#lan wangji is a confident gay

[wangxianficrecs]

Cuties and Questions by WiseDawn13

Cuties and Questions

by WiseDawn13 (@wisedawn13)

T, 6k, Wangxian

Summary: “Suibian?” a deep voice says suddenly, catching his attention. Wei Ying opens his eyes to look at who approached and promptly finds himself without breath at the sight of the man in front of him. After all these years he shouldn’t recognize him so easily, but Wei Ying would never be able to forget those eyes. “Oh!” Wen Ning squeaks. “You are familiar with Suibian?” Wei Ying watches as Lan Zhan nods to Wen Ning. “I am. Are you the creator of Yiling Cuties?” “Ah? Oh, no. No, that would be him,” Wen Ning replies, somewhat flustered. It takes far too long for Wei Ying to realize that Wen Ning just diverted Lan Zhan’s attention to him because suddenly those golden brown eyes are staring directly into his soul and it hurts more than he would have expected. OR Wei Ying and Lan Zhan lost touch when Wei Ying's family moved away when they were kids. Wei Ying moves back to his hometown years later, meeting the man he once knew as his best friend. Kay's comments: I am so weak for modern AUs where Wei Wuxian's parents live! i wish more authors were brave enough to not kill Wei Wuxian's parents in a modern AU. This story was extremely fluffly with only minimal angst. In which Wangxian are childhood friends who find each other again and then immediately go all in, as they would <3 I really loved the idea of Wei Wuxian making custom plushies and pet clothes, very cute!

pov wei wuxian, modern setting, modern no powers, childhood friends, friends to lovers, getting together, reunions, lan wangji is a confident gay, cangse sanren and wei changze live, light angst, happy ending, fluff

~*~

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

[carrot-felisidad]

It's crazy how the juniors just accepted Mo Xuanyu after a few times of meeting him. In their eyes, Mo Xuanyu has this bad reputation (though I'm still not sure if they were true, or made up rumors, or exaggerated) to the point that he was exiled, but they easily acknowledged his skills.

And didn't the elders wonder how this secluded gay emo suddenly became competent in decision-making and dark arts??? They just listen to his investigations, but if it was me--a similar secluded gay emo--I wouldn't be given the time of the day. We could also blame it on Wei Wuxian's natural charm and confidence, but still. Imagine you have a weird cousin who flirts at everyone and is quite loose in the head, then suddenly he knows how to play violin and Zac Efron or Harry Styles or Jungkook (whichever poor male usual Wattpad protagonist you could think of) starts protecting him.

And he's suddenly hanging around the venerable Hanguang Jun because he mentioned he likes him (in animation at least) and Lan Wangji just... let's him??? There's something gay going on here.

And Jinling, the kid who got the Jiang's temper and the Jin's elitist attitude, starts seeing him as a proper uncle who taught him how to fight. Awwww. Finally, he got an emotionally supportive uncle for once in his life with the many uncles he has. But Mo Xuanyu was the most distant uncle, living in Mo village and all. I mean, how did he process that?

And the rest of the juniors, Lan Jingyi, Lan Shizui, and Ouyang Zizhen, just decided to follow him like ducklings.

My point is...

How did the cultivation world process Mo Xuanyu in their heads?

[prettypeonylanwangji]

i see a lot of ffs where lan wangji is the confident gay who is aware of his love for wei wuxian, who on the contrary is a disaster bi who thinks it's normal to be in love with his rival/best friend/whatever relationship they have. now imagine if this was reverse ; i want to see so bad lan wangji who doesn't know what's going on with him?? why does wei wuxian's smile makes him flutter?? why does he thinks about him all day long?? and wei wuxian who is well aware of his feelings and just knows that lan wangji feels the same, but he needs to figure things out.

we need a disastrous gay/bi/pan lan wangji moment too.

[maria-taiwin]

Thanks to @unkonageki beautiful crossover art, I'm thinking to MDZS/The Untamed horny shenanigans 😍🥰

Precisely about mdzs!wwx passing one night with cql!lwj, wwx is thrilled by this new adventure while lwj stays in the bed with only the silk outer robe, blinking slowly at this Wei Ying like a cat and looking composed as always has been. Wei Wuxian finds this Lan Wangji so cute that he wants to eat him whole. So he basically does what he used to do in his mariage life: prepare his roleplay. He approaches the bed and when he gets near he wraps LWJ's whole body with the blanket and screams out loud Lan Zhan's lovely name.

Out of all predictions, cql!lwj lets out a tiny squeal calling wei ying's name, his breath freezed. Poor Wangji, even though he grow over his gay panic and he's now confident on his feelings in the CQL verse too, he still isn't used at all to this kind of intimacy (he's touch starved af) and though he doesn't show he feels already adorably dumbfounded at the idea of wei ying sleeping willingly with him (!), but this is not HIS wei ying, his zhiji, so he also feels kinda confused and in guilty.

Wei Wuxian of course reacts surprised: "wait what? I'm usually the poor maiden in danger in roleplay, why it's you now?".

Lan Wangji watches him visibly distressed but he tries to recompose himself soon because he doesn't even want Wei Ying thinks he got rejected.

"Sorry, I didn't expect it. You can advance if you want."

Wei Wuxian notices that even this Lan Wangji has the red ears when he's embarassed and he can't help to get amused again, but then notices something else.

"Lan zhan?? Why you have the high boots in bed??"

Lan Wangji has not the force to admit that he was so emotional at Wei Ying being in his bed together with him that he forgot to take off his boots.

Wei Ying passes the night laughing to death while lwj looks extraordinarily gloomy in sleep. He sure won't lose his face again in the morning 🥰

[ineffectualdemon]

Hello....I'm not the anon who asked YOI & SVSSS, but can I ask the same questions (fave characters/why you love them and fave moments) but this time about MDZS? Thanks if you want to answer.....

Absolutely happy to answer!

Top 5 MDZS characters!

5. A-Yuan/Lan Sizhui: baby A-Yuan was so so cute and fun but I also really enjoy how he's just this good guy. He's calm and patient and kind but he's also not like outstanding or a genius. He's just a dutiful nice young man with two dads and a dead uncle. Anyway he just makes me happy

4. Lan Wangji: controversial I know to put him so low. I do love him just not as much as some of the other characters. I love how autistic he's coded since I am autistic. I love how he basically wrote Wei Wuxian a note that said "get out of my school" because he couldn't handle his crush but was devastated when Wei Wuxian got out of his school.

I love his desperate attempts to help Wei Wuxian. I especially love how he had grown in the years of their separation. While Wei Wuxian always saw him as confident before Wei Wuxian's death I see a Lan Wangji who was unsure and uncomfortable and not clear on how to help or what to do.

Whereas Lan Wangji post Wei Wuxian's resurrection is completely confident in himself and his decisions. He's able to tease and flutter Wei Wuxian the way he had flustered Lan Wangji before. It's a realistic maturity he's been granted

3. Wei Wuxian: I love his energy and how morally grey he is. He has strong convictions and does what he thinks is right but (at least in his first life) he also believes that his ends justify his means.

He is impulsive, charming, oblivious to his own sexuality to an incredibly familiar degree, and can dish out teasing but can't take it

He loves with his whole being but he also hates with his whole being. He's a creature of absolutes which I love

He also really needed to explain things better to people in his life holy fuck

I also like how death matured him. He has regrets and wishes he did some things differently and is just calmer post resurrection which is good

I also like how he is very much an unreliable narrator because his perception and reality are not at all the same

2. Lan Jingyi: the most un-Lanlike Lan to ever Lan. He picks fights with everyone, he's loud, he'd abrasive, he picks on Jin Ling, he picks fights with sect leaders!

I love him

1. Jiang Cheng: he is a complete asshole but I love him. I just feel for him with his story. His mom was abusive, his dad was neglectful of him, he felt unwanted and a failure and everything impressive or good that he did was overshadowed by Wei Wuxian who he still loved! And tried to help and protect in his own way for a long time only for it to feel like it had all been thrown back in his face in favour of strangers

Like if you really think about the story from his perspective it's hard not to feel for Jiang Cheng. He's angry and hurt and an asshole but also he loves his close ones, especially Jin Ling, so much. And Jin Ling feels so safe with him. He never worries that Jiang Cheng will harm him but he's worried about disappointing him. But the way Jin Ling is loyal to Jiang Cheng speaks volumes

Jiang Cheng is selfish. In thst he wants to protect what's his and only that but that's also what makes him interesting

There is a lot I identity with when it comes to Jiang Cheng and feel like at the end of the novel there is a door open for him and Wei Wuxian to heal even though it will never be what it was

Top 5 moments

5. When Young Wei Wuxian first meets Lan Wangji and in particular the aftermath where he says out of no where about Lan Wangji not liking him "he's not that pretty" only to internally realise he is that pretty and ignore the pouty feeling Lan Wangji ignoring him gives him

Like that is so incredibly gay and the fact he doesn't realise it is just...I was like that at 15 I get it

4. When Lan Wangji in the cave is done with Wei Wuxian's shit and bites him. How can you not love that scene?

3. Jiang Cheng being physically restrained trying to protect Wei Wuxian from his mother in front of the Wens. As badly as it goes I really think that's an insight into his real character and a moment that highlights why they were willing to go to such lengths for each other (cause remember Jiang Cheng only lost his core because he got caught so Wei Wuxian could escape)

2. The Kiss on Phoenix Mountain: I mean it's iconic isn't it? Also definitely opened a door for Wei Wuxian I'm just saying. Someone acquired a kink that day ...

1. The confession scene. Again it's just iconic with Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji ruining Jin Guangyao's villain moment by being gay and in love is just *chefs kiss* actually the whole temple scene where Wei Wuxian's various relationship drama is aired out while Jin Guangyao is like "hello? This was my big emotional moment?" Is just brilliant

[gravitywonagain]

I know I'm painfully late but "Assassin's Creed AU [wangxian]" from your WIP list intrigues me. Please, tell me about it? 🥺

not late! never late! i will answer questions about my wips anytime!! thank you for asking me!!! <3<3<3

the AC AU is based more on the michael fassbender movie than it is on the games, mostly because i don't really play video games and when my wife does i'm not really paying attention to the plot as much as i am to her combat-wiggles and sky-murder-determination face. largely it goes something like this:

lan zhan is picked up by the golden sun (or something?) association which is run by descendants of the jin and wen demonic cultivators who have been searching for the yin hufu for centuries. the jins are the public face of the company and in the regressions the spiritual cultivators most often see jins as friends and allies so it’s a surprise twist (to anyone unfamiliar with both franchises, i guess?) when we find out they’re evil.

in this the animus works on reincarnations instead of genetic memory so we can still have happy gay couples who adopt their children. lz is a reincarnation of lan wangji, who is a reincarnation of hanguang-jun. the story of yiling laozu and hanguang-jun is legend even by the time lwj is alive. but Fate or whatever, so guess who else is there! also every trip into the animus helps lz form his golden core but also taxes his body like crazy.

so lz regresses to lwj and meets wei wuxian. lwj falls in love with wwx even though he’s technically a bad guy. together they manage to steal the remaining half of the yin hufu and … do something with it? lz also falls in love with wwx so he wants to go back in as much as possible to see him more and lz doesn’t yet realize that every time he goes in it helps the enemy. wwx of course dies horribly in front of lwj allowing lwj to finish his mission in the past. wwx’s death severely effects lz too and with his dying breath he told lwj not to trust the jins so when lz comes back out he’s ready to fuckin fight.

present day race for the yin hufu sees lz meeting wei ying and wy already being way more involved than he could possibly have known.

other spiritual cultivators in the present include song lan, jiang cheng, mianmian, probably more? a nie brother? wen qing’s reincarnation is running the science side of the program for golden sun. she'll probably be an insider that wy is already working with. wen ning is still a fierce corpse who has been working against the jins since the days of legend because immortality be like that sometimes.

clearly it is very fleshed out (sarcasm), and i don't really have much in terms of prose already written for it but i do have this:

Lan Wangji drew the long sword at his side in a smooth and fluid motion, confident and sure in his ability to use it effectively. Lan Zhan could feel the bleed of that confidence, the thread of that skill, but fear still beat in his chest as the creature advanced. It was a strange weave of volition and memory -- like a dream. Like a dream he knew wasn't his own. Something thrummed inside him as the blade slid from its sheath. A resonant hum, low and deep in his abdomen. He reached for it -- or, Lan Wangji reached for it -- and it responded. It flowed, cool like water but crackling like electricity, from that source in his core, spinning and unraveling and stretching until it formed a connection, a circuit, with the energy he could feel pressed and folded into the steel of the blade. The ease of the action spoke to years, decades of discipline. And the power -- oh, the power -- in it explained the stumble in the creature's step.

tbh i will probably never write it as much more than this or a threadfic or something so if anyone wants it, be my guest! as noted i have far too many wips, so.... :D

[lilnasxvevo]

“I once treated you as my lifelong confidant.”

“I still am.”

Listen. No amount caps lock or hyperbole in the world could possibly express the extent to which I am losing my mind right now. This exchange. The long silence. The fact that Lan Wangji’s lips part slightly and his eyes widen as he waits for a response. I’m going to fucking die and these gay-ass sonsabitches are gonna be my cause of death.

[feralplantwife]

Rent-Free Special Interest Thought of the Day (Part 2? A series maybe??)

This TikTok but it's Wei Wuxian holding the cord to his Very Expensive Computer Charger while Lan Wangji stands very awkward, a little guilty, and deeply dismayed in the background because literally how could Muffin betray him like this.

Other thoughts on this matter:

Wangxian are definitely That Gay Couple and dress their rabbits up regularly in little costumes and take them on walks in the neighborhood while serving looks and the curtain twitchers eat it up.

They absolutely coordinate costumes with Muffin and Waffle for Halloween, and over the years it's gotten a little out of hand with sheets of birthday cake for Wei Wuxian and everybody who stops by and entire movie sets on the lawn. It's a huge hit with kids and people come to the neighborhood from other parts of town just to see it.

Lan Wangji still has refused to let Wei Wuxian build the Fire Swamp from The Princess Bride on the lawn, but Wei Wuxian is confident he'll wear him down eventually.

[torgawl]

this is literally what happened

[wangxianficrecs]

divine, divine by sunflowersfield

🔒 divine, divine

by sunflowersfield

T, 3k, Wangxian

Summary: “Wei Ying. May I ask…what are you doing?” Wei Ying doesn’t glance up from the assembly manual he is reading. “I have to at least scan the instructions before I build your end tables, Lan Zhan!” “But…why are you building my end tables?” Now, Wei Ying does look up from where he is crouched on the floor. “Because you paid for assembly, of course!” he responds. Lan Zhan shakes his head. “I don’t believe I did.” Or: Lan Zhan accidentally adds assembly service to his furniture order and meets Wei Ying in the process. Kay's comments: Short and sweet, just Lan Zhan being a panicked gay who keeps ordering new furniture he doesn't actually need just to see Wei Ying, who's the assembly guy. Mutual pining ensues. Excerpt: Forty-five minutes later, Wei Ying announces that he has finished the job. For forty-five minutes, Lan Zhan has been sitting on his couch and failing to read the novel in his hands. He has been offering to assist Wei Ying. He has been offering to bring him water. He has not been watching Wei Ying work. Wei Ying’s hands are strong. His movements are quick and confident. He flips a heavy screwdriver in his hands and catches it like it’s nothing. He holds screws between his teeth and still manages to smile at Lan Zhan when he meets his gaze. Lan Zhan isn’t sure how he knows all of this since he has not been watching Wei Ying work.

pov lan wangji, modern setting, modern no powers, strangers to lovers, first meetings, fluff, short & sweet, no angst, mutual pining, injury, happy ending

~*~

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

[stardust-dawn]

A wet haired icy Lan Wangji.

[comradesalazar]

“The Untamed is a bromance, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are just really close friends”

That’s right, just bros bein dudes

[ghooostbaby]

deeeep dive into why and how wei wuxian and lan wangji love each other, complete each other, are the inverse reflection of each other’s deeply hidden internal selves mirrored through the other’s external self, lan wangji’s inner wildness that he has to conceal and protect recognizing and loving wei wuxian’s outer wildness, wei wuxian’s deep, fuddy-duddy morality and values that he conceals with an elaborate subterfuge of jokes, mischief, and bravado, seeing and loving in lan wangji the ability to say no that it was never safe for him to express directly, “between you and me there is no need for thank you and sorry”

oh and a slight diversion midway through into a manifesto on WEI WUXIAN IS NOT INSECURE the whole story is about a society where being liked is ESSENTIAL for survival and it is actually completely perilous not to be liked, and his “people pleasing” is a skill and tool for his survival especially as an orphan and proven to be a necessary one when he stops doing it and STOPS SURVIVING

after the cut discussing the very interesting dynamics of consent in general in the novel, but not going into the consensual non-consent kink stuff till the last paragraph if you need to avoid for any reason.

I've been thinking about how Lan WangJi sees in Wei WuXian the exterior, unfettered expression of the wildness Lan WangJi holds in him and protects with rigid codes of conduct, propriety and outward dignity.

I have had this sense that these two are mirrors, either one reflecting the hidden, interior (and unallowed) self of the other. but it seemed more clear from Lan WangJi's side, especially knowing about his history with his mother and the spicy side that emerges when he drinks and in the extras.

I also - just... the way this whole story shows how romantic love is truly this longing for your self, to become yourself, to become the thing you're not allowed to be, seeing in that person the expression of whatever it is you can't become and longing for it, protecting it, joining with it as closely as you can without ever being able to let it live inside your own body.

On the surface it seems a lot more difficult for Wei WuXian to find a piece of his soul in Lan Wangji. I think its a bit too simplistic to see whatever draws Wei WuXian to Lan Wangji as a reverse-psychology sort of craving of acceptance from the only one who won't give it, pushing and pushing against this impenetrable boundary that he needs to break to feel assurance that no matter what he can make anyone accept him.

And he is SO drawn - in a mind boggling way, in the teenage flashbacks Lan WangJi rudely and aggressively throws him off over and over and Wei WuXian cannot keep away! Even when he talks about how boring Lan WangJi is, he never stops trying to be around him and talk to him.

I've seen discussions of the way Wei WuXian has always relied on the goodwill of others to survive, and that his placating of others to survive is a character flaw. Although that seems only halfway true. 

As a young child he didn't have anyone's goodwill for a while and he survived, and it seems like he can always find a way to survive from whatever means and sometimes very limited resources he has at his disposal. Doing what he has to do to become powerful enough to survive losing his core and being thrown into the burial mounds slowly costs him the goodwill of everyone around him - and what happens to him as a result shows how much placation was a truly necessary for someone without the protection of biological/hereditary family bonds.

(Don’t get me started on how his loss of his golden core and his development of demonic cultivation to give himself power by ‘unnatural methods’ through the use of a musical instrument is a metaphor for disability and the way ableist society sees the use of accessibility devices and tools. Actually please DO get my started haha.)

Wei WuXian is so charismatic and seems very used to getting what he wants and needs on the strength of that. He pushes a lot of boundaries and seems pretty confident and flexibly prepared to handle the consequences, whether beatings or harsh words. But he does work so hard to make others feel good, good with him, good with themselves.

When he is in the cave with Lan WangJi, Wei WuXian is described as "like one who forgets all past pain as soon as the wound heals". He can't resist coming up beside Lan WangJi and talking to him again and again after every time Lan WangJi pushes him off, only finally staying away when Lan WangJi bites him (and he still keeps trying to talk to him after a little bit!) and then calls him an awful person (!!! Bad Wangji! :(((( ). In the end, when Lan WangJi (very minimally) discloses what happened to his sect and his father, and even cries, because of all the defences/assaults Lan WangJi has put up Wei WuXian can't do anything or say anything to help and feels miserable.

Lan WangJi just absolutely refuses to allow Wei WuXian to take care of him - and I began to wonder maybe that’s what Wei WuXian actually really likes about him? Why he is unable to resist coming up to Lan WangJi again and again? Maybe because Lan WangJi refuses to let Wei WuXian appease him. He’s not trying to crack Lan WangJi to get to this impenetrable place of approval and acceptance. In a way he can’t quite understand, Lan WangJi is a respite for Wei WuXian from the constant work to be the one who pleases.

And  how different this is to how Wei WuXian is (or has to be) with Jiang Cheng when he wakes up in Lotus Pier after the cave. Jiang Cheng gets so down and really really needs Wei WuXian to do what he does so well (and wasn’t allowed to do with Lan WangJi) - chasing Jiang Cheng down while being injured and reassuring him about all his insecurities about his father's acceptance and becoming a sect leader and Wei WuXian's own abilities excelling his - and at first Jiang Cheng is pushing him away, but he really does need Wei WuXian to do all this to feel better.

Wei WuXian is described as not wanting to be lonely, and not wanting to see other people unhappy, and he keeps trying to push and pull with whatever he has to not be lonely and lift the mood for those around him. I don't think it's a kind of codependency or insecurity. It’s not that Wei WuXian is afraid to say no, in fact I would say he doesn't do anything he doesn't want to do, but he must always do it creatively, with humour. Similarly to Nie Huaisang, he uses a persona of foolishness to give himself a covert agency.

I also think I'm writing this because I don't like seeing this discussed as a sad bean character flaw for him to always need to be liked - its a strategy, its a tool, its how he survives and excels. Doesn’t the whole story prove how essential being liked is to a human’s survival? And he is so so good at being liked, in making others happy, even when he is refusing to do what others want from him that he doesn't want to do, he does it in a way that deflects criticism, with a smiling bravado that never says what it truly means and has people writing him off as shameless or foolish or just endearing himself toward them despite themselves.

He is always at work really, with jokes and flattery or mischief and teasing, to get the resources he wants and needs. Case and point, when he makes a big coquettish show for mianmian, definitely not being "people pleasing" for her, but the group of girls around them all find it funny and cute and in the end she gives him a perfume sachet which ends up being a valuable resource for later. Or the time he outright tells Jiang Cheng that if you give the girls some lotus seeds they'll remember you and return the favour in the future. (Also notice how his interactions with girls seen as flirtatious are actually strategic resource-gathering acts.) These are the skills he has developed to meet his own needs. (THIS IS NOT A CHARACTER FLAW. I REPEAT.) He takes what he needs and steals from the Lotus Pier markets knowing it'll be paid for, he lives like he never know when his next windfall will come from so he'll take what he can when he can find it. Like Jiang Fengmian said, if there is no guarantee of a meal in the future then today's meal should still be enjoyed. It’s how Wei WuXian said to Nie Huaisang at Cloud Recesses, you have to find ways to make your own fun out of whatever you have. So he gets kicked out of class, goes fishing, gets alcohol, he pursues his own pleasure. He actually is quite insistent of his own agency and right to choose, he just can never directly say no.

And that little detail that Wei WuXian always tucks coins into his clothes just in case, that makes him able to buy food when he and Jiang Cheng are on the run... breaks my heart and reveals so much about the way Wei WuXian is constantly at work on ensuring his own survival and never takes for granted whether he is safe (he knows he never is). 

I've seen some people talking about Wei WuXian sacrificing so much for his brother and sister out of a need to be accepted out of a chronic sense of insecurity. But isn’t this just true? Doesn't he live in a world where being accepted is absolutely essential for survival? Doesn’t this whole story show the cruelty of a social system based on networks of hereditary/biological family that closes out and scapegoats any outsiders, and that without biological family connections that can enclose around you, you can never truly be safe if not constantly working to earn acceptance? (And then beautifully ends with the way a gay romantic relationship that queers marriage/family/etc disrupts all this and creates safety and inclusion for Wei WuXian without needing a normative family.) (AKA romantic love does not resolve some internal personal problem in Wei WuXian but disrupts and refuses and rebels against the problem of SOCIETY.) (*breathes heavily*)

And that’s why Lan WangJi is magnetizing to Wei WuXian. Lan WangJi is always saying no. Although what Lan WangJi sees in Wei WuXian is an exterior wildness, Wei WuXian is not really out of control so much as he is playing and caring and supplicating and showing off and pleasing people to get the resources and the acceptance he needs to live his life. He has firm values and desires that he can never outwardly state, only creatively spinning plates to distract and deflect while he refuses what goes against his values, protects who he cares for, or takes what he needs to in order to survive/thrive. Lan WangJi embodies an exterior of resoluteness and direct agency that Wei WuXian doesn't have the luxury of. And he's so drawn to him for his ability to repeatedly say no, to refuse to get along, or make others laugh, make other people happy, but just simply follow what he thinks is right.

Wei WuXian’s outward wild movement protects an inward stillness. He is an exterior of people-pleasing around an interior of refusal. He is an exterior of youthful rebellion around an interior of unflinching morality. He sees in Lan WangJi the outward expression of his stillness, his morality, his resistance that he can't express, that he's had to protect.

FYI after the cut gets more into the dynamics of consent in the story, and the last paragraph directly talks about consensual non-consent kink play in wangxian’s relationship.

When Wei WuXian is with Lan WangJi, there is no work to be done. Lan WangJi cannot be swayed by him, and so there's no point vying for resources or favors. Lan WangJi will either give him everything or refuse him everything based on who he is, it does not matter what Wei WuXian does and he can't do anything that will change Lan WangJi’s mind. Someone he literally can't win over. After the resurrection, they are often in an adorable tug of war, where Wei WuXian tries to take care of Lan WangJi, while Lan WangJi won't allow him to but demands to care of Wei WuXian right back. Actually, Lan WangJi insists that Wei WuXian take everything he wants or needs from him and is even angry when he doesn't take or when Wei WuXian tries to offer a gesture in return, even something as simple as a thank you Lan WangJi won't accept. It’s kind of adorable how frustrated Wei WuXian is in doing this thing he's learned that he needs to do, and just... so confused by Lan WangJi, and has to find a way to please this person who aggressively refuses to be pleased and is ONLY pleased by Wei WuXian being pleased.

(Not to mention the way Wei WuXian delights in finding that Lan WangJi can’t say what he wants, and they have sort of these chaotic cohesive both-being-so-pleased-by-working-hard-to-please each-other moments where Wei WuXian is letting Lan WangJi please him by finding out what pleases Lan WangJi and giving it to him.)

The wildness Lan WangJi had always hidden within himself is something he sees as just as dangerous as Wei WuXian thinks of his desire to refuse. He saw his mother be socially alienated, shunned, and eventually die because of her wildness. His ability to survive in the world, aka to be accepted by his family, is contingent on him being able to control this inner wildness. From a young age (re: Phoenix Mountain kiss) he could only understand his sexual desires for Wei WuXian as something repulsive or dangerous that had to be repressed and controlled, and that the only way he could imagine his desires as possible was as non-consensual. His secret gay desires were never available to him as anything but something monstrous.

Importantly, it’s not like everyone else other than Lan WangJi are all vampires cruelly demanding Wei WuXian’s constant sacrifice. Wei WuXian is always vibrantly, charismatically offering so much, before anyone has asked. It’s Wei WuXian who creates this kind of relationship for himself again and again. It’s Lan WangJi who simply refuses - he refuses to charmed, to be cared for. And so in the end Lan WangJi becomes the one person who Wei WuXian feels doesn't need anything from him. When he says he's eating the corpse's fruit to save Lan WangJi money and Lan WangJi says that will never be necessary. Or when Wei WuXian asks what toy he should win for Lan WangJi at the market game, and Lan WangJi says anything Wei WuXian gets will be the one he wants. (XD stahhhhp it’s too sweet !!!) He really just wants Wei WuXian to be, to exist, to spend his life discovering his own desires and allow Lan WangJi to help satisfy them, he doesn't want anything from Wei WuXian other than him living - happy and safe.

It takes someone like Lan WangJi to refuse Wei WuXian’s aggressive generosity, it’s definitely not an easy thing to say no to Wei WuXian, dazzling or annoying people so chaotically before they even realize there’s something to say no to. The sacrifice he gives to Jiang Cheng, he never even offers a choice - and perhaps it would have been too much for Jiang Cheng to accept if he had the chance.

Lan WangJi’s statement "Between us there is no need for thank you and sorry" seems like one of the most important sentences in the novel, and you can’t help but noticed the way “sorry” and “thank you” is littered meaningfully through the book. What is owed, what the characters owe to each other, the give and take, touches every part of the story (down to wangxian's erotic explorations!).

When Jiang Cheng talks to Wei WuXian at the Guanyin temple he makes a lot of contradictory statements about what Wei WuXian owes, what he was given, what he took, what he (Wei WuXian still) is owed in return. Wei WuXian, according to Jiang Cheng, took everything from the Jiang clan, and paid them back with their deaths. The Jiang clan give him his life when they took him in, and he owed Jiang Cheng service for the rest of his life as the right hand to the sect leader, that’s what Wei WuXian had promised anyway. At the same time, Wei WuXian sacrificed everything (his golden core) to Jiang Cheng, by giving everything he was taking one more thing - Jiang Cheng’s right to even be angry at him. Jiang Cheng had taken everything from Wei WuXian. Everything that happened around Wei WuXian after could be said to be because of the loss of his golden core, which Jiang Cheng might be said to be responsible for. But he never asked for it, maybe he never would have wanted it. He wishes Wei WuXian told him, but Jiang Cheng never told Wei WuXian his golden core was melted while he was sacrificing himself to save Wei WuXian. He wants Wei wuxian to say sorry, but that makes him feel pathetic. And Jiang Cheng says sorry too. It’s a mess of paradoxes, and in the end somehow it seems like the scales are balanced in the most hollow, dismal way.

What is owed, what is given, what is taken ... Wei WuXian has never been part of a family. He has always had to say thank you and sorry for everything he's taken. Wei WuXian himself admits that he used "thank you" as a way to enforce distance between himself and Lan WangJi. Lan WangJi's point i think is that they belong to each other, Wei WuXian is his, and he is Wei WuXian's, unconditionally. The way that Jiang Cheng speaks of him in the Guanyin temple (admittedly I read a fan translation and this is very nuanced, related to slight variations of grammar), even when Jiang Cheng clearly is so broken by the loss of Wei WuXian from his life, he talks about Wei WuXian as an outsider. It is what MY family gave to YOU, never what you took from our family. But at one point Wei WuXian was part of their family - but he takes too much, and becomes an ex-disciple, not a brother. Wei WuXian’s inclusion as a Jiang was always conditional. 

Even when Wen Qing and Wen Ning leave him to go take the blame for qiongqing path they tell him "thank you and sorry", drawing a line between them and him, so he doesn’t even belong to these people who he sacrificed everything for. The way Wei WuXian acted when he was younger, he was always keenly aware of this - he always knew that he didn’t belong to anyone, no one is going to protect him unconditionally. And after first escaping the Burial Mounds, he is done pretending. When Lan WangJi warns him about what a demonic cultivation path will do to his heart, Wei WuXian replies: “After all, on the topic of how my heart is, what could other people know about it? Why should other people care about it?” He is done pleasing. Nothing has changed really, he still belongs to no one and is alone, but now he is angry about it, and instead of saying thank you and sorry he is going to become too powerful to be at anyone's mercy. And then we see in the story afterward what happens to people who don't say thank you and sorry.

The whole point I think is the impossibility of choice, the impossibility of consent in this society. If he didn't forgo the behaviour his social acceptance was conditional on, he wouldn't have survived the burial mounds. But once he becomes powerful enough to survive and get revenge on the Wens, he is socially outcast. Except he was already outcast from the beginning.

And so how do Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi find a way through all that to a life together where all their desires are possible, where Wei WuXian can say no while also being pleasing (safe) to others, and Lan WangJi can indulge in his wild desires while still being good? The answer is kinky sex!

It is kind of miraculous and beautiful how Wei WuXian finds a way to say no, while simultaneously pleasing Lan WangJi, giving pleasure, while taking it, saying no, and knowing his refusal is not just tolerated, but gives Lan WangJi pleasure, knowing Lan wangji and knowing the painful belief Lan WangJi holds within that his desires are unacceptable and unspeakable, and that Wei WuXian can take care of Lan Wangji in a secret little way and please him and give everything to him by craving this wildness in Lan WangJi while at the same time he gets to say no again and again , and it won't push Lan WangJi away, he can refuse everything while at the same time be totally pleasing and thus safe, and also for Lan WangJi, Wei WuXian's pleasure at saying "no" while still being held onto, that he genuinely wants to be fucked even while begging Lan WangJi to stop (and the many ways he does give his consent for this throughout, especially their first time), allows Lan WangJi the ecstatic feeling that this idea that his sexual desires are only possible through force are not just something his lover forgives him for but something his lover is SO turned on by, and that he has consent for his fantasies of non-consent, Wei WuXian has the same fantasies from the other side, he is doing what he is supposed to while doing what he shouldn't, and actually these monstrous feelings in him allow him to take care of Wei WuXian in a way that he needs - that they both need - and all these impulses that are so wrong with Wei WuXian become very right and a way to do good. And they are just both so perfect and perfect for each other and I love them and I am so happy for them to have a long kinky life together.

[btsandvmin]

Vmin and “The Untamed”

Remember my post about Vmin and The Notebook? Well this is something similar to that, except not as big but a lot gayer. The Untamed is a very popular Chinese drama and even though they can't be too explicit about it thanks to censorship in China, it's based on a very explitic BL novel, and they definitely tried to hint at the gay romance as much as they could in the drama. (Even so a lot of the general audience failed to see these non-platonic cues and simply saw them as very close friends.) Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are two very different people who end up being each other’s person, the one they stand by no matter what, despite not getting along at all when they first meet.

Let me just show the synopsis for you so you might get a clue on what it's about.

"The series follows the adventures of two soulmate cultivators who travel to solve a series of mysteries that link to a tragic event in the past. While the original web novel depicted an explicit romance between the two main male characters, the adaptation was censored with homoerotic subtexts instead due to China's ban of LGBT portrayals in films."

How gay their relationship is and how much they got away with when they made this drama is kind of facinating, but it’s also very sad to see it can't just be shown.

In general the drama just has a lot of relationships that are turned from explicitly romantic in the book into platonic ones.

Anyways, so how do I make this about Vmin? (Besides the obvious soulmate parallel.) I think those of you who have watched or read The Untamed can likely already see where I am going.

By the way, there are some small spoilers from The Untamed, but nothing major. 

Taehyung and Jimin are both fans of watching dramas (we’ve even seen them reference drama scenes between them like “perhaps I like you”), and while I don't know for sure it wouldn't surprise me if they have watched The Untamed. Considering it's popularity at the very least I would guess they have heard of it. The timing of when it aired in Korea also matches pretty well before the ON mv recording as it aired in Korea late 2019. This is interesting because of Taehyung's markings and styling for ON.

Especially the combination of the marks on the neck with the heavy chains made a lot of fans of both BTS and The Untamed think of a character from the drama named Wen Ning.

But not only that, Taehyung said he came up with it himself and requested for them to do it. So it's definitely something from Taehyung. 

On top of that he specifically said he looked forward to ARMY's theories about it. Meaning it seems like it does have a particular meaning that he wants fans to pick up on. I'm not the only one who thought of The Untamed as they saw Taehyung's vein tattoos on his neck. However, the markings are talked about as thorns, which matches the rather biblical theme of the other ON mv, so it really might just be that.

Still, The Untamed look was something that a lot of fans picked up on and talked about and I thought it was rather cute and fitting. It’s also possible that if Taehyung was curious about ARMY’s theories, he might have seen the talk about his similarities to the character Wen Ning from The Untamed. So while I don’t think the idea was for Taehyung to replicate The Untamed look, he might have come across it later, because quite a lot of fans commented on it.

Taehyung has also worn the same clothes as the actor who played Lan Wangji, but likely just taken from the same fashion show or could be from the stylist rather than Tae himself (we know similar outfits happen a lot between idols, and I expect this is the same).

In the drama there is a scene where Wuxian and Wangji talk about being life confidants, or as many interpret it, as them being soulmates. (Clip) 

Again, there are some different translations here, and honestly it seems the chinese word can’t (or shouldn’t?) be directly translated to soulmates, but I think in essence they still kind of are soulmates. (I also have no clue what possible translation they used for the word in the Korean subtitles.) Still, a lot of the fandom at the very least (and some of the translations) calls them soulmates.

They also have a song. Wangji wrote it for them, and it’s actually named after their combined name “Wangxian”. 

Towards the end of their honeymoon, Wei Wuxian plays the song for Lan Wangji. He then suggests almost ten names for the song, including "Love Song of Lan Zhan and Wei Ying," and "Everyday Song of Hanguang-Jun and the Yiling Patriarch." Lan Wangji then states that there is a name, "Wangxian." Wei Wuxian bursts into laughter, declaring it a wonderful name.[5]

I don’t think I have to tell you why having a song personal to them might make me think of Vmin... But just in case someone fails to see it, you have two very non platonic looking soulmates who have their own song that one of them wrote. Yeah, just gonna let you think about that for a moment.

But all of this is just fun and games, simply a lot of similarities... But there is that one moment that legit makes me wonder if Vmin have seen The Untamed, and even possibly references it together. It could be a coincidence of course, but the timing and the similarities just makes it impossible for me to let it go. And that moment is from when BTS were at the Pop up store in Seoul in october 2020.

The writing says:  Kim Taehyung was here.  Park Jimin was here too.

This happens in The Untamed. There is a scene where Wangji gets drunk and writes “Lan Wangji was here” on the wall. Wuxian then later also adds his name under it. “Wei Wuxian was also here” (Clip) (Translations may vary slightly but the sentiment is the same.) 

Funny enough this is also in a scene were Wangi gives Wuxian a chicken, which is one of those subtle gay hints, as this gift was usually used for proposals. Either way the words written in that scene are so similar to Vmin’s I got kind of stunned the first time I saw the Vmin moment.

In particular the fact that they used their full names, and not just Jimin and Taehyung, stands out a bit to me here.

If this is a direct reference to The Untamed, that's a pretty gay reference. And if it's a coincidence it just shows how Vmin being soulmates makes them act like such in all kinds of ways. Personally it wouldn't surprise me if it was a reference considering Taehyung's liking for LGBTQ+ things and dramas in combination with the way he mentioned the tattoo specifically. The Vmin part of it all is what really does it for me. Because two soulmates happening to write the same things as two other incredibly popular soulmates does seem like a rather big coincidence. Still, impossible for us to know... And once again it could just be me seeing things that aren’t really there. Even if it’s not actually made on purpose I still think the similarities makes it another cute example of Vmin being like on-screen couples.

But if it's intentional I'd dare say it's one of the most directly non straight references Vmin has done since their 2015 gay drama and 4 o'clock including a reference to a gay movie.

So, there is a story of two men meeting (one putting up a wall at first), going to school together and then learning to understand each other and to work together. Connected by the red string of fate despite being very different people (there is literally some references being made of them being tied together by a string). Having their own song written by one of them and living in a society where their relationship can't be allowed to look too "queer" so they have to settle for close friends and soulmates.

So which pair am I talking about again?  

Anyways... WangXian soulmates. Vmin soulmates.

Thank you all for reading. And please remember this is meant as more of a fun lighthearted post rather than a proper analysis. I hope you enjoyed it. :)

[portrait0fthem00n]

Okay, so I've been watching a lot of kdramas (or by extent Asian dramas) since March 2020, and there were a lot of characters who were so queer coded (or just had a fruityness to them)?? Anyway, so here's a list

But let's start with some canonically queer characters in mainstream dramas, shall we?

Park Mae Yi (Run On) - is ace and talks about her asexuality early on in the show

Go Ye Joon (Run On) - is gay and outs himself in the end, has a talk with another character about the discrimination and struggles of being gay

Ma Hyun Yi (Itaewon Class) - is mtf transgender, and while her being a cook is her main story arc, her confidence and pride of being trans is important too

Hikari Kuina (Alice in Borderland) - is mtf transgender and an absolute badass fighter as she grew up learning martial arts

Jung Seo Hyun (Mine) - is lesbian and (like every woman in this drama) an incredible independant badass

Now that we have that out of the way, let's move on to the actual queer-coding:

Seo Moon Jo (Strangers from Hell) - okay, he may be a psychopath and a serial killer BUT he calls Jongwoo 'babe' every chance he gets, and immediately threw his strategies out the window for him, so I declare him gay

Seo In Woo (Psychopath Diary) - again, similar to Moon Jo, the homoerotic tension of obsessive love is STRONG, and in his case, In Woo and Dong Sik are even mistaken as a couple at some point, he's definitely gay

Oh Mi Joo (Run On) - she just gives me bisexual wife energy, especially when you consider her chemistry with Dan Ah

Jang Bong Hwan / Queen So Young (Mr. Queen) - considering their souls are trapped in the same body, and Bong Hwan actually falls in love with the king at some point, they definitely fall into the genderfluid and queer spectrum

Han Se Ju (Chicago Typewriter) - like with Mi Joo, I have no actual reasoning other than vibes, and Se Ju just gives me incredible chaotic bisexual vibes, also his character is basically in a polyamorous relationship that's disguised with some bromance

Jang Man Weol (Hotel Del Luna) - okay, you cannot tell me that somebody who has been alive for 1300 years and is as flirty and cheeky as Man Weol is straight, she definitely falls on the mspec spectrum as well

So Mun (The Uncanny Counter) - again, this is based off vibes, but So Mun feels like a closeted bisexual kid (and boy am I speaking from experience here lmao)

Lee Yeon (Tale of the Nine Tailed) - this man is not only an ancient god, but a fruity god at that. One, he has that bromance chemistry with his best friend, second his true love is kind of split into a male and a female soul if I remember correctly?? that's kinda queer

Wen Kexing and Zhou Zishou (Word of Honor) - I'm putting them together because they're technically canon in the source material, but their chemistry in the drama is still off the charts

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji (The Untamed) - again, they're gay in the novel but are demoted to "platonic soulmates" in the drama

Wen Qing (The Untamed) - my queen and her (not subtle) hatred for men flirting with her~ she gives me lesbian vibes and you cannot change my mind

Lu Yao and Qiao Chusheng (My Roommate is a Detective) - I don't know if this has a novel, but considering their immense chemistry, an incident of Yao introducing himself as Chusheng's boyfriend, and their overall vibes, they both give me bisexual vibes

Shang Xirui and Cheng Fengtai (Winter Begonia) - aside from the cinematography of this masterpiece, both Xirui and Fengtai are very queer, and canon in the novel

Rizuna Ann (Alice in Borderland) - she's giving me girlboss-lesbian-who-will-outsmart-you vibes, especially after her and Kuina became ~closer friends~ and solved the last murder case