#assertive wwx

[keebssi]

We love assertive wei wuxian

[winepresswrath]

Oh so you are one of the jiang' soupbot' yanli who will throw jiang cheng under the bus for little xianxian. Cool

this like the time someone accused me of only caring about Wei Wuxian's feelings. thank you for the laugh anon but also are you lost.

[thatswhatsushesaid]

i am demonstrating such admirable restraint by not picking a useless argument with a stranger this morning 😌

[llycaons]

hate this tag it’s so biased

[thebluecheeseconspiracy]

Reading mdzs modern aus when my boy wwx being canonically mistreated by yu and her son but in modern equivalent (less torture and physical abuse) but mostly verbal with occasional flying hands (not that it's better), jfm being like he always is, and jyl is still powerless against her mother, on top of the fact that despite wwx being a gifted student with too much energy he's deemed as troubled and disruptive to his peers mostly by lqr and lwj

And when wwx leaves because he's had enough of that shit and just wants to try his luck in the world on his own and goes low/no contact, everyone is like *shocked Pikachu face* wHY yoU LeAVe? iNGraTe! AFteR aLL wE d0ne FoR yOu?

I mean, come on, most of his entire life, the sight nor even the mention of him grate you the wrong way. He deserves to live his life with people who he loves that love him back just for who he is

[lilnasxvevo]

Jiang Cheng really does resort to scolding as a way of showing he cares about people.

…He gets it from his parents, huh.

[silverwhittlingknife]

so like. saying jiang yanli should have guessed what material need there was and acted to fill it, unasked, presumptuous as all heck, is saying she should have been a different person, the right person for this specific situation, and that failing to be that person exactly is a moral failing. that she had the obligation to understand and react to the scenario the way the viewer analyses as optimal. and i think that reaction to the character kind of exposes what a destructive approach this is to thinking about people. no one has ever 'just,' you know? optimizing the process of being a person is never gonna be worth what you lose in the attempt. not getting everything right is part of the human condition.

THIS ^^^^

for anyone who criticizes jyl for bringing soup to yiling instead of like, money—

we should first ask: could jyl actually have given wwx money? she must have something, you say. the jins are rich! she could even give him some of her betrothal gifts.

but realistically jyl probably didn't have much money at all! let's think this through. not only did she not marry jzx yet at the time of her yiling visit, but (based on many, many imperial palace tv shows lol) all her worth would be in betrothal gifts of jewelry, fine clothing, or other misc items, which is 1) heavy and difficult to transport without notice, but that doesn't actually matter bc it's ultimately 2) disrespectful to sell and worse to have the gifter find out when they come by for tea and you begin chatting about the event in two days and they say oh where's that one-of-a-kind jade bracelet I gave you wouldn't it match the also one-of-a-kind silk garment that lady jin gave you sooo well oh you will look so lovely in it won't you wear it.

or worse, have it recognized in some random pawn shop on the street by someone who has never really liked you and WILL get you in deep shit for it.

does jyl have any money from the jiang side? well, jc has been busy at work rebuilding lotus pier and the clan since before wwx's defection, and even if he's not borrowing a shitton of money from the jins (which he almost certainly is), he definitely has the opposite of surplus funds. he's also busy organizing and buying gifts for the wedding too, making him go more in the red because you know the jins aren't going to want cheap-ass things even if you don't have money.

let's say jyl did get a significant bride price (aka given money money)—not only does that go to her family (jc), but it is given during the ceremony (which, again, hasn't happened yet). and, realistically, jc probably will have to use it to offset the costs of the above.

beyond that, let's just take this scene from a storytelling perspective. sometimes it is simply about the emotional resonance. the vibes. let's say jyl did have some funds to give wwx. but imagine if jyl was like here a-xian take all this money 😐 ok sure useful for some period. but is that the gift that wwx would want during the first time he's gotten to see her in months, and likely the last time he will see her in a long, long time (possibly years)? would that be impactful for the story?

meanwhile, the soup she brings represents her love. we hear in the extra, from wwx's own words, the care she put into selecting the ingredients, making sure the lotus root is fresh and perfectly ripe. it also takes hours for her to even make iirc. wwx derives so much comfort from it—that's why it comes up again and again. it is one of his first memories of feeling safe in lotus pier, of home. it provides wwx some semblance of normalcy. he hasn't had any this entire time, and is likely something he aches for whenever he's homesick or sad or questioning his choices. it is simply, given the circumstances, incredibly thoughtful. (and how meaningful was it to see wn treat it with such respect? seeing that is literally the moment in the chapter when wwx realizes—ah. the wens are people I cherish as well.)

and regarding jyl coming in her wedding dress—it is not for herself. it is for wwx. we saw how devastated wwx was just to even hear that jyl was getting married because he had to hear it from someone who wasn't jc or jyl. and to immediately then realize he cannot go? even more heartbreaking. and jyl, who clearly knows wwx extremely well, would know, without having to ask, how upset wwx would be to miss such a huge occasion in their lives that was previously a given. this is what she can do to offset that, even just a little. because jyl came in her dress, wwx gets to experience a piece of her wedding even though he cannot physically be there. not to be a 2000s mastercard ad, but there really are some things that money can't buy.

idk there's also some fist-shaking at the class discrepancy in the scene. and I get it. it sucks! her dress is certainly lavish, and the wens are farming on a corpse mountain and have only just started making a bit of money. yes, it's fine to think that if you were in the character's shoes, maybe you would've found it to be in poor taste—but the story isn't about you. it is about these characters, and what this scene means to them. and I'm of the camp that if there is no indication that wwx is upset by any of this, and in fact moved by it, there really isn't reason for the reader to be righteously indignant about these things on a character's behalf. that's just not the focus or the point of the scene.

plus, jyl is sharp. she is likely more aware of the discrepancy than most people think. she has also been shown in the text to not just be another sheltered, spoiled noble (re jzx soup incident). but if what you want is guilt from jyl—I personally think that guilt is performative, and accomplishes nothing. her guilt would've only made wwx unhappy. instead, here is an action that is meaningful and brings joy to wwx. to share her joy with him is not selfishness, nor is it some lack of awareness of their situation. if in this moment, she shows off her dress, if she revels in her joy, her happiness, it is for wwx, and wwx is incredibly moved by it.

and let's face it—wwx, of all people, would want to see jyl in a wedding dress that cost more than rebuilding lotus pier from the ground up. he wouldn't want anything less.

[lansplaining]

Sorry, but I've a question. I was reading meta about how in the untamed wwx is someone who shows great social and diplomatic skills and I don't want to watch the drama (too long) and was wandering if in the drama he is good like that? I don't think in the book he is great as he thinks even if he is trying his best (also they were painting jc as a blunt instrument in their meta - is really like that drama jc? Novel jc knows how to read a room)

i am an unabashed drama fan so i really do think it's worth a watch, but that is not the point

but uh

no.

i think he can seem that way because xiao zhan is a wildly charismatic person who just radiates sweetness and charm, but no, even in the show, wei wuxian has never met a social situation he couldn't make worse. this is in fact so key to wwx's arc, and it's so frustrating that people miss it! when he was young and had a golden core, he could get away with being a little shit because he was talented. and then he could get away with it because people were scared of him! but he never actually had to learn real diplomatic and social skills, and even as mo xuanyo, skates by on a cheeky charm that is very love it or hate it for the people he encounters, with no real ability to course correct if someone finds him grating

as for jiang cheng-- this complete fanon overhaul of jiang cheng's personality and diplomatic skills drives me crazy. in the drama even MORE than in the novel, we see pre-timeskip jiang cheng being extremely deliberate and diplomatic. he is polite, cautious, and respectful. we have multiple scenes of him very carefully standing up to clan leaders who are much more powerful than him and handling it subtly and extremely well-- though admittedly, he doesn't really "win" any of the encounters. yes, he's grumpy to wei wuxian in the cloud recesses arc, but it is so so so clear that is not remotely the way he behaves with other people, especially people who are his elders or superiors.

now, post-timeskip, things are understandably different. he's operating from a position of great power, and has clearly shifted tactics to be a lot more blunt and to assert his authority in a more blunt way. but we have absolutely no reason to think he isn't capable of shifting his tactics as needed, and i think we very much see that in the scene with sisi and bicao, and the delicacy with which he handles both them and that whole situation.

[phoenixcatch7]

Absolutely insane to me that anyone either in universe or irl believes anything the main wen clan says.

We see from the very beginning in every adaptation that their modus operandi, nay, their way of life, is to lie, threaten and bribe people into doing their dirty work for them (you see this even easier in untamed).

Their favourite thing in the whole world is to make other people look bad, ESPECIALLY when they get a scapegoat out of it.

This is one of the ways the jin clan at the time follow in their footsteps - they capitalise on wwx as the pre prepared scapegoate they can blame and use to sow doubt, discord, distrust. They use the exact same tactic to remove a perceived threat on wwx as the wen remnants, mxy, even jrl - isolate them, make their word untrustworthy, assert themselves as the Righteous and Generous side in the process. But not without rubbing everyone else the wrong way just to make double sure they uncover anyone willing to stand against them!

The main issue here is, of course, the burning of lotus pier. First of all, wwx had no part in the physical actions the wens took, just to get the most obvious out of the way. Secondly, gusu burned first. That had absolutely zero to do with wwx or any rising rebellion - it happened before the indoctrination! (Side note, I can't believe that's how it gets translated when that's the biggest possible red flag term to use. It's genuinely insane when the clans remain complacent as they toss that word around and prepare to send their kids to it. At least pick, like, Education or Examination or something with plausibly less brainwashing cult kidnapping energy.)

Anyway. The wens chose their targets well. Gusu burns first: it is the best connected, hosting the lectures, it is the biggest repository of knowledge in the entire jianghu (including assassination techniques!!), it has two rising stars, one set to take up the role of new (and thus more alert and proactive). It's got the weakest actual sect leader by far. It's also, perhaps, the most isolated. None of the other clans are aware it's been utterly decimated by the time of the indoctrination.

Then it's either the Nie, already partially crippled with the previous sect leader already killed by wrh, leaving a child to fill the boots with no parents, no previous instruction, an infant brother and no elders. They're prone to deviation exacerbated by resentment (which human battlefields are FULL of) (though they can be helped by, you guessed it! Lan techniques, whom they've just burned all of). They have no rising star, their heir is famously useless. Or the Jin, the most closely allied major clan, with immense wealth but little actual stake in the war as long as they themselves aren't targeted. You'll remember it's the sect heir who finally drags his men onto the field. The jianghus whore is too busy coddling up to and yes manning the wen to be of any concern.

This just leaves the jiang. A strong and powerful great sect filled with dangerous, head strong warriors. I'm explicitly including yzy in this, who is a harsh taskmaster who continues taking night hunts into marriage and motherhood to keep her wit and skills sharp. The daughters engagement with the jin is cancelled, which means they won't alienate the jin by attacking. The father is both alive and active, capable and willing to actually run the sect and lead it into battle with the wen (or at the very least his wife is practically chomping at the bit). It's got two rising stars glued to each other's hip, one of which is the heir and the other the brightest, most troublemaking, most ready to throw hands in the name of justice in his whole generation. Their people are wealthy and loyal.

Oh, and also, they basically own the waterways. I'm not sure if it's explicitly canon, but they are the sect most connected to the rivers that (canonically, remember the waterborne abyss?) run between at least three of Great sects, including (drumroll please) the very first sect they just burned to the ground and are notably keeping surpressed (wen chao, at the very least should have bragged incessantly to everyone who looked at him, never mind his captive and isolated audience), and the wens themselves!! Lotus pier basically borders to its town, which is very clearly thriving af. It's loud, it's colourful, it's exotic, it's getting so much trade it's not even funny. The jiang are so much more experienced in water and water enemies (remember wwx noticing lwjs weird boat waterline?) than even gusus heir and spare! They are trade, they are TRANSPORT, they are INFORMATION (merchants and gossips).

Even if wwx didn't exist, it's just the most tactical thing to do. If you want to cripple your enemies, you target their knowledge and ties. You sabotage supply lines and communication lines. You do that as fast as you can, make sure to damage moral, prevent them from rallying together. The wens win when their enemies are divided. All together and united, they form the sun shot campaign.

WHICH IS WHY. Absolutely NOTHING they say or do can be trusted!!

What's her face coming into lotus pier and targeting wwx is so blatant and transparent a divisive tactic (so identical to the rest of the clan) I was honestly shocked anyone even pretended to listen. Jc believing it even slightly really surprised me. And I'm!! Not trained! In leadership tactics in fantasy land, SECT HEIR. At the very least living with his mother should have given him some idea of how to spot when someone is lashing out and scapegoating for their own gain, good grief.

Unfortunately. Pink antenna (I don't know how but the anime makes her look really old) dangles the possibility of sparing the jiang in front of their faces. It is a long, unlikely shot. It's playing into their hands, it's giving them the jerk off material and superiority high they want, it's undignified and self sabotaging. It's probably stalling at best. But. It's literally the only option either wwx or yzy could live with. If they didn't at least try.

It's exactly the same tactic the jin later use with wwx (again) and the remnants. Give us your strongest people, your glue, your most clever and loyal. Let us ruin them, kill them. In return, we will let your people go free <- lying so openly and blatantly to people so cornered and out of options that they might just, desperately, make the willing sacrifice. It's scummy and cruel.

Ironically, I think this is the time wwx and yzy are most in agreement, and it's when jc would rather anything else. They play this awful role, really ham it up, demean themselves and pretend they're playing right into the wens hands. She says no, she hesitates, she backs out or fumbles, she gets pressed for harder, more, make him really bleed. Wwx is willing to perform the farce and be the sacrifical lamb, on the longest shot to keep his home safe. He wears his own mask for this, because you'll notice he's able to get up and fight immediately after, whereas lwj was bedbound and healing for literal years.

Yes, wwx is insane and martyrish and has way too little self worth. Yes, yzy would not have been so willing if jc was picked. Yes, she stopped the SECOND they realised the wens were just going to keep pressing until wwx was dead and then probably demand she desecrate the corpse. She wasn't about to cripple her best fighter and son's best chance of survival. And she recognised that becoming a supervisory office would be pretty equal to being destroyed by them, but also grant the wen a HUGE boost in everything a war monger could want. If the wen took lotus pier, forces overwhelming as it already was, they would win. Full stop.

Whether or not all that was going through her mind as she slapped pinky idk, and I won't say she made the right choice, but again, either way they did what the wens wanted. This is how they isolate and sabotage threats. They will say and do anything to keep their hallucinated high horse and get that sweet sweet bullying high.

They cannot, under any circumstances, be trusted to give a reliable word on anything. In fact, I'd argue that you should believe the opposite of what they say.

So stop acting like anyone genuinely believes them. Have characters (wwx) blame themselves for events with their guilt complexes but not their head!

Also shout out to mianmian for being the only other person to call anyone out on it.

[wangxianficfinder]

In the mood for...

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1. For the next ITMF, do you know of any fics with Lan Xichen with more of a spine, being less naive/more astute? His absolute trust in JGY drives me up the wall sometimes, so I'd like fics where he sees through him, for once. @kitsileya

i told you when i came i was a stranger by Caramelized (M, 50k, OFC/LXC, minor WangXian, Isekai, Transmigration, Fix-It, Canon Divergence, Amateur cartography, Butterfly Effect, Sunshot Campaign, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, No Golden Core Transfer, Dimension Travel, Politics, LXC the politician, Self-Insert, Foreknowledge, Angst with a Happy Ending) for #1 the closest I can think of it "i told you when i came i was a stranger" by Caramelized it's isekai, but it's extremely well-done. one of those fics i reread a lot. lxc needs some help to see through the deceit, but he gets there in the end, and learns something from it. idk if it's exactly what the asker is after but no one else seems to have provided anything so I thought I'd at least offer it

A Little Fall of Rain by Just_a_Girl_in_a_Crystal (T, 47k, WIP, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon Temporary Character Death, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Grief/Mourning, Angst with a Happy Ending, Jiang siblings, Fix-It, Golden Core Reveal, Protective LXC, Protective LQR) heavy angst

crack in the mirror by the_pretzel (T, 59k, WIP, WangXian, Reincarnation, Royalty, Transmigration, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Murder, Mutual Pining, based on a manhwa, Mystery, court intrigue, Assassination Attempt(s), Assassination Plot(s)) AU - he does keep supporting jgy for a while but believes lwj and then decides for himself

The blame game by apathyinreverie (T, 13k, WangXian, Fix-It, Time Travel, mainly just lxc getting his brother the husband he has wanted since they were teenagers, this time without the years of mourning, also lxc wants his adorable nephew back, LXC time travels, Canon Divergence, Possessive LWJ, Oblivious WWX, Fluff, Siblings, Romance, Golden Core Reveal, kind of, Golden Core Fix-It) here he has the benefit of time travel so idk if this is what OP is going for

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2. itmf fics where wei ying dies in qiongqi dao? thanks! ♡ @darlingjunebug

End Racism in the OTW | The Fire Lapping Up the Creek by notevenyou (E, 66k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Hurt/Comfort, Injury Recovery, Blood, Respiratory Illness, Major Illness, Fever, Grief/Mourning, Angst with a Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Hunger and food scarcity, Surgery, Fix-It of Sorts) Technically WWX doesn't actually die, but he is assumed dead, so you get LWJ going a lil mad with grief & the sects reacting as if he's dead

in this place where we don't have a prayer by Cerusee, Mikkeneko (T, 42k, XuanLi, WangXian, ChengQing)

Looking at You Always, All Ways by Keysmashed (T, 29k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Time Travel Fix-It, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Nostalgia, Subtly Assertive LWJ, very mild angst, Angst with a Happy Ending)

Troublesome Lotus by orphan_account (G, 20k, WangXian, Female WWX, Gender Changes, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Unplanned Pregnancy, Miscarriage, LSZ is LWJ and WWX's Child, Baby LSZ, Non-Graphic Rape/Non-Con, Pregnancy, Pregnant WWX, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Childbirth, WWX dies in Qiongqi Path, Implied Sexual Content, Parent WWX, Good Parent WWX, Single Parent WWX, Sad Ending) if you dont mind reading fem!WWX

The world was wide enough for the both of us by Moonlit_dewdrops (T, 5k, JC & WWX, Time Travel, Not A Fix-It, Grief/Mourning, Guilt, Hurt No Comfort, Ambush at Qióngqí Path, Blood and Injury, Heavy Angst, Golden Core Reveal, JZX lives but someone else dies instead...)

ius in bello by Lise (T, 2k, Yunmeng Siblings, Canon Divergence, Tearjerker, Sad Ending, Heavy Angst, Grief/Mourning, Not A Fix-It, POV JC, podfic available)

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3. hello! thankyou all for your hard work. for the next ITMF, please suggest fics where: a) modern sick wwx, b) a-yuan is wwx and lwj's son but lwj know it some years after like wwx hid it or smth, it can be modern or not. c) good underrated tags that i can explore later. thankyou!

3A)

A Grand Immortal Made Me Soup by s6115 (G, 5k, JC & WWX, wangxian, canon divergence, Immortal JC, Immortal LWJ, Immortality, Yunmeng Duo Days, Twin Prides of Yúnmèng Feels, JC & WWX Reconciliation, JC used his immortality to grow and mature, WWX finally reincarnates and the immortal JC isn't going to fail this time, JYL's Pork Rib and Lotus Root Soup, Good Sibling JC)

the soft animal of your body by sysrae (T, 15k, WangXian, Modern with Magic, modern cultivation, Golden Core Reveal, Hurt/Comfort, Whump, Animal Transformation, Shapeshifting, Sort Of, Getting Together, Confessions)

Grace and a tender hand by feyburner (T, 4k, wangxian, modern, First Date, Sickfic, Hurt/Comfort, Misunderstandings, Fluff)

3B)

Nothing but your heart by airinshaw (E, 21k, WangXian, Modern AU, A/B/O Dynamics, Implied Mpreg, First Time, Getting Together, Angst and Drama, Angst with a Happy Ending, Anal Sex, Whump, Breeding Kink)

Family Pictures (Or: “Mark Rothko is very, very dead, Wei Ying.”) by belleweather (M, 37k, wangxian, modern, Kid Fic, Post Mpreg, Cindarella Story, Mistaken Identity, Mistaken for Being in a Relationship, LWJ doesn’t know how to express feelings except with his checkbook, WWX is strangely okay with that, art conservator LWJ, idiot WWX (he gets better slowly), shockingly little actual sex omg what happened to me?, fake/mistaken cheating, no actual infidelity, I apologize to Mark Rothko and Julian Baumgartner)

3C)

agree about the personal preference thing! i feel like the novel has big themes of (found) family, so occasionally i like to go through the tag and stuff like yiling sibs, lsz&wwx, jl&wwx etc etc. also i thing the "disabled character/wwx" fics are pretty underrated? because sometimes they're not found in the tag sadly

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4. Hi! I was wondering if any of you knew of fics that portray the confession scene from LWJ's POV? Ideally, I would like for fics to portray both parts (outside and inside the temple). If not, I would prefer it if the fic had its focus on the part inside the temple @blueghost13

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5. Hiii hope y'all are doing well! For today's itmf fics where wwx and lwj are trying to solve crimes. (any type works but thriller and/or horror would be amazing)? They can work together or meet and have to work together to figure it out, anything works really but I'd have a preference for detectives kinda stuff! @rkivees

medium blues by darkterrible (E, 193k, WangXian, Modern AU, Horror, Spooky, Opposites Attract, Fluff and Angst, Gore, Ghosts, Necromancy, Mojo’s post)

once upon a time, 很久很久以前 by gentil-minou (Flyingsuits) (M, 23k, wangxian, LSZ & WWX, LSZ & LWJ, Modern, Canon Divergence, Transmigration, of the townwide variety, Amnesia, of the nearly everyone variety, Mystery, of the shenanigans variety, Not Everyone Dies au, WWX Has Self-Esteem Issues, wwx is sad and down bad, Single Parent LWJ, except a-yuan runs away to find his other dad, Fluff and Angst, Slow Burn, oh no by god this cant be happening to me, WIP) this is my WIP and there's a murder mystery and a curse that wangxian work together to solve, though they're both more like amateur detectives here. That part is still being set up, however.

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6. Hello, do you know any fics where the guanine temple incident goes wrong and somehow people end up hating wwx again, including lwj. I want an angst adventure fic to cry.

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7. Hello!! I hope you're doing well! I am in mood of angst and heart wrecking wangxian fics to feel emotions.... do you have any suggestions: where wangxian break up/divorce, misunderstandings, arguments or/and similar stuffs? Thank you very much... I will appreciate it so much 😭😭

The Right to Care by travelingneuritis (E, 61k, WangXian, Modern AU, Mood Whiplash, musician LWJ, nanny wwx, Developing Relationship, Breakup, Texting, Pining, Eventual Happy Ending, Adoption, Child Abuse, abuse intervention, Miscommunication)

you'll always know me by ana_cp (E, 127k, wangxian, modern, Actor WWX, Teacher LWJ, Getting Back Together, Exes to Lovers, Angst with a Happy Ending, LWJ being cute with children alert, WWX rides a motorcycle, LWJ writes as a hobby, ALL THE GOOD THINGS, Back hugs as a love language, Sharing Food as a Love Language)

🧡 Life as a House by Terri Botta (Isilwath) (T, 55k, WangXian, Modern AU, Post-Divorce, Father-Son Relationship, Reconciliation, Therapy, Angst with a happy ending)

Tempo Rubato by Spodumene (E, 107k, WangXian, Modern AU, Angst with a Happy Ending, Romance, Persuasion au, Separations, Mutual Pining, Depression, Miscommunication, Emotional Roller Coaster, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Reconciliation, Eventual Smut, Jane Austen Fusion, Underage Kissing)

Dirty Little Secret by ilip13 (E, 67k, Wangxian, modern, Angst with a Happy Ending, Unreliable Narrator, Post-Break Up, Friends with benefits / Exes with benefits / Fuck-buddies, Implied Cheating, Also possibly some cheating kink, Self-Worth Issues, WWX is strong with the self-hatred here, trigger warning: suicide and mental illness (background of minor character), Graduate Students, Liberal use of the word 'fuck', Semi-Nonlinear Storytelling)

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8. Hello hello! It's been a while since I asked for fanfics buuuut I came back :D. Anyways, for I'm In The Mood For, can I ask for some "Freak for Freak" wangxian?

Thaaaaank youuuuu~~

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9. hello! thank you very much for your work! i was hoping if you know fics about how LWJ reacted or the scenes surrounding LWJ realizing that MXY is WWX after playing their song?

thank you very much! @cuddlemehun

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10. this has probably been done before, but i want to ask nonetheless. i'm in the mood for a fic where lwj is married to (preferably dark) yllz in exchange for something. dubcon is okay. thank you :)

💖 love, in fire and blood by cicer (E, 360k, wangxian, immortal WWX, slow burn, pining, arranged marriages)

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11. Hello! I don't actually have a specific fic to request for but I'm wondering if you can recommend or know of any fics where WWX is chubby?

All the fics I read describes WWX as desirably slim and I'm kind of thinking, is there any out there where he's meaty and cuddly?

leave all your love and your longing behind by ScarlettStorm (E, 143k, WangXian, Modern AU, no magic, Meet-Ugly, Panic Attacks, autistic lwj, neurodivergent wwx, the neighborhood asshole dog, if you've met one then you know, Hurt/Comfort, Pining, Minor Angst, major shenanigans, Happy Ending, for everyone including the asshole dog, Eventual Smut, switch rights, Sex Toys, horny yearning, Masturbation) This is one of my favourites, WWX has had previous food insecurity but he and LWJ now both appreciate his current level of chub

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12. Hi hello! I saw some people asking for fics where married wangxian fight like a married couple, kinda soft, but I was wondering if there are some where they fight for real? Like not necessarily physical (but could be), but I mean where they disagree with something very important and fundamentally can't agree. The kind of fight from before, but after. With happy ending of course, just lots of angst first hhahaha Could involve Sizhui for extra angsty points. thank you! @alexwilltellyouthings

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13. Hi. For the next ITMF could you recommend any fics where LWJ gets hurt protecting WWX and him feeling guilty (or just getting hurt for whatever reason but with WWX still blaming himself somehow /maybe even others blaming him too)? I've read Traveling in shadows, chasing your light by MusicMe_tc, it was amazing, so I'd love to read sth similar. Also I'd prefer finished works. Thank you @castielle711

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14. ITMF silent/quiet Wei Wuxian

❤️ whipstitch by curiositykilled (M, 131k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Dysfunctional Family, Torture, WWX Lives, but basically no one else, Case Fic, Cultivation Sect Politics, Past Abuse, WWX Whump, YL WWX, JL Needs a Hug, JL Tries, Yunmeng Bro Reconciliation, Past Character Death, Body Horror, Non-Consensual Body Modification, POV Alternating, Flashbacks, Eventual Happy Ending, Heavy Angst, Suicide Attempt, PTSD, Depression, Not A Fix-It, Mouth Sewn Shut) he has his lips stitched shut

can consider looking through the mute wwx tag on ao3

I am sorry for taking your voice by misterfish (G, 9k, WWX/OMC, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Hurt WWX, Remorse LWJ, Mute WWX, not Jiāng Family friendly, Past Child Abuse, WIP) Also, this is technically alr in the tag but I want to specifically rec

🧡 rain falls and soaks into the earth series by RoseThorne (T, 53k, WangXian, WIP, Near Death Experience, Attempt Drowning, Madam Yu Bashing, Recovery, No war AU)

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15. goodday! recently ive been rereading lots of fics and i feel like ive read all of i think the goods one (more like 25% completed, 50% ongoing, 25% ghosted).

i dont know if this is for ficfinder or itmf, i just want a suggestion from u'all, what tags should i explore more? or maybe you can recommend some fic? i already explored/read the compilation list here. ive been looking for underrated tags in ao3 but lots of them are ghosted. i feel like my request is kinda hard but thank you!

it really depends on your preference but I'd say start with your fave fics and follow the tags. Sometimes you can also check out the author's bookmarks for their fave fics as well. I'd also recommend checking out the wangxian fic recs blog! Alsp dont just search by kudos!!! This fandom has so many hidden gems. Id recommend making limited searches like within a certain time or even just going to a random page and checking out what you might like!

agree about the personal preference thing! i feel like the novel has big themes of (found) family, so occasionally i like to go through the tag and stuff like yiling sibs, lsz&wwx, jl&wwx etc etc. also i thing the "disabled character/wwx" fics are pretty underrated? because sometimes they're not found in the tag sadly

it might be helpful to only look for completed fics in ao3 :)

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16. Hi! I am in the mood for fics where Wei Ying is compelled to tell the truth via a spell or talisman, so secrets come out sooner than in canon. I have read sooooo many fics where WY is dragged before a conference and accused of stuff and no one believes what he says and for once I want him to tell the truth and for everyone to know he is telling the truth and then I want the dramatic reaction from everyone around who know that WY cannot lie right now. Ya know? Thanks so much!

After Truth Lies the Honest Path by Vrishchika (M, 10k, WIP, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Truth Serum, Angry WWX, Post-Sunshot Campaign, Mild Angst, WangXian Get a Happy Ending, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Getting Together)

Silence Like a Cancer Grows by julomaiboulomai (M, 12k, Yunmeng Siblings, LXC & WWX, truth curse, Suicidal Thoughts, Canon Divergence, Whump, Hurt/Comfort, Dissociation, WWX Needs a Hug, Golden Core Reveal, Hopeful Ending) not a conference

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17. i would very much love some recs of wwx being the spouse of a sect leader! like, wangxian is awesome for acting SL/chief cultivator lwj but i'd like specifically ppl HAVING to respect him for his position at least if they're not gonna do it for his genius and kindness. mingxian/ruoxian/xixian or idk other ships also welcome 🌸 if E-rated, please canon wwx dynamics! thank you! ❤️

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If you didn’t get an answer to your ask here, don’t forget to make use of @mdzs-kinkmeme and MDZS KINK MEME on Dreamwidth. Authors actually do use them for ideas. You may get what you order!***Your prompt doesn’t have to be kink! Fluff, crack, whatever - it’s all good!***

[harocat]

for the reverse unpopular opinion meme.... jiang yanli! (it's not really a challenge, i just want to hear nice things about her and i enjoy your opinions on female characters fsjfldsf)

AHHH OKAY. I don't really know how nice this is because it is sad, but it's positive because it comes from my love of the character.

I am rotating in my mind at all times the tragedy of Yanli! Not her death, though obviously that's tragic, but her lived life up to that point. There is so much focus on the way Madame Yu treats WWX and JC, and I do get that because it's much more blatant how she mistreats especially WWX. But JYL was held back as well.

Even though there are female cultivators in the series, Madame Yu included, Yanli does not seem to be given that opportunity. In the book she doesn't even get to go to Cloud Recesses with the boys. It seems like Madame Yu wants her to be a perfect wife for the marriage arrangement she set up, but then she also berates JYL when she does 'domestic things'.

JYL is so quiet, and she doesn't draw attention to herself, and yes, part of this may be cultural, but it's also because she's been beaten down by Madame Yu. It is a tragedy that she is never able to become the person she deserves to become, not just because she dies, but because of that.

This is one of the reasons I do love her relationship with WWX so much. She's scolded for her kindness, scolded for treating him as part of her family instead of like a servant, and over and over she goes against what may be considered societal norm to express how much he means to her, and how she views him as her family. She's the only one who does this, and her love for him helps her overcome her lack of assertiveness, the way she's had the dominant personalities of her other family members (okay maybe not JFM lol), sort of... drown her out up to this point. She's able to be strong when her love for her little brother, the chosen family she alone refuses to disavow, is what fuels her.

There are endless stories about romantic love between men and women that defies class, defies societal norms, etc., but with them, it’s the love between a sister and the little brother she chose to make her own.

And I think you can even link this to the corruption, hypocrisy, and classism of the cultivation world, because it is that very love, which goes against societal norms in the jianghu, that ends up causing her death (at the hands of the same cultivators that are attempting to 'protect' everyone). They are everything.

[fincalinde]

What do you think about JYL's relationship with WWX?

This is an interesting one, because the relationship between JYL and WWX is really a thing of two halves: the depth and steadfastness of their love for each other is touching, but the very strength of their relationship has devastating consequences. It's also a great example of each character's core flaw: WWX's arrogance and JYL's partiality for him.

I really do like the fact that JYL and WWX love each other like blood siblings, even to the point of JYL specifically asserting that she sees him as a brother when she defends him at the Phoenix Mountain hunt. JYL is mild-natured, but also a woman of great inner strength despite her parents' best efforts to crush, berate and/or neglect it out of her. And she certainly needs and deserves supportive brothers like JC and WWX, who will both defend and advocate for her.

The trouble is that WWX is really bad at defending her and repeatedly makes things worse when JC on his own would have handled the situation with more grace. JC is clearly reconciling himself to JYL marrying JZX and adjusting his understanding of JZX's character post-Sunshot, and he and WWX even have a discussion in which WWX refuses to listen to him about JZX's self-improvement and the likelihood of a renewed engagement. JC is obviously not a perfect brother, and it's not as though WWX's continued hatred for JZX is based on nothing, but as clan leader JC has the good sense and leadership skills to more effectively navigate such a delicate situation.

As part and parcel of WWX's unintentional but nevertheless very real sabotaging of JC and the Jiang, he talks over JC and acts as though he has greater authority than he actually possesses. JYL and her relationship with JZX is a huge part of that. Yes, things are not going well between JZX and JYL at the Phoenix Mountain hunt, but WWX's intervention only escalates the issue and puts JYL in an even more awkward and humiliating position. It's a testament to her love for WWX and her quiet strength that she's able to gracefully and effectively defend both WWX and the Jiang when WWX's attempts to defend her from JZX have further exposed the Jiang to a loss of reputation.

It's important to remember that WWX himself cringes in retrospect when seeing his arrogant and cocksure behaviour in other scenes through Empathy, so this read isn't coming out of nowhere; it's made explicit in the text. WWX is in many ways the author of his own downfall, and of course poor JYL is quite literally caught in the crossfire. There's multiple references to her face lighting up whenever she sees her brothers, and in a certain sense her love for them gifts her vitality, so it's thematically appropriate and extraordinarily effective that she gives her life for WWX. And thematically appropriate, too, that in her final moments she is completely focused on WWX despite JC also being present.

I've skirted the topic of JC so far in only discussing him in relation to the JZX-JYL relationship, but I do need to address him more directly because it's impossible to talk about WWX and JYL without bringing him in. Poor, poor JC. It's indisputable that JYL loves him, and it's just as indisputable that she loves WWX more than she loves him. In theory, the love is equal. In practice, JYL consistently prioritises WWX and his needs over JC. JC truly does come second in everything, and the image of him holding a seriously injured JYL as she ignores him and focuses all her attention on WWX is absolutely shattering.

And the awful thing is that JC is a better brother to JYL than WWX. JC understands that she is not simply a sister but a woman who has her own wants and needs that diverge from her brothers' hopes for her. JC might not like it, but he respects it. WWX, on the other hand ... Qiongqi Path. His inability to fully respect JYL's choice or update his opinion of JZX results in his literally murdering JZX using WN as the weapon. And yes, WWX is not mentally or physically in great shape at the time, but he's also had numerous and repeated warnings from various characters about the inevitable consequences of the path he's chosen. There are mitigating factors, but WWX ultimately knows himself to be responsible and the text agrees with him.

And JYL still can't hate him. She can't tell him it's all right or that she forgives him, but she doesn't stop loving him either. And this is exactly why their relationship, while profound and touching, is ultimately a damaging one. It never develops beyond its original well-meaning but immature dynamic, and this is the consequence. WWX still acts like a small child with JYL, and also like he has the right to intervene in her life. Meanwhile she still mothers him and overlooks his transgressions, even though she's probably the one person he might actually listen to. They're both locked in old patterns that were established to cope with the challenges of their shared childhood, and neither of them adjust the relationship to account for the changes in their roles and circumstances—until it's far too late.

[lwjsbedtime]

I'm just saying it would be really awkward if the entire visiting disciple class of the CR era ended up trapped in someone's 'most ardent desire' by a wrathful ghost they were training on. 

But the dream is just. 

It's just.

A farm house. 

And for some reason Lan er gongzi is inside working on- is that a loom?

Is this LWJ's most ardent desire? Weaving? (It is most certainly not. Thank the heavens the ghost didn't draw its illusion from him.)

Everyone is baffled. Could it be that this is the dream of a jealous disciple that wishes LWJ would give up cultivation? That seems plausible (relatively. SS finds locking him in a peasant's hovel unimaginative).

Suddenly, the door to the little farmhouse bursts open. In stomps...WWX? What? The disciples don't understand what's happening. Why are two of the strongest students in their group living in this rundown shack? Acting domestically?! What the hell is going on?!!

+ Bonus points if LWJ spoke too soon. Later, when WWX's dream abruptly cuts off as he enters the bath, Lan er gongzi finds himself explaining why he desires to be kidnapped and taken advantage of by WWX - who for some reason had adopted a comically menacing persona between one dream and the next - to his very enraged uncle.

It gets worse when WWX - for some reason, deities rest LQR's soul - starts acting like the villain in LWJ's dream to get his attention:

WWX saunters into class barely on time. He walks to the occupied desk beside LWJ's, glaring down his nose at the seated Nie disciple (it's NHS. He asked him to act terrified so LWJ would be extra impressed by his intimidation tactics).

"Move."

The disciple scurries away at his command. WWX flops down into the seat, ignoring LWJ glancing incredulously in his direction. Instead of sitting properly, however, he throws an arm around LWJ's waist, using his momentary shock to pull him closer without complaint. LWJ stares at the fingers peeking around the front of his hip, as yet uncomprehending.

With his free hand, WWX tilts LWJ's chin so their eyes lock on one another.

"Good boy," he croons. "Did you miss me?"

LWJ:

LQR: 😨

I'd say he then pulls LWJ into his lap, so he gets to hold him as he studies, but I honestly think Teenxian isn't ready for pretty boy lap time. Teenxian would faint. And LQR would kill him.

Anyway, the result of this is he'll have plenty of pretty boy lap time in the future, because (as he suspected) LWJ is very impressed by his assertiveness - not that it lasts very long in the face of his bf.

----

Not Pictured: LQR resolutely believing the YLLZ dream was all WWX's fault. His poor, innocent nephew would never!

[llycaons]

I love content of wwx being smitten...just very in love and goofy about it and sappy and tender in ways he hasnt been allowed to be in canon. I would like to see more of it but I refuse to leave my circle so it comes inconsistently or not at all

[youhideastar]

Deleted Scenes: A Sword With No Hilt

When I posted A Sword With No Hilt, which is part of the Wangxian A/B/O Bingo series, I had some deleted scenes that I wanted to share--but the subject matter of the fic is so heavy that I worried it would seem inappropriately... flippant? I don't know? Honestly, October 2022 was a time of a LOT of anxiety in my life and looking back I was worried about tons of stuff that doesn't worry me anymore. Anyway, I recently got a nice comment on the fic and it reminded me of these scenes, so here they are! These contain spoilers for the fic and deal with the same difficult subject matter, so please check out the warnings there if this is your first exposure.

First up, a deleted bit from the scene in Xuanwu Cave, when Wei Wuxian is captured by Jin disciples:

“Nie-gongzi told me they're engaged,” Jin Zixuan retorts. “He heard it from Jiang-gongzi. Would you know better than he would?”

All eyes turn to Jiang Wanyin.

Lan Wangji has little doubt that this is the first Jiang Wanyin has heard of this supposed betrothal. And although he cares for Wei Ying, he is as poor an actor as Lan Wangji. Lan Wangji’s pulse is loud in his ears.

Jiang Wanyin’s jaw works for a moment. “Yes,” he says tensely. “They’re betrothed. It was an act. Obviously it was an act. Who dares to accuse Yunmeng Jiang’s head disciple?” By the end, he is glaring daggers at everyone except Wei Ying himself.

It is a worthy attempt, and some of the assembled cultivators seem convinced. But Jiang Wanyin’s performance was stiff and wooden – he cannot do for Wei Ying what Wei Ying did for Lan Wangji.

Jiang Cheng does not get a lot to do in Sword, and I really liked this beat for him—and a little more explication of what led Jin Zixuan to assert the engagement story—but as you can see, LWJ is going to have to step in at the end of this bit anyway, so it made more sense to just go straight to that.

*

Wei Ying does not appear to hear him. He drags in a shuddering breath and words keep stumbling out of his mouth: “It’s—it’s so upside-down, that I did… th-that to you, and what I get in return is—is being your mate, that’s the most unfair thing in the world—”

“No,” Lan Wangji says, more forcefully; this time, Wei Ying’s mouth snaps shut. He looks up at Lan Wangji in silence.

Words do not come easily to Lan Wangji. But he must try.

“In Tanzhou,” he says, haltingly. “In Yueyang.”

Wei Ying is quiet, patient. His eyes do not leave Lan Wangji’s face.

“In Cold Pond Cave. I wanted you.”

Wanted to claim you, he almost says, but—it had not come to him, then, that he could. Omegas are claimed; they do not claim. And betas do neither. He had not thought to question those truths, before.

He does not know how long it would have taken him to do so, if his world had not been fractured into needle-like slivers that pierce his skin when he touches them. But it would have happened. There is no world where they would not belong to each other.

He says this to Wei Ying, as clearly as he can, unable to look Wei Ying in the face.

He is therefore surprised when Wei Ying surges forward to kiss him – a hot, desperate thing, licking into Lan Wangji’s mouth as if there is nothing in all the world that he wants more.

“Yes,” Wei Ying breathes against his cheek. “I always did. I always, always—”

Lan Wangji bears him down again, meeting hunger with hunger – this, this is what he would do to Wei Ying with his hands, this—

This is something I wish I’d had more space to expand on in the fic—the idea that they’d have ended up together anyway, or that LWJ thinks they would have ended up together anyway (although knowing how things went in canon, that’s kind of heartbreaking). But this is one fic where it was really important to keep it tight and not have a bunch of detours—and in particular, only have truly necessary conversations between WWX and LWJ, because there’s so much they could talk about and the second half of the fic was in mortal danger of getting very talky. The main point of this scene is established much more concisely in LWJ’s interior mentions of his past fantasies, earlier in the fic.

*

“Wei Ying is my mate.”

“Mn.”

“My husband.”

Shaky inhale. “Unworthy, but yes. Soon.”

“My lover. My zhiji. My friend. My cultivation partner.”

Beat.

He waits for Wei Ying to meet his eyes. Cups his face in one hand.

“My bitch.”

Wei Ying moans, eyes desperate and wet. “Yes. Yes.”

Oh, man, I tried to keep this in, I tried so hard, because I love it, and it’s one of the first things I wrote for the fic, and I think it’s this perfect little microcosm of the second half of the fic, and I really wanted LWJ reclaiming the verbal—not just the physical—pieces of what was done to him. To have him turn around and use the language for WWX that WWX used for him in his performance, but to have it be part of this litany of how much he loves and values WWX, transformed by that context… ugh I love this exchange so much, SO MUCH. But I eventually had to acknowledge that there was nowhere to put it. This would need to be part of a sex scene between their arrival at Lotus Pier and the wedding night, and that would have been one sex scene too many. It could theoretically have gone in the wedding night sex scene itself, but that scene already had a point, about bodies and trauma, and it would have muddied the scene to put this in, too. It had to go, even as it killed me to let it go.

*

He pauses. He knows that some betas can conceive and bear children: “Is Wei Ying…” Beat. “...fertile—”

But Wei Ying laughs. “Oh, Lan Zhan – no, I… I don’t have a womb, so… no, this would just be for pleasure, no chance of—of…”

Beat.

“Breeding,” Lan Wangji says quietly. He knows he has to be the one to say it.

Wei Yin nods, jerky. “I’m… I’m sorry,” he says, hushed. “I—I wish I could. I wish I could give you that, that we could, that you could. Could.” He swallows.

“You wish I could breed you.”

Wei Ying’s eyes are so dark – his mouth open, almost panting. “Yeah,” he breathes.

Another thing that would have been so satisfying for them to reclaim, but that would have had to go in the wedding night sex scene, and that scene, as noted above, already had a lot going on and was in danger of losing focus. So this had to go, too.

Hope you enjoyed!

[tea-cat-arts]

Saw a post a couple days ago that was something like "the price of wwx staying at lotus pier was his memories of his parents" that also implied Madam Yu was keeping info on his parents from him/ she'd punish him for looking for info on his parents and like??? That's just not how Madam Yu is bitchy.

For one, her beef with wwx isn't directly with him so much as he's just caught in a proxy war between her and Jiang Fengmian. She simply does not care enough about wwx to try and sabotage his life like that.

Secondly, the whole point of conflict between her and jfm is that she's angry that he appears to be trying to adopt wwx and placing wwx above his bio children. Why the hell would she get mad over wwx trying to assert himself as part of a family that isn't hers? Like, I think she's way more likely to tell wwx about his parents in the most loud and obnoxious way possible while jfm is around ("oh? Your mom? She was a brilliant cultivator. Too brilliant to stick around here.") while also taking jabs at wwx's dad's class to remind everyone in the room that wwx is supposed to be a servant.

Thirdly, Madam Yu just wasn't actually around that often. Like, it says when she's introduced that she's usually out on night hunts (with us seeing her as much as we do because the Wens took all the spots). Wwx's got plenty of time to slooth if he wants

But ya- tldr, I don't think Madam Yu would in any way prevent wwx from finding out about his parents, but she'd probably be incredibly annoying whenever it came around to her talking about them