#lan wangji believes in quality over quantity

[carrot-felisidad]

Commented something on Pinterest and realized I should post it on tumblr

[songofclarity]

Omg I absolutely agree with your meta about WRH. When I 1st got into the Fandom I used to hate his guts but after I read the novel and watched the donghua I couldn't help but think he was really cool. Something I don't see spoken about often is his competence, not only was his sect the most powerful and richest in his reign but also in the sunshot campaign he was up against the whole cultivation world and they had WWX's demonic cultivation and army of the dead on their side as well as Meng Yao as a spy sneaking them information right from WRH's side and still they couldn't beat him and the war was at stalemate for 3-5 years until WRH was betrayed by Meng Yao whom he trusted and treated like a son and only after they lost WRH's leadership did the Wen sect fall. Also he respects and rewards competence regardless of background and gender etc which makes him look more progressive than most of the cultivation world. I also love how he exudes pure power and self confidence he has that sort of "feline" charisma like how a cat knows 100% and without any doubt that they are the epitome of cathood and that everyone else is beneath them and can never reach their level and also how before you know a cat you think cats are mean tyrannical assholes but then after you get to know them you still believe they are mean tyrannical assholes but also there is far more to them than meets the eye and you can't help but adore them and agree that they are indeed superior and have every right to expect to be worshipped and rule the world. Idk why I went into this cat tangent lol but the point is I believe WRH is very cat-like and maybe that's why I adore him so much because cats are my favorite creatures in the world

Much like a cat, Wen RuoHan sleeps 16 hours a day because an apex predator fears nothing. He wakes up to ask if the Sunshot Campaign is over yet. It's not. He gives a few orders, eats his dinner, throws around a newly gifted catnip toy (he’s quite pleased), and then goes back to sleep near a nice warm fireplace. It's been a long day and he deserves it.

OK, on a serious note, "only after they lost WRH's leadership did the Wen sect fall." 👏👏👏 THANK YOU! The war lasted three years. Wen Chao, Wen ZhuLiu, and Wen Xu all died within days of each other in the first three months. The Qishan Wen Sect is never described as stepping up their game when they realized the Sunshot Campaign was serious. The other sects had Wei WuXian’s demonic cultivation and Meng Yao’s spying.

And STILL the other sects could. not. win.

Jumping back to the top of your ask, it's pretty easy to hate Wen RuoHan at first. The fandom blames him for literally everything even though we see in real time how Wang LingJiao, Wen Chao, and Meng Yao all make their own, terrible choices. The donghua makes Wen RuoHan into a murderous aggressor trying to take over the cultivation world. CQL went with the a more traditional cdrama evil man who doesn't seem to know which way is up.

On a side note, I'm constantly confused when I see people say Wen RuoHan declared the Sunshot Campaign on the other Sects because, like, no? It's literally in the name: the other sects are trying to shoot down the sun! If this was Wen RuoHan's war, it would be more akin to the Scorched Earth Campaign.

So Wen RuoHan being at the head of the Wen Sect with four other great sects trying to take him down and holding steady is such a testament to his competency, you're absolutely right! And at the helm of his competency is his delegation.

Does he delegate to good, responsible people? No, and that’s what gets him into trouble, but I think his delegation is also what makes him popular with his sect and with guest cultivators. He’s powerful and he’s willing to share that power.

What's funny about the Qishan Wen Sect was that it was indeed the most powerful and richest, but Wei WuXian also notes how bad their general cultivators are. That Lan XiChen, Lan WangJi, Wei WuXian, and Jin ZiXuan all ranked in the top four at the archery competition isn't just due to their outstanding skill. It's also because the Wen juniors were just... frankly bad. Wen Ning has stage fright and Wen Chao lacks talent. The Waterborne Abyss was pushed into Gusu territory not as an attack on Gusu, but very likely because the Wen cultivators were not able to destroy it so they just pushed it outside their borders.

So the Wen Sect is really quantity over quality. Yu ZiYuan is a badass lady with a lightning whip and should not have died at Lotus Pier, but Lotus Pier was completely overrun so of course she stood no chance.

And the lack of quality also lies with the guest cultivators. The guest cultivator who threw Nie Dad under the bus, Wang LingJiao, and Meng Yao are all horrible people. Wang LingJiao and Meng Yao are noted for their poor cultivation. Both of them would have been killed before the crucial point if our actual Wen fam, Wen ZhuLiu and Wen RuoHan respectively, did not step in to save them.

Which makes it all the more impressive that Wen RuoHan's leadership held back not just the four sects (perhaps closer to three as the Yunmeng Jiang were recruiting probably rogue cultivators and training a lot from scratch) but also Wei WuXian with his demonic cultivation! Didn't the rumors talk about how Wei WuXian could kill thousands on his own? I don't recall Wei WuXian ever denying it, although at that rate I'd be surprised if there was anyone left to fight after three years, so it’s probably exaggerated lol He’d still be terrifying, however!

Meng Yao's spy work perhaps saved the other four sects from being decimated but his spy work was never enough to give them the upper hand. (Although I have a LOT of thoughts about what that spy work was meant to achieve in general.) Did Wen RuoHan ever know there was a spy? Would it have mattered when it had such little effect??

Wen RuoHan absolutely son-zoned Meng Yao and it's infuriating to me how often Wen RuoHan is treated by fandom as abusing Meng Yao in some capacity. There is no sign that Meng Yao ever suffered in Nightless City. That was always kind of the point of us seeing empathy: Meng Yao was in his stride, he murdered, and he was given a choice and he voted torture.

When we hear about the Fire Palace and how Meng Yao invented all those torture devices, that's Meng Yao being honored for his talent in torture. Wen ZhuLiu changed his name to Wen in order to follow Wen RuoHan and Wen Chao even comments that he can't do anything to punish Wen ZhuLiu because his father thinks Wen ZhuLiu is a rare talent. Talent is protected. Talent is promoted.

Wen RuoHan absolutely rewards talent -- which is, I like to point out, something we only ever see Nie MingJue do when he explains why he promoted Meng Yao. By comparison, Jiang FengMian only praises Wei WuXian, the Gusu Lan bullied Su She out rather than acknowledge he was talented in his own right, and the Jin only ever use their guest cultivators, such as Xue Yang, like tools to be used and thrown away. While Nie MingJue gets closest by raising up Meng Yao, however, he doesn't seek to cultivate Meng Yao's skills and instead sends him on his way when Meng Yao has other goals.

Wen RuoHan not only rewards talent but he also nurtures it. Wen Chao is given opportunities to practice being a leader and organizer. It's said by cultivators later in the novel that Wen RuoHan taught Meng Yao his sword technique--the same technique that Meng Yao likely used to kill him. Note how Nie MingJue observed from the start that Meng Yao's sword skills needed work, but we never see or hear about Meng Yao doing any training with the Nie. So Meng Yao goes from being a terrible swordsman to being good enough to kill Wen RuoHan fast enough that he suffers no backlash.

Although is Wen RuoHan the type of person who would harm someone he had son-zoned? The manhua gave us a gift by showing us the shocked and betrayed look on Wen RuoHan's face and the completely unapologetic look on Meng Yao's.

That isn’t to say that Wen RuoHan, as the enemy, didn’t somehow deserve to be taken down, but it does say a lot that the only way to defeat him was through a personal betrayal. And it says a lot that, with Wen RuoHan ruling over a city-sized cultivation sect that welcomed plenty of outsiders, he never felt like he had to watch his back.

[joyfulpoet]

Handsome Brothers’ Daycare

Modern AU crossover where Lan Wangji collects all his queer brothers to help him run a daycare.

Part 1 | Part 2

~~~~ part 3

The man seated across from him at the cafe did look rather, unwell. He was so pale his skin was almost translucent; face thin, with dark smudges under the eyes. It was concerning. But Yue Qingyuan had insisted that his friend Shen Yuan was interested in the job and that his doctors had given the ok for him work again, as long as it wasn’t overly stressful.

Of the business tycoons that Lan WangJi had met before leaving the business world behind, Yue Qingyuan was a rare breed. He was more for quality over quantity; valuing getting the job done right even if it took an extra year to do it. This had at first earned him a lot of criticism from others, but as every job he handled went off without a hitch and none of them turned sour later. Many of those critics learned it was better to swallow their tongues then to bad mouth him. To say the least Lan WangJi had respect for the man.

But the fact that the job he needed to fill did require the person to be able to work with a bunch of rambunctious children left him a bit concerned. Lan WangJi looked back down at the resume. Shen Yuan did have experience from before his illness had surfaced and had work with young children before. So he would know what would be the best subjects to focus on.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Shen Yuan interrupted Lan WangJi’s thoughts. His voice was strong at least, nothing in it hinted at the possibility of the owner being ill. “I look like shit.”

He hadn’t planned to say anything to that extent to the man’s face. Lan Wangji merely nod at him to continue.

“I had hoped to wait a week before meeting with you, but Yue was very insistent that I meet with you as soon as possible. My doctor a few months back convinced me to try out a new treatment that should help keep me in better health in the long term. It’s just that I look like hell for a week right afterwards.”

Lan WangJi nodded in understanding before asking “Do these treatments happen frequently?”

Shen Yuan waved his hand as if he could shoo away the concern. “No no, only once every three to four months. I’ll only need a week to rest afterwards.”

This just made Lan WangJi more concerned. Yue Qingyuan did say his friend had a bad tendency to downplay his illness, believing himself a burden.

“Is there a reason you don’t want to go back to teaching high school again? You must miss it.”

The man across from him studied the top of their table where he’d been folding one of the napkins up like a fan. “The school I had work for had been a public one. Most of the kids were poor. A lot of them by the time they got to me were on their way to being delinquents. In their minds no one cared about them, so why should they? As their Shizun I did my best to let them know I cared, but . . .” A deep sadness etched his face. “I’ve always wondered if I’d met them sooner if things could be different.”

“Most of the looking after will be done by Brother Xie and I. You needing more time after treatments will not be a problem.”

Shen Yuan blinked a bit looking up. “Oh.” Tentatively he asked, “Does that mean you’re hiring me?”

Lan WangJi nodded, shuffling papers back into their folder. “I trust Yue Qingyuan judgement, and I want people who care.”

****

Lan WangJi was just starting to prepare lunch for the children when a large, slightly bewildered looking young man in a black hoody wondered in through the back door. He paused before looking about as if he’d lost something. His face crumpled up a bit, Lan WangJi was unsure if it was from sadness or anger.

“ . . . Can I help you?”

The young man jumped a bit, he seemingly hadn’t noticed the other person in the room.

“ . . . Shizun . . .” Was all he was able to mumble out.

They stared at each for awhile before Lan WangJi asked “Shen Yuan?”

Nod.

“He’s setting up for the lesson after nap-time.”

“ . . . oh? May I go see him?”

“ . . . No.”

“Why not?” There was hard edge underlining to the question.

Lan WangJi huffed as he went to check the rice. “There are children here.”

The young man blinked. “Why are there children?”

“This is a daycare.”

“Oh . . .” The young man nodded in understanding, then shifted about uncomfortably, clenching and unclenching his hands.

Since he hadn’t tried to leave the kitchen Lan WangJi decided for the time being he wasn’t a threat and went back to cooking. He was just starting to place the meat in the heated pan when there came a pained strangled sound from behind him.

“Elder Brother, do you even know how to cook?!”

Offended Lan Wangji turned to give him a reproached look. The food he made might be bland but it was at least edible. Brother Xie somehow always manage to charr everything to black bits; while Brother Shen only knew how to microwave food. Such was the life of bachelors from well off families. Though Brother Xie had the excuse of having not lived anywhere with a kitchen in some years. It also surprisingly stung when a three year old tells you your cooking is awful.

Ignoring the glare, the young man rolled up the sleeves of his hoodie before grabbing the cooking utensils from Lan WangJi’s hands.

“If you cook the meat like that it’ll get all tough. You want it soft.”

****

Sometime later Shen Yuan wandered into the kitchen to see about helping Brother Lan with the lunch. And found it a little more crowed then usual.

“What’s this? Did you hire a cook while I was a way Brother Lan?”

There was a clatter as the young man fumbled the rice spoon. Luckily no rice was lost in the process.

“ . . . Maybe.” Came the rumbled reply. “He seems to know you.”

“Does he?” He looked at the young man. There was something about his face that felt familiar. It was a very handsome face, still with a touch of boyish softness giving it a devilish charm. The half ponytail in his wavy hair gave him a slight wilded look. Where had he seen him before?

A blush had started to creep up the young man’s face while he fidgeted with the rice spoon.

“Has Shizun forgotten this student?”

Student?

“Oh! Little Luo Binghe! Though you’re not so little anymore!” Shen Yuan couldn’t help but grin at seeing his favorite student.

The last time he had seen this student he had been a gangly 17 year old who barely came up to his shoulder. What a surprise he grew up to be so tall and handsome! He was even taller then Brother Lan who was also very tall.

Luo Binghe face crumpled up, the corners of his eyebrows twitched. Did the boy have a stomach ache?

****

Everything was just too much for Luo Binghe. Here was his old Shizun, smiling as if he hadn’t just up and disappeared five years ago. Like he knew nothing of what happened afterwards. Anger clogged his throat while his heart felt like it was being strangled.

“Shizun,” he finally managed to scrape out while glowering down at the spoon, “where have you been all this time? Did you not think people would worry?”

The last bit was interrupted by Brother Lan.

“Sit down before you pass out.”

A weak voice protested with the sound of chair being pulled out, “Eh? I’m fine Brother Lan, I’m fine.”

Luo Binghe looked up as a pale Shen Yuan was gently pushed to sit.

“Is Shizun unwell?” The Shizun he remembered had always been healthy.

“I’m fine!” he exclaimed waving his hand as if to shoo the concern away. He’s face then turned a pale green nearly matching the shirt he wore. Slowly he bent forward to place his head between his knees.

“You were up editing for that friend of yours again.” Brother Lan stated.

There was an awkward silence before Shizun answered with a sheepish, “I couldn’t sleep.”

The other man huffed before turning to fill a glass with water and setting it on the table next to Shizun, still folded in half over his knees. A gruff “Rest” was muttered before he left the kitchen. An uncomfortable silence blanketed the room, only broken by the sound of the rice cooker beeping that it was done.

A quiet, muffled “I’m sorry.” came shortly after. Slowly Shen Yuan raised his head until he was able to sit up straight. “I had not wanted to worry anyone. I was very selfish that day when I choose not to return or to give a proper goodbye. I understand if you’re angry with this Shizun.”

The man before him wasn’t the same Shizun. He was too thin and pale. Luo Binghe had dreamed about returning the suffering he’d had after Shizun left. Make him understand the betrayal he felt those five years ago. But he hadn’t expected this, this shadow of a man. He felt his heart being pinched in sympathy. How could he rage at a man who looked as if a gust of wind would blow him over. It was just so unfair.

Before he could find anymore words to say Brother Lan returned with a much smaller man in tow.

“Brother Shen! I heard you nearly fainted again! Are you alright?” This new brother smiled comfortingly while gently petting Shen Yuan on the head. “Should we postpone your lesson for tomorrow? I can always take the older children with when I take the younger ones to the park to play.”

Shizun shook his head as he accepted a medication bottle that Brother Lan handed him. Shaking a few out he swallowed them with the water from early before answering.

“No I’ll be fine once I’ve rested, but thank you Brother Xie. Don’t glare at me like that Brother Lan, I’m just tired.”

Luo Binghe glanced at the brother in question. His face was still as stone as ever. He’d been in close proximity to him for almost an hour as he’d helped cook. The man had said very little both with his words and his face. But the feeling of closeness the two men had with his Shizun grated at him strangely.

“You should rest upstairs.”  Said Brother Lan, “It will be quieter.” Shen Yuan looked as if he was going to argue when he said, “I will tell Yue.” A look of horror crossed Shizun’s face.

“That’s playing dirty!”

“Take better care and I would not have too.”

Then for the first time in his young life Luo Binghe saw Shizun pout.

****

The problem with Wei Wuxian isn’t that he’s not aware he’s queer. He’s well aware he’s a bi disaster. He just forgets he’s not the only one. And right now he’s in agony.

Those older sisters weren’t lying when they called this the Handsome Brothers’ Daycare. All the brothers here were definitely VERY handsome, and probably also very straight. Even the grumpy puppy in the back that glared at him from the doorway when he was talking to Brother Shen. That one was too young for his tastes though. Brother Shen wasn’t too bad. He seemed very gentle and had a good face despite looking like he might have been ill recently. It made Wei Wuxian want to wrap him up like a burrito and feed him soup.

There was another brother he’d yet to get a good look at as he was being dragged about by small children. He seem to be a small bean with a blinding smile. Wei Wuxian could image cuddling with him. Just the right size to tuck under his chin.

Right now though he was fighting hard not to tease the stone faced brother in front of him, typing away at the computer. The serious ones were Wei Wuxian’s favorite. They always reacted in one of two ways to his flirting. Either they would get flustered but be too polite to say anything, or they’d get angry and start yelling. But given that this stone face brother was the owner and Wei Wuxian REALLY needed someone to watch his son and nephew, he’d just have to keep his shamelessness to himself.

He wasn’t supposed to be work this morning. Him and his Shijie had an arrangement so that when one of them was working the other could watch both of their munchkins. But one of his part-time jobs had called him in a panic saying they really need him to come in. Being the bleed heart he was he agreed to if he could find someone to watch the kids. A lot of the other parents in his apartment complex however also had work. But one of the ladies took pity on him and told him to check out the daycare by the old park.

The prices were surprisingly reasonable, and the place, while not new looking, looked clean and inviting. The walls were painted with murals of clouds and mountains, almost making you believe you were in the heavens with the early morning sunlight streaming in through the big windows at the front of the building. Along the walls were shelves full of books and toys for the children to play with. The floor was littered with squishy bean bags and overly large pillows for siting or laying on. The preschool lessons had a small sectioned off area to the back with folding screens if the smaller children proved too distracting. Apparently there was even a vegetable garden out back where a small colony of bunnies lived that the kids could help care for.

Wei Wuxian was almost jealous. This was practically a small paradise for children. On top of that they got to play all day with all these handsome brothers and demand all the hugs they wanted! He was so distracted by the musings of his crooked little heart that he forgot that he had decided to behave himself.

“Lan Er Gege, you must have all the single moms fawning over you being so handsome.” Wei Ying gave him his most flirty smile awhile giving him a very obvious once over.

The man in question paused in his typing to turn his pale eyes to Wei Wuxian. He did look very good, with his shoulder length black hair tied back while wearing a well tailored, pale blue dress shirt with a slim white necktie. The tie, he observed had little cloud motifs embroidered in a marching thread color to his shirt, which he found rather cute. Neckties were also great for playing with.

To his utter disappointment though, Brother Lan did not react to his flirtation. The man merely blinked twice before turning back to the computer. What Wei Ying hadn’t noticed was that the lobs of Brother Lan’s ears had started to turn red.

Wei Wuxian was just thinking of his next attack when the small child in his arms started to squirm. When he’d left the apartment this morning to take A-Yuan and A-Ling to the daycare, A-Yuan had still been fast asleep. Instead of waking him Wei Wuxian decided to just carry him even though he was getting quite big for a three year old.

“Oh ho! Is someone finally waking up?” Wei Ying couldn’t keep the glee out his voice as his son sleepy blinked his eyes open. Since he couldn’t tease the stone faced brother he could tease this small child.

A-Yuan however was too well aquatinted with his Papa’s teasing and not awake enough to deal with it. With his tiny hands he patted at Wei Ying’s face that was definitely trying to blow him raspberries, while voicing a pitiful “ nooooo “ while looking about for an escape. He then spotted Brother Lan who looked both very serious and intimidating. Filled with hope he stretched his little arms out to him with a small “Eh!”

Lan Wangji’s brows lifted in surprise. Then hesitantly he reached across the counter. With a quiet “pardon me” he lifted A-Yuan out of Wei Wuxian’s arms. Then settled him above his right hip. A-Yuan safe from the teasing Papa, happily wrapped his little arms about his savior’s neck and went back to sleep.

Wei Ying felt too many things at once. He felt betrayed that his own child (well adopted child, but he’d still known A-Yuan since he was born) would choose someone over him. He was jealous that this brother got to snuggle with his son, A-Yuan was picky about who he snuggled with. And he was jealous that his son got to snuggle with this good looking brother. But also Wei Ying’s crooked little heart was being strangled by how cute this whole thing was. He wished that someone with a phone had been present to record this! Then he realized that his son just presented him with the perfect opportunity.

“Oh my goodness! this is just too cute! Could I take picture!” He was already pulling his phone out. Brother Lan at first seem not to hear, then blinked a few time. After a moment he nodded. Wei Wuxian snapped three pictures before the other man could say anything. With the morning light casting a soft glow on them it looked so wholesome, as if a father was holding his son before going off to work at the office. It was almost worth getting rejected to have this picture.

“Uncle Ying!” Came a tiny voice by his knee.

“Hmm” Wei Ying looked down at his other charge, his two year old nephew A-Ling. His nephew was pouting up at him while gripping his pant leg with one hand while holding a small dog plushie with the other.

“Hmmm? Do you want something A-Ling?” Wei Wuxian asked knowing full well what the toddler wanted. The two year old hadn’t taken well to having to share his Uncle Ying. The whole way here he had whined to be carried too. Now that A-Yuan had vacated to someone else’s arms he expected to be picked up. Sadly for him Uncle Ying’s crooked heart still wasn’t satisfied with its teasing.

A few things have changed since writing part one. A original I was going to have Lan Wangji like actually hire Luo Binghe, but now I think it’s going to be more of Luo Binghe just shows up to cook food and harass Shizun to take a fucking nap. For the most part Lan Wangji is fine with it as long as he’s not an actually threat to anyone and Shen Yuan doesn’t work himself to death.

I also changed A-Yuan’s age. In part 1 I said he was 2, but he’s suppose to be older the A-Ling, so I made his 3 and A-ling 2.

Anyway, just one brother left to introduce! I’m kind of excited to try writing Hua Cheng. 

Also thank you again for all the likes and reblogs! It means a lot that people are enjoying this au! 

Also drew these guys kissing the other day WeiLan |  HuaXie LuoShen

[tragcdysewn]

@irresistiibles​ asked: 🍒  :    how much does my muse value companionship?  do they constantly keep people around them,  or do they prefer to be alone often?  do they have or desire to have many friends?  do they see every meeting as an opportunity to make a new friend?  (wangji)

see, this is a tough question, because the short answer is yes, he does value it? but it’s a lot more complicated than that so i guess it’s time for another essay on lan wangji’s psyche! if only these were the topics i got assigned in college i’d have been a 4.0 student

wangji’s relationship with people in general is complicated. i’ve already talked about how part of him feels like people are only by his side out of a sense of debt or duty, but even if that were true, he values the time and companionship he gets with those people so much more than you would ever think by casually observing him, as he very rarely shows that enjoyment clearly. he’s almost always surrounded by people, as he’s a teacher and mentor and now unfortunately a political figure. and while i do think he does sometimes get overwhelmed in social situations, and will need to take some time alone to settle his thoughts and pull himself together, most of the time he does enjoy being with other people. big crowds and banquets are never going to be his thing, as that is one hundred percent where he is the most likely to need to leave and take some time to himself to regroup, but smaller gatherings of people? that’s absolutely good with him. obviously this does depend on the people involved because while there is no force on this or any other version of earth that could make him enjoy time spent with jiang cheng or jin guangyao (even before his crimes were exposed), he spends most of his life surrounded by a dozen juniors, and i truly think that night hunts with those kids is one of the times he’s the happiest, and the most in his element.

as for friends... i don’t think he’s someone who thinks about that very often, in part because of his other issues? he definitely doesn’t look to make friends with people, but he also isn’t against it. he also isn’t entirely sure of what constitutes a friendship with someone, as he was raised to be very aloof and unattached, and is only just moving past that as an adult. but if you asked him, he would definitely say huaisang is a friend? he doesn’t know if the other man would agree, and will absolutely never ask because that’s horrifying, but he does consider him so. huaisang is probably the person he’s known the longest outside of his family, and he does enjoy his company. he would also say that wei wuxian is a friend, but that’s more the result of not wanting to dig in to the complicated feelings involved there. beyond that, most people he would more consider acquaintances, and really, he’s perfectly content only having two friends. he’s a firm believer in quality over quantity, and he cares very deeply for his few friends and family he keeps close.