#LET HIM LOOK AT WWX WITH MISERY AND LONGING

[waitineedaname]

I just picked up the third volume of mdzs from the library and they put the barcode sticker directly on lwj's face

[stiltonbasket]

for whenever you feel like: wrh raises wwx au continuation?❤️ i already love it!!

"You cannot send your son to war."

It is the first time Lan Wangji has spoken in days. He retreated from the Wei-fu's main compound nearly a fortnight previously, filled with mingled dread and fury when he heard that Wei Ying's son would be riding to battle—and in all that time, Wei Ying did not once attempt to have the conscription order rescinded.

Perhaps he knew the effort would be fruitless. Wen Ruohan valued Wei Ying above his own sons, before he was wounded—for otherwise, he would have never carved those wretched compulsion sigils into Wei Ying's skin—but Wen Yuan was worth nothing more to him than the guest cultivators who were sent out to perish by the hundreds during the second year of the war, because he did not share Wei Ying's blood.

His father's training went only so far, Xiao Liuzi had said, when Lan Wangji first came to the Wei-fu as a concubine. Young Master Yuan has no rival for talent among the other boys of his age, and Lady Wen says that he is the very picture of Xinhua-jiangjun as a youth—but there is something about the lord's cultivation that came from his mother, the one who came down from Baoshan Sanren's mountain, and the little master does not have it. That is the power Wen Ruohan most desires in a right-hand, and so the little master is useless to him.

Wei Ying was as useful as a flesh-and-blood right hand to Wen Ruohan, even injured, but not useful enough to be kept truly happy. He had been showered in riches for the past two decades, denied no treasure that could be obtained by gold or human toil; but he had few dear ones that Wen Ruohan could not touch, let alone any assurance that his family in the Nightless City would be kept safe if he were to fail his master—and if the sigils on his back had not prevented him from doing so, he would have taken his own life in misery long before he came of age, hoping that his death would permit the infant Wen Yuan to pass out of Wen Ruohan's notice for ever.

I wish he had not told me that, Lan Wangji thinks painfully, recalling the night his beloved drank himself sick on spoiled wine and confessed the truth of his long years of service to the tyrant who lived in the Sun Palace. I can do nothing for him, and now there is nothing left but empty hope for the both of us.

For his part, Lan Wangji suffers no delusions about Wen Sizhui's ability in war. While night-hunting, he could rival Xichen at his strongest, in the years before he commenced work on the great warding seals that protect Gusu and the Unclean Realm; but A-Yuan cannot bear to stand helpless in the face of pain, whether his disciple siblings' or the pain of some little creature that crossed his path on his travels, and bearing witness to the unending agony of war will dull A-Yuan's wits and strength to the point where they might well abandon him entirely.

"You cannot send him," Lan Wangji repeats now, folding one hand over Wei Ying's shoulder. "Let him ride out with the others, if you must. But surely he can leave his regiment under cover of night and escape, long before he reaches Qinghe. He is your son—he could easily find a way to depart without being noticed, and then—"

"Where would he go, Lan Zhan?" Wei Ying asks, turning around to face him. "If he deserts his regiment, the way home will be barred to him forever. If he ever dared to come back, he would be executed as a traitor after Wen Ruohan came to hear of it, and perhaps tortured for days before that. If I must lose him, I would rather he meet a quick end in battle than a terrible one in the torturing chambers."

Lan Wangji says nothing.

"You came out of the xingtang yourself," Wei Ying says dully. "You know Yuan'er would never survive it."

His gaze flickers down towards Lan Wangji's legs, as if he could look right through the thick silk of his trousers and down upon the knotted scars beneath them; and then he turns his face up to the ceiling and stands without moving for a long, long while.

"How dear is he to you?" he says at last. "A-Yuan, I mean."

"Dearer than life."

The confession falls from his lips easily. When Lan Wangji first entered the Wei-fu, he was prepared to kill his way out of it with the stone splinter he tore from the dungeon walls, if necessary—but on the wedding night, A-Yuan stole into the bridal chamber while Wei Ying slept, carrying ointment and bandages for Lan Wangji's shattered legs, and treated his injuries as skillfully as his aunt Wen Qing might have done.

"I doubt Wen Ruohan will be pleased to hear of this," Lan Wangji had rasped, stunned almost speechless by the small, deft hands flying over the deep gouges in his ankles. "Go back to bed, xiao-gongzi. Wen Ruohan ordered me here to humiliate your father, not to serve as a companion to him. What do you think he will do if he finds that someone from Xinhua-jiangjun's household dressed my wounds?"

"You're here to serve as a reminder to my Uncle Yu, actually," A-Yuan muttered. "He's Fuqin's favorite concubine, and Wen-zongzhu sent you here to punish him. He thinks Yu-shushu should have died in battle before he allowed any harm to come to my A-Die."

With that, A-Yuan finished tying off the bandages and departed; and brief though the treatment had been, it permitted Lan Wangji to ignore the fire in his bones for long enough to have a full night's rest.

The wounds are nothing more than scars now, and the full function of Lan Wangji's legs has long since been restored. He could take A-Yuan and flee from the Nightless City this very night, if he tried—but Wei Ying would be forced to stop them, no matter how desperately he wished to let them go, and then...

"Forgive me," Lan Wangji murmurs. "Good night, Wei Ying."

He spends the night tossing and turning in his bed, his thoughts lingering over the bed in the next room where Wei Ying is asleep with A-Yuan in his arms; and then, almost before he knows it, the hour of Wen Yuan's departure is upon them.

The day dawns much like any other, in a riotous storm of red and gold that falls over the Wei-fu like a blanket. Wei Ying rises early and sends the servants away, insisting that no one aside from himself should serve A-Yuan on his leaving-day; and when Lan Wangji sees the boy next, he is riding at the head of Wei Ying's old regiment, three paces behind the general who replaced his father after Lan Wangji was taken captive.

Lan Wangji reaches out and takes Wei Ying's hand.

"He will return," he vows. "Your brothers in arms love him as their own. With them close by, A-Yuan will come to no harm."

But Wei Ying's fingers do not squeeze Lan Wangji's hands in turn; and when he meets his husband's empty eyes, he knows that some part of Wei Ying's spirit has given up all hope of seeing Wen Yuan again.

[connectjump]

more of this au for ya'll!!! 🎉

lwj is very much in the "oh the misery of loving wwx so much that i will do anything to keep him happy, and safe and for his path to not become altered in anyway" even if it means that he hides his feelings for wwx all over again because this wwx isn't the same wwx as his.

lwj just telling himself to be happy because wwx smiles, laughs, and wants to be around him just like before is enough.

that being able to reach out and touch the ends of wwx's red ribbon or a brief touch of his hand is enough.

it's all good enough just to see wwx happy.

so when lwj puts space between him and wwx because lwj is blurring the wwx he knew from the past and the wwx he knows now are wwx, but different wwx's. he avoids wwx, and ignores wwx's happy calls of his name. ignoring how wwx seems to pout, how he attempts to get into trouble, and how he seems happy when lwj looks at him.

those butterflies in his stomach, his sweating palms, and lwj's want to just keep wwx close is at an all-time high while wwx is in a mischievous mood. only seeming content when lwj is focused solely on him, almost like a cat who is happy and content when their person is giving them attention.

i love you, i love you, i love you. is the silent mantra in lwj's mind whenever wwx is just around him and alive.

so when wwx slowly starts to move into lwj's space it's wonderful, confusing, nerve-wracking and warm.

so, so warm.

the cold distance lwj is working to keep in place to restrain himself and his love for wwx slowly starts to thaw.

from wwx drawing him pictures, to gifting him the same set of rabbits, to letters that lwj finds outside with wwx's scribbled handwriting and little paper men who come to life with a whisper of wwx's name and go silent once lwj is settled in bed.

the paperman tucked against the folds of lwj's robe over his heart.

so when wwx sneaks back into the CR's smelling faintly of liquor, sitting atop of the roof where they had first met, cheeks flushed, a goofy smile on his lips, and a question dancing on his tongue.

"lan zhan... do you believe in soulmates?" wwx's question makes lwj freeze, his composure almost slips, but he breaths in and out to a degree he views as normal.

"mn soulmates. a possibility to have someone who's just for you, a half that makes you whole, a reason to keep moving forward no matter what lies ahead." lwj bites his tongue to stop himself from saying what his heart wants to tell wwx more than anything.

"if lan zhan thinks it's a possibility then... wouldn't it be nice if we're each others half?"

wwx's response echoes his heart's own want, his desire to have and to hold wwx for as long as the other man would allow him. to hold him, to keep wwx himself, but not bind him or let him feel indebted to him.

a half that he wants so desperately, but he can't allow it. he cannot allow himself to want wwx or to have wwx. not until he is sure that wwx's future can be changed.

"do not say things you do not mean."

"how do you know that i do not mean it lan zhan?"

"you are intoxicated."

"i feel pleasant, i am not drunk. i only feel a bit more courage to say what i want."

what he wants.

lwj's heart beats wildly in his chest as he dips forward fingers touching wwx's chin (the smile that forms on wwx's lips is addicting) lips so close that theirbl breath dances against each other's lips. wwx looks to be at peace, eyes closed and waiting.

"ask once more when you are not intoxicated." lwj releases wwx's chin fighting back the rush of fondness at how wwx looks stunned, before he starts laughing.

"er-gege so polite and kind to this intoxicated one. i swear to ask for what i want when liquor hasn't touched my tongue." wwx swears while holding up three fingers.

and like that the distance lwj tried to keep between them dissolved, slowly but surely lwj and wwx both allowing the other I'm just a bit more.

thinking about wangxian where lwj is unable to handle his injury after the BM and wakes up in the past. he makes it his goal to become wwx's friend, to make sure that he has a happy and full life.

to keep him safe, to keep him whole and himself until the very end. so lwj learns more about wwx, allows wwx into his space & just tries to hold onto wwx's warmth whenever he can. lwj shows a bit more of himself, a small smile or a joke here or there, anything that will make wwx smile, or laugh.

fast forward to just a moment where lwj gets to hold this worlds wwx close. to feel his warmth, to hear his breathing, see that boyish smile up close on those full lips (he could kiss him, lwj WANTS to kiss him so badly, but this time wwx will know it's him) and lwj freezes.

he's trying to save wwx, but this wwx isn't his wwx.

the wwx in his world wasn't even his.

he has no right to see this worlds wwx as his.

lwj tries to shove down the memory of the peony he has pressed in his last life, how he held wwx's hand trying to heal him, eyes burning while he admits his feelings.

self-restraint. lwj removes himself from wwx's space, missing wwx's warmth like the hopelessly in love fool he is and walks away.

lwj doesn't notice the look of absolute confusion, doubt and sadness that takes hold over wwx. nor does he hear the smack wwx settles across his cheek and the warbled tone of "he doesn't like you... nobody would like me."

[somereaderinblue]

Jiang Wanyin VS Mu Qing

I once saw a post that mentioned how JC stans try to push JC’s characterization onto MQ and I’m just sitting there like.......wtf? Bcz frankly, if they ever truly met face-to-face, I’ll bet my left kidney that MQ will despise JC. Hell, I think MQ and JC couldn’t be anymore different from each other and here’s why.

(Note: This is gonna be a long rant but pls, bear with me.)

First of all, let’s look at their family backgrounds. JC was born as the heir to Yunmeng Jiang with two respected/powerful cultivators as parents. But MQ? He was born to a poor household in a dark alley, his father was a sinner that had been beheaded and his mother was a seamstress who eventually got bad eyes and could no longer continue her job.

Bcz of his poor background, MQ wasn’t even allowed to cultivate until XL noticed his potential and recommended him personally. You wanna say ‘oh poor JC, he’s always in WWX’s shadow’ well boo-hoo, it sucks to be in second place just as much as it sucks to have no place at all! 

How, just by knowing this, how can you think MQ is anything like JC? JC grew up with all the privileges as the son of one of the highest gentries. While he was raging about losing his dogs bcz of a traumatized boy, MQ was an errand boy/ servant working his ass off to feed his own mother. He was shunned and scolded just for wanting to give her cherries.

If anything, MQ probably resonates more with WWX who was in a similar position as him since he was constantly viewed as ‘the son of a servant’. MQ was constantly looked down upon, bullied and unable to fight back or he’ll get kicked out. His only protection was XL; similar to how only JFM could make WWX’s abusive life just a bit more tolerable.

Then there’s also this post which canonically proves how JC’s place in society was always set in stone. He grew up with everything already handed to him: a well-respected status, a fancy household, warm food on the table everyday, etc. But MQ? He had to diligently work hard, he had to put in raw effort to rise through the ranks and had to consciously prove himself worthy of it.

There’s also the fact that for all of MQ’s supposed prickliness, the children in his home area adore him. Him, the one whom us readers have come to assume was an unapproachable edgy character, has a soft spot for children and vice versa. They call him ‘gege’ and he gives them cherries and candy. He cares for them and relates to them.

As for JC, let’s face it. Without WWX as his social buffer, who would want to befriend him? Without WWX around to distract you from his unpleasantness, without him around as part of the package, who would willingly approach JC with a genuine offer of friendship? Would JC even know shit about forming non-toxic relationships?

Then there’s the fact that MQ can actually take care of himself and others. He was XL’s personal attendant; he knows how to cook, clean and sew. When everything was going to shit, he still tried to take care of XL and he could bcz he knows first-hand what it’s like to live a rough life of doing back-breaking labour and swallowing your pride just so you can put food on the table & a roof over your head.

But JC? After the Fall of Lotus Pier, WWX was the one to take care of him. WWX who had the foresight to ensure he had money stitched into the hems of his clothes as preparation and getting food for them to eat. WWX, the man he used as his emotional sandbag, the man he tried to strangle after saving his ass. All he could do was sit on his ass and wallow in misery. Okay fine, I’ll admit that yes, he has been through a shitty ordeal BUT! So has WWX and you don’t see him being mopey, do you? Without WWX around, JC would’ve died in a ditch if he hadn’t been caught by Wens first.

And unlike JC, MQ gets reconciliation and he does it right- he earns it. MQ actually takes action to fix his mistakes whereas for JC, literally the only thing he could do at the end was not take action to salvage what little was left after he kicked the dead dog over and over for the past 13 years. And even that alone speaks volumes- at the end, JC does nothing and still walks off with minimal consequences bcz of his high-ranking station.

But MQ willingly volunteered to help XL as Fu Yao again and again, stands by his side to face Jun Wu/ Bai Wuxiang and personally fixed Ruoye. If it were JC, you think he’d do that? Does the guy even know how to sew?? (He probably would’ve pawned it off to a lower subordinate to settle then take credit for it.) And unlike JC who only went to the Burial Mounds to drag WWX back and ignore the blatant injustice the Jins were doing, MQ continued to visit XL while he was waiting for HC’s return to check on him, to make sure he’s doing well, to show his concern and support as a true friend that cares.

Thus, I conclude my case.

JC stans, pls don't clown my post.

[vrishchikawrites]

I feel like lwj was a quiet guy who had deep feelings for wwx, while wwx was obviously crazy about him, even if he didn’t realize it at first. It couldn’t be plainer that MXTX put a lot of care into their dynamic, and people who say their relationship was “badly put together” are kind of missing the point of the novel.

LWJ and WWX are so well put together that it is amazing. It is a feat of romance writing that very few can really match. It is a pity that people don't realize it. Wangxian is one of the most solid pairings in fiction, no matter what kind of fiction you want to look at. We have:

1. Two equally strong, morally upright, highly competent characters.

2. Two people who clash with each other but that clash is always coming from a good place. WWX because is interested and admires LWJ and LWJ because he cares and is concerned about WWX. They hold a kindness for each other that is amazing to see. There isn't a lick of resentment between them.

3. Both help build each other up in different ways. WWX points at the society and tells LWJ 'look deeper, don't become blinded by the gloss, see the rot within. You are too good to be held back like this.' LWJ holds his arms out and says 'Come, let me shoulder some of your weight, let me walk by your side on this path, see that I have a heart that is like yours, that is steadfast and will support you for as long as we live.'

4. They're highly compatible, whether in bed or outside it. LWJ has never let himself be open to anyone but he is soft with WWX. WWX has always been the protector but he lets himself be sheltered and taken care of now.

5. They're very righteous and morally upright. They're the very definition of what is good and resilient about humanity. They never blame others, never drown in misery, and no matter how difficult life gets, they look ahead.

Seriously, how are they a bad match? WWX helped LWJ be the man he is now and LWJ helped WWX find peace and happiness like he has never known in his life.

I can't think of a more inspiring love story, honestly.

[angstymdzsthoughts]

(1/?) Bcz of his absences during akuma attacks & his hero life taking up more time, WWX’s ‘suspicious’ behaviour is soon noticed by YZY. She suspects he’s causing trouble (ex: drugs, smoking, harassing, cat-calling etc.) and after a particularly nasty akuma + the fact that he once again did smthg better than JC + JFM’s lengthy absence, she snaps and kicks him out of the house.

(2/?) WWX tells himself it’s ok, now he can do hero work 24/7. YZY lies to JFM & authorities, claiming he ran away. NHS suspects smthg (he alrdy more or less knows everyone’s secret IDs tbh) and investigates. But WWX insists it’s ok and not worth it, they had bigger problems anyways & he can’t abuse his power (plus, he’s secretly glad to be away from such a toxic household).

(3/?) WN offers him a place to stay & LWJ, JZX and NHS keep it a secret. They continue to be heroes, fighting akumas but they’re getting stronger and harder to defeat. One day, YZY gets akumatized and boi, she is a STRONG ASF akuma due to all that pent up bitterness and resentment. She becomes the Violet Spider and wreaks hell on the heroes. Unfortunately, JYL & JC are caught in the crossfire.

(4/?) Just before YZY could kill her own kids, WWX pushes them out of the way and gets hurt. Fatally. Even worse, his timer runs out and he detransforms; caught live on the news. LWJ screams, rips YZY’s spider leg off and carries WWX away but it’s too late. WWX used the last of his energy to purify the akuma & cast miraculous cure at the cost of his life. Everyone in the city heard LWJ’s anguished cries.

(5/?) A funeral is held, NHS casting illusions of their herosonas so they could attend too. When the Jiangs arrive, LWJ SNAPS. He calls out YZY on her abuse, JC on his entitlement, JFM & JYL on their passivity. He calls YZY for lying to the authorities and revealed she purposefully left WWX to fend for himself on the streets again.

(6/?) LWJ has to be physically restrained but it did make the police finally look into YZY and arrest her for child/domestic abuse & murder. But LWJ feels it’s not enough. After all, if WWX wasn’t a hero, would anyone have cared? Not too long ago, everyone in their school spat on his name but now shed tears and sang praises of him as though he was a close friend.

(7/?) Then LQR suggests him, WQ or JYL becomes the new Ladybug but the wound is still too raw (he just lost his zhiji, did his uncle see him and WWX as expendable child soldiers?). He runs away and goes to weep over WWX’s grave, regrets never making his feelings clear when he had the chance. Then someone arrives- his own father. He reveals his mother’s body and offers (manipulates) him to share the wish to bring both their loved ones back.

(8/?) LWJ agrees and lets himself be akumatized. He goes back to dig up WWX’s body (to be preserved like his mother's) but WN catches him. They fight, NHS & JZX also join to help but are no match against him. LWJ was always the most skilled; combined with the akumatization, he was leagues ahead. He tore through WN's shield, knew NHS's tricks and was a better fighter than JZX. Finally, he saw his beloved. Some magic had rubbed off on WWX, preserving his body & beauty, much to his relief.

(9/?) His uncle & brother went into hiding, knowing they’ve lost LWJ. He goes on a rampage- he made sure to torture YZY, made her feel every ounce of pain, suffering & fear she put WWX (a mere child) through. He ended her misery by slicing her into pieces with his qin strings and rearranging her body into a macabre kowtowing position (as if begging for forgiveness) before WWX’s past grave. Soon, more victims joined (ex: JFM, JC, Jin Zixun, Su She, Teacher Yao; JYL was the only Jiang spared).

(continuation of ML AU) (10/?) LXC takes up the ladybug mantle and confronts him but it isn’t enough bcz 1. this is his baby brother, he still(optimistically, naively) has hope for him & 2. LWJ knows LXC will hesitate, he’s too soft-hearted, he’s pragmatic enough to use that to his advantage. He pretended to be hurt, got LXC to drop his guard, then ripped the earrings off. Before leaving, he told LXC the secret LQR kept from them.

(11/?) Both sets complete, a wish is made. As the light envelopes them, LWJ tenderly caresses WWX’s cheek and kisses him, promising it’ll all be over soon and this time, he’ll do better. He’ll do right by him. Everything will be right and just at last, as it should be.

(12/12) Thus, it’s the dawn of a new day. LWJ goes to school, hangs out with JZX, WN, NHS & WWX, study at his home under the guidance of his stern uncle and father, his patient brother & his kind mother, and then play video games at WWX’s home (filled with warmth & love by a now alive Cangse Sanren & Wei Changze). Before leaving, WWX being the loving bf he is, gives LWJ a tender goodbye kiss. As for the Jiangs well, how can you find answers for someone who never existed?

[fanfictiongreenirises]

i've got a few fics that might fit what anon's looking for :D

canon divergence from after LWJ and JC find WWX. it's also queerplatonic ZCX!!!

Found by WithBroomBefore

Lan Wangji waits outside the supervisory office when they emerge. Jiang Cheng is as relieved as he is unsurprised, and he is a great deal of both: Wei Wuxian sways at his side. When he stumbles at the gate, Lan Wangji moves wordlessly to take the arm that Jiang Cheng does not hold, steadying him. “Lan Zhan,” Wei Wuxian says. He blinks, slowly. “You’re still here.” “Yes,” Lan Wangji says.

omegaverse, other warnings in the beginning a/n.

don't want no other shade of blue but you by sofkoo

“if they find out jiang min is wei ying’s child?” lan wangji questions. jiang cheng grinds his teeth at the thought of it, “i lose custody over jin ling, the reputation of yunmeng jiang goes down the drain, and my child is the target of a hundred different sects.” lan wangji nods slowly. he’s silent for a long while and jiang cheng gets the sense he’s contemplating something. “jiang wanyin,” lan wangji speaks finally, with deep gravity, “will you marry me?”

(the first time jiang cheng lets wei ying knot him, they’re still bloody from killing wens.)

female!jc where she and lwj have a kid in the years that wwx is dead. content warnings in opening notes

right where you left me by sofkoo

“no.” lan wangji says abruptly. jiang cheng gives him an appraising look.  “no?” lan wangji shakes his head. “jiang cheng has always been tolerable.” he announces.  “really?” jiang cheng does not look convinced.  “jiang cheng has always been tolerable.” he repeats more firmly. because that is the truth. because before loathing, envy, hatred, and the worst of emotions, back when they were disciples of cloud recesses. lan wangji had looked at wei ying and thought— beautiful. lan wangji had seen jiang cheng and he hadn’t been able to think. he had been struck speechless.

the one where jiang cheng is as riveting as she is unpredictable, lan wangji is both a disaster bi and a disastrous drunk, and wei ying is horrible at being a ghost and worse at being alive.

okay, i have v little memory of this fic but it Does have a lot of post timeskip divergence

Wishing you were somehow here again by 2009190801 (WIP)

When Jiang Cheng sees Lan Wangji at his doorstep, he doesn't know what to feel. Should he shout? Should he scream? Should he tell the Second Jade to kindly just fuck off to Gusu? But Lan Wangji knows something. What had Wei Wuxian done this time? "Wei Ying gave you his core." The illustrious Hanguang-jun repeats. His face is void of all emotions, but his knuckles are clenched at his sides, white and curled tightly together.   Alternatively, the fic where Jiang Cheng learns the truth immediately after Wei Wuxian dies and becomes fuck buddies with Lan Wangji.

summary explains it all :D it doesn't quite hit timeskip but that's because canon gets diverged much earlier because of a ZC marriage

sunset, like survival by serein (WIP)

Lan Zhan had never expected to marry. So of course, fate would have it that he was wed to Wei Ying's beloved shidi, just as they had become close, somewhere between friends and companions. aka Canon Divergent AU where coreless!JC marries LWJ, complicated feelings ensue. Eventual zhanchengxian.

this one also technically doesn't get as far as timeskip but pre timeskip events change bc of ZC getting together

Tercet by DachOsmin

"You and Lan Wangji taste different,” Jiang Cheng mumbled as he pulled himself away from Wei Wuxian's mouth. Wei Wuxian’s eyes grew wide as saucers in the moonlight. “You’ve kissed Lan Zhan?” Or: Lan Wangji and Jiang Cheng fall into each others' bedrolls while searching for Wei Wuxian. Complications ensue.

LWJ and LSZ growing up at Lotus Pier!! ZC in this have sex but are mostly just friends/life partners, and it diverts in really cool ways from timeskip canon

Delight in Misery by nirejseki (WIP)

When Lan Wangji ran away from the jingshi to look for himself, his back still raw, and on Yiling he found only a small child, feverish but still capable of a little bit of babbling, still able to tell the story of what had happened – when he found the traces of blood on the ground, Wei Wuxian’s from when his power had backlashed on him – when he saw the bodies in the blood pool, already rotting – For the first time in his life, Lan Wangji didn’t want to go home. (what if he had another option?)

i have only the vaguest of memories of this fic alas ;~;

some things never change (but other things do) by lycheewine (WIP)

When Wei Wuxian wakes up in Cloud Recesses after fainting on Dafan mountain, the last thing he expected is for Jiang Cheng to show up there unannounced. Actually, the fact that Lan Zhan and Jiang Cheng are together is even more unexpected.

this fic rewrote my whole brain chemistry. this fic is part of my roman empire. pls read the tags as it involves child death and suicide attempts

respire, suspire (all the old white bones forsaken) by alessandriana

"The doctor said you don't appear to be possessed," said Lan Wangji, just behind Jiang Cheng's ear. He sounded nothing more than bemused, as if Jiang Cheng were a puzzle someone had presented him. Jiang Cheng's shoulders shook in silent hysterical laughter. Yes, possession would be the obvious theory, wouldn't it? If he'd come across some sect leader slitting his wrists in the back of a cave, it would've been his first thought, too. --- Three years after Wei Wuxian's death, things go wrong. Jiang Cheng winds up in Gusu. (Canon divergence AU.)

I read your zhanchengxian post and I feel the same. So Ive got a question: do you know of any fic with timeskip zhancheng where canon is substantially changed by it? I'd love to read one is why I'm asking

Hi! I am happy to know someone agrees with me! Anyway, I've not read a fic like that, sorry, but I've this habit of saving for later fics and never read them, so I've got some recs, even though I've never read these fics.

Fic (I've never read but seems zhancheng timeskip ~ canon divergent):

time waits for no one by adasinon

“Ah, Er-gege,” Wei Ying forces yet another laugh, it is breathless and helpless, and painful as always. “So inappropriate. What would Jiang Cheng say?”

Lan Zhan doesn’t recoil, or laugh. He really has changed.

“You didn’t tell us you’re injured,” Lan Zhan gently moves his arm around, dotes on Wei Ying like he cares for him the way Wei Ying wishes him to. He’s convincing, for sure, and Wei Ying tries not to pretend his delusions are coming true.

(Years ago, Wei Ying went to Lanling on his own, and died during the ambush. He returns to a changed world, where the loves of his life have seemingly been doing better without him.)

((Established Zhancheng, but we all know where this is going))

Fics set during Sunshot campaign:

Wonder of all Walkers by CoolTapes

Lan Wangji and Jiang Wanyin search for Wei Wuxian, rescue a dog, and fall in love.

Let Me Hear The Sound Your Heart Makes by Nantai

In a universe where you can hear any music your soulmate makes (be it singing or playing an instrument or just humming under your breath) Jiāng Chéng often hears his soulmates play together, but he doesn't dare join in. Because he knows Wèi Wúxiàn can't be his soulmate and Jiāng Chéng certainly won't come between him and Lán Wàngjī.

This changes when Wèi Wúxiàn goes missing during the Sunshot Campaign.

moored by fluffysocks

Lan Wangji comes over and they kiss. Lan Wangji comes over and they have tea.

Lan Wangji comes over and they talk.

It turns out that the available study materials are contradictory and unenlightening.

Fics I've read and enjoyed, that portray an interesting zhancheng dynamic during wwx's death (they don't reach canon, being set during the timeskip, but they set the mood actually)

mirror-bright scale by sugar_shoal

It's a serie! Dragon!LWJ AU, that follows canon events. At the moment there are only two fics about snippets of zhancheng moments, but it's not completed! First fic:

The Care and Keeping of Dragon Pearls by sugar_shoal

Lan Zhan's mother wore Qingheng-jun’s pearl around her neck, as big as Lan Zhan’s small fist; he stared up at it. Tints of gold shimmered in its surface, the same gold as Lan Zhan’s father’s eyes, his father’s qi. But despite the warm colors it still appeared cold to him, fastened around her neck with a chain. He touched his own smaller, paler pearl that rested in the hollow of his throat.

Lan Wangji always watches Jiang Wanyin with rapt attention. So he sees the moment of startled joy when Wanyin opens the small silver-inlaid box and realizes what it contains, the warmth that brightens his eyes. He sees when that brightness dims.

* * *

Jiang Wanyin closes the box and holds it back out to him. “Wangji,” he says, “I can’t take this from you.”

Beyond the Autumn Waters by omphalos

Two days after the first siege of the Burial Mounds, Jiang Cheng returns there to hunt for Suibian. What he finds is something completely different, but he takes it home all the same.

A found family and friendship AU that branches from canon shortly after Wei Wuxian’s death and covers the period until just before his return.

(this last one is not jgy friendly- and it's not tagged-, I don't know if it's a deal-breaker or not, but be mindful!)

[annalacerda17]

Hey i love your takes on mdzs and i was wondering what you think about how cql and their characterisation of wwx and lwj? You don’t have to answer it, i know it can be pretty controversial but i would love your thoughts :)

I'm glad you like my takes!

I was actually thinking about making a post about cql eventually, so here it goes. This is going to be a bit long.

I think cql is definitely inferior to the novel, but I don't hate it. There's a lot I don't like about it, though, and I feel WWX and LWJ's characterizations suffered the most. That being said, I still think it's worth watching, if only for Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo's performances (and their pretty faces).

On one hand, cql is a different medium, and there are things that can be easily expressed on page that can't be so easily expressed on the screen. So, of course, the story won't be exactly the same. CQL also had to deal with censorship, which forced them to change a lot of things. That being said, I personally don't agree with a lot of the creative choices they made for the story, especially in regards WWX and LWJ's characters.

The thing is that a lot of WWX's choices only make sense in a specific context, and when you change the context but not the choice, you end up losing something. They softened JC and JGY's characters, they made wangxian have a close relationship early, and made LWJ's reactions easier to interpret as concern and care. On the other hand, they didn't change WWX's reactions accordingly, so on one hand, WWX says he thinks of LWJ as his soulmate, and LWJ even confirms the sentiment is returned to WWX's face, and on the other, they keep making WWX misunderstand LWJ. This makes WWX seem oblivious and even a little dumb, which wasn't the case in the novel at all.

Then we have the entire yin iron thing, which I feel makes WWX less intelligent, and validates the cultivation world's negative views of WWX to some degree (and what was JC even doing there? He was completely irrelevant to the entire arc).

Here's the thing: in the novel, what WWX did with demonic cultivation was entirely new, any opinions on it coming from anyone other than WWX himself were based on pure conjectures, and even LWJ's worries are shown to be unfounded. But cql not only made WWX not be the creator of demonic cultivation, they also created a precedent of demonic cultivators who turned evil, and made WRH, the villain the SSC was trying to defeat, be one of them. With this, they are creating a parallel between WWX and WRH that was entirely absent from the novel, and it validates the suspicions against WWX, because now there is a good reason for them. This is a creative choice I vehemently disagree with.

Then they made WWX commit suicide, and that while ah yuan was still waiting for him in the burial mounds, which, while a pretty looking scene, was really bad for WWX's character. This scenes twists WWX's previous heroic actions that in the novel clearly came from a place of compassion and wanting to do the right thing seem like they came from a place of low self-worth. To me, this is a great disservice to his character, because in the novel, WWX is confident, has high self esteem and, most importantly, doesn't hold on to pain and misery. This touches on one of the main themes of the novel, which is choosing to let go of resentment in order to move on and be happy, and not letting the sufferings of the past define you in the present. WWX is such a great protagonist because he always chooses to make the best of his situation, even if the situation in question is pretty shitty. This is also something that sets him apart from the antagonists. Thematically, it makes sense that JC, JGY and XY are all characters who choose resentment, who refuse to move on from past hurts. It makes sense that the cultivation world refuses to move on after the SSC and would go so far as to seek revenge against the innocents. By making WWX commit suicide, they messed up the central themes of the story.

When it comes to LWJ, I think they took away much of his character. They made his entire character revolve around WWX, which, again, goes against the novel's themes and it ruined his character arc. LWJ, in the novel, mourned WWX but moved on with his life. He knew WWX was dead, he still loved him, but that didn't define his whole self. He recognized his shortcomings and worked to overcome them, and when WWX unexpectedly came back to life, he made sure not to repeat the mistakes of the past. But in CQL there's none of that, because LWJ was already making his feelings clear to WWX sinse long before WWX's death, so there's nothing to improve on.

I also dislike that they put more emphasis on JGY and LXC's relationship than the book did, because I felt it took away from LXC's relationship with LWJ, and also changed the dynamics of the venerated triad, which diminished the degree to which JGY was gaslighting and manipulating both LXC and NMJ, and using LXC against NMJ.

I abhor the romance they tried to create between WQ and JC. In fact, I really don't like the way JC's actor portrayed the character, and I have seen some other stuff the actor was in and he always plays the same character. He probably noticed his crying face is pretty and is making use of it.

But JC in the novel doesn't make crying faces every time he says or does something mean, he delights in making ppl around him miserable. He usually looks (and is) angry, not sad and crying. He isn't anywhere near as vulnerable as the actor's facial expressions would make him seem, and book JC would probably hate the way he portrayed in cql as well. And it doesn't change the fact that JC's actions and choices were wrong, the crying sad face is just there to try to make us pity him for his selfishness and lack of morality. Like, he's the one hurting others, but acts like he's the one who is being hurt, something I disagree with, especially because it leads to some pretty bad cases of victim blaming.

I don't like that they gave some wangxian moments to JYL, because I feel the change served no purpose at all, but to deepen his connection to Lotus Pier and the Jiangs, and doesn't do anything for any of the characters involved.

Like, in the novel, in the scene where JC had captured WWX and was threatening him with fairy, WWX called LWJ's name, he also said he didn't want to go back to Lotus Pier and JC mocked WWX by implying LWJ was only helping him because he didn't know his identity, something that hurts WWX. This sets up the reveal that LWJ had always known it was WWX. It's important to WWX's arc, because throughout the novel, WWX gradually cuts all past ties to the Jiangs and creates new bonds with LWJ. It plays very well with the themes of the novel.

In cql, WWX calls out JYL's name, proceeds to whisper he wants to go back to Lotus Pier, and there's no identity reveal because WWX knew LWJ knew his identity from the beginning. This scene, in cql, reinforces WWX's connections to the Jiangs, and it's not the only scene to do so (the whole thing with the Lotus Pond in the Burial Mounds comes to mind).

At the end of the book, WWX finally breaks the last ties between himself and JC and moves on with LWJ. It feels earned and it feels final.

In cql, when he leaves JC it doesn't feel like it's final, but it doesn't leave me with hopeful feelings like they probably intended, because no matter how pretty JC's crying face is, his actions are still just as bad, and WWX deserves to be free from him. The lack of finality in their parting made me feel frustrated.

That being said, I was surprised they managed to make wangxian's relationship so obviously romantic despite the limitations imposed by censorship.

Xiao Zhan and Wang Yibo really did the best they could, and I think they portrayed the characters really well. I especially like the scene in Jinlintai when WWX's identity is discovered and LWJ stands by his side. Both actors did an excellent job.

[isolatedbubble]

Romance in MXTX, Priest, and SHL

MXTX: Flower, Wine and Dreamworld

The romance in MXTX's works is like flower that grows in ice and snow; colorful, bright and hopelessly romantic, blossoms in misery and hardships.

It features a distinct "us against the world" mindset, depicting love as the only constant in the world. It's an eternal "dreamworld" detached from worldly matters, the perfect escapism as well as a source of strengths in the face of cruel reality.

Both MDZS and TGCF are a critique of mob mentality.

The contrast between CQL and MDZS is very interesting. While the former ends with LWJ taking charge, and therefore changing the world for the better, the novel ends with wangxian isolating themselves from grand politics and focusing more on helping individuals as recluse. It has an essentially pessimistic attitude towards the morality & intelligence of the collective. 

TGCF takes a slightly more optimistic approach, featuring the crowd being courageous under the right circumstances. However, both works share a similar undertone: putting one’s absolute faith in the collective is dangerous, whereas unconditional trust and devotion can be only found in one-to-one connection

MXTX herself compares MDZS and TGCF to 花间一壶酒 (A cup of wine among flowers), MDZS being the wine and TGCF being flower. She also compares MDZS to 风雪夜归人, the person returning home from snow and wind, and TGCF to 红泥小火炉, a small red furnace.

Priest: Breezing Wind and Burning Iron

The romance in priest's works is more complicated. It's the most gentle in its normal state, when it is rational and collected, in which case it's like the breezing wind, soothing, sweet and light-hearted. It gives the individuals more incentive to achieve their individual and/or societal vision, as well as more reason to value their own lives & well-being.

In Faraway Wanderers, the most distinct feature of WenZhou relationship is how in naturally sync they are, and how comfortable & smooth their dynamic is. They both have past burden, but it doesn’t matter, because they bring simple joy, understanding and happiness in each other’s lives.

In Sha Po Lang and The Guardian, the ML’s lingering love for the MC motivates them to become better version of themselves, to care about others, and to form a holistic vision about bettering society. 

In The Defective, Lin Jingheng(MC) explicitly said that Lu Bixing(ML) is the only meaning in his life. He had little incentive to care about his own life after his revenge plan fell apart. LBX helped him reconnect with his inner idealism, and gave him a reason value his life.

When the passion and fiery energy manifests itself, however, the romance is like burning iron, blood and fire. It isn’t actually toxic or unhealthy, but it's not pure and innocent either; in this case, it strives for something deeper and more intense, never content with the past or the present. The sheer intensity of relationship is like a double-edged sword, walking the fine line between unconditional devotion and dangerous obsession. 

SHL: Spring Water and Healing Open Wounds

The romance in SHL is like "spring water"; it's warm, gentle, nurturing. It breaks through the boundary between individuals to bring the couple closer to each other, taking them back to a utopia of their childhood dream, away from social pressure and responsibility. The theme central to their relationship is “salvation”: how love is able to bring people back to integrity.

Both drama wkx and drama zzs have lots of regret about their past sins and wrongdoings. Four Seasons Manor is essentially a metaphor for purity, acceptance and the safety of childhood home. How to make drama wkx open up and accept this safe harbor as his home is one of the most significant plot-lines of the show.

SHL couple is way more emotionally vulnerable and expressive. A significant part of SHL arc is healing the wounds in an open and honest way. They cuddle and confide in each other way more often, talk about their shameful past and even cry about their regrets in front of one another, which is very rare among MXTX/Priest works.

The heat of the relationship sometimes gets too hot and even burns; in other words, there are constant miscommunications, conflicts and misunderstandings in the relationship. However, they can never let each other go, because it's the only source of warmth left for them in their hopeless lives filled with regrets and guilt.

Similarities and Differences

*Note that this is not a SHL/TYK comparison. TYK is kind of an “unorthodox” priest novel; you will know what I mean if you have read 3+ of her works. 

Relationship Dynamic & Narrative:  

In MXTX’s works, the concept of “romance” itself is divined; and the characters are illustration of the ideal of “undying love”. People are made for one another, to complete one another. Her works use colorful symbolism (silver butterflies, the emperor’s smile, the 3 thousand lanterns, etc.) to depict this romanticized ideal of love. 

For MXTX, the romanticization of “destined love” is one of the most recurring themes of her novels. Therefore, the readers look at their relationship through rose-color glasses. Obsession is usually framed in a jolly & romantic light, and doesn’t feature much tension or stress, and has less negative or unhealthy undertone. 

In most of priest’s works and SHL, soulmates are not born but made, so they have to figure out how their relationship works step by step. Therefore the narrative is less of a “rosy picture”. 

Priest has a habit of using derogatory terms to describe relationships that are mostly healthy, but somewhat “bloody” and edgy, full of excessive passion and obsession. The most common phrase is “爱生忧怖”, a Buddhist term meaning “love results in worry and fear”. 

SHL obviously has to be more subtle in expressing love. That said, drama WenZhou are way more emotionally vulnerable and expressive than their novel counterparts, as well as most Priest & MXTX characters. They have a dramatic falling out once in a while, even towards the end. They barely fit the Chinese definition of Zhiji (to know me/to understand one another), but are “lovers” who are buried deep in their passion instead. 

Past, Future and Evolvement: 

In SHL, characters are encouraged to treasure past impressions that are thrown in figurative “wrappings”, whose luster is derived from age-old experiences (Psychological Types, Carl Jung). In other words, they are encouraged to root their love in a shared past, a Utopia of innocence. 

The contrast between The Defective and Word of Honor is very interesting to observe. Both involve long separation, and the suffering and personality changes hat comes from it.   SHL narrative frames their innocent childhood as something to cling to and return to. Drama WKX is encouraged to accept his identity as Four Seasons Manor disciple because it was part of his childhood past. This is a significant part of drama WenZhou relationship.

In The Defective, the narrative doesn't encourage the couple to dwell on the past that much. On the contrary, the all-knowing AI explicitly discouraged the MC from “comparing past to present”. They are advised to accept changes, however painful it might be, and build a better, more equal dynamic out of it, evolving from one-sided pandering to fighting side-by-side.  

In Priest’s novels, the characters rarely return to something in the past, but look into the future. Change is usually framed as inherently beneficial, albeit usually painful and rocky, the implication being that you need to constantly strive for something better.  

Sha Po Lang is a good example of this, with Gu Yun’s changing attitude towards Chang Geng after he as he matures, gradually showing his intelligence in politics. CG starts referring to GY as Zixi instead of YiFu is also a sign of this change---to see him as equal rather than a parental figure & protector.

The Defective is even more obvious in this regard, with both parties uncomfortable with the change initially, but gradually adjusting to the changes during their 16-year separation. The ML also stops calling MC by his surname “Lin”, as a sign of viewing him as equal. 

In MXTX’s works, change in personality or relationship dynamic is neither framed as painful or good. It just happens. It’s a natural flow that take place when it does. Their relationships are rarely challenged by change. They are objectively at a better place compared to their past, but it’s merely the result of a series of events rather than a deliberate choice or struggle.  

WangXian’s relationship naturally changes over time after WWX’s rebirth, but neither of them really struggles with the change. 

Xie Lian doesn’t even recognize Hua Cheng as the someone from his past, so they start out as friends getting to know each other. 

Salvation and Changing one another: 

Priest herself stated in an interview that she doesn’t believe in the concept of salvation, since people have the inner capacity to be their own savior. Therefore, priest characters usually don’t actively try to change their partner’s morals or personality. Some might be willingly influenced by their partner, but there’s rarely an element of moral condemnation. Even when there is a conflict between different values, the options are 1) to reconcile them by choosing the middle ground 2) to maintain their independence and tackle it with nuance 3) to break up.

On surface level, Mo Du/Silent Reading is about Luo Wenzhou being Fei Du’s salvation. However, as LWZ pointed out himself, Fei Du would’ve been a good person at heart with or without his influence. 

In The Defective, when Lu Bixing mistakenly thought Lin Jingheng stayed in the Eighth Galaxy against his own wishes because of their relationship, and that their priorities are irreconcilable, he even thought about breaking up. Of course he was not serious about it, but this showcased that he would never try to change LJH’s convictions. 

In SHL, however, the concept of salvation is central to the theme. Some find it strange that SHL make drama zzs the more “moral” one of the two, despite his action being more objectively questionable. In fact, the only reason he get framed as more “moral” is that he admitted his fault sooner, and therefore could guide drama wkx’s path back to salvation: to recognize the goodness in people, make peace with external world, to clear his name in Jianghu, and to follow due process with his revenge plan to avoid collateral damages. 

“I tried to change you, but you end up changing me”, said drama ZZS. This relationship dynamic is never present in any of priest’s works I’ve read. Priest characters don’t *try* to change one another. 

Does MXTX believe in salvation? Hard to tell. One could argue that Hua Cheng would have be way more amoral and even immoral if it hadn’t been for XL. This is complicated and is a topic for another time.

However, it is certain that MXTX MCs don’t condemn each other morally. “The orthodox one defending their unorthodox partner in front of the world” is a common wuxia trope, but the way MXTX novels approach it is very different from SHL. 

HuaLian never had a serious falling out about being on different sides. Even when they disagree, they respect each other and love each other exactly the way they are. Hua Cheng didn’t approve of Xie Lian saving Mu Qing, but he didn’t interfere with Xie Lian’s decision. Xie Lian feels responsible for helping Shi Qingxuan in Blackwater arc, but he is perfectly fine with HC helping He Xuan keep secrets. In several cases where they have different values, they are able to make it work with ease.

LWJ never *morally* condemned WWX for his action, and never once objected to WWX practicing demonic cultivation after his rebirth. In fact, LWJ never objected to WWX’s morals; in their previous life he was worried about his safety, and struggled with what to do about certain situations due to his family background, but difference in morality is not an issue for them. 

The “righteous” one does not feel the need to guide their unorthodox partner or to be their salvation with regards to integrity. 

*The similarity & differences part is a bit messy and some points are not fleshed-out. Sorry about that. 

**I don’t claim to have the right interpretation. The lens by which we see different styles of romance is ultimately subjective. 

[sepia-mahogany]

Prompt: hearing about xuanwus defeat, madam jin and jin zixuan come to lotus pier and overhear madam yu saying wei wuxian should have let the 'sect heirs die', lwj who's recovering also overhears, the 3 get first hand experience of jiang household situation and decide fk this and take wwx out of there, its a prompt from vrishchikawrites blog (a wonderful write!) So maybe ask permission?

From the prompt on @vrishchikawrites

Jin Zixuan could not forget the young man, the head disciple of Yunmeng Jiang, who, despite his previous (petty) grievances with, had stepped up when everyone else had been frozen on the spot, and no matter how hard he tried, he could not get his blood stained image out of his mind. Which had led to this discussion.

“What? No! I forbid it.” his father responded when he asked for sending reinforcements to Jiang Sect, while he understood with Cloud Recesses burnt down, and Nie under attack, either Yunmeng Jiang or Lanling Jin were next on the table, and despite having well equipped men, with the best of weapons, his father refused to extend help. 

Refused to stand against those who sought to harm his son, ‘in situations like these, know when to step back’ he had said, and Jin Zixuan could feel shame creeping up under his skin, outnumbered and clearly at losing stakes, he hadn’t hesitated to save him, and what would that make him if he forgot the debt so clearly owed? To live the lavish life of a coward..! He could see his mother fuming from where she stood, and closed his eyes to suppress his bitter thoughts, he wanted to do something, anything to help.

And suddenly, anger melted from her face and that smile crept up her face and he felt a chill down his spine, a sense of foreboding overcame him, he could see his father tense as well. “Of course, the Jin Sect sides with them.” she spoke, venom dripping off her every word. “Nothing wrong if the Sect Leader’s wife wants the marriage renewed?” a pit formed in his stomach, he did not want to marry a woman he barely knew, but using this opportunity, they could, in a sense create a bond, stronger than of just two sworn sisters.

However, “Madam Jin meets up with her sworn sister, Madam of Jiang Sect, just as Qishan Wen begins its attacks?” the war has been declared, how would it seem if the two sect Madams, and the Sect heirs are meeting, with or without the Sect Leader? “The risks are completely unneeded, what do we gain from this?” his mother glared at his father, who pointedly ignored her, Jin Zixuan exhaled, thinking things over.

As much as he disliked the engagement, he knew she would not bring it up, unless the situation, as dire as it was, needed it, this bond could provide future aid to one another should the need arise, so Jin Zixuan kept his disagreements to himself, because he knew she wouldn’t force him, not with the concerns of a  cold loveless marriage like his parents, he knew she was using it as a cover to aid her sworn sister.

An opportunity, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, then remembered how the Second Jade, Lan Wangji had stood shoulder to shoulder with him,  and Wei Wuxian, Head Disciple, had stepped up to save them. 

Jin Zixuan exhaled, and made a decision, muttering out a half-hearted excuse, he left them on their own, and later into the night, he approached his mother.

--------

The boat landed steadily, unnoticed in the middle of the night, his mother had won the final say in the matter, of course with the reluctant agreement of remaining disguised as just another trade ship, the serene view would have been calming, had his nerves not have been high strung from adrenaline, small sacrifices, he could of course find a way to break off the engagement in a future of more peaceful times.

Jin Zixuan climbed out the boat first, followed calmly by his mother, the disguises were near perfect, for the disciples around the brightly lit place to look curious, but not alarmed. One, he recognised seeing a few times at Cloud Recesses, came near them with a nervous smile. “We offer you our sincerest apologies but...we’d appreciate it if travellers could avoid an audience with the Sect Leader?” 

The disguises were perfect then, for they had been mistaken as travellers that would go to and fro from Yunmeng Jiang Sect, his mother sniffed and looked at the disciple sternly “We are not here for the Sect Leader, but the Violet Spider, we have an important message for them.” Jin Zixuan had noticed before but now it had become more apparent as the disciples shifted around, something was off, it dampened his enthusiasm and the rush he had felt earlier, instead concern filled him, had something happened to Wei Wuxian?

His mother held out a token, the disciple’s eyes widened and he bowed in respect, “I assume this would be enough?” Madam Jin said curtly, and the disciple nodded, though tensely. “This one will escort you to the guest chambers” 

The curious gazes had not been moved, as they moved inside, step by step, down the corridor they went, as the muffled voices became more distinguishable, all 3 of them froze when they heard, unmistakably the Jiang Sect Heir’s voice. “-You shouldn’t have played the hero and you shouldn’t have cared for such a hell of a thing. If in the beginning you hadn’t….” 

Jin Zixuan felt a cold pit forming in his stomach, surely he must be mistaken, but seeing the expression twisting  on his mothers face, he could assume he was not, in fact, misunderstanding what Jiang Wanyin was implying. 

The disciple bowed quickly, slightly panicked “If you’d follow me-” Madam Jin pointed at him and he immediately shut up, head bowed, just as the Jiang Sect Leader reprimanded “Jiang Cheng.” Silence followed. “Do you know in which ways what you just have said is not appropriate?” was followed by a glum “Yes.”

Even if slightly, Jin Zixuan relaxed, his mother’s expression lightening into a frown, ‘at least someone is self-aware’ Madam Jin thought. “He’s just angry and speaking without care” another voice added, Jin Zixuan perked up, Wei Wuxian! So he was alright, he felt relieved. Madam Jin continued to frown, Wei Wuxian was clearly trying to lessen the pressure off of the Jiang heir. 

Another harsh voice cut through them all “Yes, he doesn’t understand but what does it matter, as long as Wei Ying understands!?” rang out her voice, Madam Jin’s lips pursed into a line, of what her son had just said, that was what she was focusing on?

 “‘To attempt at the impossible’ is exactly how he is, isn’t it? Fooling around even though he knew it’d bring trouble to his sect!?” Jin Zixuan sneaked a look at his mother to see her eyes cold, her fist clenched tightly, he was aware they shouldn’t be hearing this, but this? It wasn’t what they expected at all, he was frozen in place, what in the world was he hearing?

Madam Jin’s thoughts matched her appearance, for once she felt less than charitable towards Yu Ziyuan, and more and more like a fool, here she was, risking her and her son’s safety, her sects safety, for a woman who couldn't care less about her son’s life, but was also wilfully blinding herself to the war right on the horizon, ‘No’ she thought to herself, ‘it was I who was truly blind’

And it was the boy she heard being called ‘Fengmian’s bastard’ or ‘son of a servant’ who had saved her son's life instead, she bit back the bitter chuckle that threatened to escape her, truly, what a fool she was, to be caught in the violet spiders web.

She looked at her son, whose face clouded over the more he heard, she grabbed his arm tightly, if nothing else then to prevent him from barging inside, with Jiang Fengmian’s favor, she was sure that they didn’t need to interfere, until, “My lady, what are you doing here?” she held back her disbelief, her son on the other hand, inhaled sharply.

This was what he was focusing on? Not the insults to his bas- to his ward? To his sect’s entire foundation? It would seem she was truly mistaken, in her and Yu Ziyuan sharing their miseries, entirely wrong about her character, and who was still throwing around callous words for the sake of it, for what else? If not her own cruelty?

"What am I doing here? What a joke that I am asked of such a thing! Sect Leader Jiang, do you still remember that I'm also the leader of Lotus Pier? Do you still remember that every inch of the earth here is my territory? Do you still remember, between the one lying there and the one standing there, which one is your son?" Disbelief and disgust couldn’t even begin to describe what Madam Jin was feeling, the Sect Leader’s response,  however, “I do remember.” Enhanced those to the heights she didn't even know she was capable of feeling.

And so stood the enraged Madam of Jin Sect, the horrified Jin heir and one ashamed disciple whose head could bow no lower, but that was nothing compared to what was said next “You do remember, but there's no use if you simply remember. Wei Ying, he really can't take it unless he stirs up some trouble, can he? If I had known, I would've made him stay in Lotus Pier properly and not go outside. Could Wen Chao really have dared to do anything to the two young masters of the GusuLan Sect and Lanling Jin Sect? Even if he did, it'd mean that they ran out of luck. Since when was it your turn to play the hero?"

Blood roared in Madam Jin’s ears, her nails digging into her palm, she wanted to bite Yu Ziyuan’s head off there and then. ‘Of all the idiotic, foolish, horrid, things she could utter-’ in her cursing, she only realised she had put too much force in her rage filled haze when her son hissed in pain, she immediately let go of his arm, and pinched the bridge of her nose, taking calming breaths.

She was afraid she would do something terrible and irrevocable if she stayed there any longer, listening to a pathetic mockery of- she exhaled and pushed Jin Zixuan towards the open doors. “B-but mother-” he looked back but she gave him that look and he quietened “Later a-Xuan.” while moving outwards, the disciple trailing behind them, they could easily catch some of the words the woman threw at Wei Wuxian.

Madam Jin gritted her teeth in anger, and left without looking back, once she and her son were seated in the boat. “A-Xuan” she began, lightly ruffling his hair “Your marriage is up to you to decide, I will have no say in the matter from here onwards” Her son was not going to be married into that cursed Sect no matter what if she could help it, she moved forward to pull him into a hug, “Mother was wrong.”

 “But mother what about..?” She heard him say, she pulled back and rest one hand on his shoulder, the other caressing his cheek, her son, who by the Jiang’s standards, should’ve been killed, and her blood boiled in her veins. “We came here to make a bond and talk if it were possible, since that wasn’t possible, it can be done some other day.” She lightly patted him, and seeing his thoughts drift off, thought to herself darkly ‘and if the Jiangs are attacked, well, they ran out of luck then.’

Her son hesitantly nodded, “Wei Wuxian...I owe him, for saving me then, if not for him.....” She sniffed, as if indicating what was obvious “Of course,” When the news spread later that Lotus Pier was attacked, with Jiang Wanyin and Wei Wuxian on the run, she hoped for Wei Wuxian’s survival, more so than the Jiang Sect Heir.

And if, perhaps, after a few years her son proposed sworn brotherhood with that Wei Wuxian, well, it wasn’t without her approval.

----------------------------

authors notes i guess?

Okay so writing Madam Yu’s lines legit left me disgusted like wtf was she even saying?? Also like I tried to write Madam Jin similar but a bit less than Madam Yu (ya know madam jin never whipped kids with her spiritual weapons, if she had any, not to our knowledge at least...right?) but ended up venturing straight into slightly dark madam jin heh, also like no engagement, no jin-wei tense relationship, (there’ll be 1-2 parts more probably) also wwx woke up earlier in this one, this’ll serve as catalyst for later years. 

[robininthelabyrinth]

Hello! If this prompt is to your liking - something along the Ladyhawke plot? Basically, during the day LWJ is turned into an animal while WWX is human, and in the night returns to human but then WWX is turned into an animal :) Or, for simplicity’s sake, I‘d just like to see LWJ turned into a bunny XD attempting to communicate with WWX who is oblivious, as you’d expect. Thank you! Your writing is amazing and I’m so pleased to read it always.

The f‎irst thing Wei Wuxian was aware of in his new life, before he ever recalled his name or recovered his cultivation, was the feeling of safety and security that came from being held in the palms of two hands, strong but soft.

Wei Wuxian had been the last and smallest of a too-large litter, causing his mother to bare her teeth at him and chase him away no matter how pitifully he cried. By the laws of nature, he should have died, unloved, but even before he remembered his past deeds he was never one to be bound by those laws. He was lucky: the soft hands came for him then, lifting him high off the ground, letting him shiver against a warm breast and even faithfully feeding him milk from a hollow reed every time he was hungry.

After some time, the haze of infancy cleared from his eyes and, for the first time, the soft hands offered him a leaf instead of milk. It was a good leaf, too. Crunchy and firm, unmarred by any insect bites and still wet from the morning dew.

Wei Wuxian gnawed on it, quite content, and reached up with his left hindleg to lazily scratch at his long floppy ear. For a rabbit, this was the very definition‎ of paradise.

Not bad at all, he thought to himself, quite smug, and not for the first time considered himself rather lucky in comparison to his stronger brothers and sisters, who were probably being taught to forage even now. They might have a mother, but Wei Wuxian has a pair of soft hands framed by long, sweeping white sleeves, and he thought that he did quite well out the bargain.

With such thoughts, he was naturally reluctant to be left behind. He followed those hands on their daily rounds, hopping‎ down dabbled forest pathways made of stone and painstakingly climbing steps to sit in cold rooms that smelt of sandalwood while the soft hands plucked at the strings of a guqin. He wouldn't hold himself back, either: he would nuzzle a kneeling thigh or try to clamber onto the man's belly to sleep, and he was never rejected. Even when he couldn't keep up, he shamelessly cried until the hands came and gathered him up close, letting him rest his sable head against the stark white robes and listen to the comforting sound of a strong heartbeat.

All things considered, Wei Wuxian was quite pleased with his life, a state of affairs that lasted right up until the first time the hands wrapped up the guqin in a white cloth, drew an ice-pale sword from its sheath and took to the air, leaving Wei Wuxian behind, abandoned and bereft.

Obviously, this was absolutely intolerable.

Wei Wuxian settled himself down on the bed and began loudly crying. Other pairs of hands, smaller ones that sometimes brought treats, sought to comfort him‎, but he remained steadfast in his misery, lying prone on his side and weeping until he fell asleep and then waking up and starting all over again.

"He missed you a lot," the white-clad ‎child murmured anxiously to the soft hands when they return a few endless days later. "He wouldn't even eat - I even tried offering him some of the pickled cabbage he's always stealing from your table, but he wouldn't take it. Forgive me, Hanguang-Jun -"

"Forgiven."

Something about that voice echoed in his mind as familiar, but Wei Wuxian was distracted by picking himself up and throwing himself at his pair of soft hands at once, unable to hold a grudge and act indifferent the way he'd schemed he would, taking a mighty leap that did not even begin to trouble his pillar of stability though it did make the child giggle.

"I told you he missed you!"

"En."

The soft hands caressed Wei Wuxian quietly, then - as if familiar with the pain of separation, the torture of longing for what is not there - did not put him down. Instead, they brought close a dish of leaves and grasses for him to eat while still pressed up close to that broad chest, his ears full of that strong heartbeat that showed he was still alive, warmed by the bright golden core within.

Wei Wuxian, as always, forgot his woes, and was happy.

He was full, he was warm, tucked in safely into the collar of long white robes embroidered with clouds‎, and he could think of nothing at all that might disturb his joy.

That state of affairs lasted for about an hour, until another voice, also familiar but less so, said, "I am pleased that you have returned safely, Wangji."

Wei Wuxian opened his eyes, startled out of his planned nap.

Wangji? Lan Wangji - Lan-er-gongzi - Lan Zhan -

White robes, like mourning; clouds, to signify the main family; soft hands, a gentle voice, upright manner, the guqin -

His soft hands were Lan Wangji!

‎Wei Wuxian remembered, suddenly, all of his past life of toil and hardship - his carefree youth at Yunmeng, his brief time at the Cloud Recesses, his wide broad road turning narrow and dark -

He dismissed the latter part as unimportant.

"It seems your pet rabbit had also missed you," Lan Xichen, now recognizable, added, his voice slightly mischievous in a way that was familiar as well.

"En," Lan Wangji replied, calm as ever.

Wei Wuxian began cackling at once, little huffing rabbit sounds.

Who would think, he thought to himself gleefully as he raised up his head to take a look, that Lan Wangji, of all people, would break the rules of his sect to adopt ‎-

To adopt -

A rabbit.

A rabbit!

He was a rabbit! Wei Wuxian, Wei Ying, Yiling Patriarch, demonic cultivator -

He was the rabbit Lan Wangji had broken his sect's rules to adopt!

Wei Wuxian's head lolled back, stunned into a daze that did not abate even when Lan Wangji gently caressed his small head with his soft hands.

Of course Lan Wangji would adopt a demonic cultivator rabbit, he thought. That would just be his luck, breaking his precious rules for me of all people. But what did I do wrong to be reborn as an animal?

Well, actually, he'd done rather a few things wrong, come to think about it. And even if he was a rabbit, he'd had the best possible‎ life as one - he barely had to twitch his nose for a half dozen Lan disciples, not to mention the great Hanguang-jun himself, to scurry over to tend to his every need, so clearly the heavens weren’t intending on punishing him that badly.

Not to mention, he ‎seemed to still have his spiritual awareness - something of a new development, in fact, as he'd only noticed Lan Wangji's golden core for the first time today.

Of course, that didn't really matter. What use was spiritual awareness to a rabbit? All it meant was that he was now a yao, capable of cultivating and, if he turned evil, to be a target for a night hunt led by righteous cultivators.

He'd had quite enough of tha‎t in his last lifetime, thank you.

No, there was no benefit, except maybe the possibility of one day cultivating enough to form a beast core and transform into a human being -

Hm.

"Are you sure you will head out again so soon?" Lan Xichen asked. "You are still barely recovered from your injuries; for you to go out alone could be dangerous -"

Wait, what? Lan Wangji? Injured? Alone?

Absolutely unacceptable!

Clearly Wei Wuxian was going to need to get on that yao cultivation business sooner rather than later. Someone needed to take care of Lan Wangji, if he wasn’t willing to do it himself – and why not him?

After all, Lan Wangji was his pet human.

[crossdressingdeath]

just saw this hot take "People who think Jiang Cheng is a villain who deserved all the bad things that happened to him have no reading comprehension" and i'm like, unless the reading comprehension they claim to possess is of low quality fanfics the sole canonical point of his arc is basically "well well well if it isn't the consequences of my own actions"

Yeah, that's a take I've seen a few times.

See, I think what's happening here is that the stans are thinking "people are insisting that JC deserved the fall of Lotus Pier" when... that's not what anyone's arguing. At least not as far as I've seen. The fall of Lotus Pier was a tragedy that no one deserved (except maybe YZY because holy shit how stupid can you get, she straight up picked a fight with the Wens because she didn't want to obey a servant and got her entire sect all but wiped out). When people say JC deserved his ending they're talking about... well, the ending. The fall of Lotus Pier is the catalyst for JC's descent into truly horrific deeds, it's not the end point.

Setting aside the fall of Lotus Pier, though... let's go through the consequences JC faces real quick, shall we? He spends thirteen years alone; well, if he didn't want to be alone he should've at least pretended he was capable of treating a single living person beyond his sister with basic human decency, it's no secret that he's a jackass who kisses up to anyone more powerful and hurts and eventually abandons anyone less powerful. His brother died; well, he shouldn't have betrayed him and set the sects on him. His reputation is in tatters; he shouldn't have made himself a laughingstock by accusing literally every demonic cultivator he met of being WWX and then becoming a serial killer. His nephew took WWX's side over his; he shouldn't have abused his nephew for years. WWX basically said "get out of my life"; WWX gave plenty of chances and JC squandered all of them to the point of betraying him and causing his death, he really has no one to blame but himself.

And also... look at that list. Compare that to what happens to everyone else except Wangxian and the juniors (minus JL) and WN, all the death and misery that characters' stories end in. Would you call JC's ending bad, comparatively? I wouldn't. He still has the power and wealth and sect given to him by an accident of birth, he still has the cultivation he did nothing to earn, he still has the people sworn to obey him... This is JC's lowest point post-resurrection, and he still has way more for infinitely less effort than a good chunk of the cast has at their highest! If you think about it, JC doesn't lose anything at the end. He's not JL's favourite? Well, he never was, JL very clearly preferred JGY (probably due to the lack of abuse); it's just that with JGY dead WWX has taken his place as the favourite uncle rather than him being behind JC, because Favourite Relative isn't a queue that people start at the back of and move up in a linear fashion. WWX isn't in his life anymore? WWX was dead for thirteen years before the Guanyin Temple, he was well out of JC's life long before he made it official. JC can't benefit from being the one who killed the Yiling Patriarch anymore? Pretty sure he burned that bridge when he started accusing literally everyone who used demonic cultivation (except the one genuine threat we know of in that entire period, funnily enough) of being WWX and then murdering them, given from what we see him accusing people of being WWX is deemed worthy of scorn rather than any level of belief. The only thing JC's lost is his control over WWX and JL, WWX through his marriage and JL through his inheritance of the Jin sect. That's not a consequence, because he shouldn't have had and used that level of control over them anyway.

Basically... yeah, JC in fact got considerably better than he deserved if we're talking about consequences rather than just events in the story, and I've yet to see anyone argue that JC deserved any of the events in the story that weren't direct consequences for his actions.

[morifinwes]

Lauraa I finished all the fics, apart from decay (currently reading that now) and I love it sm! Especially the lip gloss one lmao the whole thing was so hilarious to me XD but also like the concept of lwj wearing lipgloss is >>> -yibobibo

@yibobibo then i'm going to rec you some more!! the lip gloss one was !!!!! ajsksks yes!! lwj wearing lipgloss is just so!! good!!

modern

this one is the painful one i talked about:

visitations by var_abelasan (12K, wip, divorced wangxian, post divorce, most of this is angst, uhm lowkey don't but also do want wangxian to end up together, it's messy, the jiangs & lans are shitty, wwx was in prison (brief mentions of that but it's kind of a major plot point), mxy & xy are the little brothers he never wanted but wwx picked them up anyways)

"Wei Ying-" Lan Zhan says, stutters, "I'm sorry." 

And now Wei Wuxian sees it, the red rimming Lan Zhan's eyes, the rumpled edges of his blazer. There is an old, familiar urge for him to reach over, to hold Lan Zhan's hand and smooth his hair, to tell him that everything will be fine. 

"We're all a bit sorry about this, I think," he says instead, and finds that he means it. For Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji and everyone else in that Guanyin temple, the pain must be unbearably fresh, like skin just flayed open. But Wei Wuxian's chest had been cracked open a long time ago, his wounds licked and cauterized and sewn shut over five long years - Ever hurting, but a dull, constant ache, "It's really alright, Lan Zhan."

 

Five years after being accused of corporate espionage and losing everything, the Guanyin Scandal breaks open and Wei Wuxian finds a familiar face at his door.

please don't let me be misunderstood by sysrae (3K, partly deaf!wwx, lwj notices, nobody else does though, idk wwx is like made out of fucking steel or some shit)

Lan Wangji has known Wei Ying for a fortnight, the first time he sees him get hit by a car.

light by redkosmos (10K, blind!lwj, which causes angst, but they manage it, best friends to lovers, fluff, lwj being insecure and feeling like a burden, college au kind of? but it doesn't matter too much)

The realization slowly dawns on him.

He can never again see the brightness of Wei Ying's eyes, the way they crescent when he smiles, never again see the rich black of his hair, the mess of it in the early mornings, never again see the beautiful tan of his skin, the beauty of the scars and marks adorned on it, how he wears his clothes, how it hugs his frame beautifully, how he looks like he's adorably swimming in cloth when he wears Lan Zhan's, and-

(Lan Zhan loses his vision in a car accident and learns to cope with it.)

don't leave me by trippinonskies (19K, brief very brief mention of lwj cheating, he doesn't but wwx is afraid lwj is cheating on him or just wants to break up with him, (he doesn't), marriage proposal, lwj acting distant = wwx's insecurities show up, fluff, angst and comfort)

Lan Zhan! Where are you lost today?” Wei Wuxian finally asks, at the end of his patience.

Lan Zhan looks a little guilty as he looks at Wei Wuxian, “Sorry, just a lot of work to deal with.”

Lie.

If there is one thing Lan Zhan can’t do, it’s lying. Especially to Wei Wuxian. But he doesn’t question Lan Zhan. He just accepts the reply, too scared to know that he is right. Too scared to know the truth.

// or where Lan Zhan is too hung up in planning the perfect proposal and ends up accidently ignoring Wei Wuxian making the other think that he wants to break up //

want you closer by xiaobucephalus ((3K, HORSES, only in the background tho, but wwx is an equestrian vet, which is so fucking valid bro, the lans own horses, a sick bunny, lwj the bunny parent!, super cute, dark bay throughoutbred chenqing is honestly so valid)

“Thank you,” Lan Zhan said, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Don’t thank me, Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying laughed again, his voice warming the chill of fear that had settled in his chest. “I’ve been looking for an excuse to get into your hutch for a while anyway.”

safe in your thoughts by anonymous (20K, it's a cherry magic au???? (i haven't watched it, but you have i think?), horny lwj but only for wwx (always for wwx))

Wei Wuxian learns three very important things on the night of his twenty-seventh birthday.

One, that Lan Wangji is ridiculously funny, which Wei Wuxian had known before but what Wei Wuxain hadn’t expected was Lan Wangji to be funny at his brother’s expense.

Two, that Wei Wuxian had finally gone mad, absolutely mental at the ripe age of twenty seven because nothing else would explain the third thing he had learnt.

Third, and the most unbelievable of the lot, that Lan Wangji wants to fuck him.

iura by yoo_im_finally_writing (1K, only added bcs op is right and wwx would've the cutest german accent, it's more fun if you understand german so hit me up if you want translations for the german sentences)

Wei Ying calls in the middle of the night to talk about German law, and Lan Zhan tries very hard not to fall asleep. Or at least, not to let Wei Ying notice he's falling asleep. (As best friends do.)

breathe in the air, the last of its kind by wereworm / @neverdoingmuch (27K, getting together, jealous!lwj, but also kind of supportive, brief mention of cheating bcs of miscommunication, no actual cheating tho, college au, lwj pov)

Following Wei Ying’s line of sight, Lan Wangji can barely prevent a smile from crossing his lips when he sees the short row of rabbit statuettes placed at the front of the display. Silver, with bright gems for eyes, they look elegant yet lively and animated.

“A-Yuan would love one of those,” Wei Ying murmurs, almost as if to himself.

Lan Wangji frowns; the rabbits, while cute, don’t seem like a suitable gift for Wei Ying’s A-Yuan.

...

It’s only when he glances back at the rabbits and notices what has been placed on display behind them, that the pieces fall into place. They’re engagement rings, there’s no doubt about it. Lan Wangji feels his heart sink – Wei Ying isn’t just dating A-Yuan, he wants to propose to him.

Or: the five times Lan Wangji thinks that A-Yuan is Wei Ying’s boyfriend and the one time he learns the truth.

paint smears on sunny days by snowshadowao3 / @angstsexual (53K, getting together, art teacher!wwx, single parent!lwj, they're rich if i remember right, wwx & lwj are both good with kids!!!, this is so good actually, fluff)

To say that he runs to his car would be incorrect, as he is a Lan, and running is both undignified and unnecessary unless in immediate danger. Nor does he slam his key into the ignition, or aggressively swerve around the cars on the freeway, or have a mild panic attack at the fact he is picking A-Yuan up late from school for the first time ever.

He comes close, though.

By the time he arrives, it’s 4:35PM, and he has imagined about fifty different worse-case scenarios. The door is partly open when he gets to it, a messy label of 104B—Art Room scrawled with chalk on a placard next to the faded wood. As he opens it fully, he expects to see a wailing, terrified child, or perhaps a scene of utter misery and betrayal.

What he finds is his son, hands covered in paint, being sung to by a beautiful, dark-haired stranger.

“Ducks live in the pond, yellow ducks, happy ducks!”

Lan Wangji stops in his tracks.

(Or: Falling in love with your son’s art teacher, in five parts)

no bunny compares by gusucloudbunny (4K, god this is cute, fluff)

“Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian cornered his friend one week before his birthday. “If you could have anything in the world, what would it be?”

Lan Wangji furrowed his brow at Wei Wuxian, not exactly sure how to answer that question in a truthful manner that didn’t involve confessing his undying love for his best friend.

Wei Wuxian is on a mission to get Lan Wangji the perfect gift for his birthday. What Wei Wuxian doesn't know is that the only thing Lan Wangji truly wants is him.

wei wuxian's week of realizing things by photojenny (12K, i have read this multiple times, i always forget what happens, idk why but my notes say it's good, the tags say drunkji makes an appearance and i'm always up for that)

"Lan Zhan, do you like Mianmian?" asked Wei Wuxian.

Lan Wangji blinked, and stared. It was not the first time Lan Wangji had questioned the perceptiveness of the boy he had a crush on. Wei Wuxian had been smart in the class they had taken together. Yet time and time again, Wei Wuxian had tested the old wisdom that there are no stupid questions.

---

Lan Wangji must figure out how to confess when Wei Wuxian is the most oblivious person he's ever met.

are you my wisdom tooth? because i'd like to take you out by yellowcarnations (1K, crack, fluff, lwj stop flirting with a stranger, even if he is your husband, drunkji but make it to max level)

Lan Zhan wakes up and he has no idea where he is.

There are bright lights and his jaw hurts, he doesn't who this man next to his bed is but oh he might be in love, maybe, probably, definitely.

–

based off that guy-forgets-who-his-wife-is-and-hits-on-her vid but its wangxian.

beep! goes his heart by wearing_tearing (3K, fluff, lwj is like "he, he likes me right? he likes me" and everyone is like "yes, yes he does")

“Wei Ying’s heart monitor,” Lan Wangji starts.

Wen Qing blinks at him. “Yes?”

“It beeps.”

“That’s… what they generally do, yes.”

“The beeps change,” Lan Wangji continues, “when others are around.”

*

Wei Ying’s heart only sings for Lan Wangji.

canon

obedient and bellicose by thunderwear (19K, lwj is cursed by the lan elders, they notice too late, fix-it fic kind of?, lqr being a good uncle and lxc is a good brother, wwx accidentally uses the curse but he doesn't know about it)

It took Lan Wangji a long time to realize he was cursed. Too long really, anyone else would have noticed so much sooner. The problem was, he liked following the rules.

Ella Enchanted AU that no one needed but I wanted.

hello my old heart, how have you been? by ravenditefairylights (10K, amnesia, fluff, wwx taking care of lwj, so much fluff and softness, angst too but not that much)

The issue is, Lan Wangji brings his thoughts back before they stray too far, that it is impossible for someone to be in his bed, unless Lan Wangji himself invited them. He has not. He would remember doing so, and besides, all his night clothes are still on and there is no headache to imply that he was inebriated last night. No, the situation is simple.

There is someone in Lan Wangji’s bed. It is impossible for anyone to be in Lan Wangji’s bed, and yet that doesn’t seem to have stopped the stranger.

or lan wangji wakes up, and wei ying is there. he doesn't understand how or why, and he can understand even less why his hallucination of wei ying is so insistent on bathing him, and braiding his hair, on holding him and fixing his clothes. why the hallucination of wei ying seems so happy to see him.

teach me the way by likeafox (58K, rogue cultivator!wwx, horny wangxian, lwj wants wwx to teach him how to be a good lover, ....wwx is a virgin, the porn is the plot, but there's less of it than i thought)

"I do not wish to leave my future spouse… dissatisfied with my intimate knowledge,” Lan Zhan says, very seriously. “I am hoping to find an instructor, to better prepare myself for such matters."

Wei Ying feels his mouth drop open. He's pretty sure the Second Jade of Lan just told him he's a virgin who wants to learn how to do sex good.

Rogue Cultivator Wei Wuxian is the stuff of local legends. Some of those legends are even true! The ones about his tremendous experience in bed, on the other hand, are not so true. Which becomes a problem when Lan Wangji, on the verge of an arranged marriage and worried he won’t know how to please his future spouse, enlists Wei Ying's help to teach him the art of love-making. Wei Ying's great at improvisation, though, and is pretty sure he's got this sex mentor thing under control. What could possibly go wrong

other aus

of god: my love unholy by tunnelodfawn (3K, tw blood / war, dark!lwj, god!wwx, kind of poetry)

Lan Zhan takes everything as a sign from his god. The blood staining his fingertips—a holy anointment. He sanctifies himself through blood. The strings of his guqin gleam red in the sun—a divine blessing. This is an instrument of destruction. A single note—a cry of power—and in this note the voice of his god unravels the earthly threads tethering man to earth.

The Yiling Patriarch blesses Lan Zhan with war. Wei Wuxian blesses Lan Zhan with agility. Wei Ying blesses Lan Zhan with love.

The base of the Yiling Patriarch’s shrine is the home of Lan Zhan’s knees. He worships. There is something of the blasphemous and the unholy in his prayers. He prays not for victory but for the sight of Wei Ying. Bless me with your presence, he begs.

Or, wherein, Lan Zhan bridges the gap between the mortal and the divine—the worshipper and the god—with blood.

the river and the sea by sasamelons / @sasamelons (7K, soulmate au, arranged marriage (wangxian with each other), they're both kind of dumb but i love it)

Lan Wangji gritted his teeth, wishing to just be left alone. "I am looking for my soulmate," he ground out.

"Oh."

It took Lan Wangji a few moments to realize that Wei Wuxian had stopped following him. When he looked back, the other boy seemed to be frozen to the spot, eyes wide and lips still parted. He quickly looked away when he saw Lan Wangji looking back. "I see. Well, have a good trip!"

--

At six years old, Lan Zhan met his soulmate on the streets of Yiling and promptly lost him again.

At sixteen years old, Lan Wangji met his betrothed and was determined not to like him.

[sneakydraws]

Well, here it is - a lengthy explanation of each card in my mdzs major arcana deck and what I meant to convey/what i would have changed in retrospect/what alternatives i considered! It’s a bit messy and my typing style is lazy but hopefully it will be an interesting read to some of you :)

And so you don’t say I didn’t warn you - jiang cheng’s section (11 justice) is absurdly long lmao

0 the fool  I elaborated on this in the post itself but yeah basically jin ling is kind of representative of all the damage and trauma caused by the past, and there’s a kind of danger there of him falling victim to the same vices as the older characters and repeating the same mistakes and perpetuating the cycle of war and misery (the cycle that we already see with how the jin sect became the new wen sect, and later with how jgy became the new wwx) and he has a lot of room to grow! He grows so much over the course of the novel, comes to realise the complexities of the past and gets a harsh life lesson in how nothing is as black and white as it seems. But ill save talking about his progress for the end, for now whats important is that he has room to grow and also a dog. I don’t really have a justification for the sun, i mostly just thought it looked sick? It made its way to the next card as well, where it makes a bit more sense, but then i realised it was a dumb motif to include 1 the magician I still very much like wwx for the role, and that illustration would have probably had him raising a corpse on his left and pointing threateningly to the sun on his right. I considered including the table as well, with some mdzs relevant items replacing the card suits. Anyway, like i said wwx got a few cards to himself already so i went with the alternative wq design, since i think she fits the card as well. Both she and wwx are highly skilled people, extremely driven once they set their mind to something. The card to me symbolises the creative mind as well as a general drive for action, which fits them both - wwx was famously a prolific inventor, and wq came up with a previously unheard of surgery, after all. This card strays pretty far from the rider-waite deck design, largely because i was still figuring out how i wanted to approach this series, but you can still see the influence. 2 the high priestess I was actually going to skip this card at first because I couldn’t think of a fitting character, but once i considered a qings character post death, it all fit pretty well. She was already a highly intuitive person in life, and in sharing her memories with wwx she is, in a way, relaying a kind of secret knowledge. Anyway she’s one of my fav characters so im glad i got a chance to include her. The coffins could be interpreted to be xxc and sl or xxc and xy 3 the empress Theres other mother figures in mdzs who got to be mothers for a longer time, but jyl definitely embodies the positive aspects of this card the best. She’s nurturing, kind, emotionally supportive, she already mothered wwx and jc quite a bit when she was young. Plus i liked that the rw card had both water and flowers, making an easy lotus connection. In retrospect the stars look kind of out of place and i should have replaced them with something more relevant... Also, i should have had her hold a lotus seed pod instead of a flower, haha 4 the emperor Like i said I considered jc for the role but hoching bullied me into admitting that nmj was better… they’re both more of an inverted emperor than an upright one but then again theres hardly any character in mdzs who would fit upright emperor so. Jgs was also considered but he’s even uglier than nmj so i couldn’t bear to draw him 5 the hierophant It was pointed out to me that lqr would have fit this card better and the truth if that statement haunts me to this day. Unfortunately I have no space in my brain for lqr so lxc got the role instead. My main reason was his role during the wen destruction of gusu lan, when he ran away with the contents of the library - this is why there’s bookshelves behind him. The keys, take, from the rider-waite deck, are meant to represent the gusu pendants that allow you to enter 6 the lovers Im sure many people would have chosen wangxian here but I uhh don’t really care abt wangxian personally? And also their love story is so convoluted that jyl and jzx seem idyllic by comparison lol. Also i didnt really have an idea for who to put in the angel’s place for wangxian… mme jin certainly did not get these two together in the end but undeniably she and mme yu did initially give them a chance to fall for each other so. Thats something i guess. Anyway the trees became their sects’ flowers and the mountain became the burial grounds - an omen of their tragic fate, basically 7 the chariot There might have been other characters who fit this card better but i couldn’t really think of another card for lwj and i thought it would be weird to not include him… anyway i don’t really care for current timeline lwj BUT i do like that he was clearly influenced by wwx to walk his own path in life based on his moral convictions rather than follow his sect’s rules blindly. The chariot is to me a card of self control, self determination and focused action, so it seemed fitting. The composition felt kind of empty without the actual chariot so i padded it out with the guqin, the cloud recess in the bg (it doesn’t look great but i tried to replicate the drama design….) and the bunnies which conveniently fit the colour scheme of the sphinxes in the rider-waite design 8 strength Like i said before, my interpretation of this card is more… morally ambiguous than the quote unquote official meaning, so i thought about manipulative or duplicitous characters more than kind characters whose strength is expressed through gentleness (though i did consider jyl briefly for the latter interpretation). As such, i considered both jgy and nhs, but ended up going with jgy largely because i couldn’t pass up the opportunity to put the nie sect’s beast as the lion. 9 the hermit My thoughts immediately went to bssr lol. It may be an overly literal interpretation but whatever, i like it just fine. And i like that i managed to echo the rider-waite silhouette in the mountain and the tree (and even in bssr herself) 10 wheel of fortune God i love the parallels between these 2… this card to me is about how you cant trust your current situation, good or bad, to last forever, and these 2 embody that perfectly imo. Wwx went from son of a well off servant and a powerful cultivator, to street rat orphan, to adopted son of sect leader jiang, to double orphan, to MIA, to terrifying but admired warrior, to terrifying and despised traitor, to dead, to, at the very end, suddenly respected and trusted again. The dishonesty and cheapness of whatever the public’s current opinion of him is is portrayed beautifully as far as im concerned. And jgy of course claws his way up to power only to instantaneously become public enemy number one, to the point that he’s probably blamed for stuff there’s no reason to believe he had a hand in. Wei wuxian’s silent astonishment at how quickly the cultivation world turns against jgy and towards him again is a delicious moment of thematic resonance.  11 justice I settled on this card for jc after he got booted from the emperor seat but i do think it fits, in a somewhat convoluted way. I turned both the sword and the scales into visual representations of the golden core transfer (can you tell im obsessed with it). According to biddy tarot, the justice card is partly about searching for the truth, and the scene where jc finds out about the transfer is of course a big deal. I was also very influenced by the reversed meaning again - which is about being reluctant or unwilling to face or accept the consequences of your actions. I feel on an intuitive level that this fits jc but I’m not sure how well i can explain it - it’s something about how he’s a little too comfortable scapegoating wwx for things that were also, if much less so, influenced by his actions, and also something about the way he keeps wwx at an arm’s length emotionally but still leans on him and accepts his support when he really needs it, and somewhat hypocritically expects wwx to put the needs of him and the jiang sect before the needs of others. And also something about the core exchange is the consequence and proof of wwx’s deep - terrifyingly deep, even - love and care for him, which is something jc doesn’t seem to let himself acknowledge. Maybe even something about how you could argue that the way all of the jiangs acted around wwx - jfm’s favouritism that left him with the feeling of a debt he needs to repay, mme yus insistence that he be a servant more than a brother to jc, prepared to give his life for jc, and jc’s own unwillingness - or inability, he was a child after all - to clearly acknowledge wwx as an equal to himself, enabling wwx’s self sacrificial and protective tendencies - that all of this was what caused wwx’s complete and unquestioning willingness to do whatever it took to protect jc, and therefore paved the way to the golden core transfer. And i don’t mean this to be scapegoating jc - especially considering how young he was when this all went down, it wouldn’t be fair to expect this level of emotional perceptiveness, awareness and maturity of him - but i think adult jc has to grapple with the fact that the chain of cause and effect was not as simple as wwx fucking everyone’s lives up to be a martyr, and that both jc and his parents had a role in that story as well. I don’t even necessarily think this is something that jc only realised in the current timeline - i think it’s something he felt on some level this whole time, and it probably led to a lot of feelings of guilt - but the suibian reveal definitely puts it in sharp focus, and i think he’s now better equipped to handle this introspection than he was as a recently orphaned, traumatised teenager, lol. ANYWAY the window with the fabric is both a nod to the rider-waite design and a reference to the destruction of lanling - i actually did some basic ass research for this, and it seems that in ancient china fabric would indeed be hanged in a window if the normally used paper was damaged. The design of the window, as well as the very idea to use it to imply the reconstruction of lanling, was taken from this great piece of jc angst by my pal moroll1! Oh yeah also the covered window kind of works as a denial of forgiveness for jc because it’s like a halo but covered up... Also I completely forgot to put a blindfold over his eyes which would be perfectttt because blind justice and the core exchange......... ok moving on 12 the hanged man I always have issues with this card because i cant find a satisfactory summary of what it’s really about. Best i can tell it symbolises a need to hit pause, surrender or let go of something… ive also seen it tied to sacrifice? So mo xuanyu doesn’t fit perfectly, but sacrifice is definitely there in a surface level reading kind of way, and the idea that you have to surrender or let go in order to achieve your goal does fit the whole deal of getting revenge but giving up your life in exchange and not being there to see it 13 death This is probably one of my favourite cards, definitely not because I have huge issues with change or anything…. I see this card as signalling the necessity of change or putting an end to something / leaving something in the past in order to start anew? At first i considered putting past wwx, mxy and current wwx here as a kind of transformation and one cycle flowing into the next... But firstly, I’d already used mxy in the very previous card, so putting him in again would feel like overkill, and secondly, the longer I thought about it the less convinced I was that this would even fit with the card’s meaning? Because coming back from the dead doesn’t like... trigger an internal transformation within wwx or anything? Anyway, fun fact: the design I ended up going with was actually originally intended for judgement! I thought I was being very clever with the whole “figure plays an instrument and the dead rise” parallel, but apparently I’d just completely forgotten that the judgement card had a completely different composition... Truly I was boo boo the fool... But yeah anyway at the end of the day I figured the design would kind of work for death as well, with Wen Ning and the theme of transformation, (since in his case coming back as a fierce corpse does actually mark a certain transformation in behaviour) and Wei Wuxian’s protection of the Wen people essentially signifying an attempt to break the cycle of oppression if that makes any sense? Like, wwx is trying to revolutionise the way the world works a bit, if you catch my drift 14 temperance  The centrist card! Again this is probably going off track from the “official” interpretation, but to me this card has a certain “don’t commit fully; do everything in moderation; don’t take either side” flavour to it that i personally find infuriating irl and that i very much assign to lxc. It’s entirely possible that I’m misinterpreting his character because i didn’t really pay him (and the 3zun in general) much mind while reading, but hell, I’m allowed to pick favourites and choose who i want to interpret deeply vs shallowly. Again, i wish id chosen lqr for hierophant because its so annoying for a character i don’t care about to get two cards…. But oh well 15 the devil My alternative idea for this was jgy as the devil and lxc plus nmj as the figures, but since all three had been featured already (multiple times, even!) i figured I’d go with xy instead, especially since he’s among my faves lol. I think the devil signifies something along the lines of unhealthy attachment, obsession or addiction, which isn’t 100% accurate in the case of xxc and a-qing, but if i stretch it a bit to cover toxic relationships in general, and especially manipulation or negative influence, i don’t think it’s half bad. My main struggle here was to choose who amongst the xxc/sl/aq trio to choose for the human figures. 16 the tower Arguably jin zixuans death and the following massacre of nightless city were the final and most direct reason for the siege of burial mounds, and the tiger seal is good shorthand for wwx’s loss of control over his powers, which led to the deaths of jzx and jyl. When reimagining major arcana i like to feature some kind of building in this card (spoilers for a possible future project but in my rose of versailles major arcana set the tower is bastille) and even if it’s not a tower, the image of wwx looming over the gathered crowd from atop a rooftop is so good i couldn’t resist 17 the star Struggled with this one - considered both jin ling and lsz for it, as symbolising a hope for the future, but that was kind of covered by the world so it wouldn’t make sense to include here as well... As usual when I struggle with interpreting a card (as opposed to understanding it but struggling with matching a character to it, like with death or moon) I went to biddy tarot and read all the details about its meaning. What i got was that this card signifies an incoming period of introspection and inner peace following a time of turmoil, as well as a general moving on into a new, better phase of one’s life or finding new meaning and purpose. The figure also suggests someone vulnerable, but possessing a keen sense of intuition as well as a good degree of practicality and common sense. Given all those, I settled for mianmian because IM LOVE HER..... I also kind of see her as a prelude to the “just one person is enough” theme present in tgcf!! And i think her decision to abandon her sect because she saw the toxicity and corruption in it is a very inspiring action - even if it didn’t make a large visible impact, i think the appearance of her and her idyllic family at the very end of the novel - paralleling and mirroring wangxian - implies that at the end of the day, it was a meaningful one 18 the moon Another card i ALWAYS fuxking struggle with - this time less because i can’t grasp its meaning and more because I can never find a character that fits it well. I usually get fixated on the “dreams and subconscious” part, but if i lean more on the “disguise, deceit, anxiety and fear” part, i eventually figured the whole yi city arc wouldn’t be a bad fit. I say the entire arc because it really does encompass all those themes if you include both the past and the present - xue yang’s disguise, his tricks with the villagers, a-qing’s lies and even xxc’s reluctance to talk about his past as well as xue yang pretending to be xxc all fit the disguise and deceit angle, and the general mystery and creepiness of the current timeline yi city work well with the anxiety and fear - the mist, the slow uncovering of the past, even a-qing being revealed to be an ally after scaring the shit out of the protags. I definitely struggled with including all the elements and characters, and even moreso with making them vaguely fit the rider-waite composition, but i think it ended up okay ish. OH and i completely forgot to draw mist swirling around them :( 19 the sun I was considering mianmian’s family for this one, but since I used her for star, I ended up with wwx and his parents instead. Once again I’m reinterpreting the card a bit - normally I think it symbolises incoming times of pure happiness and abundance, as well as a connection with the inner child, but I gave it more of a nostalgic or sentimental twist - wwx looking back at the brief glimpse of his happy childhood. 20 judgement another card that i struggle to interpret a bit... Here i actually used the tgcf tarot zine as a reference! In it judgement is summarised as “rebirth, following duty, absolution” SO i figured that nhs, mxy and wwx all together would fit pretty neatly... wwx achieving (public) absolution through clearing his own name after being reborn, and nhs sort of calling on wwx to expose jgy’s crimes... It’s a bit messy but not bad I think! 21 the world This ties very closely to my read on mdzs as a story - which is that it’s, at the end of the day, largely about cycles, and about how hard it is to break them, but how we gotta keep trying and have hope anyway. Or maybe more precisely, that the people directly involved with and influenced by the trauma of the past might not be able to get over said trauma and that the hope for healing from it will be shouldered by the new generation. Or something like that… Basically what i mean is that jc and wwx and lwj and lxc and nhs and jgy and all these people who were in the thick of the sunshot campaign and the siege are so profoundly affected by it that it genuinely feels by the end of the story like there is little hope for them to ever truly overcome that trauma and build a better future without repeating the same old mistakes - but there is a glimmer of hope in the new generation, specifically in jl and lsz. And it’s a bit paradoxical, because they have also been directly impacted by the past tragedies - lsz having his entire clan wiped out after wwx failed to protect them, jl losing both his parents to wwx’s mistakes - but despite that loss, and despite coming from arguably the two opposing sides of the past conflicts, they are both, in the end, capable of moving past that tragedy, of recognising the complicated nature of those conflicts (jl’s moment of clarity at the end is both heartbreaking and hopeful) and forging friendships between clans in the process. I honestly think that the extra where jl is struggling to assert his authority as sect leader, to treat his subjects well and to cooperate with other sects in a truly amicable way is the single hopeful ending note for the larger themes of the novel - it allows us to imagine that maybe these kids can learn from the mistakes of their elders rather than getting sucked in by resentment at those mistakes, and actually build a brighter future for the cultivation world. And sidenote, this is also why i have a soft spot for jin ling and lan sizhui as a ship... speaking of which their poses were directly referenced from the lovers card ehehe

Looking back, I’d like to add some symbol of jin ling’s trauma so that it mirrors baby wen yuan in the tree stump... maybe his father’s sword? 

[baoshan-sanren]

Chapter 30

of the wwx emperor au I’m thinking of calling Lan QiRen’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week oh god it’s only gonna get worse

Prologue | Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 Part 1 | Chapter 8 Part 2 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13 | Chapter 14 | Chapter 15 Part 1 | Chapter 15 Part 2 | Chapter 16 | Chapter 17 | Chapter 18 | Chapter 19 | Chapter 20 | Chapter 21 | Chapter 22 Part 1 | Chapter 22 Part 2 | Chapter 23 | Chapter 24 | Chapter 25 | Chapter 26 | Chapter 27 | Chapter 28 | Chapter 29

They watch the lanterns from a rooftop terrace.

The inn itself is large and lovely. The front faces the main road, which crosses YiLing east to west, leading directly to the Immortal Mountain. The back opens into an enclosed garden, the tallow trees awash in autumn colors, hiding whatever unsightly neighbors may exist beyond their red-gold canopy of branches. It is difficult to fully conceal the haphazardness of YiLing, but the designer of the inn had cleverly used the landscape to obscure as much of the town as possible. One could easily imagine, if occupying the rooms and balconies facing the garden, that no such thing as overcrowded winehouses or street markets could exist in its vicinity.

In short, it is not a type of place where the Lan Sect would ever attempt to secure lodgings, nor would XiChen ever walk into its front halls of his own volition.

Nie MingJue has no such reservations. The innkeeper’s insistence that the terrace can only be accessed by the guests of the inn falls on deaf ears, and is soon completely silenced by Nie MingJue’s contemptuous glare. A simple glint of gold is enough to make XiChen’s Lan Sect uniform invisible. In moments, they are both personally escorted to the roof of the building.

The terrace is not large, and they are not alone. XiChen tucks himself into a corner overlooking the street, MingJue’s bulk easily blocking him from the sight of other patrons, preventing any unwanted attention. The towering mass of the Immortal Mountain is a black, indistinct shape to the west, a silent guardian watching over YiLing. The first lanterns are always released from the Emperor’s palace, and they seem to have arrived just in time to see them rising from a pitch black void between the earth and heavens, resembling handfuls of fading stars hanging low in the sky.

XiChen had assumed that YiLing may prove itself less disordered when seen from above, the way one can only see a large pattern from a distance. He is wrong. There truly is no sense or structure to be seen in its layout. Not a single street is free of someone shouting their wares, intricate roof ridge decorations arch next to weathered tiles that had long needed replacing, stubborn maples grow wherever they can find a spot of dirt and a flood of rain water.

He has not yet decided if he is pleased or disappointed by the discovery, when lanterns from YiLing follow those released from the Immortal Mountain, painting the town in light and color, chasing the darkness away. XiChen has seen the Lantern Festival many times in Gusu, twice during an unplanned stay in MoLing, and once during a particularly long Sect Leader conference in LanLing. The LanLing Jin grandiosity is difficult to match anywhere in the Empire, but XiChen has never seen so many lanterns at once, transforming night into day, hardly a slice of sky visible between them.

The parade traveling the street below them swells, loud and cheerful, the sheer profusion of chaos and noise impossible to ignore, even with such an impressive light show directly above them.

XiChen turns to MingJue, intending to ask if YiLing truly holds a different procession each night of the festival. The idea still seems extravagant to him, even if it is the Emperor’s birthday. But MingJue is looking at neither the lanterns, nor the parade below, his attentive gaze and half-formed smile focused entirely on XiChen.

XiChen forgets what he had meant to ask, and looks away again, his face heating.

They are standing close, to keep their distance from the other spectators gathered on the terrace. It is only a handful of guests, their voices indistinct murmurs, easily drowned out by the clamor from the street.

XiChen does not like feeling flustered, especially in the presence of strangers.

“Sect Leader--“

“You have asked me to call you by your name,” Nie MingJue says, his voice low, “and I have obeyed. But no matter how many times I ask, you will not do the same.”

XiChen folds his hands in his sleeves, to keep them steady and out of sight. The only sources of light on the terrace are the small, paper lamps decorating the inn roof, and even they only cast a reddish, muted glow. XiChen fervently hopes that their glow is faint enough to conceal the color in his cheeks.

“It would be improper,” he says.

Even as he speaks, he inwardly cringes at the absurdity of the words.

How hypocritical of him, to call such familiarity improper. Did he not allow the man to hold his hand whenever he wished? Had he not welcomed each advance with a smile? Can he not still feel the press of Nie MingJue’s palm on the small of his back?

And yet, regardless of how imprudent all his earlier behavior may be, he must draw a line somewhere. If not for the sake of propriety, then for the sake of his own sanity.  

"Would it be less improper if I were to speak plainly of my admiration?”

Oh, XiChen thinks, breath leaving him in a rush.

Although this is something he had long suspected, to have it spoken out loud, to have it confirmed in such direct fashion, seems to be more than he had been prepared to handle. How can something be so thrilling, and yet cause so much confusion and misery?

“Even if you were to speak plainly,” XiChen says, struggling to keep his voice firm, “You would still be the General of the Emperor’s army, with duties to perform and a Sect to lead. And I-- I would still be the future leader of the Lan Sect. We should not speak of impossible things.”

“This is your only objection? Not my temper or disposition, but the circumstances of our individual positions?”

Mortified, XiChen imagines that his face must be as red as the lamps decorating the roof.

“You are being rather bold,” he says, “but I have found no other cause for disapproval.”

Nie MinJue falls silent. XiChen returns to watching the parade without truly seeing it, the trembling agitation in his chest refusing to settle.

Unexpectedly, he feels guilty, as if the circumstances which prevent him from speaking just as directly are somehow of his own making. The General of the Emperor’s army may bestow his admiration liberally, and he may do so as boldly as he pleases. Ultimately, Nie MingJue has nothing to lose. A small bit of lost pride in having to face rejection can be nothing to someone so highly esteemed. But XiChen, destined to lead a disgraced Sect, can never be so bold. The small bit of dignity he possesses might be pitiful and tattered, but he cannot put it aside, regardless of his heart’s desires.

A flash of white in the crowd is a welcome distraction, but even so, it takes him some time to recognize the Lan Sect robes, and even longer to realize why the sight of them is so jarring.

It is only one set of robes. One single disciple moving through the crowds, when uncle had been more than explicit in his instructions. They are always to travel in pairs, regardless of circumstances. There are a few places in the Empire where a lone Lan disciple may pass unscathed, but YiLing has never been one of them.

“XiChen?”

“I think something is wrong,” XiChen says, “that is Lan YunLi, and he should not be here. Not this late in the evening, and not alone.”

“Come,” Nie MingJue does not hesitate, “let us catch him before he disappears.”

[sarah-yyy]

Please think of lwj absently playing with wwx's hair thank you

He’s lounging on the couch, head comfortably pillowed on Lan Wangji’s lap, when he gets a message from Jiang Cheng. 

JC: for the love of FUCK please say you’re bringing lan wangji home when you’re coming back for cny

JC: because i can’t fucking stand the peacock anymore

JC: and i need you to bring lan wangji back to one up this fucker

Wei Wuxian chances up a look at Lan Wangji. His view is mostly blocked by the file Lan Wangji is reading through, but when Wei Wuxian makes a disappointed noise, Lan Wangji shifts the file away to peer down at Wei Wuxian. 

“What’s wrong?” he murmurs. 

Wei Wuxian smiles. “Nothing now that I can see your face,” he tells Lan Wangji, which isn’t exactly a lie. Lan Wangji’s handsome face is a natural serotonin-booster. “Hi, er-gege.” 

Lan Wangji’s lips curve just in the slightest. “Hi, Wei Ying,” he says back, and sets the file to one side to read at an angle, so Wei Wuxian’s view will remain unobstructed. 

Ah, what a good gege! 

He’s just about to voice the same to Lan Wangji, when his phone pings with more messages from Jiang Cheng. 

JC: what did a-jie do in her past life to deserve this MISERY 

JC: maybe if you bring lan wangji home a-jie will realise there are better men out there and change her mind about the peacock

Jiang Cheng makes a good point. Jiang Yanli can do so much better than Jin Zixuan, but the universe has just somehow decided to restrict her good sense to all other matters except that of her love life, probably because if she also managed to find the perfect partner in addition to being the most perfect person in the world, she would be too powerful. 

Wei Wuxian lets out a long-suffering sigh. 

He’s about to excuse himself from the living room to call Jiang Cheng out on the balcony to rant about Jin Zixuan when gentle fingers sink into his hair, combing through the strands softly. 

Wei Wuxian turns his gaze back onto Lan Wangji, but Lan Wangji is still reading intently, focus away from Wei Wuxian. 

Wei Wuxian closes his eyes, and enjoys the soothing motions of Lan Wangji’s fingers. He wishes all weekends could be like this, where they could just sit together in comfortable silence, without having to think of work, or well, without Wei Wuxian having to think about work, since it’s impossible to drag Lan Wangji away from reviewing files even at home. He swears he could spend eternity like this, and still feel like it’s not enough.

Lan Wangji flips a page, and seems to notice that Wei Wuxian is watching him. 

“Hmm?” he hums, fingers still threading through Wei Wuxian’s hair.   

“Feels nice,” Wei Wuxian sighs happily. Lan Wangji truly is the perfect man. He really should take him back to Yunmeng so that Jiang Yanli can have a glimpse of what she should be aiming for. “Gege, can I borrow you for a few days over the Chinese New Year break?” 

“What for?” Lan Wangji asks. 

“I want to show you off to my family,” Wei Wuxian tells him. Lan Wangji probably wouldn’t mind; after all, he’s been flaunting Wei Wuxian and their pretend relationship off to everyone else. He would almost surely be nice enough to do this one favour for Wei Wuxian. “I want everyone to see how nice you are to me.”

Lan Wangji smiles. “Okay,” he tells Wei Wuxian. 

“Really?” Wei Wuxian asks, beaming. “Oh god, everyone is going to be crowding me, wondering how I managed to trick you into being with me!” he says gleefully. “What are you going to say if someone asks you why you chose to be with me?” 

“The truth,” Lan Wangji says, still smiling. “That Wei Ying smiled at me, and everything else in the world just faded away. Who would I be with, if not Wei Ying?”

Ah, Lan Wangji is truly the best! Wei Wuxian hasn’t even had to teach him the spirit of embellishing all stories to make them sound much better than they actually are, and Lan Wangji already gets it! 

He’s definitely going to fit in at the reunion dinner with the wider Jiang family. 

(buy me a kofi // more wilful blindness)