#Wen Yuan as Telemachus

[kjwaikiki]

I have been listening to Epic the Musical lately, specifically the songs “The Challenge” and “Would You Fall in Love with Me Again”. I have also been rewatching The Untamed and my brain came up with an au.

There is a war and Wei Ying is forced into joining as a general as he has great renown as the Yiling Laozu. Everything stays pretty true to the plot of the Odyssey and Epic the Musical with Wei Ying trying to get back to his husband Lan Zhan.

At the same time Lan Zhan is trying to hold off the suitors who want to marry him and gain his husband’s wealth, status, and territory. He is also trying to keep A-Yuan, his and Wei Ying’s son safe.

I just really want to see Lan Zhan missing his husband and trying to keep everything together. I want Wei Ying to desperately try to get back to Lan Zhan while the horrible things he has done plague him with guilt.

I really want to see their reunion like in the song “Would You Fall in Love with Me Again”.

Maybe there is some Junior shenanigans with Jin Ling, Lan Jingyi, Ouyang Zizhui, and A-Yuan trying to find Wei Ying.

I just think an Odyssey au with Wangxian would work really well with Lan Zhan waiting for so long for Wei Ying and raising A-Yuan after Wei Ying is gone. Seeing Lan Zhan scheme against the suitors and finally reunite with Wei Ying would be a delight.

[sillygoofyqueer]

Why is the Ithaca Saga wangxian coded and how you could write an Epic fic about it?

I'm so glad you asked Anonymous Asker on Tumblr Dot Com!

Okay so let's start with The Challenge - At the start of this song, Penelope talks about how she has been waiting for Odysseus and unravelling the tapestry she has been weaving for him for TWENTY YEARS! This is similar (to me, anyway) to how Lan Wangji plays Enquiry for Wei Wuxian every night for thirteen (or sixteen, for all those Untamed fans) years, both of them desperately waiting and hoping for any sign of their beloveds returning in their own ways - either getting home before Penelope finishes her tapestry or just replying when Lan Wangji calls for him in the night.

Then Penelope is like "yo wait...the storm....MY HUSBAND COULD BE BACK!!" and then she obviously tells all the suitors that anyone who can blah blah blah blah BLAAH (I'd write it but I'm minorly tipsy right now my bad), wanting to prove that her husband is back. To meee, this is like Lan Wangji listening to Lan Sizhui talking about Mo Xuanyu and being like "hmmm...sounds familiar. Babygirl??" I can't explain that very much but YOU KNOW?? THE VIBES!!!

Then we go onto Hold Them Down - Okay, so this one is so much more loose because I'm a moron but I do think that I can make this wangxian coded!!! Because, right, with the different suitors trying to string Odysseus' bow, it can be like the different sects vying for power - power that an alliance with the Lan Sect could bring (through MARRIAGE to WANGJI), which is why they're all trying to 'string the bow' or......court him, if that makes sense.

Then we move onto the suitors plotting to kill Telemachus so they can gain power (and what I say next is literally JUST what I think would happen) similar to how I think that if the other sects (like the Jin sect) found out about Lan Sizhui being Wen Yuan, they'd probably try and kill him too because BOOO HIIISSSS BOOOO A WENNNN!!!! (I think that'd be a cool plotline......)

Obviously then we move to the suitors being slimy bastards about Penelope, which could be like certain sects being slimy bastards about Lan Wangji!!! Like, we know it could happen because Jin Guangshan gets away with being a slimy bastard all the TIME, and as long as they're not doing it around the Lan Sect, the sects could say whatever the fuck they want!!! Man, can you tell I'm slowly going insane???

THEN!!! Odysseus. HahHAHAHAHHA. Come on pals, let me whip out the lyrics because this one was just like "WOAH HOLY SHIT!!" Alright so basically we literally start with Odysseus talking about how he's dealt with so much SHIT through the twenty years he's been gone, just to come back and hear the suitors being disgusting about his family - which can be linked in such an awesome way to Wei Wuxian because imagine that guy being like "I've been through all of this fucking SHIT (the destruction of Lotus Pier, the Burial Mounds, the Sunshot Campaign, everything with the Wens, accidentally killing his sister's fiancé, Nightless City, being ripped apart by ghosts and corpses???) and I come back to you planning to kill my SON (a Wen) and defile my HUSBAND FRIEND??" and the sects being like "oh SHIT, it's the Yiling Patriarch!!"

And then we have the suitors running and trying to escape Odysseus as he goes about and kicks their asses - and there was one quote that really got to me! So, we know that one of the suitors is like "we have the advantage!" and another one is like "No, you don't understand it, this man plans for every fight", which truly and utterly reminds me of how everyone seems to forget that Wei Wuxian was once the head disciple of Lotus Pier and literally one of the strongest cultivators of his generation due to him instead being portrayed as a villainous monster because of his demonic cultivation. The suitor dies after saying this, so I'm not sure what kind of cultivator would say such a thing!

And we can think about Odysseus being like "you think I don't know my own palace? I built it" with the second siege of the Burial Mounds, in such a cool way!! It could be like the sects running around the Burial Mounds and trying to kill Wei Wuxian but he's like "I spent so many torturous months here, you think I don't know this place like the back of my hand?" And he's just killing them off while they try to run and hide, not letting anything stop him. More killing more murder, then the suitors try and grab Telemachus to kill him - just like they'd try and grab Lan Sizhui to murder him because he's a WEN!!!

Both Odysseus and Wei Wuxian would react in the same way - I mean, did you hear the arrows fucking FLYING AT THE END OF THE SONG??? IT'S LITERALLY SO FUCKING SICK!!!!! I heard that and just thought "holy shit, Wei Wuxian with his ghostly cultivation, absolutely kicking the ASSES of everyone who dared to hurt/threaten his family???" And how both Odysseus and Wei Wuxian started their lives/journeys with peace and mercy in their hearts but everything around them piled up until they couldn't take it anymore and finally, finally fought back.

ALRIGHT I HAVE TWO MORE SONGS TO GO THROUGH BUT I DON'T KNOW IF PEOPLE ARE VERY INTERESTED????

[justcallmecj]

Epic: the Musical x MDZS???

As someone who just listened to the entirety of the Epic: the Musical playlist for the first time just the other day, all of these songs have been on loop in my head.

However, MDZS fandom, imagine this musical, but with the characters as those from the Odyssey...

(Heads up, some of this may completely disregard any blood relations or other relationships from canon. It's all for fun and food for thought so take nothing to heart)

There is a feral part of my brain that wants Wei Wuxian to be Odysseus. Both are men who just want to be with their families but are constantly being screwed over by the world, even if some of the tragedies are their own fault. Incredibly smart and cunning, too much for their own goods at times. And, admit it, Wei Ying would attract the attention of a goddess like Athena, or whoever the mdzs equivalent of that would be (Boashen Senren??)

This would make Lan Zhan as Penelope and Lan Yuan as Telemachus and I'm oddly okay with that even if canon Lan Zhan would have gone on that voyage with Wei Ying.

It is completely against her canon personality, but imagine Jiang Yanli as Circe? Using her infamous soup to trick men and turning them into pigs (or another animal more Yanli suited?) She's fiercely loyal and protective of her nymphs, much like canon Yanli is to her brothers and has "been in love once before" like Circe's line in There Are Other Ways, which would be Jin Zixuan in this case. (This is all under the pretense that there were never any sibling relations between wwx and Yanli bc...if you know the song, you know)

Idk who Jiang Cheng would be bc his personality doesn't fit neither Polites or Eurylochus, who were the closest to Odysseus/Wwx. Y'all can tell me what you think bc this also applies to Nie Huaisang.

Omg imagine Wen Chao as fucking Polyphemus making Poseidon Wen Ruohan. Kinda makes sense since wwx did kill WC in canon and tbh WR did not care about that kid, much like Poseidon was more upset that Odysseus had dishonored him by leaving his son blind.

Could Aeolus be resentful energy? Bc resentful energy is born from wronged humans after death, it tends to be vengeful/mischievous/looking to bring misfortune. These traits apply to Aeolus in the musical, getting a laugh out of playing with Odysseus' men and tricking him. Iffy with this one but a cool thought regardless.

I have no other ideas since this was simply me fantasizing moments with the mdzs characters while listening to the songs, but please give some opinions/thoughts if you have any!

[djinmer4]

MDZSxTrojan War Crossover

Someone was pointing out that Agamemnon killed his kid to go to war while Odysseus couldn't do the same to his to get out of going to war, and someone else noted that's why Clytemnestra shanks Agamemnon when he comes back while Penelope remains faithful for 20 years.

So I started wondering who goes in which role and the first thing I thought of was that of course Jiang Fengmian would have to be Agamemnon. Conversely, that makes Nie Mingjue as Odysseus, the character who ends up stopping because he won't kill his own brother.

Of course, if Jiang Fengmian is Agamemnon, that makes Yu Ziyuan as Clytemnestra, Jiang Cheng as Iphigenia (the child Jiang Fengmian would willingly sacrifice) and then puts Jiang Yanli in the role of Electra/Orestes. Possibly Madame Jin as Helena, since she and Yu Ziyuan are sworn sisters. And if Madame Jin is Helena, Jin Guangshan is Menelaus.

Nie Huaisang becomes Penelope/Telemachus. Wei Wuxian gets to avoid the whole Jiang family fiasco in this one, but on the other hand, he gets the role of Achilles, so he's doomed anyway. And if Wei Wuxian is Achilles, then Wen Ning becomes Patrokulos. Briseis is A-Yuan?

The Yi City gang becomes Troy. Song Lang and Xiao Xingchen are Hector and Andromache, Xue Yang is Paris and poor A-Qing is now Cassandra.

Xue Yang/Madame Jin is kind of mind-breaking but aside from the fact they start the entire conflict, it's not like Paris or Helen actually have big roles in the saga.

Su She gets Ajax's role and Mianmian gets to be Aeneas, who leaves the whole conflict behind. Not too sure about everyone else.

[sillygoofyqueer]

o' great and might moot

Bless us humble ones with more epic the musical and mdzs mixing pretty please with a cherry on top ;)

(whenever you can ofc no pressure/gen)

AIGHT BET

Okay so where did we get before this....

NOW WE'RE ONTO "I Can't Help But Wonder" - Right this is such a sweet sweet song for one, and for TWO!! I have a lot to say about this one, so get ready.

We start with Telemachus talking about how he has thought about Odysseus for twenty years, wishing desperately that he had known his father within those years and thinking about what he would say to Odysseus only to be left speechless when they're actually in front of one another.

Now, obviously this is Lan Sizhui, and it's just so good!!! Because he never knew his parents, he only knows that Lan Wangji took him in because he was in love with someone who raised Lan Sizhui and wanted to keep their memory alive through him. It would be a beautiful thing if he had just heard these stories about Wei Wuxian from Lan Wangji, and just looked at this bloodied man who had killed for him and proclaimed him to be his son, who stared at him with such obvious affection and thought "oh, it's you." All these stories about Wei Wuxian from so many people come flooding back and he just thinks "how could I ever be good enough for someone as great as you?"

THEN we get Odysseus being like "oh my god my baby BOY, it's you!" He hasn't seen his son in twenty years, he's reminiscing about the baby he once held and then merging this with the son he sees today, twenty years old (and probably looking so out of his depth lmao) and clearly a man who he didn't get to see grow!

Now, pals, this has never screamed Wei Wuxian more because, in the Burial Mounds, A-Yuan was like one of the only things that kept Wei Wuxian sane, one of the only joys he had in his life, and one of the greatest things he thought he lost in the Siege of the Burial Mounds. But then, after gods have told him that his son was alive (from what could have been told to him in other songs, like "Get In The Water" or being confirmed by the suitors), there A-Yuan is, all grown up and safe. The last time Wei Wuxian saw A-Yuan, he was a three year old with a likely fatal fever, calling him "Xian-gege" and dealing with so much instability because he was a Wen, so this is now everything for him.

And then he just instantly takes Lan Sizhui into his arms and accepts him even with how different he must be, calling him his son and telling him that he's not alone, that he's safe and that his father's home again and AUGH.

Afterwards, Odysseus sends Telemachus to go tell Penelope that he's home now, and has a conversation with Athena, who talks of thinking about a different place where everyone is more empathetic and greets each other with open arms (see what I did there?), and how she led Odysseus astray. Odysseus replies with how that's not something he'll ever see but that she should aim for that because she can live forever - he's got his wife to see.

NOWNOW, Athena as Baoshan Sanren just makes so much sense to me, especially HERE!! Baoshan Sanren secluded herself on her mountain to avoid the mortal world and all of the politics that came with it, meaning that when Cangse Sanren came down from the mountain and died, Baoshan Sanren wasn't there to help Wei Wuxian with all the problems he went through when fighting for a life not dissimilar from what Athena talks of in the song. She wants for a world where politics cannot affect people and wants a world where everyone is just kind to one another.

Wei Wuxian, who has fought for such a world and has paid for it severely, knows that it not something that can just happen quickly and, while not unwilling to fight for it, knows that it is unlikely for it to happen. He has died because he wanted to treat Wens with empathy and respect, and now he just wants to live his life without regrets, with those he loves. This could be him urging Baoshan Sanren to see that if she wants such a world to exist, she has to fight for it, she can't just seclude herself on a mountain because she doesn't want to be involved with all the politicking. For now, though, he has a guy he has to see.

Okay one more song to go!!!! Want to hear my thoughts about it??? (I think it's gonna be a big one 😏😏)

[sillygoofyqueer]

I'm reblogging this because I was so drunk and yet made so many banging points and I think that's a big achievement for me

Why is the Ithaca Saga wangxian coded and how you could write an Epic fic about it?

I'm so glad you asked Anonymous Asker on Tumblr Dot Com!

Okay so let's start with The Challenge - At the start of this song, Penelope talks about how she has been waiting for Odysseus and unravelling the tapestry she has been weaving for him for TWENTY YEARS! This is similar (to me, anyway) to how Lan Wangji plays Enquiry for Wei Wuxian every night for thirteen (or sixteen, for all those Untamed fans) years, both of them desperately waiting and hoping for any sign of their beloveds returning in their own ways - either getting home before Penelope finishes her tapestry or just replying when Lan Wangji calls for him in the night.

Then Penelope is like "yo wait...the storm....MY HUSBAND COULD BE BACK!!" and then she obviously tells all the suitors that anyone who can blah blah blah blah BLAAH (I'd write it but I'm minorly tipsy right now my bad), wanting to prove that her husband is back. To meee, this is like Lan Wangji listening to Lan Sizhui talking about Mo Xuanyu and being like "hmmm...sounds familiar. Babygirl??" I can't explain that very much but YOU KNOW?? THE VIBES!!!

Then we go onto Hold Them Down - Okay, so this one is so much more loose because I'm a moron but I do think that I can make this wangxian coded!!! Because, right, with the different suitors trying to string Odysseus' bow, it can be like the different sects vying for power - power that an alliance with the Lan Sect could bring (through MARRIAGE to WANGJI), which is why they're all trying to 'string the bow' or......court him, if that makes sense.

Then we move onto the suitors plotting to kill Telemachus so they can gain power (and what I say next is literally JUST what I think would happen) similar to how I think that if the other sects (like the Jin sect) found out about Lan Sizhui being Wen Yuan, they'd probably try and kill him too because BOOO HIIISSSS BOOOO A WENNNN!!!! (I think that'd be a cool plotline......)

Obviously then we move to the suitors being slimy bastards about Penelope, which could be like certain sects being slimy bastards about Lan Wangji!!! Like, we know it could happen because Jin Guangshan gets away with being a slimy bastard all the TIME, and as long as they're not doing it around the Lan Sect, the sects could say whatever the fuck they want!!! Man, can you tell I'm slowly going insane???

THEN!!! Odysseus. HahHAHAHAHHA. Come on pals, let me whip out the lyrics because this one was just like "WOAH HOLY SHIT!!" Alright so basically we literally start with Odysseus talking about how he's dealt with so much SHIT through the twenty years he's been gone, just to come back and hear the suitors being disgusting about his family - which can be linked in such an awesome way to Wei Wuxian because imagine that guy being like "I've been through all of this fucking SHIT (the destruction of Lotus Pier, the Burial Mounds, the Sunshot Campaign, everything with the Wens, accidentally killing his sister's fiancé, Nightless City, being ripped apart by ghosts and corpses???) and I come back to you planning to kill my SON (a Wen) and defile my HUSBAND FRIEND??" and the sects being like "oh SHIT, it's the Yiling Patriarch!!"

And then we have the suitors running and trying to escape Odysseus as he goes about and kicks their asses - and there was one quote that really got to me! So, we know that one of the suitors is like "we have the advantage!" and another one is like "No, you don't understand it, this man plans for every fight", which truly and utterly reminds me of how everyone seems to forget that Wei Wuxian was once the head disciple of Lotus Pier and literally one of the strongest cultivators of his generation due to him instead being portrayed as a villainous monster because of his demonic cultivation. The suitor dies after saying this, so I'm not sure what kind of cultivator would say such a thing!

And we can think about Odysseus being like "you think I don't know my own palace? I built it" with the second siege of the Burial Mounds, in such a cool way!! It could be like the sects running around the Burial Mounds and trying to kill Wei Wuxian but he's like "I spent so many torturous months here, you think I don't know this place like the back of my hand?" And he's just killing them off while they try to run and hide, not letting anything stop him. More killing more murder, then the suitors try and grab Telemachus to kill him - just like they'd try and grab Lan Sizhui to murder him because he's a WEN!!!

Both Odysseus and Wei Wuxian would react in the same way - I mean, did you hear the arrows fucking FLYING AT THE END OF THE SONG??? IT'S LITERALLY SO FUCKING SICK!!!!! I heard that and just thought "holy shit, Wei Wuxian with his ghostly cultivation, absolutely kicking the ASSES of everyone who dared to hurt/threaten his family???" And how both Odysseus and Wei Wuxian started their lives/journeys with peace and mercy in their hearts but everything around them piled up until they couldn't take it anymore and finally, finally fought back.

ALRIGHT I HAVE TWO MORE SONGS TO GO THROUGH BUT I DON'T KNOW IF PEOPLE ARE VERY INTERESTED????