#except it's wwx and his ducklings

[meimei-bunnie]

drew the juniors and wwx as ducklings waddling after mama duck 🥹

I love them all so much aaaa ❤️

[wangxianficrecs]

Follower Recs

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I loved this fic. It was so sweet and had the perfect amount of humor and angst. I have a soft spot for teacher WWX fics and this one does it so well! The juniors from all four great sects fighting over WWX is hilarious and just shows how easy it is for WWX to collect ducklings without trying. Also has the Lan juniors fighting against the "don't interact with WWX" rule if you like that trope! @misscellophane-ao3

Mark My Place

by BenevolentErrancy

T, 27k, Wangxian

Summary: Wei Wuxian had already made his mark on the cultivation world and he knew it. He had been a nuisance and a war hero and a threat and the stain of true evil and then he had died. Whatever place he had once carved for himself was shed at some point in those thirteen years. Now, having been revived, a man displaced from time, he could accept that he didn't really belong anywhere except perhaps at Lan Wangji's side. And that should be enough, because Lan Wangji's side was the best place in the world to belong. It didn't matter if none of the other sects wanted anything to do with him, or the fear and scorn that other cultivators met him with. Really, it didn't. The juniors disagree.

~*~

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

[featherfur]

Whenever I read a fic that involves Chief Cultivator Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian warning Jiang Cheng that “you can’t treat the chief cultivator like that” because JC says something sarcastic or pissy or whatever

I’m always very very curious as to what the writer thinks Lan Wangji can do.

Because yes Hanguang-Jun has a stellar reputation but the backing that he had from Xichen is now gone. He can’t not trade with Yunmeng Jiang because there’s no way Lan Qiren or the other elders will allow it (not to mention that now damages relations with Jin which are HUGE), all of society is now looking at Lan Xichen and through him the entire Lan sect with suspicion and mistrust, Jiang Cheng has a reputation that’s even scarier than Wangji’s because yeah LWJ is upright and everything but JC will murder you if you annoy him according to his rep so like… they’re not going to listen to the chief cultivator.

Also does Wangji even know how to get back at him? Does he know how to work the merchants and trade agreements? Because he can’t even figure out how not to piss off every leader within ten seconds of entering a room and if he wasn’t Lan Xichen’s little brother he would have gotten into a lot more fist fights. Like Lan Wangji really just does his own thing, he can’t play nice with a sect leader who technically is above him, I don’t see how he’s going to play nice with a merchant trying to scam him.

Back to the original point, is there literally anyone who’s going to back Lan Wangji attempted an attack Yunmeng Jiang? Like even Wei Wuxian would be like “Babe no :(“ everyone else is either aware of the fact that Jiang Cheng is incredibly powerful, realizes that no being sarcastic to your brother in law is not illegal, or just doesn’t want to piss off the guy in charge of the rivers which probably controls a fuckton of commerce.

Basically all Lan Wangji could do is just… not give him the time of day or ignore him at meetings and considering how Lan Wangji is, he’s probably already doing it because he’s a petty king <3

[robininthelabyrinth]

Prompt: The duckling squad pass through Yiling and encounter the merch sellers. From then on "Genuine Yiling Patriarch [item]" becomes a meme whenever they are around wwx.

“I can’t believe he lost,” Jin Ling said. Wei Wuxian was, of course, too busy laughing to say anything about it.

“I can,” Lan Jingyi said. “I told you he didn’t have enough Genuine Yiling Patriarch Items.”

“Please stop emphasizing the words,” Lan Sizhui said, looking a little pained. “I think Senior Wei may be about to collapse.”

“I think Senior Wei has already collapsed,” Lan Jingyi said. “Look at him, he’s rolling around on the ground.”

“Hanguang-jun is going to kill us all,” Jin Ling concluded.

“Kill us? Why? We voted for him.”

“He’s going to kill us because we accidentally caused his husband to die of asphyxiation.”

They looked at Wei Wuxian, who was still sobbing with laughter.

“Yeah, that’s fair,” Lan Jingyi said, and Lan Sizhui only sighed.

“Still,” Jin Ling said. “It was a lookalike contest. How could he lose?”

“Well, you heard the judges. Not enough Genuine Yiling Patriarch items.”

“But –”

“The flute was nice, but a little too mundane to be a Genuine Yiling Patriarch flute,” Lan Jingyi quoted. “It needs a bit more of a dark aura, whereas his Chenqing is just – a flute. The special effect with the black smoke was a nice touch, but still not quite where it needs to be.”

“His outfit was too patchy to be a Genuine Yiling Patriarch outfit,” Lan Sizhui chimed in. “Never mind that he was in patches the entire time he was in the Burial Mounds – not that I would know from personal experience or anything – everyone’s apparently all retroactively decided he was as rich as the Jin sect. Except in black, not gold.”

“Personally, I liked their comment about how he was missing the Genuine Yiling Patriarch Tiger Seal,” Jin Ling said dryly. “And how ‘but it was destroyed’ wasn’t a convincing argument.”

“Don’t forget his sword. Didn’t you know that the Yiling Patriarch always carries a Genuine Yiling Patriarch sword?”

“Known for it. Amazing how it appeared in all the stories where he definitely didn’t have it.”

“And yet, despite all that – and despite the fact that he is the Yiling Patriarch – he missed out on first place because he was too short?!”

They all sighed over the absurdity of life.

“Well,” Lan Sizhui said brightly. “At least Wen Ning won ‘most accurate Genuine Yiling Patriarch Fierce Corpse’?”

“They gave me a metal,” Wen Ning offered shyly. “It’s very nice.”

“I don’t think it counts if they at no point figure out that he is a fierce corpse,” Lan Jingyi said, scratching his nose. “Does it?”

“A win is a win. Just take it.”

“Fine, fine…oh no, Hanguang-jun is here, and Senior Wei still can’t breathe. Run!”

[vrishchikawrites]

Anon asks - There was another idea I had seen on @crossdressingdeath's tumblr where JC's reputation was ruined because of his behaviour and WWX's attempts to protect him from the consequences of his behaviour. The concept happens pre Qiongqi Path where JC attacks WWX to the point it injures and frightens him. A passerby sees WWX startled and asks him what's wrong but WWX dismisses it as nothing. Said bystander ends up thinking that JC had sexually assaulted him resulting in the cultivation world gossiping about JC being a rapist when really he isn't. Overall, the cultivation world gossips about the other shitty things JC had done and because he did alot of pretty bad things, he can't defend himself and resorts to victim blaming WWX. That however only has him dig a deeper hole for himself. WWX, on the other hand is left confused as to why everybody was pitying him all of a sudden when they used to hate and/or fear him. By the time the truth comes to light, the cultivation world thinks JC had deserved it anyway with it ending with JC hated just for him being himself and public opinion on WWX flipping. If you don't mind, can you make it light-hearted?

(Probably not as light-hearted as you would wish. It is a bit complicated. Be a little gentle because I wrote this twice and ended up fleshing it out much more. Is this a short prompt or a long one? who knows. writer is tired. she will sleep now.)

Everyone has personal boundaries, even people who are usually tactile and social. Boundaries exist even between family members who love and trust each other.

Wei Wuxian is a veteran fresh from war. He has survived bloody battlefields, spent days dealing with one hostile enemy after another. Even before that, he had spent his days constantly battling resentful ghosts and monsters in a place he can’t bear thinking of now. Before that, he had survived torture at the hands of the Wens. And before-

Better not to think about it.

So, when Jiang Cheng presses up against him threateningly, his face twisted and eyes furious, Wei Wuxian can’t help but flinch. He takes a step back and puts some distance between them quickly. Jiang Cheng has grown increasingly bitter and discontent in these past few months and Wei Wuxian is getting tired of dealing with it. He doesn’t want to be in such close proximity with a man seething with fury.

Unfortunately, that reaction proves to be a mistake because Jiang Cheng follows him, “What? Are you too big for us now? Turning away from me in disgust now that you’re a war hero and the best of us?” Jiang Cheng is so close, their noses almost touch and Wei Wuxian feels his hair stand on end in response.

“Jiang Cheng,” He says lowly, something unsettling stirring in his chest. He feels almost anxious. His heart is racing and the proximity makes him feel like he’s trapped, “Back away.”

“Back away?” Jiang Cheng snarls, “Who are you to command me, Wei Wuxian? Do you know what people are saying about YunmengJiang? Do you know who-”

“Back away,” Wei Wuxian says tightly, his skin crawling, “Now.” His hard-earned instincts are sounding alarms. He feels threatened and provoked. He feels the resentful energy in him respond to the danger.

“What are you going to do? Send a few ghosts at me?” He sneers, “Try it! We’ll see how brave you are under the wrath of my Zidian.”

No. Wei Wuxian isn’t going to just stand here and let Jiang Cheng pick up Yu-furen’s habits, He’s just about to react, to give Jiang Cheng the thrashing he clearly desires when he realizes they are outside. He glances beyond his Sect Leader’s shoulder and sees a small group of three clad in bright white looking at them with wide eyes.

He bites back his angry retort and masters himself. He’s not going to squabble with Jiang Cheng in front of Lan disciples. His relationship with Lan Zhan is strained as it is.

“We’re in public,” He says, hoping that concern for his Sect’s reputation would move Jiang Cheng if concern for Wei Wuxian doesn’t.

Jiang Cheng looks over his shoulder and sneers at the Lan disciples before rolling his head, “Lans, of course.” He snarls and pushes Wei Wuxian away roughly, “I’ll deal with you later.”

Wei Wuxian takes a deep breath and watches his brother leave.

The Lan disciples are still looking at him with heartwarming concern. He waves at them with a smile and watches as they start like little ducklings and bow to him before fleeing.

Cute.

---

“We have to do something!” Lan Zhanxiao insists, “Did you see how he looked? Wei Wuxian was clearly trying to-”

“Shh! Keep your voice down!” Lan Lishan reprimands.

“Don’t say his name!” Lan Guan whispers urgently, looking around in a panic. There are already a few curious and interested eyes glancing in their direction. Wei Wuxian is a notorious name, after all. Even non-cultivators are interested in the man who had just a material impact on the war. It is hard to tell if they would’ve won without that powerful unorthodox cultivator on their side.

“We can’t just stand by and do nothing,” Lan Zhanxiao, always the righteous one, continues. He doesn’t care about the people around them, “If Wei Wuxian is hurt and we do nothing to prevent it, aren’t we culpable as well?”

“This is Wei Wuxian. Who would dare?” Lan Guan asks incredulously, “He is one of the most powerful cultivators in existence.”

“Is he?” Zhanxiao demands, “Doesn’t everyone know he’s very loyal to Jiang-zongzhu? Would he take a step against him? Even if it meant saving himself?”

“He should be building his own sect,” Lan Lishan says reluctantly, “He’s the Grandmaster of his cultivation form. It may be an unorthodox method, but it is still something new and entirely unique.” He would know. Lan Lishan is an avid student of history and cultivation theory. He knows that most cultivators with unique abilities tend to form their own sect to pass their teachings down.

He shudders at the prospect of cultivating resentful energy but Wei Wuxian has mentioned it is a technique people with absent or damaged Golden Cores can use.

The potential is almost limitless.

“See what I mean?” Lan Zhanxiao points out, “Hasn’t he been isolated from other cultivators because they fear his methods? If Jiang-zongzhu is really hurting him or…” He grimaces and lowers his voice, “That expression, Shan-ge, it reminds me of jiejie. What if Jiang-zongzhu is… doing something inappropriate?”

They all exchange alarmed glances, “You don’t think…?” Lan Guan breathes, horrified.

“He was scrambling to get away,” Lan Zhanxiao says, “And Jiang-zongzhu kept pressing-”

“We can’t talk about this here,” Lan Lishan says firmly, “Come, let’s leave.”

Unfortunately, they leave chaos behind.

---

Rumors are a powerful entity in the cultivation world. They are born in tea and wine houses, spread from one tradesman to another and spread to the far reaches of cultivation society in a matter of months.

The rumors about Jiang’ Wanyin’s treatment of a war hero are no exception to this rule. People gossip about it with their friends and neighbors, share the news with vendors while on errands, and the rumors continue to grow. With every retelling, the story changes, growing increasingly distorted and vile.

“The entire business is unpleasant,” A small clan cultivator says to one of his tradesman friends, “Jealousy really alters a man.” He speaks about old rumors then, speculations about Wei Wuxian’s parentage, Madam Yu’s wrath, and the Jiang heir’s relatively lackluster growth in comparison to his prodigious shixiong.

“Surely not,” Another cultivator scoffs, “Who would dare raise a hand against Wei Wuxian? Did he not decimate a large Wen battalion with just his flute and some music?”

“Merchants at Lotus Pier say Wei Wuxian always looks wan and tired these days. He has grown pale.” One woman whispers to her companion, “He spends more time in wine houses with ghost maidens than in the comfort of his rebuilt home.”

“It seems so improbable!” A young cultivator protests, “Why would Jiang-zongzhu provoke the sleeping dragon like this? Wei Wuxian is stable now but who knows when he will give into resentment?”

“Lan disciples saw it.”

And that’s the crux of the matter. If the rumor didn’t originate from Lan disciples, it might not have traveled so far. Lans are known for their honest and forthright nature, after all. What cause did they have to lie? And no Lan spoke carelessly, so their words must be the whole truth, without any exaggeration.

Because Lans are the source, everything they say is taken as fact. If one Lan disciple finds Jiang-zongzhu’s behavior horribly inappropriate then it must be. If another Lan is worried about Wei Wuxian’s safety, there must be a just cause.

The rumors spread and propagate, and soon almost the entirety of the cultivation world is aware of them.

---

Gossip is forbidden at Cloud Recesses. Disciples are usually discouraged from meddling in other sect business. Rumor-mongering is punished severely, with all parties involved facing the wrath of the disciple whip.

But Lans are raised to be righteous and compassionate. If someone is in trouble, a Lan must act. He must offer a helping hand and take the victim away from danger.

When the rumors reach Caiyi Town and land on the ear of one Lan Ruyao, he hesitates. He asks around, gets more information, and then rushes back to Cloud Recesses, intent on knowing it all.

Lan Ruyao seeks the three disciples that are the cause of it all and demands an explanation, his mind disturbed with worry. What he hears gives him no comfort for he cannot discard their concerns. The behavior they describe is alarming and their observations are precise, without any emotion clouding their judgment.

Lan Lishan narrates the incident in detail, describing every action with no embellishment or exaggeration. He speaks of Wei Wuxian’s retreat, of Jiang Wanyin’s insistence, the threat of whipping, and words spoken with cruelty and disrespect.

Lan Ruyao’s mind is disturbed as he retreats, absentmindedly assigning some lines to the junior disciples. They have erred by being so indiscreet but their cause is righteous. They don’t deserve severe punishment.

He meditates on the matter for an entire morning, trying to decide on a course of action.

You see, Lan Ruyao is Lan Wangji’s peer. He has known the Second Jade for many years, and while they are not close, they are of the same clan. The entire cultivation world may believe Lan Wangji hates Wei Wuxian, but Ruyao knows better. The Second Jade wouldn’t have been so insistent on bringing Wei Wuxian to Gusu if he didn’t care.

Lan Ruyao suspects both of them hold each other in some esteem. They have saved each other’s sides many times and seem to get along well when they’re not quarreling. He believes that they are friends.

It would be unwise to keep this from Lan Wangji.

Decision made, he quickly requests a private meeting with the Second Jade. The request is granted promptly and soon Lan Ruyao finds himself before his peer, readying himself for a difficult conversation.

The Second Jade listens to his piece without any interruption, his expression blank and beautiful as white jade. But his golden eyes are twin chips of flint, coldly furious.

Indeed, they are friends.

Lan Wangji summons the three junior disciples and questions them thoroughly. His demeanor becomes frostier as the interview progresses, his spiritual energy gaining a deadly edge when the juniors murmur of ‘inappropriate behavior.’

“You have my gratitude,” Lan Wangji says finally, bowing to him and nodding to the juniors, “Rest assured, I will address the matter directly.”

---

“Lan Zhan, wait!” Wei Wuxian protests as Lan Zhan drags him away by the elbow, his uncharacteristic behavior taking him by surprise, “Don’t take him so seriously, Lan Zhan! You know he’s a temperamental brat.”

Lan Zhan doesn’t say anything until they are a fair distance away from Jiang Cheng and the Lotus Pier. Wei Wuxian tries to get an explanation for such unusual behavior but his companion is entirely silent, guiding him towards a crop of trees that offer some semblance of privacy.

“How long have you borne this?” Lan Zhan asks once they stop walking, his golden eyes bright and fierce, “How long have you endured without speaking a word to me or your friends?”

“All my life,” He rolls his eyes, “You know Jiang Cheng has a temper and says careless things, Lan Zhan. Don’t worry, I know how to handle him.”

“All your life?” Somehow, Lan Zhan seems stricken, “Wei Ying!”

“Aiya, Lan Zhan,” Honestly, he is moved by Lan Zhan’s concern for him. They have spent so many years just quarreling and being distrustful towards each other. The concern is a pleasant distraction from the wretched state of their relationship, “Don’t worry about it. I can deal with everything Jiang Cheng throws at me.”

“How can you be so callous about your own well-being?” Lan Zhan asks, his tone betraying his dismay, “Do you not care-” He visibly bites back those angry words and calms himself, his voice taking on a gentler note, “Did you think I would not help? That your friends wouldn’t offer you shelter or protection?”

Really, this is a bit of an overreaction, isn’t it?

“Do I really have any friends left, Lan Zhan?” He asks casually but the reaction he receives is anything but casual. Lan Zhan’s eyes widen as though he has been struck, “Aiya, please don’t look like that,” Wei Wuxian feels a stir of panic because Lan Zhan looks almost hurt, “I’m just being a brat.”

“Have a care,” Lan Zhan says, “Your dismissal of this matter doesn’t put me at ease.”

“Lan Zhan,” He sighs, “I’m used to it. You saw how we were at Cloud Recesses. Did I look unusually troubled then?”

“You’ve become… accustomed to it?” Lan Zhan asks, once again looking uncharacteristically stricken. Wei Wuxian feels a stir of concern in his stomach and reaches out, placing a hand on the Second Jade’s arm, “You’re accustomed to it.”

Not knowing what to do in response to such open emotion from Lan Zhan, he looks for something to distract him. Immediately, his mind remembers an old promise, “Let’s focus on something more pleasant. It’s about time you saw Lotus Pier in its full glory, Lan Zhan! I want to show you all of my favorite places, including all of the trees I climbed!”

“Wei Ying,” Lan Zhan’s voice is low and pained.

Wei Wuxian’s smile softens as he tugs on the Second Jade’s arm, “Don’t think of unpleasant things, Lan Zhan. It’s a beautiful day and we haven’t seen each other in months! Let’s be happy, alright?”

Wei Wuxian feels a jolt of surprise as Lan Zhan raises a hand and covers his fingers, squeezing gently. The touch is warm and reassuring, and it sets Wei his heart racing.

Lan Zhan studies him for a long moment before dipping his head elegantly, his grip on Wei Wuxian’s fingers still firm and steady, “If Wei Ying wishes it,” He promises, “I will make it so.”

Oh.

---

It all comes to a head at the Discussion Conference. Wei Wuxian is accustomed to being the center of attention these days but the quality of that attention is different now. Instead of wary glances, he sees eyes filled with sympathy and tentative smiles of welcome.

Wei Wuxian being Wei Wuxian, ignores the nagging suspicion that lingers at the back of his mind and smiles brightly back at them.

That seems to make things worse because the looks of sympathy seem to somehow intensify. He even sees a few women blink their limpid eyes and turn away, as though disguising tears. Somewhat alarmed, he glances at Jiang Cheng and winces.

His martial brother is bristling with anger. There’s a thundercloud-like expression on his face as he meets every eye in the room with a clear challenge.

If glances towards him are filled with sympathy, those towards Jiang Cheng are filled with contempt and disapproval. Between that and Lan Zhan’s protective hovering, Wei Wuxian is at the end of his patience.

He needs answers and he needs them now before the situation can escalate somehow.

Baffled by the situation, Wei Wuxian looks around and finds the most reliable source of gossip he can find. “What is going on?” He demands as soon as he is at Nie Huiasang’s side, “Why are people glaring at Jiang Cheng like he’s a fierce corpse?”

Nie Huaisang waves his fan, his expression a strange mix of amusement and grim satisfaction. For one, his old friend doesn’t hide behind his usual prevarications. He glances around the room and seems to catch someone’s eye. Wei Wuxian follows that gaze only to blink as Lan Zhan walks sedately towards them, expression stern and disapproving, “Do you know what’s going on, Lan Zhan?”

The Second Jade remains silent, his eyes fixed on Jiang Cheng. Wei Wuxian sighs in frustration and glares at Nie Huaisang, “Nie-xiong, what?”

His curt tone is enough to snape Nie Huaisang out of his musings. The man smiles wryly behind his fan, “Ah, Wei-xiong,” He waves his free hand, “There has been some speculation about your relationship with-”

“Why don’t you speak up?” A loud voice asks and Wei Wuxian turns around, “Why don’t you defend Wei Wuxian, Jiang-zongzhu? You’re going to let people slander your loyal Head Disciple so boldly?”

It’s Wang Jin, the Sect Leader of Runan Wang Clan. The man’s face is twisted in rage and disgust as he stares at Jiang Cheng. Wei Wuxian frowns, ready to step forward and stand by Jiang Cheng in such a hostile environment.

Lan Zhan’s hand on his arm stops him.

He looks at the Second Jade questioningly but the man just shakes his head, “Wait.”

“Why should he defend him?” An annoying Jin pipes up, his voice sharp and mocking, “We know what Wei Wuxian is! He may pretend to be loyal on the surface, but he is nothing but a faithless dog-”

“Jin Zixun!” Nie Mingjue snaps, “I will not have you insult one of our men in my presence! He fought and bled on our side.”

Nie Mingjue’s words silence him and Jin Guangyao speaks up soothingly as Wei Wuxian frowns, studying the scene with keen eyes, “Let us all calm down. I’m sure Wang-zongzhu means well.” He smiles placidly, “There have been rumors, just a bit of gossip about Wei-gongzi speaking ill of Jiang-zongzhu.” Wei Wuxian tilts his head to the side, mind whirling.

He refuses to be angry. There’s something about this situation that has his instincts rattled. He needs to focus.

“The Hanguang-jin himself said they were lies. Wei Wuxian has never spoken ill of Jiang Wanyin!” Well, that’s not entirely true. He is certain he has called Jiang Cheng a temperamental brat in Lan Zhan’s presence more than once. “Jiang-zongzhu should know better than to-”

“Why does Jiang-zongzhu need to do anything for that man?” Jin Zixun demands and Wei Wuxian feels a stir of amusement. All of this drama on his account? He’s honored.

“What kind of Sect Leader is he?” Wang-zongzhu asks, fuming, “If he doesn’t even defend his own Head Disciple? Has he not brought glory to YungmengJiang? Doesn’t the Sect owe him a debt of gratitude?” Wei Wuxian winces and Jiang Cheng’s expression turns stony, “If you want to talk of rumors, why not discuss the other rumors?” Wang-zongzhu turns to Jiang Cheng with a scowl, “Is he not your brother in all but blood? Didn’t the former Jiang-zongzhu raise Wei Wuxian as his nephew? Is this how YunmengJiang treats its brightest disciple? How will you face Jiang Fengmian, Jiang-zongzhu?”

Wei Wuxian bites back a groan as Jiang Cheng’s expression darkens with fury. This is the absolute worst thing to say to his martial brother.

“Why is he so concerned about this?” Wei Wuxian asks, almost to himself.

Nie Huiasang leans in and whispers in his ear, “His sisters were… assaulted by the Wens.”

Wei Wuxian feels a shudder crawl down his spine and shakes his head. Those disgusting wretches deserved the death he inflicted on them.

He still doesn’t understand what this has to do with him.

He glances at Lan Zhan, he is looking at the scene with his usual frosty expression, giving nothing away. He looks ahead to see Jiang Cheng ready to erupt and frowns. “Lan Zhan, I need to… help, somehow.”

“Wei Ying needs to do nothing.”

He’s about to protest when Jiang Cheng finally snaps, “Glory to YunmengJiang? He has brought nothing but devastation to it!” Wei Wuxian flinches and Lan Zhan steps forward and to the side, pointedly placing himself between the two Jiang Sect cultivators, “YunmengJiang has always been glorious. My ancestors bled and fought for it! We earned our glory through centuries of cultivation and diligence! I owe him a debt? Wei Wuxian owes me the lives of my parents! He provoked the Wens to save Lan Wangji’s life and I lost my family because of it!”

“Jiang-zongzhu, perhaps-”

“Shut up!” Jiang Cheng interrupted Jin Guangyao, “How I treat my Head Disciple is none of your business.”

“It is very much our business if you’re abusing him,” Nie Mingjue says and it silences everyone.

Wei Wuxian is… dumbfounded. He feels like he’s just a mass of confusion at this point because nothing about this situation makes sense. “Abuse?” He whispers harshly to Nie Huaisang, grabbing his arm to drag him away to a quieter corner, “Nie Huaisang, what is going on? Jiang Cheng doesn’t abuse me!”

“Does he not?” It is Lan Zhan who speaks, his expression solemn, “Truly, Wei Ying? Does he not abuse you?”

“Of course, not-”

“So he didn’t threaten you with Zidian?” Nie Huaisang asks, “Or try to physically intimidate you while you were clearly trying to step away?”

Wei Wuxian frowns, “Well yes, but that is just him being angry! He does that all the time.”

“That is no comfort to us.” Lan Zhan says stiffly.

“Didn’t he push you away several times? We have accounts from people who saw you fall to the ground.” Nie Huaisang’s expression is unusually stern, “Didn’t he seek to isolate you from everyone? Didn’t he keep telling you Wangji-xiong hated you?”

“Wangji-xiong gave every impression of hating me.” Wei Wuxian firmly denies, “Let us not attribute that particular error to someone else.”

“Indeed,” Lan Zhan nods graciously, as expected. He wouldn’t be Lan Zhan if he didn’t accept his own mistakes without hesitation.

“Wei-xiong,” Nie Huaisang tucks his fan away and he sees Lan Zhan focus on that, his eyes suddenly sharp, “He has been saying the same thing since you were at Cloud Recesses. He has always dragged you away from Lan Wangji. You saved Lan Wangji and Jin Zixuan’s lives. Why is he so intent on our Second Jade, hmm?”

Wei Wuxian shakes his head, “You’re making this unnecessarily complicated.” He says, “On the surface, all of these actions appear wrong but the intent behind them isn’t cruel.”

“Your love for him blinds you.” Wei Wuxian narrows his eyes sharply at his old friend, “If er-ge treated Wangji-xiong like that, you’d be furious. Just the threat of da-ge whipping would have you reaching for your flute.”

“Huaisang-”

“Did you think we wouldn’t feel the same way?”

Wei Wuxian studies him and Lan Zhan, realizing they are utterly serious. Concerned and a bit baffled, he looks at Jiang Cheng over his shoulder, only to find him nose to nose with Wang-zongzhu. “Heavens,” He breathes and steps forward, determined to intervene.

“You think what?” Jiang Cheng’s voice is full of disgust, “You… you think I have… that I’m some disgusting cutsleeve?!”

Wait, what?

“How dare you?! I would never touch a man!”

“Is that what he’s focusing on?” Nie Huaisang asks incredulously.

For once, Wei Wuxian has nothing to say.

---

It takes a few weeks for fresh rumors to make their rounds. People now know that Jiang Wanyin hasn’t behaved inappropriately with his martial brother, but that doesn’t make much difference.

The cultivation world, in general, still believes that Jiang Cheng’s behavior is abhorrent. Wei Wuxian is tempted to point out the hypocrisy of their words but knows it is futile. Once the masses make up their minds about something, few can persuade them to think otherwise. Jiang Cheng’s reputation has been tainted forever and there’s little they can do about it.

Unfortunately, this issue has also cemented the break between Wei Wuxian and his Sect Leader. There’s nothing that can repair the relationship now. He feels a pang of loss but he had already resigned himself to that when he had given away his Golden Core.

Fortunately, it seems he has some options available.

“Come to Gusu with me,” Lan Zhan says, his tone softer, his voice imploring, “Please.” This time, Wei Wuxian can’t mistake his intent. Lan Zhan’s reaction to the entire mess made one thing very clear to him.

Lan Wangji cares about him.

Isn’t that something? Never in his life did Wei Wuxian think he would be in such a position. He had always assumed Jiang Cheng would be by his side and Lan Wangji would stand against him. But everything is different now.

Wei Wuxian thinks of his childhood home, thinks of a life that has been irrevocably changed, and sinks in those memories for a brief moment. Despite what everyone thinks, there have been some good times. He doesn’t regret the course his life took when he was welcomed to the Lotus Pier by Jiang Fengmian.

He lingers, briefly, on regret,

Then, he shrugs it off and looks into the golden eyes of his future with a grin, “I’ll come to Gusu with you, Lan Zhan.”

And that’s that.

[crossdressingdeath]

This isn't necessarily abt LSZ, byt it annoys me when ppl are like " you must forgive the ppl who wronged you in order to be a good person"

Bcs some were raised passive, some are used to letting go, and learning to love yourself enough to be angry abt what happened is a rlly important and powerful message

I won't argue abt canon, bcs i have fic for it, but, as healthy as it is, it's also frustrating. LSZ has never been shown as a particularly assertive person, and him being angry at what happened would have been satisfying and shown that he's learned the lesson of not tearing yourself down for other's comfort ( which is more WWX to learn than his tbh, but whateves)

JL, on the other hand, who's angry and assertive and doesn't listen to anyone, him choosing to forgive and forget ( WWX) feels more powerful narratively, bcs it's an active choice, not something that's been trained into him, he chose to let go of the anger before to be more happy

So yeah, I've seen a lot of arguments, but i think this is what boils down to. We want passive characters, those who stood and suffered to get angry and validated, because so few of us ever get the chance to

Except... here's the thing. LSZ didn't learn to "tear himself down for others' comfort". He's a peacemaker, yes, he tries to resolve fights, yes, but that's just because he's the sort of person who prefers peaceful resolutions. Come on, that kid was raised by LWJ. I don't doubt for a second he was spoiled rotten. I think people forget that someone preferring to be quiet and gentle isn't the same as being passive; LSZ doesn't assert himself because... well, he doesn't particularly want to. He lets LJY do it for him, most of the time. I have on multiple occasions seen people insisting there's something wrong with LSZ/WWX and LWJ's parenting because LSZ doesn't like to start fights over things that don't matter at the end of the day, and like... there's nothing wrong with being the type to forgive others and let things go, so long as it isn't taken into doormat territory. LSZ chooses to forgive the Lans for their part in his family's deaths, because the Lans a) played a pretty small part on balance and b) have raised and protected him with love and care his entire life when they didn't actually have to do that; I'd argue that's just as powerful as JL forgiving WWX. It's just quieter. And LSZ does assert himself; he's just quiet about it. He doesn't shout like JL does, but he doesn't let himself be ignored either! Remember, it's LSZ who keeps the juniors from making a huge thing about LWJ tying WWX up with the forehead ribbon; the fact that he did it with a smile on his face and without ever raising his voice doesn't make that not assertive! In fact he seems to be the leader of the multi-sect duckling contingent; they all listen to him, even JL at least some of the time (which is more than most people get). Assertiveness and aggression are not synonymous.

So I guess what I'm saying is... why is it that JL is seen as assertive when he shouts and cries but can never get people to do what he wants (he can't even get LJY to stop calling him 'young mistress'!), while LSZ is seen as passive when he actually does get people to do what he wants without ever raising his voice? Why are screaming, crying tantrums (I love JL but. they are tantrums) assertive while calmly taking control of the group and leading them down the path you've decided is passive? Why should LSZ have to scream his anger to the heavens for it to be real? He's not angry at LWJ and WWX, because why would he be? He's not angry (or at least not more angry than anything else) at the Lans, because they're the family that raised him well. Why does it follow that he's not angry at the people actually responsible, people he never talks to and so has no opportunity to openly tear down for causing his family's deaths? And remember, LSZ temporarily leaves the sect to travel with WN (which he as a disciple would've had to get permission to do, by the way; I'd argue that going to LQR and saying "Hey, I'm gonna fuck off to Qishan with my fierce corpse uncle to learn more about my birth family" counts as asserting yourself!); it's partly to learn about his birth family, but I don't doubt he also wanted time to think about things away from the Lans.

You say his "passivity" is something LSZ was trained into, but... come on, look at the Lans. These are the most stubborn assholes in all the sects. They wouldn't be teaching him to be passive, they'd be teaching him to keep his cool while verbally eviscerating his enemies. He was raised to be polite and to show his elders the deference due to their age and experience; that doesn't make him passive. The only time we see him being anything close to passive is when Madam Mo is hurling insults at him, and I'd say that's more "customer service" than any actual passivity. He's expected not to make demands of his elders (hence why he doesn't go off on JC beyond the bounds of "Hanguang-jun says"), but I say again: he's clearly the social leader of his group. He's not passive, he just follows the example of his uncle (who once got two men who hated each other to swear oaths of brotherhood to make him happy; it wasn't a wise move in the long run, but it's impressive he got as far as he did!) and gets what he wants through diplomacy, rather than being intimidating enough to force people to do what he wants.

I... don't actually know where I'm going with this. I guess I just get annoyed whenever people talk like there's something wrong with LSZ (usually something about him being too passive) when... he's probably one of the mentally healthiest characters in the whole cast! This boy was raised well among people who love and care for him and because of that he's doing really well! He doesn't yell and cry when things don't go his way like JL because he was raised in an environment where he was treated with respect as a person, and he forgives the Lans not because he's been raised to passively take whatever's done to him as deserved (like WWX) but because he loves them, because they earned that love by being good to him. Why should that be seen as passive just because he doesn't yell about it?

[phoenixrisesoncemore]

MDZS/CQL RPG mechanics

I was inspired by this awesome post from @wangxian-patriarch with additions by @moonwaif. Go check it out! And assume all those clever details and mechanics mentioned there.

This would work SO WELL for a late 90s PS1-style RPG, where graphics were improving and storylines/character arcs were becoming crazy complex but it was still kind of the Wild West/anything goes/take all the risks you want. And the best games (IMO) are those that mix genres in an episodic fashion and MDZS/CQL totally fits the bill for that! CQL even does it, itself.

This got so long that I hated to clog up their post with a reblog. Bear with me here. Batshit crazy thoughts coming at a million miles per hour. In addition to all the above wonderful stuff: picture this structured like a 75%/25% split of MDZS/CQL (because I think the interspersed flashbacks work better for a game where you get to see your past choices affect the present in chunks) but with 75% of the character expansions from CQL. AKA, more Shijie, meet WQ and WN in Cloud Recesses, interact with them at the Wen Indoctrination. Your choices determine at what pace the relationship with LWJ proceeds (see below)? The POV is always WWX.

Intro/tutorial: Mo Manor. WWX is your main character, obv. The main present story arc is a mostly linear action/adventure RPG. Mo Manor is your tutorial/training ground where you’re introduced to the main game mechanics, learn a bit about the world via NPC interaction and MXY’s notes, and get handed the first mystery/what appears to be the main game goal: who did MXY want you to get revenge on? Melodies keeps popping into WWX’s head. Begin mini game where you are introduced to the game’s musical mechanics as WWX tries to remember melodies. Most are eerie and harsh, but there is one WWX finds “strangely soothing” even though he can’t remember where it is from. Remember these songs, especially that soothing one, because it’s going to be important soon! Introduction of basic sword-based cultivation battle mechanics via an impromptu party forming with the ducklings against the corpse arm (WWX can join in with talismans or something relatively innocuous for now). Eventually WWX goes secret solo battle using flute-less demonic cultivation battle mechanics. Can you remember how to play some of those tunes to summon fierce corpses? Then LWJ appears and it’s time for you to get the Hell out of Dodge before there are questions about what you just did. Cue short sequence of getting out of Mo Village before you’re caught. Begin Little Apple game mechanics.

Dafan Mountain Quest. First big mission. Gather info and piece together the mystery while avoiding too much attention from the Jiang sect cultivators or Game Over. Solve the mystery and begin the first boss fight alongside the ducklings! But talismans and whistling isn’t cutting it any longer. Flute-based demonic cultivation mechanics activate! Remember those songs WWX has had going through his head. You’re going to need all of them now. Game Over if Jin Ling is killed by the goddess! Also: surprise! the goddess can only be defeated by a finishing move which requires summoning a high level fierce corpse. Which song is it? Succeed and summon Wen Ning, but oh no! he’s in berserk mode. Hmmm, what about that soothing song? Better remember how to play it fast or Wen Ning will kill the other cultivators and Game Over.

FLASHBACK: Cloud Recesses. I need this to somehow incorporate and deconstruct the school dating sim genre. I don’t know how, but I need that. Sharing loquats and Emperor’s Smile and causing trouble will sure make you popular. The rooftop fight seems like a standard fighting setup. Is there a way to mix those two genres? A fighting mini game inside a dating sim? Because there needs to be! Is Biling Lake a mini action-platformer segment? Also agree: Jiang Cheng interaction and combo learning here—sneak out to explore the back hill and learn pair fighting dynamics. Use WWX’s original sword-based cultivation skills. Rabbit-catching mini game. Decide what colors you want to gift to increasingly grumpy Lan Zhan. Get to know Mianmian and she’ll be more active in helping you later. Befriend NHS and change dialog trees with him in present arc.

Present day Cloud Recesses: your home base. Sandbox. Your actions in the flashback effect the present day Cloud Recesses. Did you hide some Emperor’s smile somewhere 16 years ago? Home of rabbit-raising mini game and various troublemaking side quests. You get points for every Lan Clan rule you break (and how deeply you corrupt the ducklings). The challenge is in figuring out how to break them. Break enough rules and gain early access to the library’s restricted section where you can learn all kinds of new unorthodox cultivation techniques. Break all of them and get a super awesome power-up. Up to a certain point you can return here with LWJ on Bichen once he joins your party. Duckling night hunts are initiated here?

Lan WangJi Joins the Party. The main body of the game commences as you begin the quest to solve the Mo Manor mystery and figure out who MXY wanted you to get revenge on. Your choices/skill in the flashbacks as they occur will alter (somewhat) the events of this, the game’s main “spine.” Each town/city encountered on the road trip has its own aesthetic and NPC populace from which you have to collect clues and learn what your next moves should be. Lots of immersive qualities and learning about the current political/social situation. Fierce corpse and ghost fights along the way. Collect (offensively inaccurate) YLLZ and Sunshot memorabilia. Slowly grow your affinity with LWJ in battle and use the skills for pair fighting you learned with Jiang Cheng to build towards those awesome battle-couple combos. LWJ will remain in your party for the rest of the main game (excluding flashbacks) except for short bits like Yi City. You can play WWX’s dizi along the road for practice and to up your skill level. Depending on how often and in what circumstances you play Wangxian and how you interact with LWJ you’ll start to get different (but still evasive) answers if you ask him how he knew it was you. Remember to play Rest so NMJ’s pieces don’t get out of hand.

Because this is long: more below the cut

The Man-eating castle. Logic puzzle dungeon. Try to outclever NHS in dialog trees to get him to spill information.

Chang Manor. Mystery dungeon with final grave robber boss fight. Learn about the story of XXC, SL, and XY as you explore Chang manor, looking for clues as to what happened. Avoid traps set by XY.

Yi City. I mean: THE FOG. It’s Silent Hill. It’s Fatal Frame. It’s a survival horror dungeon. How long and involved should the Empathy section be? How does the gameplay change there?

Explore Jin Lin Tai. Stealth dungeon. Sneak around Jin Lin Tai as first “MXY” and later as Paperman WWX (AH! Sudden scale/mechanics change), gathering clues and looking for NMJ’s head. Empathy cutscenes.

Escape Jin Lin Tai. Action segment/beat em up. A place to really show off those growing battle-couple mechanics with LWJ.

FLASHBACK: Happy Times at Lotus Pier. The closest we’ve been to the light-hearted gameplay of the first Cloud Recesses flashback. WWX. JC, and JYL involved in shenanigans at Lotus Pier. Maybe we even get the Lotus Seed Pod Extra content of stealing lotuses from the old man. Get a chance to use those Jiang Cheng combos you learned in the CR flashback. Last chance to use those sword cultivation techniques. Nostalgia galore.

FLASHBACK (cont): Indoctrination/Xuanwu Cave. WWX/JC party using non-sword techniques. Eventually morphs into a WWX/LWJ party. This would be the first time chronologically that they would have fought together.

FLASHBACK (cont): Lotus Pier Attack and Escape. I totally agree with the above that this will ultimately work out to stealth escort missions as you work to get JC to safety with WN’s help.

FLASHBACK (cont): Thrown into Burial Mounds. This could be super expressionistic. Wandering through Burial Mounds trying to stay alive, but with crazy nightmare-like elements. Think of the way Eternal Darkness messed with player perceptions and even broke the 4th wall when it came to game mechanics. Maybe this even bleeds seamlessly into the supervisory office deaths and Wen Chao’s chase and death.

Return to Cloud Recesses. More areas to explore are unlocked. Dialog trees with LWJ. Feelings.

Journey to Burial Mounds. This is your chance to really grind and refine those battle couple combos. Side-quests? How far has word spread that the YLLZ is back? How will that effect the way you can or can’t interact with NPCs. I also like the idea of interspersing the flashbacks from Sunshot and up through the building of the Burial Mounds settlement in here, so as to have the player get to interact with and design the settlement in the past before the ruins of it are seen in the present.

FLASHBACK: Sunshot. mashup of beat em up/strategy tactics using demonic cultivation with chenqing and the tiger seal to clear a path for the army of cultivators. WWX is a party of one for this.

FLASHBACK (cont): Post Sunshot. More deconstructed social sim mechanics. Use chenqing to help JC bag prey on Phoenix Mountain. Social decision trees at that really uncomfortable conference scene. Qiongqi Path rescue of the Wen Refugees. The LWJ in the rain confrontation either does or does not happen (or happens somewhat differently) depending on how your relationship has progressed thus far in the past.

FLASHBACK (cont): Building Burial Mounds Settlement. Settlement/Survival Sim elements. Choose where and how to build and what to grow. Play with and protect a-Yuan. Work to revive WN. Make demonic cultivation tools. Whatever you make will still exist in future and can be gathered/used for the Second Siege battle. JC duel (ouch, there’s those moves you learned together being used against you). Play around in YiLing with LWJ and a-Yuan. Spend the day as a family. Feelings.

Arrive at Burial Mounds. Explore the ruins of the place you built. Feelings. Gather items. Release the Juniors. Fight with the Cultivators.

FLASHBACK: Death of JZX/Nightless City. Beat em up using Wen Ning at Qiongqi Path. At Nightless City this time you’re solo sending hordes towards the cultivators. Heart breaking solo battle against LWJ, as with JC, he now knows and can anticipate your moves based on your previous flashback interactions. HORRIBLE TRAGEDY AND MASSIVE DEATH.

Second Seige of Burial Mounds. Massive beat em up where you finally get to utilize the full extent of your battle-couple skills along with Wen Ning in a series of brawls to end all brawls, eventually the ducklings join your party for brawl wave 3. You know that really big battle that happens near the turning point of video games that’s inevitably the second or third biggest battle of the game (and sometimes more difficult than the actual final boss battles)? That’s this one.

Return to Lotus Pier. Here’s where you get memories of WWX’s first night at Lotus Pier and YanLi saving him from the tree are interspersed as you explore the heartbreakingly different present day Lotus Pier. As with the other locations that you experience in both past and present, some choices in the past effect the location in the present. FEELINGS.

YunPing City: Final major location. Explore and gather info. Prep for the final battle. Drunk LWJ mini game shenanigans. (Sexy time? I mean, Indigo Prophecy did it...) Stealth your way into Guanyin Temple.

Guanyin Temple Climax: Dialog trees with JGY determine how difficult he is to defeat here in battle. Final boss fight against NMJ’s fierce corpse: poignant party/combo with both JC and LWJ.

Denouement. Maybe the Sizhui revelation happens differently depending on how you interact with him throughout the game. Obv NOT getting the revelation is considered the BAD ending.

Ultimately, how the relationship between WWX and LWJ unfolds in CQL and MDZS is influenced by the plot structure (or at least is better served in each medium by how it makes use of the plot structure). The character of that relashionship journey is so different between the mediums, but each has wonderful aspects. How that plays out here is kind of up in the air without nailing more things down. Is it possible your actions could determine the timing and expression of the ship such that you end up with something more distinctly MDZS or something more distinctly CQL? (And by that I don’t mean one is overtly sexual and one isn’t, but rather whether the revelation of their feelings comes all at once near the end or rather more gradually, shifting in intensity and character as the plot goes along). That would be quite a thing to pull off without breaking the central narrative. I don’t even want to think about how complex that decision tree would be, but it could potentially be kind of amazing!

[miyu-hyperfixates]

Random post-canon MDZS headcanon #2

WWX and NHS’s relationship post-canon is truly weird and complicated. No one quite know if they get along or hate each other guts [not even them]. But whether they are friend or not, at each gathering without exception one of them would seek the other out. [Sometimes they don’t even need gathering, one of them would randomly pop up at each other’s place]

Then will ensue a conversion full of passive aggressiveness where taunts in the forms of veiled flattery would made, where vague barbs and pointed comments would be thrown around, and laughter would also come up at weird instance. In other words the tones and mood of their conversation could change at the drop of the hat. [Sometimes it would even swing widely in the space of less than an incense]. 

That’s because since WWX and LXC got closer to each other once WWX started to live in Cloud Recesses, WWX actually witnesses how depressed LXC is. And he can’t really forgive or forget that NHS was like 66% behind this.

NHS feels really guilty about it, but didn’t have the courage to go see LXC yet.

Another feature of their relationship is that since WWX discovered that NHS had a knack for digging up dirt, any time one of his ducklings happened to need information, WWX would make a point to tell them “Go ask Nie-zongzhu, I am sure he doesn’t know anything about it.”  Cue super confused ducklings. But since they are dutiful they still obeyed and went to ask NHS .

And because NHS still feels like he owes WWX a debt, he would grudgingly give the information. If it’s something that he truly doesn’t know, then he’ll send one of his disciples to do search and dig out the information. [NHS: Wei-xiong, you wouldn’t happen to know why the juniors keep coming to me to ask for information? WWX, *straight face*: No clue. NHS: That’s a shame... I’d really appreciate it though if they stopped doing that. If you out who they are would you pass the message for me? I really hate the extra work. WWX: Sure.... *Five minutes later, after one of the junior wonder about sth very inconsequential like where the fruits they ate come from or where is the best shop to buy whatever* WWX, without hesitation: Go ask Nie-zongzhu .]

 Speaking of the Nie disciples and juniors...      

 Officially there are some of them, but their cultivation level are average at best so no one really pay attention to them.[Like they were there the whole time, even during pre-canon and canon events... they just have a very low presence, think kuroko from KnB]

But… they are everywhere. NHS has started a really complicated and throughout spy networks comprised of orphan kids and street rats that he had trained himself to be as innocuous as possible… Some might know each other, but only NHS really know how many and who they are.

WWX is aware of their existence and that prompted the game of “Catching the Canary”: Just to piss off NHS, he’d start to randomly pick some kids to accompany them on Nigh Hunts… He says it’s a teaching experience for his ducklings to protect the civilian (NHS says freaking bullshit, as eight time out of ten, it is actually one of the NHS spy that is getting picked)

No one knows how WWX does it, but what is actually scarier is LSZ… Somehow he can always pick up the spy… (truth is… Sizhui is just naturally kind and wouldn’t dismiss anyone even very low presence people, but because NHS spies are paranoid they think that he knows… and so they’ll be like “I’ll do better next time” and LSZ thinking that they’re talking about cultivation or something always nods “Good luck, you can do it” and then endeavor to remember them so that he’ll know if their path cross some others time…. (which is the opposite of what they want…) and the other juniors had taken their cues from LSZ so all of them are starting to do it too [with more or less success...]. (WWX thinks it’s hilarious, while NHS is starting to think the juniors are actually his natural enemy or something)  

And because of LSZ reputation of always noticing the NHS juniors, even if LSZ pinpoints a kid that isn’t part of the Nie Sect, the other Nie spies think that the kid is… because well, even they don’t know everyone for safety issues, but if LSZ noticed them then they must be an NHS’s spy… SO they’ll give a report to the random kid… who’ll be super baffled and say “But I don’t know you???” “yeah, yeah and I don’t know you!” “No I really don’t know what you’re talking about!” “Look I’m in a hurry so if you could report back to Zongzhu as quick as possible it would be great!” “O…kay?” “Great” Most of the time, the random kid doesn’t dare to go seek an audience with a sect leader (no matter how bad his reputation as a slacker) just for such a weird thing. But some are actually more brave and dutiful so they’ll actually go and then NHS would look at them and be like “Who?” [He’ll actually take some of them in as disciples, because why the hell not? ]

NHS would complain about it to WWX during one of their Passive Aggressive friendly chat. Like whoa they have refined passive aggressive conversation to a whole new level: sometimes their entire  conversation were made of metaphor, quotes, insinuation and imagery... So much that eavesdroppers would be like “What kind of language is this? Are they cursing each other??”  

It happened to LSZ and LJY, who had gone with WWX to visit NHS…. They were completely baffled with the whole conversation. Though when they related it back to Jin Ling who had pretty much learned the language “Passive Aggressiveness”  through sheer osmosis. [Come on he grew up in Jinlintai, Passive Aggressive might as well be the native language. And he was raised with an uncle who couldn’t talk without seeming passive aggressive or plotting something and another uncle who always default at being at first super aggressively passive and then just outright super aggressive after some time]

He’d just scoff and be like “What are you talking about? They’re obviously having fun.” 

[aheartfullofjolllly]

Hello It's your 🦉 friend! This is going to be a 2 part ask because as usual, I like to babble a lot (I hope you don't mind! 😅) I agree with you 100% about Jingyi ohh my god that boy had me crackling every single time he spoke!😂 Also WWX as MXY was the thing that got me hooked to MDZS in the first place! 😂 I stayed on board because of his shamelessness and then I never left! 😂 As for having a favorite part in the novel..gosh so many scenes comes to mind! MDZS has such a vast universe that(1)

it's hard to pick one moment and call it my favourite.I loved the Xue Yang storyline a lot. I loved the part when where Wen Ning told Jiang about his core and left him shook! I loved every single one of the soft WangXian moments throughout the story. What LWJ went through after WWX died broke my heart and killed me. So, yeah I have too many favourite parts 😂 now as for your ask, talk about LWJ to me. What do you like about him? What do you dislike? (Just tell me anything I'll take it! 😂)—🦉(2)

Hellooo! Of course I don’t mind long asks. Type away! I enjoy them so much! 😂  HAHAHAHA mxtx was smart to write wwx as mxy at the very beginning because you really would want to read more of his antics.

Omggg the whole golden core revelation. Even I was left shookt despite already knowing what happened hahaha. Ngl, Yi City Arc was the hardest for me to get through (and the longest to read hahaha) because I was just so sad. the. whole. time. (but it gave us so many hilarious juniors moments hahahaha). LISTEN. Guanyin temple. When lxc was telling wwx everything and wwx was like I GOTTA GO (and jgy was all, YOU’RE HELD CAPTIVE WTF DUDE). I am here for it. Hahahahahaha.

So on to your question. 

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways… HAHAHA. Where do I even begin?

“Mark your words”, ‘nuff said.

DRUNKJI. I was living for all the drunkji scenes, I could cry.

Sad drunkji moment with the wen sect brand :( I’m not okay.

The ways he grieved wwx.

How it only took him 0.0000005 seconds to accept that he is now A-Yuan’s other father because A-Yuan is, for all intents and purposes, wwx’s son.

His loyalty

His utter devotion to wwx

All the times he stood up for wwx. That one in Jinlintai when jgs was sowing lies to malign wwx and at the steps post-time skip when he would not allow wwx to just take all the blame for himself. That whole single-plank bridge love confession in the middle of everyone else pointing their swords at him and wwx. Iconic.

His fighting skills. Nothing sexier than an angry lwj in battle.

His relationship with lxc

The hc of lwj and mian mian as bffs

The fact that he didn’t become like his father despite the potential to be

How attuned he is to the people he care about

Hanguang-jun and his little ducklings

GO TO HORNY JAIL LWJ - y’all know what I’m talking about hahahaha 

How he is so icy to everyone else except to a chosen few

The fact that he kept the rabbits t_t lwj in a field of rabbits all day everyday please.

SUNSHOT CAMPAIGN LWJ (the hair, the robes, the eyebrows) 

The idea of lwj teaching lsz Inquiry

Baby lwj with his mother and lxc

When he and jc got along for 3 months and then years later would have the funniest and tensest moment in the history of television. LMFAO.

“You are not qualified to speak to me.”

Yes, I used my own gif lmfao. Anyway, I think that’s long enough. I typed this at 2:30 in the morning so coherence has gone out the window. I hope you enjoyed this little mess of my love for lan wangji hahahaha. 

Hey 🦉, who is your favourite mdzs character and what do you love most about them? 💕

[wangxianficrecs]

oh they call us young and free (hold the golden gates open) by Treha

oh they call us young and free (hold the golden gates open)

by Treha

T, 11k, wangxian

Summary:  Before he was feared for massacring people by the four digits, before he was the master of a mountain built of corpses and rage, Wei Wuxian was just a wild child with dreams too big to hold. He set them aside to drag the sun down to the earth, then let them go when he took his last breath. There is no room for blooming stars when the night sky is filled with smoke and screams.

Except now there are fluffy rabbits in the hills, less fluffy but equally cute duckling disciples trailing behind him, and a loving husband on one side and a loving son on the other. Perhaps it is time he picked up those long forgotten dreams.

::In which it's another time-travel fic, except there's very little substance and far too much prose - but at least there's happy endings all around.

My comments:  Author says, "I love our favourite tragicomic moron of a genius, and so in the end, I suppose all of this is just me waxing poetic about how easy it is to be drawn to his character. (◕▿◕✿)"

Character study, first and foremost. First two chapters are current wwx, musing about ways to go back in time. 3-5 are him back, just, joyful and shameless in the power of his old body (he's a bit over-powered, but that's just fun), using all his skills, enacting little fix-its all over the place (like the Jiang family's dysfunctional relationships; he takes no shit from madam yu and just challenges her to a duel whenever she threatens him with Zidian... and wins every time). He has a blast at Gusu, flirting with lwj and teasing lqr. And he's always aware of how fleeting time is, the lives around him are, and is determined to protect and enjoy them. Author's descriptions of him as a blazing light of warmth and laughter and genius are truly a love letter.

time travel fix it, canon divergence, hurt/comfort, angst, family feels, students at cloud recesses, BAMF wei wuxian, body dysphoria, established relationship, implied/referenced suicide, fluff, humor, character study, powerful wei wuxian, genius wei wuxian, OP wei wuxian, happy ending, 

(You may wish to REBLOG as a signal boost for this author if you like – or think others might like – this story.)

[eyeslikefoxglove]

Episode 7 - Wei Wuxian would cut a bitch for Shijie (we all would) & Lan WangJi can’t believe he’s in love with this gremlin

Hello and welcome to the commentary for episode 7. Still on a plane, the cat is being an exceptional travel buddy, the surgical mask is choking me and I still have between 5 and 8 hours to go depending on me being able to catch the earliest train possible.

Wei “all women are badass queens” Wuxian.

Do y’all ever think that when JC saw those two reappear and fall in that compromising position that he thought his brother, the asshole, had fucked off to snog his bf and they’d gotten lost/lost track of time? I’m pretty sure he thinks they’re at least hate-kissing (I’m not going to say hate-fucking bc JC is a maiden aunt and he would never think such things)

You know what makes me mad? They left her guqin there. Whyyyyyy.

Is NHS saying that he thinks “got lost the whole night” is an euphemism for “we went on a date and didn’t check the time”?

These two petty bitches. My god, they’re supposed to be evil but they’re giving each other looks like two cheerleaders who’re trying to date the same dude from the football team.

It’s the lanterns y’all, the lanterns!

THAT TINY CHARMED SMILE ON LWJ’S FACE.

So WWX wants to release a lantern together with LWJ, and MianMian wonders why XuanLi didn’t release a lantern together since they’re about to be married. You see where I’m going? I mean, there’s probably a lot of tradition and societal cues that are going right over my head but let me live ok? I’m just having a blast finding all the ways everyone who worked on this went: censorship who?

(Tiny interlude here to talk about ChengQing, I love JC’s soft face when he hears her wish for her brother’s safety. It’s kind of like “oh, we are the same”)

And that is the exact moment LWJ fell in love. Also, probably when he decided to leave alone so WWX would stay safe.

This whole scene is stunning.

MianMian you’re so cute.

I thought it was Altair and Vega, not Altair and Lyra? Ok no, I googled it, the stars are Altair and Vega, the constellations are Aquila and Lyra. (Awkward peacock is awkward)

WWX about to cut a bitch.

Shijie has to become friend with MianMian too. Blanket and kittens for Shijie.

WWX you’re a weirdo. And I just cracked up at LWJ’s frustration.

Oh no, it’s this creeper. PSA: I hate JGS and I hope he dies in a fire.

You guys, I’m bitting my lip. The audacity of this clown saying “marriage is serious”.

As much as I don’t like JFM and his head-in-the-sand syndrome I’m with him about XuanLi having to work it out themselves.

I love the Yunmeng sibs and you will pry them from my cold dead hands.

[Hi, foxglove here with a travel update: we made it home safely on Saturday evening. All the cats are mad at each other, but that always happens, and I realised how damn difficult is to merge two lives back together. Or you know, two full wardrobes and two makeup collections and all the textbooks]

Moving on with the commentary, I’m currently sharing a sofa with one of the cats btw.

Here I come again spitting blood because LQR is recommending WWX gets disciplined more/more often. 1) don’t tell other people how to raise their kids. 2) your idea of discipline is beating kids up so fuck right off.

I know corporal punishment was common back then, and as I said, I’ve been thrown la zapatilla a few times, but we don’t condone hitting kids/teens in this household. And no, I’m not saying WWX wasn’t a fucking gremlin at Cloud Recesses because he was, just don’t fucking beat him up.

Y’all are going to forgive me for dumping another of my hc in the commentary but I am absolutely sure LWJ took a look at the ducklings when they were actual kids and decided over his dead body was anyone going to use corporal punishment on any of them. Not only was the fact that he was lashed and put in pretty much solitary confinement for doing the right thing quite fresh, one of the ducklings was his own kid and the other was Jingyi, who I’m willing to be he reminded him of WWX just a little. Yes, most of my hc about LWJ are him being salty at the Gusu Lan sect bc I am salty at the Gusu Lan sect and need validation.

Yunmeng siiiiiibs! Also, I believe that JC’s “LWJ hates you so much stop pestering him” are his way of saying “look bro, I see your monster crush but I can’t tell if he’s marriage serious about you, so back tf off before he breaks your heart. (Bc then I’ll have to break his legs and I can’t win in a fight against him)”

Yunmeng siiiiibs.

LWJ: of course I’m not telling him I’m going after the Yin iron. Because I am both incapable of talking to him like a normal human (I mean look at him he’s so... *Bichen grip*) and also terrified I won’t be able to protect him and he’ll get hurt on my watch.

BUNBUNS. LOOK AT THE BUNBUNS

HOW’S WWX CUTER THAN THE BUNBUNS. THEY’RE BUNBUNS.

And with that stunningly witty observation I leave you until next time.

Thanks for reading!

[inessencedevided]

The Untamed, episode 9 - watching notes

Remember: our heros (and that nei guy) are being attacked very slow, very polite  zombies right now

Lol that’s the first time lwj has used the silencing spell on anyone but wwx

Seriously, isn’t nie also a cultivator? Why is he so scared?

Awesome wen quing to the rescue!!!

It’d be kinda funny if she let the zombies away and they followed the sound of her flute like ducklings follow their mother

Jiang cheng and wwx brotherly love feels so real. I love it

So … is wen qing turning against her clan?

Not gonna lie, the atmosphere in the scene after they leave the others? That’s just beautifully crafted and creepy as hell

Btw, I just realised what was different this whole time! It’s the fact that lwj is only wearing two layers of ropes and not three :D

This mist is somehow magical right?

“Glitter talisman” :D

This is the first time they are really working together (without being forced into the situation) and it’s absolutely beautiful. They’re so in sync!

Why tf do they just leave the bird there???? Isn’t it, like, evidence or something?

Wait?? I thought the Wen clan were the fire nation people? Now apparently they’re all dead? Did I mix something up?

So wen ning got part of his spirit snatched? :’(

So, I did mix something up. The fire nation people are not the wen clan. That’s just wen quing and her brother who were raised by them … or am I wrong again? I think I am. They are calling them the Wen clan.  Now I’m just confused again

The disaster bros see a chicken on the road “hmmmn, a snack!” 🤤

Now knows nothing except for how to catch his food. A man after my own heart

I don’t give wwx enough credit. That chicken was an a+ distraction

They’re sitting in the tavern and lwj is just watching wwx the whole time. While  he isn’t looking. Very sneaky :D

I think this is easily the most brutal episode so far. That’s just a hell of a lot of corpses.

Nooooo, why another freezeframe!? And it’s not even as if this was a particularly action packed moment. They could have just panned away from wwx!

@sweetlittlevampire

@fandom-glazed

@elenirlachlagos

[thesporkidentity]

The a-yuan broke my heart, I was crying like the final flashback battle all over again but they were happy tears, ya know? THE LEG HUG!!! Also is it just my dumb self or was his costume slightly different between the walking and then the final playing in those final 30 seconds? Not lying it's perfect either way but oh if it's like a little while later I can't with my child. Also oh my goodness can that boy smile like a sunbeam, my heart has been restored from the PAIN, SO MUCH PAIN.

Also with bby!Nie I literally called it, I knew something was up I was screaming and hollering. Don’t get me wrong there’s enough in the flashback that yeah they’re all dumb together but there’s enough hints there, just enough. It was very well done that section. I’m being extremely vague in case the other anon’s still around. I literally love everyone on the show even though in some cases I really shouldn’t because… jsdjcsd they belong in the garbage can.             

Don’t get me wrong I sympathize with them very deeply in some cases but in other cases like dude I wanna slam dunk them in the garbage where they belong for very good reasons. They seem to have added a lot more gray into the live drama from what I hear, which makes it a bit easier in every case but the consent issues (oh god the consent issues, that’s not going to be fun). I’m glad I might still get to try the AD! Apparently it’s the same voice actors so it’s like a rewatch but more canon ;)            

THE. LEG. HUG. he’s just such a precious baby duckling! and he’s ALIVE! and my god lan zhan fucking RAISED HIS CHILD FOR HIM like that is devotion right there and he did such a good job he turned out so well like even before knowing WHO he was he was ALREADY everyone’s favorite of the juniors.

if you’re talking about between lwj and wwx walking away and then the final thirty seconds with the silence and then the music then yeah it was a different costume. so even after lwj and wwx split to fulfill their own separate duties in the end they still come back together like, lwj tracks him down and finds him again (presumably when his duties are finished and the cultivation world has recovered from that chaos) because they’re fucking cultivation partners and after they do what their honor and goodness demands they finally get their happy ending of just wandering around and doing good together and it makes my heart so full.

nei huisang!!! my little dark horse! yeah i don’t want to spoil it but hot damn.

and yeah i’m not gonna judge you for loving the garbage people like, book jin guangyao is actually one of my favorite characters. (i just find him so fascinating because so much of him is so understandably human that, a few of his crimes aside, i can actually totally understand him. so you end up asking like, what was the tipping point? what number of his mistakes or which of his crimes took him from redeemable to unforgiveable? in a universe a little bit to the left could he have been a force for good or do you side with nie mingjue’s opinion that after his first crime that he could never be anything else?) i like that in most cases the villains in this story are so very human rather than a caricature, like aside from wen ruohan and wen chao they actually have reasons behind the bad things they do besides just ‘oh well they’re an evil character.’

as for the grey morality, the live-action actually took away a lot of that in my opinion (likely due to censorship reasons, so i wouldn’t blame the production for that they very obviously tried as hard as they could to be as faithful as they could) at least as far as the leads go. it’s like they polarized it so like wwx was better and jgy was worse, but at the same time those changes made some of the minor characters a little more gray though i guess because they were minor it was okay? skip these parts if you’re wary of spoilers.

**the villains are more evil, the heroes are more pure. like the show glosses over it but in the book one of jin guangyao’s biggest contributions to the cultivation world is a watchtower project where small groups of cultivators rotate through garrisons spaced out along the countryside in order to make it easier for the people under their protection to get help and to reduce reaction times when they detect surges of resentful energy. like, he fought a lot of the sect leaders on this since setting up garrisons could (and likely was) a first step towards consolidation of power, but at the same time it did protect the commoners and rural areas that a lot of the others deemed unimportant enough to really care about. but because that distracts from his misdeeds the show left it out to make him more explicitly evil. (also the whole NOT MENTIONING THAT HIS SON WAS CONCEIVED BEFORE HE KNEW SHE WAS HIS SISTER AND THEN HE NEVER TOUCHED HER AGAIN, WHY DID THEY HAVE TO TAKE THAT OUT AND MAKE HIM COMMIT INTENTIONAL INCEST??? anyway i’m fine it’s cool whatever) but for the most part everything he does isn’t about power just for power’s sake the way it seemed to be for wen ruohan or jin guangshan, it’s the impulse of someone who was abused and powerless amassing power because maybe if he gets enough he can finally keep himself safe (and the tragic thing is that it will never be enough because he cares so much about what everyone thinks about him that he could never achieve what he would view as “safe”)

and the live-action absolves wei wuxian of…basically all his crimes except maybe having a bit of a temper and a sharp tongue. the whole ancient ancestor of a destroyed clan creating yin metal? the wens already practicing demonic cultivation with xue yang? none of that was in the book. wei wuxian wasn’t just a demonic cultivator, he was the genius who invented it. xue yang didn’t even come in until much later as an imitator. it’s like the difference between someone who uses a gun versus someone who invented the gun and introduced that kind of harm into the world. and no one interfered with his usage of the tiger seal at the pass with jin zixuan or at nightless city. wei wuxian really was just emotionally compromised and he lost control and yeah it wasn’t intentional but it did kill people and it was very much on him.**

so like, there’s a lot more grey in the novel and who you decide to hate and who you decide to forgive is very much of the “when is a monster not a monster? oh, when you love it” variety. so if that’s your bag you might really enjoy that novel.

yeah the consent issues… the consent issues feel in my opinion  like…unnegotiated kink? at least that’s kinda how i interpreted it to get through the sex scenes (and also i’ve read in this series of posts that some of those consent issues are exacerbated by the translation and were not necessarily in the original text). like from POV you can tell that what he says and what he wants are two different things and he definitely wants, but it is not something that would be okay to do in your real life as opposed to in fiction without a pre-scene negotiation and a safe word so the lack of that might be a trouble spot for some people. and if you’re sensitive to that then definitely skip the incense burner extras. if it’s something you’re worried about then i’d say read that series of posts to make an informed decision.

and the voice actor for the AD is the same for wei ying, but different for lan wangji. but the same for some other actors. the live-action took a smattering of different people from the AD and the donghua. but it’s really good and it follows the book canon super closely and the scenes they add are really good.

okay i’ve blabbed on enough at this point i apparently like hearing myself…type? that expression works less well in this context. but yeah, done now lol

[rosethornewrites]

Monday NR, E, & M reading

The usual

Finished

Not Rated:

unexpected soulmates - soulmarks (JC/WN), by nirejseki

Prompt: Soulmarks. True soulmates have soulmarks, and it surprises exactly no one that wwx and lwj have matching marks. what does surprise literally everyone is either Jiang Cheng and Wen Ning have matching marks

Explicit:

Birthday Smash, by Sebastians_Little_Monster

He inhales deeply, hoping his discomfort isn’t as glaring on his face as he feels it. In his peripheral, he can already see his brother's amusement in his struggle.

Sometimes, he questions if Lan Xichen is really on his side.

“No. I am already interested in someone.” he says, then immediately regrets it when he hears Wei Wuxian's mockingly scandalized gasp beside him.

“And Lan Zhan has never told me about this girl?” He coos.

Lan Wangji is very much ready to be done with the night.

Mature:

sell the world your last breath, by cl410

Xue Yang knew no one alive was capable of succeeding in the tasks he’d set forth. So he’d turned to the dead instead, and found what he was looking for and more.

This summoning was Xue Yang’s final revenge, as a way to shatter Jin Guangyao’s carefully laid plans with the one thing he would never see coming.

After all, who would expect a dead man to crawl out of the shadows? Much less one with gifted Xue Yang’s final ambitions carved into his skin: one of wrath and ruin, and another of atonement and restoration.

Unfinished

Not Rated:

One for the Little Kids Who Live Down the Lane, by Anonymous

The Second Jade is righteous, beautiful, valiant, and intelligent. Clearly, the only man good enough for Wei Wuxian's sister.

Explicit:

feast and famine, by luckymarrow

Everyone likes to say things, platitudes, really, about good days and bad days. Wei Ying doesn’t have either. There are good minutes and bad minutes. Good hours and bad hours. Sometimes, they can get four, five hours at a stretch before something goes wrong, but it never lasts.

Wei Ying survives a violent assault. The world keeps turning.

Mature:

Cutting Out a Different Path, by T98

Wei Wuxian wakes up with an old back pain and a lack of a familiar warmth by his side. He groans, moving his arm around the bed to feel for Lan Wangji. Except what he feels is not a bed. Startled, he gets up quickly to find himself on a familiar slab of rock in a very familiar cave. Rubbing his eyes in disbelief, he takes a look around. His half-finished talismans are lying around on the floor and he can hear voices from outside

(Un)Hidden truth, by Sarah_R

After watching his husband; his son; nephew; brother and little radishes dying in front of him one by one because of a source of resentful energy; Wei WuXian dies too as he destroys it.

But instead of darkness; he finds himself back in the past when he had just gotten kicked out of the cloud recess and everything looks so peaceful he can’t stand it. No…no no no he really can’t go through this hell again. Not again. Not after everything was supposed to be over.

Not knowing that Lan WangJi has been thrown back in time as well; he tries; and fails at taking his own life by slitting his throat open in the middle of lotus pier and so; he decides to show everyone the future. If he’s going to live this hell again; he’s going to change it and if these people are suddenly so determined to keep him alive; then he’s not going to let them die either.

It doesn’t matter if they end up hating him just as much as he hates himself.

(Or; another time travel fix-it which happens to be a watching the show fic as well! With our favorite baby boy and his husband; all their ducklings and their very much alive family and friends from the past.)

[frizzyanya]

The Untamed Episode 44, My Commentary!

Spoilers below. In which Lan Wangji does things that Make No Sense to me, though I’m sure he (somehow) means well by keeping his secrets, and there are a lot of people being a whole lot of cute.

Okay and more of LWJ Feeling Things about WWX and kids right off the bat. You could have given me a warning for that! WWX is talking to little Mianmian and pouting and being cute and LWJ is just like half smiling, as he does, and I’m just melting.

This show needs a trigger warning for scenes like that.

TW: Dangerous content, your heart may explode from adorbs, watcher beware.

Also

TW: LWJ smiles in this episode, be forewarned you WILL die from it and there will be NO survivors

They’re in the same market from the A Yuan scenes and reminiscing and ahhhh I forgot how precious that baby was!

LWJ now is most certainly the time to mention, oh yeah, by the way I forgot to tell you he’s alive. Nbd but I saved him from a cruel death and made sure he was well taken care of and well treated all these years, just thought you’d wanna know that.

Okay but like WHY NOT MENTION IT!? THIS MAKES NO SENSE.

Back at the Burial Mounds! That gives another great opportunity to casually be like oh hey! Funny story last time I was here I saved your kid!

So LWJ just gave WWX the sword back, and WWX had to admit that he has no spiritual power, but didn’t explain why. Uggghhhhh it is Very Important to me that everyone knows.

Woah all of the ducklings are tied up in this cave!

HAHAHA at them attempting to fight while tied together what dumdums

The Lan ducklings are sooooo excited to see LWJ. Whatever they might think about WWX, they’re still little LWJ disciples! It’s great!

Lan Sizhui has full faith in WWX “Master Wei, you’ve come to save us!” I LOVE HIM SO MUCH.

LSZ and LJY are the absolute best.

LSZ, LJY, and LWJ just formed a wall in front of WWX so that JL couldn’t get close to him. DYING.

They really really are like the dads to 27 kids. 

JEEZ like every person who’s ever been a character in this show is outside waiting for them. This is no bueno. (Other than LXC and JGY, I think.)

I’m feeling like Jin Ling standing up for the two of them is the best way for this scene to go…

NHS talking to WWX like an old friend and then remembering and hiding beyond some rando is peak him, and I love it.

Like every single person is chanting for him to die except the ducklings and JC. I’d kill for the ducklings to jump out and stand in front of them…

WWX planted a seed of doubt in their heads about the Jin Clan and JGY yaaaassssss.

Puppets coming, so they’re fine to ignore WWX for the moment which is good I guess. (cough like we get to forget about covid now since the protests have started……)

Okay they have to see that the puppets are against WWX here!

NHS might as well be a duckling rather than a clan leader and I’m so here for it.

HOW DOES WWX DO THE FLUTE SPINNING THING I’ve always wanted to be able to do that and never been able to!

They’re all trapped in the cave without their spiritual power and WWX is trying to explain his side and LWJ is not having these interruptions and just silenced the Su dude lol

Ooohhhhh Su dude is the part-Lan-trained bad guy! We knew the bad guy would be someone with Lan training, but I forgot he had that! And he clearly created the puppets, everyone please tell me you’re listening!