#WUXIAN / headcanons & meta.

[alcrox]

Did Yu Ziyuan intend to cut off Wei Wuxian's arm?

I have seen this brought up a few times.

There are generally two arguments: yes, she totally intended to do that and only changed her mind when she was told that Lotus Pier would be converted into a "Wen Supervisory Office" AND no, she was just buying time by beating up Wei Wuxian and appeasing Wang Lingjiao.

I think it's a bit of both?

She didn't (and wouldn't) hesitate to beat up Wei Wuxian. This is the first scene we see her physically abuse Wei Wuxian (before this we only hear her verbally abuse... well, everyone) but it is made very clear that Wei Wuxian is quite used to this sort of treatment. Cutting off an arm, however, is very different. It would maim WWX for life. It isn't something that, even WWX with his strong golden core, would be able to just heal from easily. He would have to find a whole new way to get around his disability.

It's not as if YZY would hesitate to cut off WWX's arm from a place of concern or affection. Hell no. She is extremely sharp and intelligent, though. She has seen WWX grow up, she has seen his talents first-hand. She knows just how much of an asset WWX is to the Yunmeng Jiang. And she knew that this day was coming. The day when the Qishan Wen came to her doorstep and tried to take over Lotus Pier. She might blame WWX for it (because she too, like Wen Chao, just needs an excuse to blame WWX, though hers comes from a place of being blinded by hatred rather than planning a seize) but she is well aware that one way or another, this was happening. That much was clear in episode 11 when she is spitting mad that Jiang Cheng has to go to the Wen Indoctrination Camp. She knows what the Wens are doing and she is not surprised when the final showdown finally happens.

So, it's a bit of both. She was buying time, but she was also, maybe, hoping that punishing WWX in front of WLJ would be enough. When WLJ mentions cutting off WWX'S right arm, however, she visibly hesitates. (Or rather, considers.) She knows what cutting off WWX's arm means; it means to rid her Clan of a powerful asset. WWX may still be able to fight with his left arm (as he has clearly made up his mind to do so) but right after his arm is cut off, he would be of no use in a fight. And YZY already knows from that point onwards, there are only two options. One, she and JC and WWX and the Jiang army fight off the Wens and risk losing their lives, including the heir Jiang Cheng. Two, the option which she ends up choosing, she fights to death, defending her home from the Wens while JC escapes with WWX. In both options, WWX's survival and skills are crucial. She knows JC's best chance of making it through all of this is keeping WWX alive and indebted. She cannot cut off his arm yet. Not when WWX, in her eyes, hasn't paid off his debt yet. Not when she knows, despite her hatred, that WWX can be counted on for his courage and loyalty and incredible skills to keep JC safe.

She orders the doors to be shut, which is absolutely meant to be interpreted as acquiescence to cut off WWX's arm. She is clever. She buys them as much time as possible, possibly also gives WWX a while to recover from being whipped so brutally by Zidian. And it also serves the purpose of keeping the Wens inside so that they can't go and alert Wen Chao and bring an even bigger army back to Lotus Pier. She knows shit's about to hit the fan so she doesn't reveal what she plans to do until the last possible moment when does.

And then WLJ utters "Wen Supervisory Office" and YZY knows it's time. That the gig is up.

If the order was to whip WWX with Zidian for a while longer, YZY may have complied. She knows exactly how strong WWX is and how much he can withstand without, like, dying or something. But the price WLJ asked for was too high (and probably calculated on WLJ's part as well; she too must know what a skilled fighter WWX is and how to sever the Yunmeng Jiang from one of its most powerful weapons. She saw WWX in action, after all, in the Xuanwu cave). So YZY stopped complying and began strategizing. How to save her home. How to keep the Clan alive. How to preserve her assets.

She didn't keep WWX alive and safe (well, safe is questionable, she did beat the shit out of him) out of goodwill. She kept him alive and safe out of necessity.

Side note, this shot:

This shot helped reinforce my theory. YZY despises WWX, that much is not a secret. Everyone knows it. Everyone in this very scene knows it. Yet when the Wens, headed by WLJ, first arrive at Lotus Pier, this shot makes a pretty firm statement of they are united against a common enemy. YZY is many things, but she is not stupid. She knows what the real problem here is. And she is standing with her entire Jiang army, including WWX, against said problem.

I despise YZY as a mother but damn if she isn't an interesting character.

[lgbtlunaverse]

A slightly unhinged case for jin guangyao knowing about the core transfer while WWX was still alive

Ok. SO. In chapter 101, during guangyin temple, Jin Guangyao clearly knows about the golden core transfer. He uses it to bring Jiang Cheng off-kilter and stab him and simultaneously reveals to wwx that jc himself now knows about the golden core transfer.

I've always wondered exactly when he figured it out. The most obvious explanation is that he pieced it together after hearing about Jiang Cheng asking everyone to unsheathe suibian (also? jgy? how the fuck do you know that? You were already going to/at Guanyin temple at this point! Did you just have people listen in on rumours from Yunmeng and report back to you for that?? Did you tell your spy network where you were going? My whole kingdom for a retelling of this arc from the pov of these random jin disciples seeing their sect leader start spiralling. He's diggin up random tombs? Fleeing the country? And threatening the heir's life?? What was random Jin cultivator #6 thinking of this before Nie Mingjue turned him into minced meat?)

BUT.

The first time I read that line I was like "oh so he's known for a WHILE." I mean, the line "I've always found it peculiar [that wwx never took his sword anywhere]" does indicate he's been thinking about this for a while, but it doesn't have to mean he knew back then. So I absolutely can't say with certainty that my instinct was right. But I DO have some decent canon backing for how he might have potentially figured things out as early as before Wei Wuxian's death. Specifically, after the discussion scene that takens place when wei wuxian does his thing with the wens and dissapears.

Cause, see, Wen Chao would definitely have bragged about Wen Zhuliu crushing Jiang Cheng's core to his father. He killed the current sect leader, and then permanently disabled the only heir. He did it! the Jiang are gone! I bet he was very loud about it until, a few weeks later, Jiang Cheng suddenly strolls up to the battlefield, with Zidian on his finger, cultivation very much intact, looking for Wei Wuxian.

That must've been fucking baffling if you were Wen Chao and/or Wen Zhuliu and/or any other cultivator who was there and definitely saw Jiang Cheng's core get crushed. They must have assumed something went wrong, or he faked having his core destroyed, but we've never heard of something like that happening before, and they tortured him for hours! It wasn't a quick batle where Wen Zhuliu must have missed in haste, he would've noticed!

Now, by the time Meng yao arrives, wen zhuliu and wen chao are both long dead, but that kind of thing would at least still be a source of gossip among the other Wen. The only time the core melting hand ever failed!

It might be something that, say... a very careful spy with a perfect memory looking for information... might pick up on in his stay with the Wen, no?

So, Meng Yao has heard the rumour that sect leader Jiang got his core crushed but somehow managed to... still have a core.

Independantly of his, Wei Wuxian is being really weird and refusing to carry his sword. His primary concern there is wwx stirring shit up, he has no reason to believe these things are connected yet.

But then Wei Wuxian runs off with a bunch of Wen, and before he is cut off, Jiang Cheng tells everyone that after the siege on lotus pier, he and wei wuxian were helped by Wen Qing and Wen Ning! Jiang Cheng doesn't get to say how, which is good for jgy in this moment because he's trying to steer the conversation as such that no one gets mad at the Jin sect for all the war crimes, but even if his goal is for everyone else to forget Jiang Cheng said that, he'd remember it.

So... after the moment where jiang cheng, according to rumours that were contained to the wen, lost his core, he was helped by wen ning and wen qing, who is a really good doctor. And, in canon, had written theoretical proposals on core transfers before, just never experimented on them. Were these available for others among the Wen to read? Did jgy read them? We have no way of knowing. But if he did, he remembers them. Either way, he knows her reputation.

And Wei Wuxian disappeared right round that same moment, only to resurface with his demonic cultivation, at which point he never touched his sword again. Not even in the middle of a dangerous war. Not even when he was public enemy number one and it would do wonders for his reputation if he was seen cultivating the traditional path. When doing so would have made not just him but the 50 people he was shielding safer! if Jin guangyao was somehow in his position, he'd immediately do everything he could to counteract the narrative of beign a dangerous madman who'd left the straight path. Wei Wuxian has been in absolutely desperate situations and still refuses to pick up his sword...

The saying doesn't exist yet, but i'm sure someone like jgy, more competent than everyone around him, is intimately familair with at least the sentiment of "never ascribe to malice what is adequately explained by incompetence" He is helping spread the narrative of Wei Wuxian as a violent madman, sure, but does he believe it? If it makes no sense for wei wuxian, no longer a privileged young master but an outcast, to not pick up his sword again out of arrogancy, the most reliable explanation is that he... can't.

So Jiang Cheng, who got his core melted, got help from Wen Qing, an incredible doctor, after which he coud cultivate just fine but Wei Wuxian, no matter how desperate, never used traditional cultivation ever again...

Hm. interesting!

It's likely no one else in the jianghu outside of the wen even knew Jiang Cheng lost his core to begin with. And Jin Guangyao was never given wwx's excuse of Baoshan Sanren owing him a favor like Jiang Cheng was. He has all the puzzle pieces in front of him and... if anyone as gonna put them together, it'd be him.

And that's my unhinged case for why I believe Jin Guangyao knew Wei Wuxian didn't have a golden core anymore years before anyone else did. He just never told anyone, because why would he?

I think this adds a whole other level to his speech to Jiang Cheng about how everything could've worked out if he'd just trusted Wei Wuxian more and stood by his side. He saw it all play out in real time knowing there was more going on beneath the surface!

Now the really interesting question becomes: When did he figure out Jiang Cheng himself wasn't in on it? Did he piece it together immediately from remembering seeing jiang cheng berate wwx for not carrying a sword, a thing he should've known he couldn't do? Or was it not until later, maybe the fake yunmeng bros fallout, or the REAL fallout when Jiang Yanli died? Or was it still the news of Jiang Cheng going around and asking everyone to unsheathe subian that made him realize that oh my god this stupid bitch had no idea the whole time.

[acequinz]

Listen I hate the JFM and YZY but also I genuinely don't think Wei Wuxian would have in some way done better than he did in any other sect than he did in the Jiang sect.

This is not a count of emotions but I think even if he joined any other sect, he would have chosen to still defend the wen refugees and faced similar if not the same push from the other sects.

The fact that even Lan Wangji could not openly support WWX during it means, it's very likely that WWX would have still not received any support from the Lan sect as a whole, at worst he would have to defect or go into seclusion as punishment. And if he still is using demonic cultivation they will definitely reject him because the rules forbid it or whatever

By the end of sunshot NMJ was not good and he even got violent with NHS, so if WWX tries to still defend the Wens there's absolutely no way NMJ is forgiving that. Maybe might even try to kill WWX himself out of the Baxia enhanced rage because no one hated the wens like him.

Then come the Jins, Jin Guangshan wouldn't even be kind to his own son, so if he can't control Wei Wuxian, he would push the same maybe even more severe crimes onto him and have him executed unless of course JGY is able to come up with some scheme or convince WWX to buckle, which is both unlikely and almost impossible.

So yeah, Wei Wuxian is fucked because he would never conform to the unspoken unkind rules of the cultivation world.

(All these are of course still considering that WWX becomes a war hero, if he doesn't it's even more easier to immediately execute him with minor offences or as a secret wrh supporter or whatever )

[lunaticmeap]

Thinking about early on when Lan Wangji was trying to figure out if Wei Wuxian was back, and the idea that it took him a while to reconcile the Wei Wuxian that came back to life with the Wei Wuxian that died was because the one that died is nothing like the one that came back to life. And it is that overwhelming thought that almost brings him to his knees, because “Oh, it’s not just the man Iet die that came back, but it is also the boy that I first loved. He is not lost to me forever.”

[fierrochase-falafel]

MDZS, CQL and the passage of time

MDZS novel and CQL spoilers ahead!

There's this thing where despite The Untamed / CQL having Wei Wuxian be dead for 16 years instead of 13, everything is meant to feel so much rawer and closer in time than the novel I feel. For a start, naturally having 30 episodes straight of flashback sequencing before depicting an immediate reconcilation between Wangxian really imprints those flashbacks much closer in your mind than Wei Wuxian's actual ressurrection, which happened in episode 1.

Furthermore, there are also these other flashbacks when Wei Wuxian sees something reminiscent of his past, different instrumentals played initially in the flashbacks coming back again to remind you of the themes those instrumentals represent. One of the most distinct examples I remember is in episode 2, when CQL Wei Wuxian sees a vision of Wen Qing introducing Dafan Mountain as the place where her branch of the Wen clan lives in CQL and then remembers the dancing fairy statue. This never happened in the novel- partially because, in CQL, Wei Wuxian was introduced to characters and locations / concepts WAY before he found out about them in the novel (eg.- YiCheng characters, Meng Yao, Dafan Mountain, demonic cultivation in the form of the Yin Iron). By entrenching these places and characters so far back into Wei Wuxian's past- all the way back to his Gusu days, in fact- they feel much more central in the overall plot and connected to the modern storylines involving rediscovering them. Wei Wuxian isn't being thrown into a new world at all, it's the same world with all the loose ends to be tied up. This does force him to remember the past more to deal with the present, and also links the show together in a way that would engage people who have come to watch a put-together story (this sort of strong cohesion I think is less required in novels than in a series because of the way the story needs to flow from 1 episode to the next to be coherent). In the novel, Wei Wuxian's own past storyline has a much slimmer connection to the current events- the obvious kicker being Jin Guangyao in CQL was the main reason Wei Wuxian was villainised and it all comes together in the end, but novel Jin Guangyao just accelerated the process of Wei Wuxian becoming the scapegoat and made this very clear. He didn't know Wei Wuxian would kill Jin Zixuan, he said; even though Jin Guangyao's not the most trustworthy character, how on earth could he have predicted that Wei Wuxian would lose control if he wasn't there to influence him like in CQL?

However, there are even more flashback scenes like the one in episode 35, where Wei Wuxian flashes back to Nie Huiasang being excited about fans and then compliments modern-day Nie Huiasang's fan. Scenes like these cannot be explained by the changed plot because Nie Huiasang and Wei Wuxian being friends at 15 in the Cloud Recesses is canon in all versions of MDZS. Personally, seeing this scene, the strongest effect I can garner from it is nostalgia for simpler times, for people he used to be close with. Memories are flooding CQL Wei Wuxian the minute he's alive again. Contrast this exact scene with MDZS, where Wei Wuxian zones out for a good while after Nie Huiasang leaves- no words of companionship or nostalgia or anything.

Novel Wei Wuxian rarely remembers any of his past life in detail unless he fully means to, actively giving himself reminiscing time, or in a life-or-death situation. The 3 flashback sequences in the novel begin:

when Wei Wuxian decides very specifically to muse over his past with Lan Wangji,

when Wei Wuxian gets stabbed and has to be taken away from Golden Carp Tower,

when everyone turns on him in the Burial Mounds with the same words and having the same intent they did at Nightless City (to harm him, to besiege him).

I think novel Wei Wuxian has spent 13 years in the afterlife getting used to wallowing over his memories, and then consequently repressing and ignoring memories from his past life because they were all associated with pain and bitterness and so much guilt (traumatic, even, but I can't say much from a perspective of trauma because I neither have trauma nor am qualified to know enough about it). Nobody cared for him anymore in his eyes, and he DID lose control, fully feeling himself lose control and accidentally cause the deaths of people he genuinely cared about. The worst-case scenario that he had to contend with actually happening and being, to some degree, his fault. With 13 years to exist as a ghost, I think he had so much time in which he would've had to contend with his choices and death that he fully removed himself from his old life as much as possible, leading to his modern-day gap in memories. You feel the effect of his years dealing with his emotions about this whole mess.

In contrast, CQL Wei Wuxian feels like he is experiencing everything raw when he comes back into the world, like he hasn't been practicing repression to the point of memory loss. Maybe he wasn't conscious during his years as dead? He's introduced with Mo Xuanyu calling to him in his brain during the sacrificial ritual, I think, and is getting told he IS Mo Xuanyu and he is...a tad confused. And then disappointed, but I mean given what Yiling Laozu Wei Wuxian had come to expect after the fiascos that ended his life, he probably wouldn't be too surprised or confused anyways. My theory is that CQL Wei Wuxian likely was unconscious when he was dead whereas MDZS Wei Wuxian was not.

This doesn't seem...important. However it does change who Wei Wuxian is and why he does the things that he does upon reincarnation. Novel Wei Wuxian taking every opportunity to drape himself over Lan Wangji with the purpose of pushing him away makes a lot of sense for a guy who's convinced the worst thing he could do to someone is get too close to/with them; he goes ahead with making a ruckus and trying to make Lan Wangji uncomfortable- without shame (because that's gotta erode away after being dead and reviled for 13 years) and without considering the possibility that Lan Wangji might want to help. Why would he consider that? He doesn't see himself worthy of help or believe anyone would help him, and he's internalised that for years on years.

CQL Wei Wuxian though, he faints on Dafan Mountain due to the weight of his memories- he's confronted with so much of the past so fast and his response is to faint. Barely any ruckus at all. When Lan Wangji finds out who he is, they have a calm conversation about it, where novel Wei Wuxian is like "oh frick he called me Wei Ying" and pretends nothing happened. CQL Wei Wuxian is a lot more open, and I think part of that is because he woke up from his death and was given the support he needed in his previous life within a couple of days. He didn't feel the years go by, have to deal with the consequences of the things he did alone (and in CQL 60% of them weren't even his own actions), so he didn't build himself the same kind of emotional fortress novel Wei Wuxian did.

CQL Wei Wuxian is jaded, true, but not the kind of jaded that comes with floating around in the afterlife for over a decade. It's easier for him to get back into this world and solve a little murder mystery together with Lan Wangji- they fall into step with each other perfectly- while novel Wei Wuxian is still getting his footing. Thus, CQL Wangxian's relationship doesn't evolve the way book Wangxian's do in Wei Wuxian's new life, and Wei Wuxian's reason to be back in this new life is far more about getting back that which he lost (Lan Wangji, a claim to justice) as opposed to gaining something else, something new and all the more important for it (a newfound relationship with Lan Wangji). Novel Wei Wuxian being so out of sync with the new world around him, in both memories and relationships, means that he has so much more room to grow in his present life as he can stop being haunted by the past. I'm not saying this is better than CQL, that's really up to what you like in your media, but this puts Wei Wuxian in a very different position in MDZS than in CQL, and also fundamentally changes their purposes and outlook on their new lives. Whether the focus of his character development takes place in the past or in the present. Whether it's about tying up the loose ends of the past, or chucking out the tapestry of the past to weave a new future.

[ask-mxtx-cast]

To Lan Qiren:

Greetings Master Lan. Now that your youngest nephew has gotten married, is there any particular brand of ear plug/noise cancelling headphones you'd recommend? I live next to an airport.

“He rarely gets sleep for obvious reasons.”

- Sam

[maria-taiwin]

Thinking about a angsty (just a bit) Wangxian modern!au scenario: Wei Wuxian just got a bad fever, and unfortunately he has no one at home with him to assist him (madame yu in this modern!au kicked him out of the jiang house, he lives in a small ramshackle apartment by himself). He already used to take care of himself, he got through much worse than a fever in his childhood, but still he misses so much being pampered by his shijie and the feeling he would never be alone anymore through these hard times, especially because it hasn't been that long since he's been kicked out.

He tries to endure the fever like it's nothing serious, he really does for hours but then it's like a nightmare and he just realized that the fridge is empty and he's getting weaker. He doesn't want to be a burden, never did, he hates that feeling but he's really tired and, fuck it, in a moment of impulse he decides to call Wen Qing: she is a friend AND a future doctor, which it's always useful. Yeah he'll have to bear her scolding about his unhealthy lifestyle but he really needs help in this moment so he is willing to endure.

The fever however is so bad that it causes him to hallucinate. He mistakes the number and he calls Lan Wangji by error. Believing the person beyond the phone is Wen Qing, he starts to whine about a bad illness that will kill him SOON if she doesn't go to his apartament, he urgently needs food and protein and how can a conscientious person just abandon him to his destiny, this is really bad, please have mercy, just think to the neighbors, etc etc. He exaggerates a bit but because he knows Wen Qing, she'll snort a bit but she will give up by her generous heart. When he blabbered though he didn’t realized that the person beyond the phone NEVER talked back. He's justified because the fever is really bad and didn’t pay attention and talked too much like usual. He ends the call.

After 10 minutes, not more, the bell rings. With difficulty he drags himself to open the door. He doesn't put on a show like at the phone, he just scratches his head in fake laughter, trying to play down the fever but still thanking the dear Wen Qing for the help. He doesn't realize that wen qing still doesn't speak at all, but his head is boiling so maybe it's for the best, he really couldn't stand to be scolded right now.

He just sits on the bed while "wen qing" prepares the dinner. He feels so relaxed, having someone taking care of him, feeding him, offering him a drink of water to take medicines, preparing him a delicious ginger tea (he's never been a fan of tea but this is really good) and handing him a blanket. A blanket with rabbits? It's really a warm feeling.

While he's overjoyed he also looks at "wen qing", who has her back to him and he is suddenly confused. Wen Qing's hair isn't that long (lan zhan is wearing a long braid), she's not that tall, her legs aren't that long, and she never wears blue and white... and what is this scent? Maybe the fever is giving him hallucinations? Suddenly she approaches, kneels in front of him, wei wuxian feels a hand approaching, not enough to touch his body but still its weight felt over the blanket and indirectly he feels its warmth. And then he hears a "wei ying".

Wei Wuxian freezes. What? Only one person calls him like that. Since his parents died, only one person has ever called him like that. But it's impossible right? Why would Lan Wangji, the icy and unapproachable jade of the school, being at home looking after him? As much as Wei Wuxian tried to be his friend, he was always ignored! Whenever he invited Lan wangji to do something or just called him, he only got a block of marble in response. He doesn't hold a grudge against him for that, indeed he considers Lan Wangji a very cool person, but still this is really impossible. And it would be too nice, having that cold and beautiful jade at his service, being all good for him. It's just a hallucination, of course.

He mumbles "ha ha why are you suddenly calling me wei ying ha ha ​​that's strange".

Just silence. He hears a sigh, and then suddenly he no longer feels that comfortable hand on the blanket.

He doesn't have time to complain because he suddenly feels a cool (not too cold, just the right temperature) cloth over his forehead. "Thanks" and puts his hand on top of "wen qing"'s.

He hears an arrest in her breath, that hand trembles a bit, but that uncertainty lasts only a few seconds. Then everything is comfortable. The bed, the extra blanket, his stomach deliciously full. Wei Wuxian is sleeping already but he thinks he's feeling a tight hand on his own. He imagines it's another person with him, not Wen Qing.

Of course after the recovery, he will just think that Wen Qing acted very strange, it was not like her at all. But he will thank her properly of course, because he never felt that safe from a very long time. And he will have to give her back the rabbit blanket, sadly.. because it is really cute and he got fond of it!

And of course he won't remember Lan Wangji at all. He'll think it was just an hallucination or a naive dream. And of course Lan wangji never dares to confess and he'll act like this never happened at school.

[viterbofangirllovestheuntamed]

idea/headcanon: The First Jiang, founder of the sect, was much like JC, they built their home for all the feral goblins that followed them around and dealt with the boring bits to keep the home steady and safe while feral ones ran rampant and kept the water/land safe(ish) and while the disciples have been and remain feral goblins, the sect leader has always needed to be their touchstone, their kite string, JC is that for them, JFM was not, JC is true Jiang

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this meta! The kite string analogy is sheer perfection. However, I would like to pose an alternate theory! Jiang Chi was as much of a feral gremlin as you could ever hope for!

His wife, however, was the MOST type-A person the jianghu could have produced.

SHE was the one who helped build the fledgling sect. SHE was the one who kept her charismatic but disorganized husband on-track. SHE was the one who made sure the sect was able to survive past its founders' lives.

And Jiang Chi adored her for it.

Jiang Chi thought his wife was the most amazing thing since pork buns. Jiang Chi trusted his wife more than he trusted himself. Jiang Chi spent every day of his long and successful life expressing his undying gratitude and appreciation to his cultivation partner.

Jiang Fengmian fell short of his ancestor's legacy when he failed to recognize his son's and his wife's contributions to the success of the sect. And Jiang Cheng, zi Wanyin, is the true heir to his ancestor's most precious person.

[rainydrawstuff]

G-guys, you know how Wangji injured 33 Lan seniors to protect Wei Ying at burial mounds??.......

............ 33 .....

[bluelightning41]

Have this free sketch I did too lol-

And yes I’m old and please tell me it’s still a thing

[astrerveur]

Lan Sizhui (Headcanon)

Sizhui is a very calm and cool headed person but the first time he saw you he was stunned.

Jingyi would tease him a lot about it.

"Just talk to him Sizhui!" He would poke his side repeatedly while the dutiful Lan would try his best to ignore him.

He would smile when you would be appreciated by Lan Qiren.

He couldn't find courage to walk up to you to start a conversation.

He noticed you while you sat  in the gardens reading a book and was in awe.

Lan Jingyi saw purposefully dragged him there.

"Childe (C/n)! Sizhui wanted to practice with you if its not a problem that is!" Jingyi would skip formalities and leave his friend with you.

"Oh.. Of course Childe Lan.." You would reply just as softly as he had expected you too.

A surprise it was for Sizhui when you had beat him.

"You're pretty good! Let's practice again some time..." You had smiled, leaning slightly to pat his head.

He was left with a red face as you walked back to pick your book.

He never expected you to act like you had with him.

He smiled "Childe (C/n)... Would you like to go to Caiyi town with me?" 

His question was uncertain and you smiled looking over your shoulder. "Of course.. See you later.. Sizhui." 

He had never been so thankful to Jingyi before.

[1plankbridge]

I have this theory that Jiang Cheng calls his older brother Wei Wuxian in general because it’s the name that he got given by the Jiang. (Hence a-Xian from both Jiang Fengmian & Jiang Yanli and on one occasion even Jiang Cheng!) but also maybe this is the only way they can have a version of their actual older/younger relationship even though Wei Wuxian never goes as far as a-Cheng. I think he might call him Jiang Wanyin when he’s scolding him after he insults Lan Wangji at Lotus Pier but that always registered to me as a YOU ARE IN TROUBLE YOUNG MAN - I suppose it could also be read as establishing formality.

BUT this also made me think how Madam Yu is the only member of his family who calls him Wei Ying. (Does Jiang Fengmian call him a-Ying when he’s saying goodbye to them on the boat, no longer even pretending to himself that Wei Wuxian counts as his son?). And people outside his family use it to belittle him.

How nice it must be to have this name his parents gave him used by Lan Wangji with the most love.

I also sometimes wonder if Madam Yu chose “Wuxian” for him and then never used it as a sign she didn’t think he’d earned it. No envies: a warning that was never needed. How ironic would that be? But Jiang Fengmian works too: a promise that Wei Wuxian decided to spend his whole life living up to. Because of course he did.

Ugh I love them so much. (Not Jiang Fengmian, he sucks. But everyone else. Even Madam Yu. Fight me.)

[laozubun]

i think wei wuxian had initially come to nightless city with genuine desire to settle things in a non violent manner. granted with his attitude, they would have likely took offense. but this-- the fact jgs had lied about his promise. this made him change his mind. i think even on hhis way there it was pretty hopeless, but he sat there quietly up until it was clear the sects sought to kill the wens anyway.

like yeah wei wuxian is so abrasive in his approach. but he's just lost two of his friends. he, them, the other wens were lied to. the wens he saved were elderly, women, and children. they were innocent people. plus, even though he did lose control...jinzixun was the one who ambushed wei wuxian.

and of course to make matters worse-- they shot him. again...wei wuxian did act quite rashly, and killed the boy by throwing the arrow back. but with all the arguments here about self defense and justification. it really isn't so unfair for him to respond in kind. was it cruel to kill him? sure, but the sects have spit this "tooth for a tooth" nonsense. and they've made it clear now that-- no matter what wei wuxian does, it'll never be allowed. anyone can attack him, and even kill him, but the moment he defends himself he's the demon.

[maria-taiwin]

It's Lan Wangji's birthday (modern!au): he hasn't organized any party, he doesn't want, he never had it since his mom's death, he thinks he doesn't need it. What's the use for?

He just wants to stay alone at home like usual. Having dinner with brother and uncle. It's enough. Or at least he thinks it is.

But Wei Wuxian has other plans: he rushes to his room with a big balloon with a rabbit's shape and a big smile. It's his way of greeting him, cheering him up, because everyone - even this fuddy-duddy! - deserves to celebrate and have fun just for once.

Even if they stay at home, it's okay, let's just have fun and enjoy what we have. And Lan Wangji just stands there, still with the baloon in his hand, not speaking back, trying to process what is happening. He can't describe how he feels. When he feels too much, he's always speachless. But... he feels shaken as he didn't remember the last time he was like this for a long time. And he can't get mad at wwx for his surprise. He doesn't want to say it but he is incredibly glad.

The rabbit balloon is very welcomed.

[mxtxfanatic]

Just wanna say for those of y’all who came into this fandom late: just a few years ago, speaking on Jiang Cheng with anything less than glowing praise used to bring so much harassment that “angry grape”-related tags had to be created to circumvent jc stans finding and subsequently dogpiling your posts. I’ve since seen this tagging convention appropriated by his stans to be an “affectionate” petname for his character. If you wrote a wangxian fic in which Jiang Cheng did not appear, your fics would get bombarded with stans flooding your comments with their own headcanons on why Jiang Cheng isn’t around but “this is how he’d react if he was” and “everyone loves him, they’re definitely thinking about him, rn” and “when is he supposed to show up, op???” If you read a wangxian fic and Jiang Cheng did appear, there was a 95% chance that you would have to slog through thousands of words of abuse apologia paired with every character (except maybe Lan Wangji, maybe) claiming that Wei Wuxian deserved to be abused and should just learn to handle it better because abuse is really love. It took me a year of reading purely (only, exclusively) wangxian fics to find a single fic that had both 1) canon Jiang Cheng and 2) did not twist the other characters into fanon iterations to justify canon Jiang Cheng’s abusive behavior. When more canon writers started appearing, their fics got flooded with negativity, claims that the fic wasn’t realistic because “jc isn’t like that,” and demands to change things. They started moderating their comment sections. Eventually, jc stan writers even stopped tagging Jiang Cheng in their fics despite writing him as a major character because people began to avoid reading fics if they knew from the tags that his character appeared.

The “canon jc” tag was created on tumblr because jc stans said that if we didn’t like being attacked for canon opinions we should “create our own tag.” It was not a tag that always existed. Nobody used it until my friends created it. And every few months after that, we’d get a new “flood the tag” campaign by jc stans pissed at the name until it died down… until twitter refugees arrived, bringing with them a new faction of jc stans. That jc appreciate week or whatever they call it that starts on Halloween? Created by jc stans in an attempt to flood out Wei Wuxian appreciation posts on his birthday by making sure that new Jiang Cheng content would dominate all the major tags on that day. I watched the creators brag about that.

One BIG fandom upset happened when a jc stan wrote a horribly mistagged rape and murder wangxian fic and had their friends promote it so that wangxian lovers would read the fic and be traumatized. They gloated about having "successfully baited people," then tried to delete their tweets admitting it when they got them in trouble. I was there for that, too, and I only dodged being triggered because I saved the fic to read for later instead of cracking it open immediately.

Some of y’all may see me around now, but I’ve been watching this fandom for much longer than I’ve been making posts, before even the friends and mutuals I know now even knew I existed (yes I was a lurker lol). I’ve seen the development of all this play out across tumblr, ao3, and twitter (despite my best efforts to avoid the twitter side, that’s how ubiquitous it was). That’s how inescapable it was. I saw so much shit go down that I already had a mile-wide blocklist before I made my first post, and even then, I still got hate commentary on some of my posts the moment I dipped my littlest toe into metas. I had anon off for like a year because I didn’t want to deal with any harassment, and the moment I turned it off, I started getting bait anons (though not as bad as the others I’ve seen, holy shit). When I started this blog, all I did was liveblog and reblog other people’s art and metas. I was so stressed entering this fandom because the shit I had seen off rip was absolutely disgusting. That’s why I have very intentional rules of engagement that I try to hold to for myself. I may never be the first to start the fight, but I damn sure will defend myself and my friends. I also will never run away from admitting my mistakes, but I will also never be bullied into treating someone’s personal fantasies as equal to the actual factual text.

This isn’t to say that fanon enjoyers don’t get harassment. Another big fandom scandal was that a popular fanfic writer obsessed with canon had been harassing other writers through a series of bot accounts into leaving the fandom. What a lot of people don’t bring up in their bid to paint canon enjoyers as particularly prone to “fandom bullying,” however, was that the “canon” they were obsessed with was tied almost exclusively to the canon wangxian’s top/bottom sexual dynamic. I’d read that person’s works before—enjoyed them, even, before the scandal happened. They wrote fanon into their fics in other ways. The fanon/canon divide isn’t the problem; entitlement to unanimous fandom praise and recognition is.

There’s nothing wrong with enjoying canon or fanon, nothing right or wrong or morally superior for either camp. But do me a favor: go into the main jiang cheng character tag right now, and count how often you see a post about Jiang Cheng that portrays him in a negative light. Not one that portrays him as an snarky asshole or a teacher’s pet or a helicopter parent or a crybaby who only wants to be loved, but one which shows him in all of his uncensored glory as a piece of shit antagonist. How often do you see fanart of Jiang Cheng that isn’t “best jiujiu” or “sad didi” or “badass sect leader”? How often do you see metas that don’t include some iteration of “everyone is just so mean about poor little jc who just didn’t have a choice in anything he ever did 😢”? Go to the main novel tag and do the same. Hell, go to the wangxian tag and see what you find while you’re at it. How many of those posts are viral compared to “look at jc with his dogs!” or “look, I made lxc and jc kiss!” Then tell me whether or not you believe that jc stans are being specifically targeted for some unique and undeserved persecution by the fandom at large.

[veliseraptor]

opinions on XY's wardrobe and hairstyles in CQL ? You don't have to answer this if you don't wanna

kind of love the fact that I have actually sort of written about this before. you talk about a character enough and you end up having written headcanons about all kinds of things

but at the risk of rewriting some things from that post - I think Xue Yang is, perhaps to the surprise of some people, pretty fastidious about his appearance. not necessarily in terms of, like, fitting in with society or the importance of presentation to perception, but just that he likes to look good! and some of that is about the hygiene aspect discussed in the linked post (being dressed in clean, nice clothes and having his hair styled right is a signal that he can afford to do those things, that he has enough resources to spare on more than the bare necessities; similar to his "I can have candy whenever I want" thing, it's not just about the thing itself but what the thing signifies), but some of it is just. a little bit of vanity. looking good feels good! and he gets to show off his hot self. (I don't think Xue Yang doubts that he does look good. some of this is positive feedback; some of it is just his defiant self-confidence.)

in a more meta sense, I love the contrast between what Xue Yang wears during the Yi City arc flashback and what he wears afterwards when we see him again, specifically the contrast between what he wears in the Yi City flashback and what he wears when he's in Xiao Xingchen cosplay.

the latter is so much more stripped down and sleek - it lacks the added bulk that the former gives him, particularly in the shoulders. some of that is the disguised as Xiao Xingchen, no doubt (though he still ends up in dark colors in CQL, as opposed to Xiao Xingchen's whites; I kind of wish they had put him in the white, even if I really like the way his existing outfit looks). some of it, though, makes me think of Xue Yang as diminished, as no longer putting off vibes of being bigger and more imposing than he is (which is what those shoulder pads do, and the volume of his robes in general). it's a Xue Yang who is in a lot of ways a stripped down shadow of himself. even compared to the sleeker look he has in his introduction (which also lacks the shoulder pads):

the present day Yi City clothes are simpler, plainer (lacking, for instance, the gold trim and decorative belt). I've written before about how Xue Yang at this point has hit an absolute desperation and is running out of steam - resurrected Wei Wuxian (and again I have to wonder if he even knows for sure that this is resurrected Wei Wuxian, or if he's just counting on it being) is his last ditch hope and I think even he knows it's a pretty thin one. potentially, you can see that in the style of the clothes he wears.