to to these characters.

[writerswho]

Lan Zhan and Wei Ying are autistic — a very long thought, by me.

Lan Zhan is autistic and is used to a certain routine and a quiet life, then comes Wei Ying breaking all the rules, doing everything he wants, talking super loud and disturbing the peace and that's why Lan Zhan doesn't like him at the beginning.

But after he gets used to Wei Ying's ways, he can't live without him any more. That's why when Wei Ying dies, he gets super bad and doesn't accept his death because he doesn't like changes — another example is he doesn't accept his mother's death.

Wei Ying is also autistic, but he is an extroverted autistic. And he's also ADHD, so he has trouble listening to what others say or just being quiet.

Wei Ying is also super empathetic, that's why he adopts the Wens and that's why he gets super bad when he's renegade, and that's also why he martyrs himself and suffers twenty times more for the things that happened and thinks everything bad in the world is his fault.

Lan Zhan also has food selectivity and that's why he likes "bland" foods — Wei Ying's words — and almost dies when Wei Ying throws pepper in his food. He also doesn't like physical contact — only from Wei Ying.

He also has the issue of masking, which is the act of trying to disguise/mask your autistic traits. Many autistic people do this to try to fit into neurotypical society.

Lan Zhan would be more prone to masking because of all the pressure of being the second Lan Master and stuff. However, he doesn't mix much and is always a recluse, and this detail has become part of who he is within the cultivator clan and society.

So if nobody stays with him, he doesn't have to pretend [all the time] to be someone he's not.

Wei Ying, on the other hand, is very afraid of being rejected for being an orphan, and being a servant, and such, so he could end up masking more regularly.

Another detail is that some autistic people are very literal and don't understand jokes, and Lan Zhan has a lot of difficulty understanding what Wei Ying says before getting familiar with him.

Other autistic people can make jokes and use and abuse irony and sarcasm, but it's a kind of unique humour that only works with them and only those who know them can understand it as a joke - which is the case with Wei Ying and his dubious humour.

Returning to the issue of Wei Ying and masking.

Wei Ying is treated nicely by Jiang Fengmian, Jiang Cheng and A-Lin, but everyone else treats him badly.

Everyone thinks it's absurd for a servant to be treated the way Wei Ying is treated. So, growing up listening to everyone talking about you behind your back, he must have felt a lot of pressure. That's why Wei Ying tries to be the best at everything.

He's different from the others, he knows that. And when you're different, people don't think you have the right to say something. But when you're the best, it doesn't matter if you're different, people have to listen to you.

For me, Jiang Fengmian, Jiang Cheng and A-Lin know that Wei Ying is different, and they take care of him the way he needs to be taken care of.

But Jiang Cheng still tries to control Wei Ying, so he doesn't "extrapolate", and in doing so he ensures that "the mask stays in place". That's why he keeps scolding [and holding] Wei Ying.

Of the three, Jiang Cheng is the one who scolds Wei Ying the most. A-Lin accepts Wei Ying as himself, Jiang Fengmian encourages him.

So, when Wei Ying runs away and leaves everything behind, he stops masking, and that's when we have the scene where Jiang Cheng asks Wei Ying to come back because he says he won't be able to protect him any more.

Since the Wei Ying is breaking free and realizing that he doesn't need protection, he doesn't need to berate himself or accept things silently or try to be a part of something that doesn't accept him for who he is.

And that's when Wei Ying breaks free that Lan Zhan starts to break free too. Because when everyone turns against Wei Ying, Lan Zhan is the only one who takes his side. And Lan Zhan's attitudes [personality] are slowly changing.

You realize he doesn't care so much about etiquette or what the collective [cultivators] think because he believes in Wei Ying, he sees Wei Ying as someone who is free and honest with his own existence.

And he knows that's a good thing, and he knows that Wei Ying would never be happy trapped within the limits imposed by the cultivators, who are doing everything they can to crush Wei Ying just because he thinks differently.

Wei Ying also has more meltdowns, so he is more “explosive”. What happened at the siege, when he died, was a meltdown.

He'd just lost the family he'd created along with the Wens, there were over three thousand people talking at the same time and yelling at him and threatening him to death; he couldn't take it and had a fit, and went into violence, not even realizing what he was doing.

Lan Zhan, on the other hand, has more shutdowns. He deals with things in a more internal way, he goes to his room and is locked up for days, just with his thoughts and the guqin.

Finally, I want to add that Lan Zhan is transmasc and Wei Ying is non-binary xenogender.

[my-random-mdzs-thoughts]

Okay so I love Lan Wangji having autism and it is a interesting concept with Wei Wuxian having adhd...but consider Wei Wuxian having autism as well? I have hav autism myself and live with two others on the spectrum in a protected roommate situation.

Some of us heard a lot that Wei Wuxian has been thrown at his head. One of them heard the "you always smile, how are you fine with so much?" kinda stuff...two of us have masked really heavily and are now slowly able to get out of it.

For exemple the note taking thing of Wei Wuxian, looks the exact same as my mess of notes. I understand them and they look ascetically pleasing to me! Others just see a mess...*shrugs*

I have more examples but my brain won't let me put them into words...so..uh...yeah

Obviously I know that one or some small things doesn't diagnose someone but I just liked the thought and couldn't put it away without writing about it.

So this is just funny brainworms! :D

He could also habe adhd and some autism mixed with that. We had someone like that in the place that I stay at. And I went full on Lan Wangji on the dude. XD

Or one of tge other autistic people with me sleeps like Lan Wangji at 9pm lights out and I have the mess of a sleep schedule of Wei Wuxian...if not worse...but when it comes to rules I'm more like Lan Wangji and they are more like Wei Wuxian...so...no autistic person is the same and that is always interesting to figure out the differences.

...I'm gonna stop now before I start rambling more tgan I already have.

(Remember this is just funny brainworms, don't come for me. I'm fragile.)

[ichverdurstehier]

So, favorite fictional characters of all time?

Ooohh, this is hard 😬 in terms of other people's fictional characters, I'd have to say Wang Haoxuan's portrayal of Xue Yang. Wei Wuxian is also a classic, so is Lan Wangji (gay autistic icon)

I also like mobei-jun. Shame the donghua looks like my sister's Sims lol 😂 maybe svsss will get a proper donghua adaptation, like tgcf and MDZS got? Sims creep me out sorry

I like Woo Youngwoo, she gives me hope that I could find love and acceptance some day.

Can I also list my own characters? I made some good ones

[wangxianficrecs]

Changed for the Better by tigerlilly3224

Changed for the Better

by tigerlilly3224

M, 4k, Wangxian

Summary: “T-They have busy lives. It’s hard for them to step away.” Wei Wuxian didn’t usually stutter. He was tripping over his words. Trying to justify the accusations faster than his mouth can form the sounds. His brain brought up the long prepared list of why the Jiang’s did and always would come first. Lan Wangji narrowed his gaze. “You lower your own worth for their sake. You told me you wrote wrong answers on assignments so you wouldn't get a better grade than Jiang Cheng. You are your own person Wei Ying and you live as if you take up too much space. I want -“ {aka. college roommates wangxian learn to navigate their lives and heal each other along the way ✨🫶} ** on page panic attack, past referenced/implied emotional child abuse & neglect // rating due to topics both mentioned & implied but there is no spice here just feels Kay's comments: Aka the fic where Lan Wangji bullies Wei Wuxian to get therapy for his undiagnosed ADHD. This was very cute. Roommates Wangxian with autistic Lan Wangji and ADHD Wei Wuxian, who clash from the beginning, but learn to live with each other and compromise and eventually click. I love how it mirrored canon in the way Wangxian both found each other interesting but annoying at first until it clicked and they were just both gone for each other. Excerpt: At some point, Wei Ying had snapped. “It is not unreasonable.” “Lan Zhan, you said I couldn’t listen to music even with headphones!” Lan Wangji narrowed his eyes. “No. You listen to music in your headphones loudly . So all I hear are itty bitty crackly noises that make my skin crawl.” “Even when I’m in the other room?! Sorry we all don’t have bat level hearing.” Wei Wuxian crossed his arms in a huff. Lan Wangji stared at him. “What?” “I do not have hearing like a bat.” He exhaled in frustration. “That’s what you took from the conversation?” Wei Wuxian pushed his unruly hair out of his face. “I can’t study unless I have music on and the television on in the background. You’ll just have to be out of our room I guess.”

pov lan wangji, pov wei wuxian, modern setting, modern no powers, wei wuxian has adhd, wei wuxian gets therapy, autistic lan wangji, mental health issues, roommates, college/university, college student wei wuxian, college student lan wangji, good sibling lan xichen, therapist lan xichen, bad parents jiang fengmian & yu ziyuan, implied/referenced child abuse, neglect, panic attacks, strangers to lovers, pre-relationship

~*~

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

[jayktoralldaylong]

When the autistic Wangji idea came, I wasn't trying to make Wangji neurodivergent, but after doing a character study I concluded that there's nothing neurotypical about Wangji. It's not the introvertedness or the social awkwardness, everyone knows someone like that. It's his actions and reactions to other people and situations.

The first thing that gave it away was his reaction to death. It's not a thing that was unique to the WWX incident.

When he was six years old his mother died and there could have been a funeral, anyway, everyone knew his mother was dead. It was no secret. But Wangji would still sit in front of her house and wait for her to come back. He was not in denial. He truly believed that if he sat and waited long enough, she would open the door. He did that every month for a really long time. He could not process her death and the same thing happened with Wei Ying. There was no promise that he was coming back, Lan Zhan just up and did the same thing, refusing to believe that he was dead when a whole crowd had watched him die.

There's the way he communicates with people. People argue that Lan Zhan speaks very formally so people can't understand him. Lan Zhan doesn't speak at all. He doesn't like people. He's still an introvert. But when he IS trying to communicate he says very little. Five words or less. Full sentences are only for official meetings, or Wei Ying, or family. And when he does things, he fully expects people to understand him and is shocked when they don't. His brother communicates with him perfectly and Lan Zhan has never had to use words with Xichen, so he doesn't understand why others don't understand him. He thought he was making his feelings clear.

There's other times. When Wei Ying is talking to him. If he says like five sentences at once Lan Zhan will listen but not reply. So Wei Ying has to break it down to yes or no questions. Then ask them one by one. Only then does he get a reply and the replies are "Mn" for yes or just "No." Lan Wangji is so cute. And it makes his brother relationship with Xichen even cuter when he's neurodivergent because Xichen's just been raising this special kid all by himself. (I've been meaning to rant about autistic Wangji for a long time).

So compiling every thing together, the conclusion I reached was that he's likely autistic and doesn't know.

There's also the headcanon that Wei Wuxian is ADHD and I love that too.

Neurodivergent partners. ✨

[weeb-polls-with-pip]

Autistic Anime Boys Side A Round 1 Match 16

Propaganda:

Lan Wangji -

"LWJ is smart and a great warrior in a very 'learning is my special interest/pleasure to have in class' way. He's super strict when it comes to rules, often seen as unapproachable because he's not very social and always has the same expression. Only his older brother and his love interest can read his emotions (LWJ has basically-canonical flat affect, a common autistic trait). He doesn't speak a lot and uses rather old-timey/poetic language when he does, another trait common for autistic folks since we often have an odd way of speaking."

Rui -

"Has been seen as weird since he was a child and doesn't understand why. Pushes others away because he's scared of being rejected. Has a special interest in robotics."

[twistedappletree]