#lan xichen really doesn't want to deal with their fights

[lilapplesheadcannons]

Nie MingJue, the unintentional kidnapper

Or that time A-Yuan almost got adopted into the Nie Sect

Nie MingJue is starting to get slightly uncomfortable. Sure, it has been decades since HuaiSang was a toddler (two decades, to be more specific), but surely toddlers need to blink more? The child is looking at him like he is the most mesmerising vision it has ever seen in its entire 4 years on earth.

He tries to glance through the door without being too intruding. He understands there is a touching reunion happening somewhere inside, and God knows he doesn't want to interrupt the Jiangs screaming and crying and hitting and hugging their wayward prodigal demonic cultivator, but surely someone else can take the child? Is it not a cousin of the Ghost General and her terrifying sister? Now he thinks about it, he is not so sure they are very fit guardians if they are willing to abandon their charge to any random cultivator. And the worst part is A-Yao, the person best suited to deal with this situation, has left with them, presumably trying to find a quieter resting place for the Wen remnants away from the chaos that is the 100 days celebration of the newest Jin baby.

He flinches when a soft finger cautiously pokes his cheek. The child grins guilelessly at him and says, "Pretty gege!"

Nie MingJue blushes to the root of braids. That's it! This child is obviously surrounded by unreliable people who would teach him utter nonsense or dump him in the middle of enemy territories, so as a responsible adult, it is his solemn duty to adopt the child (a boy? It is dressed as one, but who knows with Wei Wuxian?) and take it to Qinghe. He stands up with the child under one armpit, the child seemingly unbothered by being dangled like a sack of potatoes.

"He's mine!"

Lan Xichen's baby brother looks just as angry as he did on the day they first met, when he ended up biting HuaiSang. Except now he is almost as tall as MingJue, and he has already put the tip of his finger on his sword.

Rude!

Nie MingJue, a sect leader and the chief cultivator, is an older brother first and foremost. How can he resist ruffling Lan Er-Gongji's already ruffled feathers even more?

"I didn't know Wangji had a child."

Wangji bristles even further, reminding him of the time he accidentally stepped on Second Mother's cat's tail.

The child waves at him from his precarious position, "Rich Gege!"

Does Wangji's eyes soften a little? Nie MingJue can swear he saw a crack of smile in his lips. Surely, he is just hallucinating. The child chirps out again, "Pretty Gege!" pointing at MingJue. The room temperature plummets several degrees.

"GIVE HIM TO ME!"

If Wangji doesn't want to take over from Lan Laoshi, he can easily earn his living teaching enunciation to rich masters. Nue MingJue heard every syllable distinctly, including the single exclamation mark at the end. Is he serious?

Nie MingJue stares at him. He has heard rumours. The light bearing lord! The war has done awful things to the cultivators. Once kind, just men have been reduced to butchers with enough trauma to last a few lifetimes, but surely it hasn't changed the upright young man in front of him to such an extent that he was willing to...

He moves the child from underneath his arm and settles him down on the ground behind him.

"Look here, Wangji, he is just a child..."

He gets interrupted again by the same clear, obstinate tone.

"Give him to me! Now!"

Has Wangji lost it? Does he want to kill a child, practically a baby, to avenge his father and his sect? Does he really think he can get away with killing the adopted child of Wei Wuxian when Wei Wuxian himself was just a few doors away? Not to mention the Ghost General and the Jiang sect leader in the vicinity?

You can probably cut the tension with a blunt sabre. That's the first thing Lan Xichen notices when he walks in, the second thing being his brother and his best friend locked in a staring contest. Wangji looks like he is ready to start a fight, and Da-Ge has that little mocking smile, which means he is happy to indulge. Behind him, little A-Yuan is studiously examining the pattern on the carpet.

Wangji breaks the stare first. He turns to his big brother and says, almost petulantly,

"He's not giving A-Yuan back!"

Lan Xichen smiles and shakes a deprecating finger at MingJue in mock sensor,

"Now, now, what do you mean by not handing over my nephew to my brother? Da-ge! If you indeed want a child,..."

Wait a second! The jibe about the child being Wangji's, that was purely a taunt. Is it true? Did Wangji really have a child? A 4 years old? But, he begs your biggest pardon, Wangji is a child himself! How can he have a child? When? With whom?

Having his sympathetic brother on his side seems to encourage Wangji to speak further.

"A-Yuan called him pretty!"

If only people could see their Light bearing Lord pouting! Xichen tuts.

"For shame, Da-Ge!"

But before Nie MingJue can demand explanation, A-Yuan decides he has had enough of the carpet and stands up, then walks over to Lan Wangji in a brisk, businesslike manner, who bends down to pick him up without breaking eye contact with Nie MingJue and pointedly kisses the child's forehead.

Nie MingJue is pretty sure he is having a Qi deviation right now. Ah well, there are worse ways to go, he supposes.

[thebiscuiteternal]

For the jam:

Due to an experiment gone wrong, Xue Yang and Jin Guangyao switch personalities (not souls!) for a while

Or a lot less people get killed because Xue Yang is too busy stopping his boss from committing crimes in broad daylight.

Hmmmmm, this one's a toughie. I hope you don't mind notes instead of fic.

Okay, first off, I can't decide which is funnier, Jin Guangyao mouthing off at every opportunity, or Xue Yang trying to be the politest one in the room while developing a subtle eye twitch.

Imagine Xue Yang having to be the mature one and make excuses to keep Jin Guangyao away from his father and Jin-furen so he doesn't snap and do something he'll regret later the first time Jin Guangshan insults him or Jin-furen hits him.

Also imagine Jin Guangshan caring so little that he doesn't even notice the changes, which only pisses off Jin Guangyao more and makes Xue Yang have to try even harder.

What would be really funny is if this were to actually fix things between Jin Guangyao and Nie Mingjue. After all, the thing that pisses Mingjue off the most about Jin Guangyao is the fact that he does terrible things while trying to frame them in the softest and most necessary way possible. So if he were to just bluntly admit he constantly thinks about fixing his problems with murder, and is feeling especially murdery towards his dad and Nie Mingjue himself, Mingjue wouldn't be pleased that he's on the death list, but he'd probably respect Jin Guangyao for admitting to wanting to kill him.

Now they can settle the matter properly! With a fight!

It ends with both badly injured and Lan Xichen and Nie Huaisang freaking out over their injuries and the fact that they almost killed each other, but this... is good???? Sort of????

(Not sure how long it'll stay good after Jin Guangyao gets his original personality back, but hey, maybe he won't want to throw this new version of their relationship out completely? Now that he knows Mingjue values his being honest about his feelings, even when they're homicidal?)

It would also be deeply funny if the personality switch results in him being more outright flirtatious to Huaisang, who doesn't know how to respond to this in the slightest and gets reduced to a blushing mess on the regular.

It would also be deeply funny if Xue Yang-with-Jin Guangyao's personality keeps creeping out Mo Xuanyu by being all soft-spoken brotherly politeness to him even as he's describing the nasty experiments they'll be working on together. This is weird. This is weird. Yao-ge, please fix this ASAP, he doesn't know how to deal with this!

Since I'm not sure whether or not Qin Su would be pursuing Jin Guangyao seriously yet, I'm also not sure how she would play into this. Would he flirt with her as much as he does Huaisang? (sangyaosu agenda momentarily creeping in here) Or would he avoid her to keep from embarrassing himself?

They spend almost a month struggling to keep this mostly under wraps and trying to fix it themselves, and then when the next full moon happens, surprise! They get poofed back to normal for no apparent reason and are confused as hell as to how the fuck and why???? Also, they are immediately destroying every piece of the experiment that caused the whole mess in the first place, with a much-relieved Mo Xuanyu's assistance.

[melodramamatic]

This started as a multiple rambling drafts exploring my likes and dislikes about MDZS/Untamed characters as they are most often characterized in fandom, and I think I cracked the code here. I like the grumpy responsible ones and pretty much nobody else. In this essay, I will explain why. (For clarity, the vast majority of what I'm discussing here relates to how the characters are portrayed in the fandom. There's a lot of context and complexity and variation in canon that I really don't want to try and get into. I'll stick to the tip of the iceberg thanks.)

My favorite tired grumpy ones: Jiang Cheng, Lan Qiren, Nie Mingjue; you could get a coffee with any of them, bitch about work, and they'd get it. They have responsibilities they didn't ask for, but do their absolute best anyway. Because its not just them who goes down if they don't. They are tired, but they can't stop, they have people depending on them. They aren't nice about it, they don't have time for nice, nice doesn't run your sect. They don't like the petty politics and socializing involved with being in charge, they don't seem to like the power or the perks. They consistently give up or don't get things that would make them happy, because they're more committed to their responsibilities. (I could maybe add Wen Qing to this list, but she's more complicated given her complicity in Bad Things - while her family was being threatened, to be fair - and the fact that we see very little of what she wants as an individual. Though it's implied she would have married JC if he could have protected more than just her, but the Jiang weren't strong enough for that and both of them knew it. See later rant about the treatment of women in canon.)

Jiang Yanli and Lan Xichen are supposed to be the nice, likeable ones and I don't think I could handle more than small talk with them. They spend too much time keeping the peace and wanting everyone to get along and trying to pacify everyone as if that's the same as getting people to cooperate with each other. (Wen Ning could maybe be thrown in here, but it's implied the dude was bottling it up so intensely it was literally the reason Wei Wuxian was able to turn him into the most powerful (and conscious) resentful-energy zombie. Full Respect.) I don't like fighting either, but I'm allowed to not like things. I am allowed to have any opinion I want so long as I'm not hurting anyone else with it (I hate that I have to specify here, the difference between having an opinion and being a prejudiced asshole. You know the difference, and I know you know the difference. If someone is claiming homophobia, transphobia, racisim, etc is 'having a different opinion' they're in denial about being a dick and trying to hide it behind polite language). Which means I don't have to get along with every person I meet. It's easier to try and get along with the people I deal with regularly, that's just being professional, but I'm not turning step-ford smiler. I refuse. I can work with someone I personally disagree with and dislike, but anyone who tries to make me like them or spend time with them recreationally is being controlling. Also, I don't remember Jiang Yanli expressing goals or opinions that didn't relate to her being a sister or future-wife, and that's definitely a failure of the narrative and it's tendency to not really value women except in relation to the men around them.

(I get it, none of the women are the main characters and everything mostly revolves around the POV of the main characters. But. If they're there at all, they're there for the benefit of one of the men in the room. Even Mianmian is there to prove Jin Zixuan is not as much of an asshole as he comes off as, because she's willing to spend time with him and we see her later show she wouldn't put up with the rest of the Jin. Wen Qing is there to prove some of the Wen aren't bad and to be guilted by a charismatic young genius into performing experimental surgery to 'fix' his nonconsenting, traumatized, unconscious foster brother. My opinions on that surgery are only partially relevant to this conversation, but I will happily scream about that later.)

Feel free to yell at me for the next bit, but remember everyone can have any opinion they like. Disagreeing makes more interesting conversation than agreeing on everything.

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wanji drive me up the wall. I could not deal with them as a couple or as individuals. Neither of them are bad people and I want to say that now, on the record, before I make very general statements about them to avoid being here all night nitpicking. So. On the record. I like the narrative of the villainized man who did what he had to, finally getting his happily ever after with someone who never stopped believing in him, and that belief fully paying off with a reveal of the actual villain. That said, onto why I don't vibe with them.

As a couple, it's like the rest of the world doesn't matter so long as they're happy with each other. Life doesn't work that way. We live in communities, and we have responsibilities to those communities, even if those responsibilities are as simple as putting the cart back at the grocery store. (I am 110% judging you if you don't. Just walk it back to the cart return, and don't be an asshole.) But once these two get together, it's like everyone else can fuck off. It's fine to be a happy couple. It's great. But if someone you claim as family has just had something traumatic happen to them, you should check on them. Not just on your partner, for whom the experience was arguably less traumatic. (Not trying to measure trauma here, but Lan Wanji and Wei Wuxian were not emotionally invested in Jin Guangyao as a person and his entire betrayal reveal wasn't going to be nearly as upsetting for them as it was to his nephew, the person he co-parented said nephew with, and the person arguably responsible for supporting him through his rise to power.) Also, it isn't healthy to have your only close personal relationship be your partner. Friends are good and important. Canon and immediate post canon has them isolated for plot reasons, and then in a honeymoon phase, but I see them as having an uphill battle for any sort of social ties. The Juniors don't count. Cross-generational friendships are great, but the context of this (and I'm missing a lot of the historical/cultural stuff) puts Wei Wuxian and Lan Wanji as too much above them in a social hierarchy to be proper equals. Even if Wei Wuxian tends to disregard social norms, the Juniors are expected to defer to and honor him as their elder and as someone who can teach them.

As an individual, Wei Wuxian is inconsiderate and self-absorbed. To me, as a modern western audience member missing a fuck ton of the historical context and linguistic subtext of the story, he still comes off as someone who casually disregards rules, boundaries, and other people's opinions, and gets away with it all the time. If someone I wasn't very close friends with was that touchy-feely with me without permission, I would avoid them like the plague, and that's in a modern American context. He's got MCU Tony Stark characterization problems. He's a charismatic genius with wealth(y connections) who continually gets away with behavior other people wouldn't even consider (except for Madame Yu, who gives him his Complicated Childhood badge) and creates horrifying weapons of warfare that everyone wants on their side until they want him dead because he won't do what they want. Also he's a poor little meow meow who sacrifices himself for people and is misunderstood by the public.

He gets treated like he never had any agency, and none of it was his fault or choice, which would remove the significance of his sacrifices and all the genius work he put in to create the most terrifying and cultural-taboo-breaking method of fighting anyone ever used. I know I didn't get the cultural taboo of using the dead to fight at first, but I've seen explanations that compared it to the horror of finding out a modern person was mutilating babies. We're talking beyond the horror of cannibalism, which is understandable in a survival situation. This is a guy who was pushed to the edge and chose to do awful things instead of die. Understandable, but horrifying. The rest of the cultivation community had good reasons to be afraid of him after the fact, especially since he was rather publicly downward spiraling with PTSD and alcoholism.

But I could tolerate all that, if he ever once made progress toward considering how he affects anyone except Lan Wanji. Yeah, he and the Wen Remnants die very horribly and unjustifiably because of outside manipulation. But Wei Wuxian gets to swan off into the sunset with his man, an anonymous face, and a restored reputation. He tells Jiang Cheng, who just found out Wei Wuxian orchestrated an extremely violating nonconsensual surgery that affects him more than physically and spiritually and had his co-parent nearly murder his nephew, that it's all water under the bridge and they should start over. Jin Ling just lived through finding out one of his uncles was a murderous powerhungry villain responsible for the death of his parents, murdered his baby cousin (the man's own son!!) as an toddler, and nearly slit his throat like ten minutes ago. Lan Xichen (his lover's brother!) just found out his closest confidant killed his other closest confidant/childhood friend and was a murderous powerhungry villain, and that said murdered confidant's helpless baby brother had actually turned himself into a master manipulator for revenge, and was manipulated into killing said confidant/murderous powerhungry villian. Doesn't even seem to check on Wen Ning, the poor guy who's been used a puppet on both sides and just had his zombified corpse mutilated protecting Wei Wuxian's interests. But no, total focus on his happily ever after with his husband.

Onto Lan Wanji, he's a petty asshole and I could almost respect him for it, if he wasn't also completely incapable of communicating and a hypocrite. If the man had just had an actual conversation with his crush, or even expressed concern for Wei Wuxian in words, the whole downward spiral after the war culminating in a faked defection from Yunmeng and the Wen Remnants situation would have gone very differently. (I know you need conflict for a story, but I hate when the conflict is miscommunication based. Any story that could be completely derailed by two people having a five minute conversation that could have easily happened in canon makes me want to scream.) This man also spends years projecting his anger at himself for not sticking up for Wei Wuxian onto Jiang Cheng (who had a lot of intense political reasons that he couldn't do more), without a hint that he has the self-awareness to recognize why. He also spends years believing all the worst rumors about Jiang Cheng and Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian's relationship despite his whole thing being he loves Wei Wuxian and knows in his heart the man was never as terrible as he was portrayed. Is there not a hint of irony here?? How much faith and value he places on a person directly correlates to his personal relationship with them. And the narrative puts this man in charge of the cultivation community at the end??? As if he's not going to immediately show favoritism to anyone who hasn't been hostile to Wei Wuxian and be intensely petty to everyone he doesn't personally like?

He hides behind being an upstanding person as if he's entirely altruistic. His whole 'being where the chaos is' rep is because he's spent the timeskip trying to atone for not saving Wei Wuxian and desperately hoping to find Wei Wuxian. (As if Jiang Cheng hunting demonic cultivators wasn't the same thing with opposite PR.) He'll follow the Lan rules and enforce them for everyone but Wei Wuxian. As someone who has to work to understand social situations, the Lan rules provide a nice structure when you're with the Lan. A 'when in Rome' with an actual list. That said, their insistence that stripping away any passion, individuality, or general enjoyment from life will bring some sort of moral superiority is incredibly conceited. Especially when they basically admit its only enforceable in Gusu, unless you piss off one of the powerful Lan. Also guaranteed to create a culture where people learn to hide anything not the norm and/or experience internalized guilt for not conforming. What are they, catholic?

I can appreciate Lan Wanji's internal struggle to actually go after what he loves, especially in that social context. But he seems to have decided he's the only one wise enough to understand when the rules should and should not be followed. He still judges everyone (not named Wei Ying) for not living up to his standards without seeming to realize those standards are fundementally impossible (for everyone not name Wei Ying, who can be forgiven all things). He puts Wei Wuxian on a sort of impossible pedestal that does not bode well for a relationship with an actual person, instead of the idea of that person.

Anyway, the fanfic in this fandom that I like, either doesn't involve this couple more than superficially, or has them working and overcoming these issues and rebuilding relationships with other characters.

I'm so tired.

[grewlikefancyflowers]

Why exactly are people confused about whether or not LWJ confessed to WWX after nightless city? While we do not know exactly what he said or did, it is unambiguous in chapters 99-100 that LWJ had knowingly expressed his feelings to WWX after nightless city & was under the impression that WWX knew...

‘When we arrived, you were sitting in a daze on a rock. WangJi was holding your hands and passing cultivation energy through to you. The entire time, he was quietly speaking to you. [...] Lan XiChen continued, “When my uncle reached him, he’d scolded him and asked him to explain himself. However WangJi seemed to have already expected us to find him, he only said, ‘There’s nothing to explain. This is what it seems.[...] “When he had hidden you inside that cave, the way he’d spoke to you, the way he’d looked at you—even a blind and deaf man would be able to tell what he felt for you.

It is not LXC alone that can read LWJ's feelings in that cave, all those Lan elders and LQR could too. Most importantly, LWJ was fully aware—'This is exactly what it seems'—ergo he had knowingly made his feelings known. I.e. a confession.

‘Suddenly, Wei WuXian felt terrified. If Lan WangJi had no idea that he had no memories of the few days after the battle at the Nightless City, if Lan WangJi always thought that he knew of his true feelings, then what had he been doing to Lan WangJi this whole time since he’d came back to life?’

This is WWX's conclusion based on the information LXC gave, his thoughts are later confirmed by LWJ's reaction to his third & final confession attempt. MXTX literally spelled this out for her readers and yet-

‘Lan WangJi’s eyes were downcast, and it was hard to read his expression. Wei WuXian knew that Lan WangJi likely didn’t believe in those few lines he’d said earlier. After all, he had been tormented by someone who’d teased him mercilessly while laughing without a clue for so long. It was only right for him to be suspicious. At the thought, Wei WuXian felt his chest go heavy, his heart trembling with sympathy. He didn’t dare to continue his line of thought. He only knew that he needed to fix it however he can, and hammer the point home.

He said, “Lan Zhan, here, look at me.”

Lan WangJi replied in a voice that still sounded a little tight, “Mmm.”

Taking a deep breath, Wei WuXian said quietly, “……I really do have terrible memories. I’ve forgotten a lot of things from before, including that night at the Nightless City. What really happened during those few days, I really don’t remember a thing.”

Hearing this, Lan WangJi’s eyes widened slightly.’

LWJ's reaction is clearly shocked when WWX says he doesn't remember what happened after nightless city and LWJ does not take WWX's confession seriously until after he'd explained this. LWJ assumed he was messing around as he always had done because WWX never acknowledged his own confession. LWJ clearly thought WWX knew of his feelings, he would only think this if he had told WWX of his feelings.

On a related point, why would LWJ choose a time like that to confess? I think it is pretty straightforward.

Something that is made clear throughout the whole Nightless City sequence, is that WWX perceives LWJ as an enemy, he thinks he’s there to fight him and condemn him. The narration makes it very clear that WWX’s perception of LWJ’s actions at this time is incorrect, he’s ‘lost his judgement.’ WWX is unable to consider that LWJ actually only wants to help him.

And in his second life, WWX still cannot understand why LWJ would want to help him. In chapter 12 he speculates that LWJ had actually recognised him, the only thing that makes him doubt this is that he thinks if LWJ knew his identity, he would definitely not be helping him. In chapter 31, after WWX has gotten LWJ to drink, he specifically asks him 'why are you helping me?'

After he takes him away from Nightless City, LWJ is dealing with a WWX who is quite out of his mind, and convinced that LWJ only wants to harm or punish him for the things that he’s done. The obvious way for LWJ to try to remedy this is to explain to WWX why he is helping him, because it was due to WWX believing LWJ was against that was making him lash out during nightless city (from ch.78, this is clear to LWJ). And in this scenario, the reason LWJ takes him away, heals him and looks after him, is because of his feelings for him.* (The 'shocking someone out of a rampage with an emotional confession' is a fairly common trope, is it not?)

So, we can see that LWJ has a clear practical reason to confess his feelings at this time.

From an emotional standpoint also, LWJ has every reason to confess here. Having witnessed WWX at Nightless City, and how severely WWX mistrusted him, and also facing the likelihood of WWX’s death, of course LWJ would choose this moment to confess. And whether he lived or died, LWJ would not be able to bear the thought of WWX thinking he hated him, and would want him to know the truth. Similarly, in Xuanwu Cave, LWJ chooses to sing 'wangxian' for WWX and tell him the name—not exactly a confession, but not far from it either. It is clear throughout that arc that LWJ did not share WWX's faith that the Jiangs would come and rescue them promptly, likely he believed they'd both die in that cave.

*LWJ was explicitly not helping WWX after nightless city because he felt he was right & supported him. Aside from the fact that LWJ had been actively trying to stop him only shortly beforehand, we are also told LWJ 'did not know whether he was right or wrong'. And how can he know? LWJ never uncovered the full story of what happened at Qiongqi Path, and the reader does not even know what happened with WN's second rampage at Koi Tower when all those Lan cultivators were killed, LWJ does not even know that WWX was not the one who attacked first at nightless city. LWJ doesn't know, but he protects him anyway because he believes WWX is not a bad person, and he has such faith in WWX because he loves him.

[jiangwanyinscatmom]

Heya! Just curious, do you have any favorite ship with yanli? I really dislike JZX and I would much rather find someone else for her bc he doesn't deserve her

┬┴┬┴┤(･_├┬┴┬┴

Jiang Yanli/Lan Xichen

Here, I'll share a rough outline I have simmering just for this, also featuring Wangxian heavily lol!

LXC/JYL PLOT POINTS

LXC instead of being near Yunping finds shelter near Meishan Yu’s territory

Due to this it's JYL who ends up finding him and worrying because he is obviously a mess

She has no idea he's LCX but knows that he is a Lan

He keeps it on the downlow about who exactly he is for safety for everyone and JYL doesn't take no for an answer since he has nowhere espe to go for recuperating

They begin to bond a bit about wanting to protect their siblings and worrying about what may have happened to them since both YMJ and GL were attacked

Eventually LXC confides in JYL about who he is and they begin a correspondence during war as he is eventually able to reunite with GL and she begins helping in the camps

Eventually during one of the war counsels for the clans LXC hears JZX griping about JYL and WWX essentially feeding into nasty rumors

LXC is the one to lose it and ends up starting a physical fight (THE SCANDAL)

JYL hears about this and asks him why he had done that, LXC goes on about how she is too good to be talked of that way as well as WWX who LWJ does respect

The Sunshot Campaign does end, but the eventual twist is that LXC announces his intentions to marry JYL (SHOT GUN WEDDING)

LQR has an almost Qi deviation about all of this but rescinds and gives in because “whatever happy nephew”

WANGXIAN PLOT POINTS

Golden Core transfer still occurs

However the biggest turning point is it being LXC having attacked JZX for the way he spoke to JYL

Due to this, LXC and WWX actually strike up a sort of friendship because of their care of JYL

This affects the way WWX begins to become slightly less guarded in regards to his opinions about LWJ since LXC is a doting brother who speaks well of LWJ

Because those 4 begin to strike up a weird little friendship again it becomes common for others to inquire about it all

JC of course gets progressively jealous about this once the war ends which leads into accusations of WWX siding more with Gusu Lan after the war to “steal what's Yunmeng Jiang” a.k.a WWX and JYL

This leads to some big fight between them that is heavily palpable when the clans are together

WWX is able to occasionally confide things in LWJ, who is still careful now in the way he listens to WWX before discussing ideas together

Wen’s being saved still happens but, due to JYL having ties with Gusu Lan instead by marriage and because of LXC’s better knowledge of WWX it is suggested that they do not provoke further desperation or resorts for this

JC is not happy about this, aka, let LWJ punch JC after the meeting because JC’s temper gets the better if him, and it mirrors what LXC did to protect JYL earlier

Instead of JC being the one to go meet and make demands of WWX, LWJ secretly goes on the request of JYL, WN is revived slightly earlier which leaves LWJ suggesting he will speak to LXC more on what can be done to let the remaining Wens continue living peacefully without the shadow of being threatened or WWX being labeled a threat

Somewhere down the line due to this it is suggested that the Wens themselves that are left be allowed to choose where to live and set up their own establishments, as under Gusu Lan’s neutral opinion and observation they aren't obviously building up a new “sect”

Not listed are the finer points of romantic build up for both and side character effects to the plot of all this, needless to say, Lan Qiren is a stubborn goat that is another hurdle to overcome. As well as the Jins trying to poke for ways to upend the very precarious peace established from this deal between Gusu Lan and Wen Qing as the remaining spokesperson of the Wens. There is an eventual core reveal as well, a la thank you Wen Ning since JC is now harassing not only Wangxian, but Lan Xichen and Jiang Yanli by accusing LXC of ulterior motives to undermine Yunmeng Jiang.

[winepresswrath]

Love this blog! Your opinions are aways top tier. Sorry for all the kid questions but one more (if u dont more) do you think wwx and lwj would adopt another child? And IF jiang cheng did have any other children do you think wwx would be close to them?

I think Wangxian adopting another kid is extremely plausible. They both seem to genuinely enjoy children, Wei Wuxian has a knack for making and finding family, and Lan Wangji in particular seems to really enjoy how Wei Wuxian relates to children, so I suspect that he'd be very happy to have more of that in his life. I don't really think that adopting more kids is an actual goal either of them have, in that they seem like they're pretty happy as they are, but if the stars aligned and they found themselves in the vicinity of a kid who needed parents, I think they'd go for it very happily.

His relationship with any of Jiang Cheng's hypothetical kids would depend pretty strongly on what his relationship with Jiang Cheng looks like. As probably anyone who frequents this blog is aware I am a reconciliation enthusiast and thus my actual impulse is to say that obviously Wei Wuxian is close to any hypothetical nieces or nephews and visits regularly to to incite lotus theft and general chaos, but assuming he and Jiang Cheng really do decide to leave it in the past he'd probably think that trying to cultivate a relationship with Jiang Cheng's kids on the basis of his former relationship with their father would be kind of weird and also a violation of the terms of their truce. I assume they'd know each other a bit through Jin Ling, but I think under those circumstances their existence would be kind of a painful reminder of a bunch of stuff he's trying not to think about. Like a little girl who looks like Yanli he's not supposed to have any actual connection with, asking Jin Ling why Hanguang-Jun's weird husband always looks at her like that. Devastating. There are reasons MXTX made it illegal for Jiang Cheng to fuck.

[angstymdzsthoughts]

In those AU's where WWX allows himself to be purified to death by the Lan its often by LWJ who thinks he's helping and WQ knows beforehand, Here WWX is suicidal and has decided to make his death mean something.

What if WWX agreed to be purged of resentment in return for granting the Wen Remnants sanctuary then fully informed the Lan of what cleansing entailed? The Elders don't believe WWX because he's still agreed to undergo cleansing and they don't realise WWX is actively suicidal instead of lying. LWJ is conflicted regarding the issue and LXC steps in to perform Cleansing also sure that WWX is exaggerating, he's not exaggerating. How would the Lans react knowing that they assisted in WWXs suicide. How would WQ react after WWX lied to her about the the Lans requirements to take in the Wen Remnants, not knowing that he'd tricked them into killing him thereby forcing the Lans to take in the Wen Remnants and protect them out of duty and guilt at accepting such a twisted agreement.

I like this one.

Lan Wangji was really the only one who unquestioningly believed Wei Wuxian when he told him that the ritual would likely kill him. He was immediately telling Lan Xichen that they needed to make a new deal and find a different condition to take in the Wens because he wasn't willing to risk Wei Wuxian's life. Lan Xichen speaks to the elders and they all convince him that this was just the Yilling Patriarch trying to weasel out of being purified and purged of the resentful energy that makes him so powerful. Lan Xichen believes the elders and doesn't trust Wei Wuxian but he does have a talk with him to try appeasing Lan Wangji.

During their talk Wei Wuxian sort of nonchalantly says 'yeah the chances of me dying are super high but if this is what the Lan clan wants then so be it' and Lan Xichen is like 'ok I'm still pretty sure your lying because no one would be this casual with their life so this is a go, but Wangji won't be happy about it.'

Wangji is Very unhappy about it. He tries to stop the ritual and fights a lot of his own clan before he is subdued and dragged away for his own punishment. Wei Wuxian feels super guilty and regrets telling Lan Wangji.

The ritual happens and Wei Wuxian ends up very very dead. Lan Xichen has a crisis because 1) he just killed a man, 2) he was warned that his actions would cause this, 3) he kneeling chose to ignore these warnings, and 4) that man happens to be the love of his brothers life. Some of the Lan elders try to argue that Wei Wuxian tricked them so they shouldn't have to fill their end of the agreement and take the Wens in but Lan Xichen shuts that down fast.

Lan Wangji is told that Wei Wuxian is dead and his heart breaks. Lan Xichen begs for forgiveness but Wangji isn't really in a forgiving mood. He ensures Wei Wuxian has a proper burial and goes into seclusion, planning to stay there for the rest of his life.

[vrishchikawrites]

You know what would be interesting?

JC never lost his golden Core.

And Wei Wuxian did not lose his.

But he still gets dropped into the Burial Mounds. And like I dunno how, but he comes out of there having mastered the new form of cultivation.

Jiang Cheng acts like a dick that's par for cannon. And this Wei Wuxian who has survived the burial Mounds with his golden core intact has no time for his drama.

He definitely confesses to Lan Wangji o ce he is out of the burial mounds.

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji in the Sunshot campain would be brilliant. Cultivating and * *wink wink nudge nudge* * dual cultivating.

JC is seething with jelousy. He has everything. The gentry name, the money and sect leadership but the whole world is only speaking about Wei Wuxian and his like awesome cultivation. Both the sword style and with his flute.

Wen Qing and Wen Ning- Wen Ning convinces his sister to join the war. Wen Ning wants to be on Wei Wuxian's side.

What would JC throw a tantrum over if he doesn't have anything to throw a tantrum over??

Like for example he blames Wei Wuxian for Lotus Pier burning. Obviously it's not his mistake. But one day he is yelling at Wei Wuxian about it and sect leader someone maybe XiChen, maybe Sect leader Nie. Whoever. Comes and like defends Wei Wuxian.

What would he do then faced with the facts? Cling all the more to his warped world view? Or apologize?

It will be interesting to see.

You don't have to take this prompt if it's too messy or whatever. I love you and your writing.

Also, thank you for choosing to write my previous prompt.

XOXO.

(this is a little similar to trapped and patient but also quite different. Hope you like it! The format is a bit different because this is a lot of time to cover in a short prompt)

When he stumbles out of the Burial Mounds, Wei Wuxian is stunned. He can't believe he made it, that he was able to survive it, without his sword.

Wei Wuxian walks forward shakily, one unsteady step at a time, putting distance between him and that wretched place.

He feels weak, drained, devastated in small ways.

But he is free.

---

Yiling offers shelter in unexpected ways. He's able to hide in a temple to recover. His condition is wretched enough that he's mistaken for a beggar. A few people take pity on him and offer fruits and buns.

It takes him a week.

That's all it takes for him to recover.

Wei Wuxian washes all traces of Burial Mounds off him, soaks in icy river water for hours on end until he feels purified and reforged.

Now, he's ready for revenge.

---

Wei Wuxian has only tried his cultivation method on the dead. He has used it to repel the fierce corpses, fierce ghosts, and spirits soaked in resentment.

When he tests the method on the Wens, it proves to be even more effective. They scramble like mindless beasts, driven by fear and confusion. The sounds of his Dizi pierce the air and induce madness.

He watches from a distance, indifferent as the Wens turn on each other, swinging their swords, shouting at phantoms, all sense and intellect gone.

He turns away.

---

Jiang Cheng's arms wrap around him and the fog around his mind starts to slowly recede. He stands stiffly, blinking a little before looking beyond his martial brother.

Lan Zhan is there, staring at him with wide eyes. There's so much open concern on his usually stoic face that Wei Wuxian wants to turn away.

"Wei Ying,"

It is only then, under the power of that golden gaze, that his fugue state dissipates. He sees Lan Zhan step forward, almost reaching out only to pull back at the last moment.

Jiang Cheng pushes him away and punches his shoulder, "Where have you been? How dare you abandon us and just frolic off somewhere?"

Wei Wuxian swalllows with difficulty and answers their questions with his habitual dismissive charm.

But that honest expression of open concern on Lan Zhan's beautiful face doesn't leave.

He meets those golden eyes and feels something shift within him.

Shaking his head, he dismisses the feeling. There's no time for sentimental reunions. He turns his attention towards Wen Chao, unsheathes his sword, and kills him in one clean strike.

There. Done.

---

The war is already in full swing by the time he joins it. His martial brother and Lan Zhan are quick to take him to Qinghe, not even letting him ride his own sword.

"Wei-gongzi, I'm happy to see you safe," Lan Xichen greets, running a discreet eye over him. The older Lan brother's concern is well hidden but Wei Wuxian senses it nevertheless.

The man looks like he's just about ready to banish him to the healing halls.

He opens his mouth to reassure Lan Xichen but Nie Mingjue intervenes, slapping his back solidly, "I hear you're responsible for the devastation at Yiling. Good work!"

Wei Wuxian smiles brightly, hoping to banish that increasingly familiar look from Lan Zhan's face. "Thank you, Nie-zongzhu." He smiles up at the man, "I can give you a full report of what happened if you wish it."

The Chifeng-zun's expression shifts into one of approval and he nods, "I do wish it."

"I would like to know as well, if you don't mind," Lan Xichen says and Nie Mingjue nods before he glances at Lan Zhan.

He chuckles, "Lan er-gonzi can join us as well."

---

Wei Wuxian doesn't realize he's been spending more time with the Lan brothers and Nie Mingjue until Jiang Cheng angrily points it out.

"You're too good for us, are you?" He demands, "Abandoning us in favor of your new friends! Even in the battlefield, you and Lan Wangji are inseparable! Have some shame! How dare you abandon your responsibilities and mess around with that man?"

"a-Cheng," Shijie reprimands gently but her voice is weak.

"Aiya, Jiang Cheng, who keeps track of such things amidst a war? They're all our allies. It's not like I have abandoned everyone." He still trains with the Jiang disciples and leads them in battle after all.

"Wei Wuxian!"

"Jiang Cheng," His voice makes his irritation clear, "Is this really the right time to worry about such trivial matters? Who cares about appearances during war? Are were not all one when on the battlefield?" He asks, narrowing his eyes on the furious Jiang, "We don't know whether we'll live or die when we ride out and you're concerned about who fights alongside me? Just who are you speaking of?"

"Who I am speaking of?" Jiang Cheng snaps in return, "Your obsession with that man is unseemly and reflects poorly on the sect! You know it and yet you carry on shamelessly-"

"My obsession?" He demands, "Just what are you trying to imply, Jiang Cheng? You're going to be a brat just because Lan Zhan happens to be the only one able to keep up with me?" It is no secret that his three month stint sharpened his cultivation in ways people find hard to fathom. He didn’t just develop a new cultivation method, he grew. Surviving the Burial Mounds is a feet beyond the skill and endurance of most cultivators. 

Wei Wuxian has earned his already formidable reputation.

Jiang Cheng reels back at the reminder, his face twisting with rage.

Never let it be said that Wei Wuxian takes things lying down. He has spent a lifetime appeasing Jiang Cheng and dealing with his insecurities.

He no longer has the patience.

---

He reaches out instinctively, pulling Lan Zhan out of a blade's path, spinning around to block the strike with his bare arm.

His thick leather brace manages to minimize the damage and he doesn't lose his arm but it is a near thing.

With a hiss, he crowds against Lan Zhan and brings Suibian down in a sharp slash, cutting the Wen before him from left shoulder to right hip.

"Reckless." Lan Zhan says later as he carefully stitches the cut.

"I couldn't let you get hurt." Wei Wuxian says softly, peering down at the kneeling figure before him. He has seen Lan Zhan in various states of indignity, covered in blood, robes soaked in the disgusting sludge of a war-torn field.

Nothing diminishes his beauty.

Wei Wuxian's heart races, his head spinning as he smells the scent of sandalwood. He swallows as Lan Zhan shifts closer, carefully snipping the excess thread and studying his neat stitches.

This close, he feels overwhelmed and realization dawns.

"I love you," He breathes, stunned.

He loves Lan Zhan. The knowledge strikes him now, suddenly, without warning. "How did I not know?" Wei Wuxian feels strangely dazed. How could he not know? It is so obvious to him, his constant need for Lan Zhan's attention, "I hate it when you ignore me." The feeling of those snapping golden eyes on him when he finally manages to gain Lan Zhan's attention, "It's thrilling when you don't."

He has never met anyone more beautiful, "I find you better looking than any maiden." Lan Zhan's proximity now makes him feel-, "Breathless," He says, "When I'm close to you I feel- how did I miss-"

Lan Zhan grip is like vice around his wrist.

Wei Wuxian stops, going pale as he realizes how brazenly he had just confessed love to a man. If Jiang Cheng were here, he'd definitely gut him with Sandu, "Lan Zhan, I-"

Lan Zhan surges forward, eyes blazing and expression dark.

Warm lips slide over his and his mind goes silent.

He doesn't think a single thought that night.

---

War doesn't wait for anyone and Wei Wuxian doesn't say anything in protest when Lan Zhan pulls away from him. He watches with heavy eyes as Lan Zhan shrugs on his discarded outer robes and glances at him.

"Is your body alright?" He asks and Wei Wuxian feels a blush crawl up his neck.

“No! Of course it isn’t,“ He complains even though his body is buzzing with lingering pleasure. He pouts up at Lan Zhan, who studies him with careful golden eyes, “Really, going on and on, taking your pleasure without any care for my virgin body.“ Lan Zhan’s ears are delightfully red, “Who knew er-gege could be so bold?“

“Wei Ying,“ Lan Zhan’s expression is flat but his voice carries a hint of a waver. Wei Wuxian just grins in response, “Be serious.“

In all honesty, his body is already back to its regular state of being. His Golden Core is still spinning furiously and the lingering energy from Dual Cultivation has healed any aches and pains he might have. 

“Fine,“ He says in a petulant tune, inwardly delighted that Lan Zhan is now his, “But er-gege must kiss me to make me feel better.”

Lan Zhan doesn’t hesitate, leaning over him and gently tipping his chin up for the demanded kiss. 

Wei Wuxian sighs, sinking into it as a curtain of silken black hair forms a private cocoon around him. 

---

The war ends but Wei Wuxian’s problems don’t end with it. Three issues stand before him; helping the Wen remnants, helping rebuild YunmengJiang, and figuring out how to marry Lan Zhan. 

One obstacle stands in the way of two of these three goals. Jiang Cheng absolutely refuses to lift a finger to help the Wen remnants, even though Wen Qing’s assistance helped them win the war. Jin Guangyao may have killed Wen Ruohan but Wen Qing prevented thousands of casualties.

Wen Ning was also responsible for rescuing Jiang Cheng from the Wen capture before he lost his Golden Core. It was fortunate that Wen Zhuliu had been called to visit Wen Ruohan and Wen Chao had to wait to enact that punishment. 

Wen Ning and Wei Wuxian managed to steal Jiang Cheng away just hours before Wen Zhuliu returned.

And yet, Jiang Cheng chooses to side with the Jins on the matter instead of listening to Lan Xichen or Nie Mingjue. Wei Wuxian knows it is partly because their sister is marrying into the Jin clan and they can’t afford to make things difficult for her, but still.

Jin Zixuan will obviously protect shijie. There’s no need to be so cautious, especially if three out of four sects oppose imposing any sort of punishment on innocent people. 

On a personal front, Jiang Cheng’s disapproval of his relationship with Lan Zhan is blatant.

Jiang Cheng can’t really stop Wei Wuxian from marrying whoever he wishes. He doens’t need the sect leader’s permission as he’s not really the member of the family. But his shidi is making things difficult with his sneering disapproval and contemptuous comments in public.  

He has already alienated Lan Xichen completely by calling Lan Zhan’s honor in question (boy did he earn the punch Wei Wuxian had leveled at him - sect leader or no). Nie Mingjue will never side with some upstart over Lan Xichen. 

Lan Zhan himself doesn’t care. He has never liked Jiang Cheng and he never will. He only retaliates when Jiang Cheng tries to attack Wei Wuxian. 

His protective er-gege as no tolerance for anyone trying to harm him.

Which is what, ultimately, breaks Wei Wuxian’s ties with YunmengJiang. 

The confrontation is embarrassingly public. He doesn’t mind Lan Xichen or Nie Mingjue being present but feels upset about Jin Guangshan and Jin Guangyao being there as well. 

“Twin Prides of Yungmeng, isn’t that what you promised me?“ Jiang Cheng demands, “Where will your pride be if you break all of your promises and get into...” He waves his hand at Lan Zhan in disgust, “Is this how you intend to repay us? My father raised you to be the Head Disciple of the Jiang Sect and you would rather be some sort of deviant?“

“Jiang Cheng-“

“And you would side with the Wen dogs too! Was this always your intention? Did you always want to bring down my sect and support its enemies?” 

“The Wen remnants have helped us. They’re not our enemies.“

“They’re not our enemies now,“ Jin Guanyao interjects calmly, his voice soothing and patient, “But surely you see that it may not remain so? We cannot risk another war.”

“They’re barely a few hundred people and we have already taken most of their resources. They’ll live as poor peasants. How can they be a threat to us?“ Wei Wuxian asks. 

“You’re indeed naïve, Wei-gongzi,“ Jin Guangshan says in a gentle, placating tone, “Perhaps your fondness for Wen-guniang is making you turn a blind eye. Beautiful women have a tendency to do that.“ He chuckles indulgently.

The sly implication in his tone isn’t lost on anyone. Lan Zhan’s expression turns frosty and Wei Wuxian feels a surge of fury strong enough to make his blood boil. There are so many things wrong with that statement that Wei Wuxian, for once, is rendered speechless.

“You question the honor of Wei Wuxian of all people?“ Nie Mingjue demands, taking a step forward, “I have stayed silent because Jiang Sect business isn’t my business but I will not have you slander and belittle a proven warrior in my presence!“

“Indeed,“ Lan Xichen says calmly but there’s no mistaking the sharp look in his eyes. Lan Xichen rarely reacts to provocations or interferes in sect matters that don’t concern him. But he’s not going to let anyone upset his younger brother carelessly, “The matter of the Wens is easy to resolve. Let us give them a small piece of land, let them set up a village, and forbid cultivation among them.“

“Er-ge,“ Jin Guangyao begins but Lan Zhan is out of patience. 

He steps back and bows to all assembled before placing a hand on Wei Wuxian’s back, “Wei Ying will choose his own path. Wens will remain free. Wei Ying and I will marry.“ He meets Jiang Cheng’s furious gaze, “Jiang-zongzhu must decide whether his brother’s happiness matters to him.“

Wei Wuxian winces. 

“My brother’s happiness?“ Jiang Cheng demands, “All everyone has ever cared about is his happiness! What about me? What about our Sect? A sect he nearly destroyed because of his loyalty towards you.“ Jiang Cheng looks at him, “Did you forget my mother? My father? How do you intend to repay the enormous debt you carry, Wei Wuxian?“

Wei Wuxian stares back at him, “What is my repayment, Jiang Cheng?” He asks softly, “What will it take for you to consider that debt repaid?” It has been over five years since the fall of Lotus Pier. Wei Wuxian has bled and slogged through war to restore that place to its former glory. He has kept Jiang Cheng safe, helped renegotiate shijie’s marriage, and used his name to draw skilled cultivators to YungmengJiang. 

What more can he give? 

“Loyalty.“ He stills, “You devote your life to YungmengJiang and nothing else.“

Lan Xichen makes a faint, alarmed noise while Nie Mingjue huffs in disapproval. 

Wei Wuxian takes a deep breath, feeling Lan Zhan’s fingers flex on his back. He levels a flat look at Jiang Cheng and thinks on the matter of debts. He thinks about Madam Yu’s refusal to bend, of Jiang-zongzhu’s passivity and lack of planning. He thinks about the Wen’s unprovoked attack on Cloud Recesses and the inevitability of war. 

He thinks of his Lan Zhan and shijie’s Jin Zixuan, without swords and facing an armed group of Wens under Wen Chao’s orders. 

He thinks of love. Of what it means to be truly, unconditionally loved. 

No sorrys and no thank yous. No debt owed for simply being a part of someone’s life. 

He thinks of acceptance that comes with an older brother’s amused smile. He thinks of an uncle’s gruff admonishment to behave followed by a stiff reminder to eat, you’re skin and bones already. 

He takes a deep breath and decides. 

“No.“

[imaginaryelle]

I just re-watched THAT scene and a thought hit me: Lan Wangji just stands there watching Wei Wuxian fall from the cliff... Why doesn't he jump onto his sword and swoops down to at least try to save him? Or is he all out of spiritual power? Or does it simply take to long to start and rev the sword? Not saying it's a plothole, I was just wondering...

I mean, I think this is a fair question and I know I’ve seen it discussed elsewhere. I just can’t seem to find the post or remember if any conclusions were reached, so I’m excited to dive into this. As always if anyone has insights or headcanons they want to add on to this, please do.

Because I like pictures, here’s ep 33 Lan Wangji holding his sword and staring in horror as Wei Wuxian falls (what is Jiang Cheng thinking? Who knows.) 

Why isn’t Lan Wangji doing anything? He just stands there for long enough that Jiang Cheng backs away and leaves him on the outcropping, all alone.

Poor guy.

Okay, moving on. I think there are at least two ways to approach this, and one is from the production perspective (since this cliff encounter is a thing that only happens in the drama) and the other is from the in-universe perspective (aka, Doyalist vs Watsonian), so I’m going to look at both.

For the production pov, there’s really only one scene (I think) where we see anyone actually riding a sword in the drama, and it’s when they’re confronting the water demon/abyss in Caiyi (ep 5). At that point there’s no prep time, everyone just jumps up and then steps onto their swords (which is actually even more ridiculous to me than the image had already been in the novel because I thought they were at least riding on the scabbard but no! Riding the bare blade like a skateboard. I love it.)

How majestic.

Lan Xichen is the only graceful and cool person here. The only other sword-riding shot in this scene that shows more of a person’s body than their head and shoulders is when Lan Wangji drags three people into the air at once and we get a brief glimpse of Su She’s feet kicking wildly.

So, based on this scene’s execution and the general scarcity of other sword-flying scenes (even with the Nightless City confrontation, Lan Wangji just flies in with his quqin, no sword under his feet), my out-of-universe theory would be a combination of budget and aesthetic at play. If the production can get by on wire work with super extra long jumps that don’t seem to require actually riding the sword, they will. It’s logistically simpler, and it frankly looks better on screen. It’s also a staple of the entire film genre, whereas this sword thing is not, so the crew and effects people would have more experience with it as well. (In-universe I have a lot of questions about Wei Wuxian’s retained ability to do those jumps. Do they not use spiritual energy? Does he still have spiritual energy, just not a golden core? Is he using resentful energy instead? How does this work?)

From a more story-side view on the production, they’re working against the fact that they changed the plot to add Lan Wangji’s presence at Wei Wuxian’s death and they want to capitalize on that relationship, so having Wei Wuxian knock himself over the edge as he destroys the seal (or something where he steps back as Jiang Cheng rushes him or any other number of possibilities) no longer fits with the emotional beats they’re trying to hit. Also they really need Wei Wuxian to die here for the plot to function. Having Lan Wangji mount a sword and swoop down to try and save him again just adds extra complications and delays the desired outcome of WWX = dead and LWJ = distraught. In that sense, it really does start to look like a plot hole, because it feels like they’re ignoring the capabilities of a character in order to get the result they need. I do think they try to address this, but since multiple people have this question and I personally had to watch the scene more than once while actively thinking about it to notice all the relevant details… the efficacy of those efforts is maybe questionable. (Also like.. why does Jiang Cheng wait three days to go look for Wei Wuxian’s remains? Why is anyone waiting at all? Why is anyone surprised they can’t find a corpse when the visual we get implies Wei Wuxian is falling into lava? There are many, many questions that can be asked here and for a lot of them the out-of-universe answer is probably going to resemble “because the plot/original source material demands it” without much helpful in-universe support.)

In-universe (and probably more pertinent to your question), yeah, Lan Wangji could be low on spiritual power (and upon rewatch, I think he genuinely is). He could be physically exhausted as well as injured, too. For someone who carried three people in two hands 2-3 years ago and canonically has only gotten stronger since, he sure is having trouble pulling one person up over the side of a cliff. And that exhaustion really isn’t outside the realm of possibility, no matter how strong and powerful he is. He just traveled pretty far! If the theories that he found A-Yuan before coming to Nightless City are true (since he’s not injured in those flashbacks), he likely spent a ton of spiritual power even before getting into this battle where he first confronted Wei Wuxian and then started fighting pretty much everyone on the field by himself. Then, in a moment of fear-induced distraction, he gets injured! He’s actively bleeding! So yeah. He could definitely just be physically exhausted.

All that blood loss is not a good sign, and it actually speeds up (visually) as he expends this effort. We can see his arm trembling all throughout this scene, and then his grip slips (thus the face). Even after that he slips again, not losing his grip, but losing the strength to hold himself up at all. In the end he’s literally just lying on the rock depending on gravity to keep him in place and putting everything else he has into holding on to Wei Wuxian. He can’t do more than glare in Jiang Cheng’s general direction and tell him to stop.

Bichen is right there. If he had spiritual power left, I think he’d probably be sending his sword out to block Jiang Cheng’s angle of attack. That, or he needs two hands to accomplish such an action (It doesn’t require hand motions later/in the future, but maybe he develops that skill precisely because of these events). So yes. He’s physically exhausted. He’s spiritually exhausted. But I think there’s more going on here, too: He’s also at the end of his rope emotionally, and that’s how he ends up standing there, horrified and unmoving.

He’s had a rough time recently: Everyone hates his best and only friend/love of his life, and he has to listen to them call for his death/judgement at fancy dinner party meetings on and off for over a year. No one will listen to him when he tries to present a different view. Even his own brother is (not unreasonably) much more concerned about Lan Wangji’s personal safety than what his silence on this issue is costing him emotionally, and his uncle is distinctly unsupportive of the friendship from the beginning.

I think Lan Wangji spends a lot of time questioning his upbringing in those months (we see him actually verbally do so when he’s punished after Wei Wuxian’s death, but I think it starts well before that). What is right and wrong? Who decides it, and how? When does justice and holding people responsible for their actions turn over into unjust persecution? What is true, and what is a lie, and how much does that matter when weighed against social/political/spiritual harmony? These are concepts that are buried pretty deeply in the Lan Sect’s teachings but the world is twisting all of them before his eyes, and I have to think that takes a toll on him. Additionally, just as things start looking up (they let him write the letter to invite Wei Wuxian to Jin Ling’s celebration! They listen to him, other people support his idea!), he has to deal with the facts that:

1) His best friend who he’s in love with just killed a bunch of people, including Jin ZiXuan and some of Lan Wangji’s own Sect brothers.

2) Wei Wuxian is clearly losing control of his resentment-based cultivation path, and is thus personally in danger on a spiritual level, and

3) Everyone now wants to kill Wei Wuxian again, possibly even more than they did before, and anyone who supports Wei Wuxian is an enemy of the entire cultivation world.

Later in the series, Lan Wangji says he regrets that he wasn’t at Wei Wuxian’s side at Nightless City. That he didn’t support him, despite what we see of him trying to help Wei Wuxian find Jiang Yanli and then, after she dies, stop him from killing himself. To me, this could very easily imply that Lan Wangji is still trying to walk a tightrope in those scenes, or perhaps trying to be a bridge. He’s deliberately not choosing a distinct side, because he refuses to hate and reject Wei Wuxian, but he’s also refusing to declare open support. He’s acting entirely on his own, in a balancing act between friendship and love vs his family, his entire life’s teachings, and all of his society. Certainly I find that sort of situation exhausting, and I’ve never had to do it for something so high-stakes or large-scale.

Then there’s the actual cliff scene itself, where he’s visibly desperate. How intense does an emotion have to be for Lan Wangji to so clearly show it?

Wei Ying, he says, come back. He knows Wei Wuxian is breaking down. He at the very least guesses that he’s going to do something wild like step off that outcropping, which is why he follows him in the first place. But he has no idea what to do, so he tries the same thing he’s been trying for years: Come with me. Let me help you. This is a bridge, and he’s offering to help Wei Wuxian cross it. But just like every other time he’s tried it since the Sunshot Campaign ended, it doesn’t work.

Note that Lan Wangji actually is flying here, without the sword, so if he doesn’t have any spiritual power when Jiang Cheng shows up, this is probably a last, desperate burst to go with this last, desperate act.

I don’t think he really has a plan here. Not a new one, anyway. This is a still a plea of Let me help you. And, notably, Wei Wuxian doesn’t accept his help.

Not once during this whole scene does Wei Wuxian reach up with his free hand or try to help Lan Wangji help him in any way. He smiles, and he says: Lan Zhan, let me go. Because he doesn’t want a bridge. He doesn’t want to go back. Honestly it’s a pretty explicit and heartbreaking message: Lan Wangji’s offer of help is not enough to make Wei Wuxian want to stay alive. Not right now. He needs more than that. He’s lost too much to believe, right now, that anyone is going to choose him and his side, or that he’s worth that effort. And to be clear, Lan Wangji isn’t even offering that in this situation. Wei Wuxian is one slippery handgrip away from death, and Lan Wangji is still not saying “You, I choose you.” From anything Wei Wuxian can be expected to infer, his offer here is no different than it’s ever been: let me show you the way back to the right path. Let me help you fit back into the world the way you used to. And Wei Wuxian can’t do that; he has no golden core, it’s literally impossible even if the rest of the world would let him try. But at this point he doesn’t want to go back either. He doesn’t even want to try. That world hates him, and willfully misunderstands him, and has taken too many people from him now for it to be worth staying in. He wants to die.

And then Jiang Cheng arrives.

Wei Wuxian’s reaction to his brother’s presence is to smile, say his name, and just–accept his hatred. He closes his eyes and waits for the sword to fall even as Lan Wangji calls for Jiang Cheng to stop. The only time he shows distress between stepping back off the cliff and his actual death is when Jiang Cheng twists his sword and compromises the stability of the outcropping so that Lan Wangji is also in danger.

I think it’s possible that if Jiang Cheng had also reached for him and tried to pull him back up, things might have gone differently. Maybe that would have been enough to alter Wei Wuxian’s thinking. But as it is, when Wei Wuxian falls, he falls with his limbs relaxed and a smile on his face. There’s no flailing and screaming like when he was thrown into the Burial Mounds (in ep 33. There’s some arm-waving in ep 1). And I think that moment of him pushing Lan Wangji back and then letting go, more than anything, is what stops Lan Wangji in his tracks, because Wei Wuxian could have saved himself. He had strength and energy left. Enough to push Lan Wangji up and back and nearly to a standing position. He could have accepted Lan Wangji’s help, easily. But he didn’t, because he wanted to die, despite all the effort and inner turmoil Lan Wangji has gone through on his behalf (most of which Wei Wuxian doesn’t know about but, still).

That’s a pretty serious emotional kick in the head. Lan Wangji cannot ignore, at this point, that even if he did have any physical or spiritual energy left, Wei Wuxian doesn’t want to be saved. And that’s when we get this face (actually from ep 1):

He has nothing left. He has at this point spent over a year, maybe two, trying to save someone who, when it came down to the final moment, didn’t want to be saved. There’s nothing more he can do, in this state of exhaustion and despair, and it wouldn’t matter if he tried.

Personally, I think he looks like he’s about to be sick, and I don’t think it’s just the image of Wei Wuxian falling and dying that’s working on him here. It’s also the knowledge that he fucked up. He didn’t do enough, or more accurately, didn’t do the right things, in order to encourage Wei Wuxian to keep fighting for himself or anyone else (I’m not saying this is a healthy or reasonable thought, I just think it’s a thought he’s having). And I think this realization plays directly into how he treats Wei Wuxian when he comes back sixteen years later. He knows that questioning Wei Wuxian on his path of cultivation doesn’t go where he wants it to, so he doesn’t do it. This time is going to be different. He’ll break rules. He’ll drink alcohol. He doesn’t scold Wei Wuxian for making dumb, selfless decisions like transferring the curse mark from Jin Ling’s leg to his own, he just accepts it and expresses concern over Wei Wuxian’s well being. He stops asking if he can help and starts just doing it: Wei Wuxian can’t walk so he’ll carry him. Wei Wuxian needs someone to speak for him, so Lan Wangji will do that, with his brother and with the whole cultivation world. And then we come to this:

This is exactly the same move. Wei Wuxian will protect Lan Wangji, but not himself.

But.

Lan Wangji is no longer trying to be a bridge. He’s not going to hold out his hand for Wei Wuxian to accept or disregard. He’s crossed over to be on Wei Wuxian’s side. And that’s what makes the difference.

[hunxi-guilai]

is there anything you /wish/ had happened in CQL? it doesn't even have to be a canon scene, just something for fun! ;)

oh man... I don’t have it with me, but while I was watching CQL, I kept a running list of “missing scenes I wanted to see” on a piece of scratch paper I had taped to my wall. A lot of those missing scenes ended up on this blog in one form or another anyway (Sunshot Campaign wangxian? Sunshot Era!Lan Wangji? Literally everything about Wei Wuxian and those three months in the Burial Mounds?)

But you know what I’m feeling, right now? Jokes on you, I’m always feeling this -- I wish CQL had more fight scenes. 

And not just like, the super quick shots we got of Jiang Cheng and Lan Xichen tearing their way through hordes of fierce corpses during the Sunshot Campaign (though that was wonderful and aesthetic, thank you for that CQL production crew). I wish they had the time and the budget (and the space in the story) to really develop the ways various fighting styles inform our understanding of characters.

Ever since I took one (1) class on stage combat/theatrical violence, I’ve been fascinated by the amount of character analysis and deliberate performance choice goes into choreographing and performing fight sequences. Every little detail can be so rich in terms of character content: say person A has provoked person B to physical violence via, oh, insults about their parentage. First of all, we learn a great deal about person B -- what is their berserk button? What can get them to snap and lift a hand with intent to cause harm? Second of all, what is person B’s instinctive response? A punch indicates some level of training in combat, because 1) punches are not instinctive to throw, and 2) it’s very easy to fuck it up and break your thumb or hurt your wrist. Or does person B go for a slap? Slaps read differently from punches; for one, they have a weird amount of gendered connotations. For another, they’re open-palm blows, which seem, on the surface, to be less aggressively violent than punches, but can deliver the same amount of force. Or does person B go for a collar grab? A classic move -- inflicts no damage, but indicates how seriously upset you are. Or perhaps a shove? Does that send person A to the ground, or back into a wall? What does that tell us about person A’s experience with violence?

...and so on and so forth.

The fight between Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian in the Qinghe Nie courtyard lasted approximately... what, twenty-five seconds? and I went off on it for over a thousand words. Okay, fine, I wasn’t talking solely about the fight choreography itself, but the point still stands -- we can learn so much about characters in a well-choreographed fight scene, and I’m dying for more.

If Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen’s fighting styles are anything to go by, we can assume that Gusu Lan’s sword forms emphasize elegant, momentum-driven lines, all fluidity and continuity of motion (it’s about maximizing those Sleeve Aesthetics, y’know). If Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian’s fighting styles are representative of Yunmeng, we can see that the Yunmeng Jiang style focuses on strength and stamina; the two of them tend to catch their blows from their opponents on their blades/hilts/flutes rather than simply deflect and move past. Meanwhile, the Lanling Jin school of combat seems to give equal weight to both empty-handed brawling and swordwork; in the Xuanwu Cave, Jin Zixuan doesn’t seem fazed by fighting empty-handed in the slightest, unlike Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng, and Lan Wangji, who avoid fighting empty-handed if at all possible and pick up weapons as soon as they can. Jin Zixuan in general tends to be more willing to get up-close-and-personal in fights; he often moves into and through other people’s ranges, rather than keeping them firmly at arm’s/sword’s length the way, say, Lan Wangji does.

Again -- fascinating. What does that tell us about Lanling Jin culture? The ability to fight and defend oneself while weaponless? Does that point at a history of political turmoil, where Jin Sect members have needed to learn how to defend themselves just in case, oh, I dunno, all swords were confiscated at the door for a peace-talk that is now devolving? Or is this a fighting style unique to Jin Zixuan himself, and if so, what does that say about his training and education? does this mean that Jin Zixuan sometimes goes out bar brawling with Mianmian??? inquiring minds wish to know

We don’t get a ton of songxiao fight scenes (one of the biggest tragedies of CQL is that we never get a back-to-back badasses/battle couple fight scene with songxiao), but how does Xiao Xingchen’s movement style differ from other characters? He’s incredibly light and fast on his feet, but doesn’t seem to deliver the same amount of force that, say, Jiang Cheng could deal in a single blow. Meanwhile, Song Lan is a brilliant fighter (when he’s not, uh, being terribly provoked by Xue Yang); all swift, crisp movements backed by an immense amount of power. Speaking of Xue Yang, he and Jin Guangyao incorporate a certain amount of psychological warfare into their fighting styles, which subsequently rely on the need to maintain distance with their opponents (to avoid getting Stabbed Whilst Evil Monologuing).

...y’all I’ve got feelings about fight choreography. What I wouldn’t have given for a tournament arc, where we can just have every character fight every other character for, y’know, character development

[inessencedevided]

The Untamed, episode 39 - watching notes

How did this show manage to make me care for these characters in about one episode???

Xue Yang is 100 kinds of creepy

How does he disappear like that? That's a power we haven't seen on this show yet

This whole revenge plot is waaay too convoluted to be only about revenge

Ohoh ... this silence is too ominous

I love how A-Qing still has her rebellious streak, even in death

This is too easy ... he won't die just like this, right?

Holy shit his arm!! 😱😱😱

Um ... sorry but, it's really obvious that the actor just has his arm tugged under his clothes 😅

Whaaaaaaaat???

He's not the guy under the mask???

Who???

Who is that and why does he want the stygian tiger amulet???

I was so sure that that was him

Lan and Jin sword style? I'm wreaking my brain right now who has a strong connection to both, but I'm coming up empty

Oh no, a qing :'(

This is such a brilliant shot! Goosebumps! All over!

And wow

All the awards for song lan's actor 😥

I am ... fascinated by Xue Yang's backstory. Like ... the guy is a goddamn sociopath

With the parallels of his backstory to wwx it's almost like he's wwx without his good heart 😥

So ... all of this is a direct consequence of what happened when they met them in the flashback?

But this isn't how "human affairs" should go or even normally do! Obviously, xue Yang isn't a reliable narrator at all, but all I want to do is wrap Xiao Xingchen in my arms and tell him that not all his good faith in humanity was misplaced 💔

"Stupid, naive, dumb idiots like you, who think the world is a better place just because they did something good!"

But it is!!!! The world on it's own, without humans, isn't inherently good or evil! It is what it is. Good or evil, that's up to us! In the face of the endless indifference of the universe, every act of kindness tips the scale towards a better world!

(Sorry, my atheism is showing)

And that's why I will always have infinitely more respect for the Xiao Xingchens of the world than the cruel and bitter Xue Yangs.

Oh fuck no

No, this will break him, won't it? 😰

Oh no 😭😭😭😭

Oh no

Honey...

"Say something..."

Oh god

Does this show want to set some kind of record for must characters severely traumatised in 50 episodes???

Noooo

No

Fuck

When I wrote that I hadn't seen yet ...

He ... killed himself

I am crying so hard right now and I feel like I haven't even really processed the full tragedy of this arc yet

What is Xue Yang doing?

This is so weird. He honestly looks at Xiao Xingchen like he is a doting husband waiting for him to come home

Ohhh

And now it makes sense that he wanted wwx to restore his soul

And why his soul didn't want to be restored ... because he killed himself. He doesn't want to come back 😥

The way this looks ... that can't be an accident

So NOW he's grieving. Because he can't bring Xiao Xingchen back, can't control him. Xue Yang has such a screwed psychy, it's fascinating ... in a very disturbing way

Wow, he's damaged ...

Oh no ... the candy ... THE CANDY!!!

Holy shit ... what even am I supposed to feel right now? 😨😨😨

Trying to parse that out, I feel like (and this is just my first impressionof thus and my very raw thoughts)... Xiao Xingchen and his kindness they did touch Xue Yang. But he was ill-equipped to deal with whatever feelings they stirred in him, because he had already been so twisted by the world and his own actions. And so he expressed his love the same way he expressed everything: with obsession and the desire to posses and control.

Honestly, I need some more time to really process this ...

They buried A Qing 😭

Oh, Lan Jingyi. I didn't know you had it in you 💚💚💚

Oh god, the Juniors are ALL so soft! 😭

Oh god I want to know so badly. What did Lan Wangji want to say??? "Fortunately... this wasn't us" "Fortunately... you came back to me"? 😭

Omg ... this is a parallel right? From behind they might as well be song lan and Xiao Xingchen!

Oh song lan 💔

The way he takes the pouch 🥺

And Lan Wangji's look. Maybe I'm imagining too much into this but ... if that's not a man intimately aware of what he's going through

"Roam the world. Exorcise evil beings alongside Xingchen."

I can't guys, I'm crying so hard right now 💔💔💔

Holy shit Lan Wangji's actor's performance as he hands him the sword 😭😭😭

IT IS A PARALLEL! 😭😭

look at the screenshot up there again!!

I'm ugly crying so hard right now 😭😭😭

Gimme a moment ...

Tge music in the next scene is really unusual for this show, almost jarring after I've just bawled my eyes out

What is that?

An entrance?

Okay no, not an entrance

Who is that????

Aardgfdgh

The Juniors!!!

The scenery us so pretty :)

Waitwaitwait ... I have a suspicion... no ... nooooo? It can't be ...

The butterfly toy ...

And the comments in the last episode fit, too ... 😳😳😳

OH MY GOOOOOOOD!!!!

The shot of the little flying thing! That's in that restaurant, right??

The comment about remembering stuff from when you're three!

IS HE A YUAN????

@sweetlittlevampire IS HE A YUAN??? 😱😱😱

I'm crying again you guys

Of course he is! It all makes sense

And omg, lan Wangji with the bunny lantern 😭😭😭

And now wwx remembers A Yuan and... the LOOK!!! The song!!! The bunnies!!!

The smile 😭😭😭😭

"Let's buy it" "Okay"

They're a family, you guys!!!! They're a family and I'm ... so ... so emotional!!! 😭😭😭

So much softness between them!!! 💙🖤💙🖤

And wwx smiles as brightly as before this whole mess and ...

Holy shit this episode you guys!!!

First I cry out of sheer devastation and now I feel like my heart is ready to burst!

And it FITS!!!

wangxian got the happy ending Xiao Xingchen and song lan never did. They reunited and even though they spent many years apart they have a real chance now!!!

And this, their child, this is the pay off.

I'm listening to the new album by Nightwish (my favourite band) all the time right now and in their song "How's the heart?" Is this line "now there's one who came from me / A child of light, another tale" and I can't help but think of that right now! The whole song is about how it is worth it, going through the bleak times, fighting through your own darkness because there is light and love at the end of it. It's worth it to keep fighting, just so we can keep meeting others with love. And I can't help but think of little A Yuan/ Lan Sizuhi (and god, I'm almost bursting at the fact that I can write that line!!) As their manifestation of that love. Their "child of light" :')

And even with Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan ... there is this slight hopeful feeling of "we will meet again", if not in this life than in the next ...

Guys, I'm so emotional right now

Sorry for the tengant. It probably doesnt make much sense put in writing 💚

I'm so sad and so happy at the same time ... :')

Oh god, lan Wangji with the lantern is so unimaginably cute!!!

And they gave it to Lan Sizhui!!!

SYMBOLISM!! 😭😭😭

Now, this should be interesting

How much does lan Xichen even know at this point?

Ohhh! That was nie Mingjue in the coffin earlier!

Why is he buried in Yi City???

I'm so confused right now!

(But don't tell me the answers. As always, these are rhetorical questions ;))

Ohhh ...

I have a suspicion about the ghost faced man

And apparently I'm not the only one

He has been "discussing" things with you every single night. Aha 😏

Sorry, this is serious 😬

(This has nothing to do with anything but I paused the stream to type and this was the image I got. I thought i should share :D)

Lan Xichen is so deep in denial

Poor guy

And again with the parallels! There is another Lan who has stuck to someone with a bad reputation and he's standing right there

And jin ling is conveniently reminding us of that 😐

So much drama

OMG!

That was smooth!

No, I KNOW WHO YOU ARE!

Just, "Wei-gongze" :D

"Don't take it to heart"

MY HEART!!!

I feel like Lan Wangji isn't the only Lan who will suffer an aneurysm from repressed emotions one day

@sweetlittlevampire @fandom-glazed @elenirlachlagos @allhailthedramallama @luckymoony @kyrrahbird @i-love-him-on-purpose and @sxnshot (should I tag you again next ep? No hard feelings if not 😊)

Honestly, this ep was the most emotional one for me so far in terms of the whiplash from pain and joy it gave me, though I certainly cried harder at the Yunmeng massacre. The prevailing emotion is joy now, though. I am such a sucker for mismatched, found families and wangxian and their child of light isn't exactly that, I don't know what is. I'm going to sleep with a smile on my face now. 💚

[wantonlywindswept]

A/B/O, MDZS-style?

so i actually already had mingxicheng thoughts in this direction! i was contemplating doing a ramble-post so i guess i'll just go ahead and do that here. :D

The A/B/O Mingxicheng Fic I Will Never Write

first off, i have no fuckin clue how the anatomy would work. maybe everybody's intersex? and betas/omegas bear children while alphas/betas can impregnate? though sometimes in fic betas just can't do either, sucks for them. maybe all alphas have dicks and all omegas have vaginas? magical xianxia biology? LOOK I CAN SUSPEND MY DISBELIEF READING MPREG BUT WRITING IT MY BRAIN WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO DEAL WITH MAKING SENSE OF IT PHYSICALLY OKAY, EVEN IF AMAB MALES HAVE A UTERUS SLAPPED IN THERE I DON'T THINK IT'S CONNECTED TO THEIR ASS, HOW DOES THAT EVEN WORK

either way jiang yanli is an alpha, i don't make the rules

in this world sexism and homophobia are OUT and prejudice based on greek lettering assignments is IN, because that means yanli can become sect leader instead of jiang cheng and since jin zixuan is a beta he's marrying into yunmeng-jiang, because i DO make the rules

anyway back to the main threesome, jiang cheng is a Rare Male Omega™ because i like making him special, and as such he's been getting marriage proposals since he was like, five. it's super gross! i mean they don't expect to marry him at five but everybody fights over who gets to claim him, in this universe madam yu is violently protective over him and doesn't compare him to wei wuxian so much so he grows up a little better adjusted because i ship jiang cheng/a happier childhood, and things only get worse when he grows up to be super fucking pretty. which sucks because then his parents die! and a lot of shit happens! and it's only him and his siblings against literally every other sect wanting to get his hand, post-sunshot is a nightmare.

in the meantime lan xichen and nie mingjue are like, super Out. their relationship is Not Subtle. they're both alphas (wait fuck is this just me writing Trinity again? is this duo dominus but a/b/o??? jesus christ) and they give exactly zero fucks. married? yeah we'll go with married.

but then! the nie elders demand that nie mingjue produce an heir! oh no! what do!

and wei wuxian's still spazzing out and does his whole save the wen things, and he tells JC to make yanli cut him off from yunmeng-jiang, which JC is Not Having. he wasn't raised to be sect leader but he's not fucking stupid, he knows politics, and he knows how fucking PERILOUS his brother's situation is right now.

he hears about the nie elders' ultimatum and thinks 'mmm nmj hot', as is appropriate, but also 'hmm nie sect powerful'. so he goes in all his fancy robes and Rare Male Omega™ splendor and bows to nmj and offers himself as his bride/husband/omega/concubine/whatever to bear his heirs, and all he wants in exchange is protection for his brother and the wen sect remnants.

nmj exchanges a Look with lxc. they are So Very Down with this.

and then...honestly at that point it would probably devolve into porn, but i don't want to actually WRITE porn, which is just one of the many reasons this is a Fic I Will Never Write, but basically CRISIS AVERTED nobody dies everybody lives happy ending!!

and babies. lotta babies. teeny tiny babies in nmj's big hands and drooly babies nomming on lxc's forehead ribbon and screaming babies deposited into wei wuxian's arms because jiang cheng is Petty and also Really Needs Sleep.

[spainkitty]

Teen Wolf characters and their The Untamed counterparts

Firstly, I've watched Untamed once, and mdzs never. Secondly, I bet lotsa ppl are gonna disagree with me, get over it LOL. thirdly, I'm going mostly by personality, NOT by story beats/relationships. Because that just wouldn't work here (unless it accidentally works!) LOL. and Lastly, I technically watched s4 and... s5? I think? but I barely remember any of s5 and I HATED s4 so. let's keep it to s3ab characters and earlier.

So here we go!

Wei Wuxian- Stiles is hands down WWX. Sassy, sarcastic, morally ambiguous, and thinks he's always in the right, and while he can be OFTEN in the right, he goes about it the wrong way. also fiercely loyal and clannish?? oh yes, Stiles and WWX are very, very, very similar. (Metawise, they're also the best and most dynamic actors in their respective shows, fite. me. (ง'-̀'́)ง)

Derek is difficult. I wish he could be LWJ, but that's just not his and Stiles' dynamic. (similar, but not quite) I kinda feel like he's more like Jiang Cheng or Nie Mingjue. They care deeply about family, but they all have very narrow views and it's hard for them to change track once they're on it. Nie Mingjue is basically a Lawful Good paladin with anger issues, Derek is basically a Neutral Good paladin with anger issues. So, yeah, Nie Mingjue would be Derek.

Hilariously: Lan Wangji- Boyd is the closest I could think of personality wise and I'm DYING. Stoic, reticent, secretly sassy, will fuck you up if you mess with his people, loyal to what he believes to be right and willing to leave behind what he believes to be wrong, even if that's dangerous or the more difficult path (especially for the sake of the person he loves)? Yeah, Boyd. Erica could kinda fit as WWX, maybe I should change my earlier casting and make this a Berica retelling? 🤣🤣

Lan Xichen- Sheriff could fill this role and personality pretty well. Though, I will say the show did NOT give LXC enough to do and he deserved to be as badass as the Sheriff. But: they are both diplomatic, work well with others, adaptive, and have a low tolerance for bullshit (they just can deal with it better). They are both extremely clever, but have a huge blindspot for the ones they love, to the point where they make excuses for bad behavior or trust on faith rather than evidence.

Nie Huaisang- Is it a hot take if I say Lydia?? Because Lydia. Lydia would be the first one to put the dots together (especially if they came after someone she loved). Honestly, TWreck did her fucking dirty. She's a literal genius, she's cunning, a survivalist, and ambitious. She also, like NHS, knows how to blend in and seem like the exact opposite of what she really is while still doing exactly what she wants when no one is looking. Could she pretend to be a Headshaking, vapid, scaredy cat while secretly pulling every string to get her revenge? Yes. Would she? Oh yes.

Jiang YanLi- She's gotta be Melissa. Helpful, takes care of her family, and others!, and is the rock. Y'all know JYL is the mom friend. Melissa is LITERALLY the mom. Perfect connection.

MianMian- Erica of course. Feral lady who don't take your shit. Who knows when to walk away and when to fight. She's not gonna sit back and let shit happen without trying to stop it. Hello, feral hero ladies~

Jin Zixuan- Based on his relationship with Mianmian rather than JYL, this would be Isaac. Best buds, sassy, judgemental, but under the snark and bitchiness is a good person who's honestly shy and sweet. The BABY who doesn't want anyone to know he's the babey.

Wen Qing- Allison would be a good fit here. She throws knives pretty well, WQ throws needles. Spine of steel and no fear. From a family with bad intentions, but rises above it in the end to be a good person with her own creed and beliefs. Is used by baddies, but manages to get out of it.

Jiang Cheng- Scott. Which I think actually does Jiang Cheng dirty. Scott's really a mix of Wen Ning (s1 Scott, and the sunshine boy of fanon, before the true Alpha bullshit) and JC. Devoted to his family, which is broken and small, with narrow views; when people disagree with him and what he thinks is right, he's furious and refuses to understand. Instead, he feels betrayed. Both characters have different motivations and reactions, so this is VERY broad strokes here. But it kinda fits with Melissa being JYL; if anything happened to Melissa and Stiles were somehow responsible?? Oh yeah, I definitely see a very similar reaction from Scott. Villain origin story.

WN- Scott or Kira, but I love the idea of it being Kira. Firstly, she and Allison would be together more! Working together, watching each other's backs! And I love Stiles and Kira together, so them being besties/Kira being his Ghost General? SO fun!🤩 Plus super powerful wrapped up in a sweetheart candy coating! yes yes and yes.

Jin GuangYao- Peter is manipulative, extremely clever, has zero scruples, while being a slithery little diplomat with Plans B, C, and Z all ready to go. Are they needlessly complicated and riddled with plotholes and Dramatique Reveals? Is there villain monolguing and faux-innocence? Do I also love the idea of Peter/Sheriff and LXC/MY ships with added betrayal angst and woe? um. YES.

Jin GuangShan- is Gerard. Do they have power they don't deserve, live longer than they should, and are complete scumbucket assholes who should die asap? yes. next.

A-Qing- Malia. Feral little girl? check. (imo, Malia should've been played as a teenager unable to BE a teenager because she spent EIGHT FUCKING YEARS AS A COYOTE, her mental development and maturity should've been stuck somewhere around 8, with waaaaay too many points in Survival skill) Dubious morals? check. I just like A-Qing a whole lot more. If Malia had been written more like A-Qing she would've been more fun.

SIDEBAR:

IF I could force Derek into LWJ's role

LXC-Laura

The Juniors = The Pack, but the only one that actually fits is Erica as LanJingyi, which is perfect.

I just realized I kinda forgot Cora. Which is fine, since so did TWreck. If I did remember her, she'd also be a good MianMian or A-Qing!!