#because it was right after the sunshot campaign

[undercover-stories]

Then he participated in the torture of Wen Chao regardless. That sums Jiang Cheng up pretty well.

During the Sunshot Campaign, Jiang Cheng initially considered torture to be a waste of time, whereas Wei Wuxian found it to be a worthy avenue of vengeance.

[qiu-yan]

just to be clear, my own position on the issue of post-sunshot yunmeng jiang is as follows:

post-sunshot yunmeng jiang was politically weak. yunmeng jiang - which had suffered the near-absolute massacre of all of its personnel, fought through an entire war, was occupied by the enemy for a significant period of time, was now led by a teenager with almost no political experience, and was now the sole great sect excluded from the alliance implied by the venerated triad - was weak in terms of manpower, available resources, and political position. yunmeng jiang was not "flourishing" after the sunshot campaign; the mere 2-4 years between the fall of lotus pier and wei wuxian's defection from yunmeng jiang does not provide enough time for yunmeng jiang to recover to a stable position from near-absolute annihilation and lengthy enemy occupation. the claim that [the draw of wei wuxian's demonic cultivation singlehandedly resurrected yunmeng jiang's manpower and political power] also does not make logical sense, because wei wuxian was not actually teaching anyone demonic cultivation.

by contrast, post-sunshot lanling jin was the strongest and most stable political entity in the cultivation world, given that lanling jin was the sole great sect still led by a politically experienced member of the previous generation instead of a teenager, given lanling jin's prewar levels of wealth, given that lanling jin did not suffer a direct attack by the wen like yunmeng jiang or gusu lan, and given lanling jin's relatively low levels of participation in the sunshot campaign.

post-sunshot yunmeng jiang could not have politically afforded to officially protect wei wuxian and the wen remnants after wei wuxian liberated said remnants from the jin-run qiongqi pass labor camp. officially shielding wei wuxian would entail keeping wei wuxian as the head disciple of yunmeng jiang; therefore, officially shielding wei wuxian would mean that the head disciple of yunmeng jiang attacked and killed members of lanling jin and other affiliated sects. this in turn would then entail yunmeng jiang making an enemy out of lanling jin. furthermore, given that public opinion was already turning against wei wuxian, and given lanling jin's ties to the other three great sects through the venerated triad sworn brotherhood, this in turn makes it highly likely that yunmeng jiang would end up standing against the rest of the entire cultivation world - which is not a situation the weakened yunmeng jiang could survive. in better-case scenarios, consequences of this could include yunmeng jiang paying massive restitutions to lanling jin and/or all the other sects whose members wei wuxian harmed; in the worst-case scenario, this would entail a second fall of lotus pier.

yunmeng jiang is a political entity made up of human beings. yunmeng jiang is not some shiny bauble that exists solely for jiang cheng's personal satisfaction; rather, it is an organization made up of human beings whose lives have moral value. to say "yunmeng jiang would be put into danger" is to say "the disciples of yunmeng jiang would be put into danger;" to say "yunmeng jiang would not survive" is to say "the disciples of yunmeng jiang would die."

a leader's first and foremost duty is to his own people. by the social contract theory, the people consent to give up a portion of their freedoms to the state in return for protection of their rights by the state; the state is afforded the authority to govern the people only through the agreement that the state in turn acts in the best interests of the people and their rights. jiang cheng's mandate to rule the disciples of yunmeng jiang as sect leader jiang, therefore, is derived from the mutual understanding that he act first and foremost in their best interest - that he put their safety and their wellbeing above all else. while an individual hero is free to choose a moral framework that does not center consequences as the source of moral judgment, a leader instead is duty-bound consider the consequences for his people. if jiang cheng had yunmeng jiang side with wei wuxian despite the danger this would put yunmeng jiang into, and/or if jiang cheng left yunmeng jiang to stand alone with wei wuxian, then he would be abandoning his duty as sect leader jiang to protect his people.

both wei wuxian and jiang cheng understood all of the above. when jiang cheng goes to confront wei wuxian in the burial mounds after wei wuxians' attack on the qiongqi pass labor camp - a situation in which jiang cheng has no reason to be dishonest - jiang cheng does not call the wen remnants evil or say that they deserve to die. rather, he says that "if you insist on protecting them, then i cannot protect you" - to which wei wuxian replies that, in that case, jiang cheng should let him go. this specific word choice implies that what stops jiang cheng from siding with wei wuxian is not hatred of the wen remnants alone, but rather the knowledge that he does not have the power to successfully protect wei wuxian and yunmeng jiang if wei wuxian insists on protecting the wen remnants. jiang cheng's words are an admission of his own lack of power, not his hatred.

i believe that multiple interpretations of the text are possible, as is the case with almost all fiction. the above is my own interpretation of the text and what i believe the text most logically implies.

[wangxianficfinder]

Fic Finder

Feb 5th

~*~

1. hi there! i remember reading this fic ages ago and i can't seem to find it again - lwj has dreams/nightmares about falling. one scene i remember clearly is lwj waking up from a falling nightmare, stumbles and wwx catches him and holds him. i think they were in an inn? it's either canon or post-canon. it would be awesome if you could locate this - i've looked through the various requests others have sent it for hc/touch-starved/nightmares but couldn't locate this particular fic.

FOUND? Bitter Plants Bearing Sweet Fruit by Kryal (M, 83k, WangXian, graphic depictions of violence, canon-typical horror elements, Worldbuilding, Desert, Misuse of Historic Setting, Original Character Death(s), Case Fic, aftermath of canon, ridiculously long author notes, Established Relationship, Nothing Explicit But Shameless Innuendo) It's in a later scene, but Lan Zhan kinda sleeps walks into WWX after his nightmare

~*~

2. hello! looking for a canon divergence fic, set during the sunshot campaign. what i remember is a scene where jc whips wwx with zidian. wwx collapses (having no golden core). lwj, who already knows that wwx has no core, intervenes and brings wwx to the medical tent. if i'm not wrong, there were two versions of the chapter in the medical tent, with a version that's with more jc bashing? I think it's a pretty long read. thank you! @potatokunst

ah this is right thank you thank you! the other version of that scene is in another story in the same series :)

FOUND! these colours fade for you only by doodlebutt (T, 36k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Fix-It, Fluff and Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Everybody Lives, Golden Core Transfer Fix-It, …eventually, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, bed sharing, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Sunshot Campaign) features Lan Zhan knowing about Wei Ying's missing core, Jiang Chen whipping Wei Ying with Zidian, causing him to collapse, and Lan Zhan rushing in to help him. I don't remember there being two versions of Wei Ying's treatment, though it's been a while since I read it.

as love and its decisive pain by doodlebutt (T, 1k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Fix-It, alternate ending for chapter 8 of these colours fade for you only, canon-typical violence and injuries, Angst) (the other version if anyone is curious)

~*~

3. Hello again!! This time I’m look for help finding two stories! A) was a 3 chaptered ao3 WIP with inventor Wei Wuxian who made (among other stuff) a spiritual hairpin for jyl, it worked with her pacifist cultivation and slowed or paralyzed fierce corpses… and B) an au that was maybe on tumblr where the empress/empress dowager showed up for wwx because his father was a hidden prince?? I don’t know how much of the story was part of the au and how much I daydreamed so I don’t have more details… @pinsluke

3A)

FOUND! Here Again (Spirits Rise, Unbroken) by TheDefenestrator (T, 74k, WIP, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Time Travel Fix-It, Slow Burn, Happy Ending) which is two chapters and a time travel, but definitely has inventor wwx with jyl has a pacifist/tranquility hairpin!

~*~

4. HELP…

I read a fic cannot find WWX is working in an office LAN something and he brings A-Yuan to work still a baby and usually he sleeps in one of the drawers of the file cabinete, LWJ comes in and sees the baby and asks to what WWX says something about he’s, filled correctly , LWJ takes the baby and LQ and LHuan buy all kinds of designer clothing and on their way to the baby furniture store @bkpmystinen

FOUND? Threadfic by 0Pink_Blossoms0

~*~

5. Can you help me find this fanfiction? I’ve never actually read it before but the summary was something about how WWX was forced to marry LWJ after the archery competition when he removed LWJ’s forehead ribbon, and then years later after an unhappy marriage, he finally calls HC and LBH for help. I think HC and LBH are his sworn brothers in this fic, also. @sagegreencomforter

FOUND? The Wrong Choice by XunMichoco (Not Rated, 32k, WangXian, XiCheng, XuanLi, BingQiu, HuaLian, ZhuiLing, LQ/YQ, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, YZY is nice here, JFM being best dad, best sis JYL, JC is protective, Dark LWJ, WWX wants LWJ dead, mentions of xy, Sworn Brothers, Mpreg, YQ respect, SS is nice here, Forced Marriage, LXC is Suffering, From Nightmares)

~*~

6. I have two fics I'm trying to find again. I read them a while ago, so I'm only putting details I'm sure of.

A) Lan Wangji is travelling and comes across a little lost paper man. He finds the silent paper man very endearing and with a lot of personality. They learn to communicate as they travel, and Lan Wangji grows attached. The paper man is obvs Wei Wuxian.

B) a Cloud Recesses fic, based on The Untamed. A Caught At The Cold Pond and Now Arranged To Marry fic. Wangxian are sent to a cabin and isolated there for a little while. I remember one scene where Wei Wuxian is trying to draw and keeps moving Lan Wangji further out of the way because he's mad at him and it makes Lan Wangji cry. There was also a puppy involved and Lan Wangji helping Wei Wuxian participate safely in the puppy's life. There was also something about the house they're in being alive? I think maybe also a winter storm and a dragon.

Anything you can do will be greatly appreciated. You guys do great work. Thank you! 🙏 @feralplantwife

6A)

FOUND! a paper friend by soft_wanning (G, 4k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Fluff, Paperman WWX, Identity Porn, Meet-Cute, Different First Meeting)

6B)

FOUND! Headband Wedding Bootcamp by gwynseren (M, 50k, WangXian, Accidental Marriage, Misunderstandings, Some Humor)

~*~

7. I hope I'm doing this right, I've never sent in an ask before. Also don't know if what I wrote is appropriate.

There was this one fic, I think it was post-Sunshot campaign, where the abuse Wei Wuxian experienced under Madam Yu was exposed to the cultivation world. The details I remember are that the cultivators thought Jiang Cheng was continuing this abuse and even going further with sexually assaulting Wei Wuxian. The rumors/misunderstanding got to be so bad that Junior Lan Disciples actually stepped in to get Wei Wuxian away from Jiang Cheng after they witnessed a confrontation between the two and Wei Wuxian flinched or backed away from Jiang Cheng.

That's all I can really remember. I don't remember if it was a one-shot, part of a one-shot collection, or an unfinished fic. @freestrawberrynight

FOUND? 🔒chapter 15 of Vrishchika's Short Prompts

~*~

8. for the fic finder! its a time travel fic where wwx falls off the cliff and finds himself in the past then raises his child self as if he were his father, been looking for a while but i just can’t find it myself 😭 @thwispsings

FOUND? In Another Life by SingingInTheRaiin (M, 21k, WangXian, Time Travel, but not the usual way, LWJ is smitten, WWX is a dumbass, LXC knows what's up, Portugese Translation Available)

~*~

9. I’m not sure if it was Wattpad or Ao3 but I remember a scene where Wei wuxian is being stalked by a shadow/ mysterious figure but as the story goes on it turns out it was Lan Wangji from a different universe or time line that lost his Wei Ying so he decided to try to take this Wei wuxian. I think he was also getting memories or visions from far into the future and starts making references from the 20s century. I don’t remember if it was a time travel fic or a MDZS react fic.

FOUND?🔒我拿青春赌明天 / I’ll wager my youth against tomorrow by tombenough_and_continent (T, 37k, WangXian, Science Fiction, Historical, Time Travel, Enemies to Lovers)

~*~

10. Hii, for fic finder. I've been looking in my bookmarks for a while but can't find it smh :( all I remember was Madam Yu hits a yuan with zidian

FOUND? Consequences by Remma3760 (Not Rated, 58k, WangXian, XiSu, XuanLi, Canonical Child Abuse, Abusive YZY, Good Uncle LQR, WWX is a Lan, Accidental Baby Acquisition, Bad Parents JFM and YZY) the whipping happens in chapter 25

~*~

11. For a Fic Finder - I'm looking for a fic that i thought i had bookmarked. As usual, i can't find it, and don't recall the title.

It's set after Wei Ying loses his core, etc. The three siblings are back at Lotus Pier. Wei Ying is pretty drunk all the tome. So Yanli and Jiang Cheng write to Lan Zhan & adk him to take WY to Gusu to heal or detox. WY isn't happy but he goes. Then evades LZ's efforts to cleanse the resentment. One day he's in the back meadow & meets a tiny toddler Jingyi who is upset, i forget why. They make friends. There is a mystery about an array that kept Madam Lan stuck in her house (in the story it's not the Jingshi). I think WY figures out that her essence is still trapped. The boys end up freeing her, she borrow's WY's body long enough to talk to LZ. Turns out she's a Heavenly Official and LZ and Lan Xuchen are demigods. Before she leaves, she gived WY a part of her strong goldrn core. At the end of the fic, they confess, and the guys adopt little Jingyi, and obviously live happily ever after.

Any help tracking thid down is so much appreciated!

NOT FOUND! Practical Considerations by teawater, the_anthropologist (E, 97k, WangXian, JC & WWX, LXC & WWX, LQR & WWX, Arranged Marriage, Canon Divergence, Found Family, Spouses to Lovers, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Politics, Scheming, Lán Elders are assholes, BAMF WWX, BAMF LWJ, eventually BAMF LXC, learning to make decisions, Learning Self-worth, Self-Esteem Issues, Sweet Wangxian, Domestic Fluff, Fix-It, JC is a big asshole, he improves somewhat but it’s open-ended, WWX learns to stand up for himself, Quote: Come Back to Gusu With Me, POV wwx, POV LWJ, POV JC, Golden Core Reveal, Teacher wwx, Golden Core Transfer Fix-It, Alcohol as a Coping Mechanism, Past Suicidal Thoughts, Post-Sunshot Campaign, WWX Protection Squad, Feelings Realization, WWX protector of the twin jades, Protective LWJ, Protective WWX, Protective LQR, Demonic Cultivator WWX, WWX is Loved, Married WangXian, Genius WWX, Everybody Lives)

FOUND! if i had the strength by agloeian (M, 16k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Post-Sunshot Campaign, Hurt/Comfort, Getting Together, Fix-It, somewhat of a case fic, Heaven Official's Blessing inspired gods & ghosts, Mild Alcohol Abuse, (see WWX's canonical coping mechanisms), Mental Health Issues, WWX is not in a great place for a lot of this fic, He Gets Better Though!, this fic is all about learning to give yourself the help you give others tbh, Baby LJY, recovery fic, Accidental Baby Acquisition)

~*~

12. I remember starting a fic where LWJ stabbed himself and WWX through with Bichen before the 33 Lan elders could get to them and now I can't find it anymore. I pretty sure it was some type of time travel fix-it and I think LWJ apologized to Bichen for using it to hurt WWX or smth. If you could somehow find it I would be eternally greatful ♡

~*~

13. I apologize if I have already sent this ask, I cannot remember.

For fic finder, I’m hunting down a fic that didn’t say it took place in Sacramento CA but almost certainly did. I remember almost nothing else about it other than the Jiangs live in the Bay Area, lwj lives in a town that “people don’t usually move to” and wwx moves to the area and lwj shows him around to things like apple hill or the costume mansion. This is like. A super specific and weird request but iykyk

Thank

FOUND? so hot you're hurting my feelings by isabilightwood (E, 40k, WangXian, JYL/WQ, Modern, Oblivious LWJ, Didn't Know They Were Dating, no moms were harmed in the making of this fic, mama lan took LQR in the divorce, LWJ Has Friends, all WWX characterization decisions were made to make LWJ pine harder for his own boyfriend, Fluff, Eventual Smut, Bottom LWJ, Halloween, WWX's birthday, Sub LWJ, Light Dom/sub, Spanking)

~*~

14. Hi, I'm looking for a fanfic about Dragãoji and Foxxian where they were in a marriage contract because Foxxian was fertile. I only read the synopsis where Jiang Cheng said: if you marry him they will give us an army. Now I feel like reading it but I lost it. @quwieiidkd

FOUND? heavy is the crown by sweetlolixo (E, 58k, WangXian, High Fantasy, Dragon LWJ, Fox WWX, Romance, Dubious Consent, Warrior LWJ, Pregnant WWX, Language Barrier, Size Kink, Dark Royalty, Game of Thrones!Drogo/Daenerys Premise, Eventual Happy Ending, Breeding Kink, Arranged Marriage, Everyone Falls In Love With WWX At First Sight, Rape/Non-con Elements)

~*~

15. Hi, I have a request for Ficfinder. I read a story awhile ago. I don't remeber much of it, just one scene where both Ln Zhan and Jiang Cheng were making soup for Wei Wuxian. Both were sure they were making his favourite, Jiang Cheng was making the lotus root and pork rib soup while Lan Zhan was making egg drop soup.

This was after the Burial Mounds, so Wei Wuxian had stopped eating meat. i think it was all about which one knew him best? Not really sure. Any help finding this story would be much appreciated. Thanks. @remma3760

FOUND! Where the Winds of Change Blow by merakily (G, 17k, WangXian, Angst and Humor, Canon Compliant, Post-Canon, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Golden Core, Family Bonding, Flashbacks)

~*~

16. Hi I'm looking for a fic that I found through here lol. It's cssr & wcz survive but are very injured, wy is in a coma for a bit. They get to Lotus Pier to recover and it was a longer fic. That's all I remember 😅

FOUND? Building a home by R95irth (T, 586k, WCZ/CS, JFM/YZY, WangXian, JC/WQ, JYL/JZX, 3zun, BSSR/LY, MS/Sisi, Canon Divergence, Time Travel Fix-It, Everyone Lives, Angst with a Happy Ending, Horror, Nightmares, Canon-Typical Violence, Complete list of ships in the serie summary, Family Fluff, Found Family, Babies, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, but not done by the Lotus Pier squad, Also JGS exists so canon related things linked to him, Same goes for Lan parents)

~*~

17. Hi I was looking for these two very specific fanfics that I think I read on Wattpad years ago!

A) The First one is like: (Alternative AU) Wei wuxian and Jiang chang go to this school together and they like each other but the other person does not know they like each other and then Wei wuxian meets the principle's son lan zhan and they fall in love but Jiang chang is still in love with Wei wuxian and the story continues. 

B) The second one is like: Wei wuxian time travels back to his past after he falls down the cliff and then tries to harm himself to stop the future from hapenning but his loved him stop him and the story continues.  (like angsty at first and then turns to comfort - also I remember Jiang chang after knowing the truth becomes super protective of Wei wuxian in this story)

I honestly appreciate all your help - I have been trying to find them for ages but they seem to have disappeared :(

~*~

18. hi!! for the next fic, would would you mind finding this one fic of an alternate universe, modern setting? In this fic, Wei Ying was a single adopted parent to A-Yuan I think, and he takes A-Yuan to a hockey camp where there is a guest coach who turns out to be Lan Wangji. Wei Ying and Lan Wangji used to play hockey together in college or something but Wei Ying had to drop out to help out Wen Qing and raise A-Yuan and disappeared for a few years. Anyway that is most of what I remember for this fic but it was super cute and I really want to reread it. I’ve tried every tag I can think of but I just can’t find it. Looking forward to hearing back from you if you can find it!! Thanks! @roundhen

FOUND?🔒Never Have To Ask by literaryoblivion (T, 14k, WangXian, Modern AU, Hockey, Kid Fic, Mentioned JYL, Mentioned JC, Fluff and Angst, Single Parent WWX, NHL Player LWJ, POV WWX, Past Character Death, Minor Character Death, Mentioned WQ, Car Accidents, Pining, Love Confessions, Friends to Lovers, Reunions, Mentioned Junior Ensemble, First Kiss, Requited Unrequited Love, Requited Love, Flashbacks)

~*~

19. Hi so I was trying to find a fic that I listened to a few months ago I have no idea where it is right now because I did not add it or bookmarked it so it's a podfic. I know it is it's modern setting with magic wwx is a demonic cultivator and lwj is a cultivator they work together or something and they were like on a case about a haunting of the some house and wwx get injured or something or he performed empathy and lwj is so worried so he takes him home to wwx's apartment and the apartment building is where the wen lives and he sees them talks to them for a bit and then went to wwx's apartment turns out wwx apartment is haunted but the ghost is just like harmless or something I remember one Pacific scene where lwj is laying down on the bed and the ghost is right above him and then wwx wakes up and says to the ghost "knock it off"or something along those lines that's all I remember @constancebloodstone

FOUND? when I look over my shoulder by cafecliche (T, 10k, WangXian, Modern AU, exorcist LWJ, medium wwx, vague The Conjuring AU, some horror elements, Pre-Relationship, Mutual Pining, Hurt/Comfort)

~*~

20. Hello! First, great work. Now, I'm looking for a fic where LZ is de-aged by a deity during a nigh hunt close to the burial mounds and this results in the truth about WY being revealed and he gets his core back thanks to the deity too. I think LXC and NMJ are there too. Thanks in advance. @multitudeofmes

FOUND! A Child’s Wish by Hauntcats (Not rated, 13k, WangXian, WWX & Wen remnants, Celestial meddling, Not JC Friendly, Fix-It, Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Everyone gets what they deserve, Age Regression/De-Aging, Child LWJ)

~*~

[randomness-is-my-order]

the myth of helplessness and the “hands-tied” rhetoric for authority figures in mdzs

i’m pretty sure every one of us has seen this notion echoed around for atleast one of the clan/sect leaders when it came to their compliance and/or active participation in the wen remnants’ genocide as well as their prior lack of help/refuge for the wen remnants once wei wuxian had rescued them. while this goes beyond just the way the cultivation world’s leaders handled the aftermath of the sunshot campaign (namely, their lackadaisical approach to helping civilians, exploiting those weaker than them, etc.), i’ll start with the genocide because that’s the crux of it all. that’s the nail in the coffin, that’s the biggest proof of why i feel so fucking angry whenever i see this sentiment of excusing/justifying/or even explaining why the sect leaders did what they did.

and like most skewed interpretations of mdzs (and i don’t mean this in a haughty superior way of only MY way of reading the text being THE right way but i feel like this is something we all have noticed after traversing the fandom waters for a while), this too begins with jiang cheng.

now, let me clear: jiang cheng, in full sobriety and clarity of thought, led the siege of the burial mounds to kill a group of innocent people, which included elderly women and men and a child. you would think this should be obvious but i’ll retierate: NOTHING justifies this, nothing excuses this. the same applies to every single sect leader and sect affiliated member who went for the siege that day and participated in the killings, whether directly or indirectly. this isn’t a nuanced situation and i personally feel that a discussion that begins with the premise of muddying the culpability of the people involved in the genocide shouldn’t even be entertained because the reasons do not matter. they just don’t. it doesn’t matter that nie mingjue’s personal philosophy stemming from his upbringing and loss gave him a narrowminded view of the “wen-dogs”. it doesn’t matter that jiang cheng was sunken in grief and rage after losing his sister. it doesn’t matter that the lans were convinced of wei wuxian’s deviousness and found it paramount to put an end to him and his affialites. it doesn’t matter that some were operating on half the information because when you march into the temporary residence of your supposed foes and kill them all in cold-blood despite them being unarmed and untrained—the weight of ensuring that your violence has a meaning, a justification is on YOU! if you’re committing this act, you have to make sure you aren’t being led blindly by manipulating rumors and ideals.

even before the genocide, before the nightless city massacre, before the qiongqi path ambush—the way i’ve seen handwaving of jiang cheng’s mindset regarding the wens is a little baffling. “he had the burden of being a sect leader” “he had to protect his clan, his hands were tied!” jiang cheng wielding power and authority are often repackaged as baggage that his poor self is so tragically saddled with. it genuinely puzzles the shit out of me. have we all forgotten about “with great power comes great responsibility”?? jiang cheng’s responsibility as a cultivation sect leader goes beyond just the immediate thought about his sect and towards the cultivation world as a whole and how injustice was taking place by a fellow prominent clan. we know this is extremely important because the whole reason the sunshot campaign happened and why it came down to a war was because of prior negligence by the clans towards the congregation of power by the wens. to recognise the same methods now being employed by the jins was, infact, part of jiang cheng’s responsibility. just saving your own neck doesn’t work, when the larger picture is considered. besides, giving the wens the backing of the jiang clan would NOT have brought down instant doom upon the jiangs. that was the whole point. that was why jin guangshan felt it necessary to put ideas into his head and lead him to a path of hostility towards wei wuxian (which is still a choice jiang cheng made, mind).

also, while we’re at it, you’re telling me that the jiang clan rebuilt in part due to wei wuxian’s insane gravitational pull towards aspiring cultivators, would NOT have stood behind wei wuxian if jiang cheng had only tried? hell, i would go far as to say that some jiang disciples would have WANTED to join wei wuxian’s side. there was risk. there would be trouble. but that doesn’t mean jiang cheng had no option. the path of least resistance leads the crooked men, does it not? besides, being a leader is not about tucking tail and keeping your head down. it’s about making the difficult choices and yes, for jc, in this scenario, refusing to help the wens and wei wuxian was the easy choice.

also this whole myth about the sect leaders not being able to do anything because their clans would become targets is sort of antithetical to the whole premise of them being sect leaders in the first place. they’re the only ones who can do something with comparatively less risk to their person and those they’re ��protecting” because they have the power of organisation. if the holders of authority cannot make decisive lines in the sand and push for change and resist, who can? the disciples or civilians would have an easier time opposing the clans individually or in groups, you think? they would have less to lose? (we already have an example in the form of mianmian; the waves had to be made from the top in this time-sensitive situation).

these fanon tropes originate from somewhere i know. it’s interesting to think of how these authority figures perceive their power as burdens, how the prince doesn’t want to become king but is forced into the role, how inheritances, even the ones that favour you, can feel like shackles around your neck.

but this kind of sympathetic view of the antagonists and the wrong-doers in mdzs leaves a bitter taste in my mouth because time and again, we have been shown how these sect leaders are blissfully happy to reap the fruits of their inherited power and generational wealth and are the ones most protected by the system. jiang cheng was perfectly fine being the sect leader by default and his grievance was moreso that wei wuxian wasn’t around to be his subordinate. the less that is said about jin guangshan the better. even lan xichen’s troubles didn’t come from him holding power but from his prolonged semi-wilful ignorance regarding jin guangyao. nie mingjue, while alive, used his influence to make his voice heard and condemned the wens because that was his unshakeable opinion on the matter.

now, this isn’t to say all the sect leaders were the same brand of callous and incompetent. yes, they had their problems. yes, their positions didn’t automatically make them immune to harm. but they were not the poor little burdened leaders with “pragmatic” point of views, trying to keep their boats afloat.

the ones with their hands tied were these: the lower classes in the pyramid. the ones who relied on the clans for shelter and food. the civilians whose requests for help were denied by the cultivation sects. the wen remnants who couldn’t do anything to save themselves. wen qing and wen ning. wei wuxian, whose every avenue of help was closed. mianmian. and even, imo, lan wangji.

there’s another similar notion towards wei wuxian that because he was a subordinate and because he has lesser social standing, he had more “freedom”. what ass-backwards logic is this, to be honest? when has having lesser social status, political power and monetary resources given a person more freedom? more freedom would mean that wei wuxian could do anything he wanted and go unquestioned. more freedom would mean that he would be able to practice the ghostly path without every second person accusing him of demonic activities. you know who had more freedom? the nie sect! their resentful energy dabbling went unquestioned because they had more freedom, they were protected by the reputation and might of their clan. nie mingjue’s hypocritical stance went unquestioned because he had freedom, precisely because he had more power. wei wuxian having a big personality, being flirtatious and not being a picture-perfect version of properness (he had good manners regardless) is not having more freedom. if he had that personality and no one accused him of being arrogant and if it wasn’t used against him as means to sully his reputation, then yes, that would be true freedom. this last part is probably redundant but hope the point of it was relayed. just because wei wuxian’s able to authentically be himself despite the backlash he receives for it does not make his social standing somehow a more advantageous position to be in compared to the literal leaders of the cultivation world.

in conclusion, the sect leaders did not have their hands tied by some inherent circumstance, their thrones of power were not ill-begotten curses they were trying to escape from but all the tying was done by them and their ropes which they gleefully tied around the necks of the wens to silence them forever. and if that sentence makes you uncomfortable, great. because that’s the reality of what these people did.

[withthewindinherfootsteps]

I sometimes see the opinion that MXTX took the clichéd tropes she'd critiqued in Scum Villain, and played them straight in MDZS. But though a lot of them appear in MDZS, I'd argue that none are actually played straight at all!

The main point of MDZS's tropes is subversion. Yes, WWX has a 'tragic backstory', even an arguably overused one (orphaned by his parents at a young age, forced to live on the streets with nobody to rely on, etc) – but how things differ in how it's used. Tragic backstories are normally used to build sympathy for a character, to make us care and get invested in them. But... we're never actually shown any of those street days, we're never shown and never dwell upon how much he suffered during them. They're only really mentioned in passing and whenever dogs come up! If the goal was to make us feel bad for WWX, this would be very ineffective writing. But what's actually important here isn't that WWX went through tragedies – it's how he doesn't let the tragedies he went through define him. He doesn't dwell on them, the narrative doesn't dwell on them, it's never used to earn sympathy points... because what defines WWX is his choices and how he chooses to act, not a backstory completely out of his control. What gets us invested in him is his personality and the character writing of MXTX, not tragic events used as a substitute for identity.

And this trope treatment fits extremely well with WWX's personality itself – he's someone who 'forgets the pain as soon as the wound has healed'*, but also who actively chooses to focus on the present because you can't change the past; someone who holds the belief that 'gains and losses [should] remain uncommented on' when choosing what to do.

The use of the tragic backstory isn't the only thing that's subverted, either – the other main thing is the 'blackening' of the protagonist, and its impact on the protagonist's fall. After being thrown into the Burial Mounds, on a surface level it does seem like this blackening has occurred: the first thing we see when he returns is his gruesome torture of the Wen cultivators; he's 'forsaken' traditional cultivation in favour of an 'evil but more powerful' path; and frankly, Sunshot-era WWX is terrifying. But MDZS is not a blackening story, and so the events of the Burial Mounds aren't used as a catalyst for that purpose. Though it's true that WWX's not entirely the same person he was before (because how could be be?), underneath it all, his morals, worldview and core** stay the same. Though gruesome, his revenge is directed towards the ones who wronged him, not those past that and certainly not the entire world. His experience in the Burial Mounds doesn't lead to him being some evil, blackened overlord... like everyone says he is at the start! That's subverted, because again, WWX's values and choices are more important to the story than genre conventions.

But the most crucial thing? What leads to WWX's downfall isn't any blackening! It isn't any vengeance or morally dubious actions***– he was praised for those things during the Sunshot Campaign! No, what leads to his downfall is something completely unrelated to that, something which would've disappeared had the trope been played straight. It's him doing what's right by defending the Wens, it's him following his moral code when it opposes the world's, it's him standing up to the injustice of others – not others standing up to the injustice of him. That's the subversion here.

(Also, once again, the fall of Lotus Pier, the Burial Mound, etc, aren't used for sympathy points – and if it was relevant, they wouldn't have been used to excuse any actions, either. Using tragic events as an excuse for doing bad things is critiqued many times in MDZS, through characters like Xue Yang and Jin Guangyao. And that's not exactly a trope subversion, but it is a critique of badly handled 'excuses'.)

These are by no means all the tropes MDZS subverts – the nature of guidao vs the usual nature of modao being another very major one – but they're the main ones that feature in Scum Villain.

So, though at first glance MDZS seems to play the tropes MXTX critiqued there straighter, it's not a simple case of using them as cliches, and we see that by how they're used to impact the narrative, and how that differs from what they're traditionally used for. MDZS doesn't fall back into clichés Scum Villain satirised – it's the subversion to Scum Villain's exploration and critique.

--

*Which I know is generally used negatively, to describe someone not learning a lesson from a punishment, but it really describes WWX in general, too. He doesn't dwell on that pain, he does his best to move on from it.

**...heh

***And, because it's often debated – whatever the morality/culpability of Nightless City is doesn't even matter! The events happened at a pledge conference against him that was already taking place. WWX's actions there didn't make people want to kill him because that was explicitly happening beforehand.

[wangxianficrecs]

Rewind 2024 - Part II

WangxianFicRecs - Rewind 2024

Part two of our favourite stories published in 2024. If you also want to give a shout-out to a story, submit an ask and we will share it in an upcoming post featuring Follower Recs and Proud Author Spotlights.

~*~

Now it's just too late to turn around

by kokozy

G, 1k, Wangxian | Kay's Rec

Summary: Cloud Recesses had never truly felt like home to him; Lan Yuan's home was wherever Hanguang-Jun was and sadly, Cloud Recesses was not Hanguang-Jun's home either.

~*~

💙 and taste the stars

by lowlightt (@lowlightt)

T, 1k, Wangxian | Kay's Rec

Summary: “When a living person enters this place, there’s no coming back—for the body or the soul."

~*~

🔒 Story of a Dream

by Bamboo_Gden

G, 1k, Wei Wuxian & Jiang Yanli | Kay's Rec

Summary: She tried to shake away any sad thought, this was supposed to be a merry reunion, after all. A-Xian had always been someone very especial to her. A solace of gentleness and kindness within a house so filled of grudges and hatred. She knew it was the same to him. Blood didn’t tie them, but they were undoubtedly family. Jiang Yanli pays a visit to her A-Xian to catch up with him.

~*~

A Promise in Ink

by Witch_Nova221 (@witchnova221)

G, 1k, Wangxian | Kay's Rec

Summary: Lan Zhan is given a pen pal in school. For ten years, they write to one another, sharing their lives but never seeing each others' faces until, one day, Wei Ying comes home.

~*~

🔒 jujube

by colbygege

T, 4k, Wangxian | Kay's Rec

Summary: Wei Ying thinks back on the last month, collecting all the clues that, really, should have tipped him off far sooner than he allowed them to that he was married to Lan Zhan. He has no one to blame but himself, but also? Maybe he's not so mad.

~*~

🔒As good as

by apathyinreverie (@apathyinreverie)#

T, 6k, Wangxian | Kay's Rec

Summary: Cangse Sanren would be disappointed. (Where LQR, right smack in the middle of the war, realizes that WWX doesn’t have a Core. He promptly enlists his own pining nephew in ensuring that, after winning the war for them, WWX is going to end up with GL instead of YJ. He owes that much to Cangse Sanren.)

~*~

Only if for a night

by sacrificial_fawn

M, 7k, Wangxian | Kay's Rec

Summary: During the Sunshot Campaign, Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian become stranded in the middle of a storm, the situation is far from ideal, especially to go into labor. Even more if Wei Wuxian didn't even know he was pregnant.

~*~

Winter sun (back in my arms)

by barisan (@barisan-no)

T, 19k, Wangxian | Kay's Rec

Summary: Still, he cannot keep himself from seeing it. The way the corners of his mouth curl when he smiles, the way his eyes crinkle. The way he lets out a little snort before he laughs. The way he rubs the bridge of his nose when focused. Now that he has let himself see it, he cannot keep his mind from noticing each and every detail, cataloging what is his, what isn’t, and what is fully, simply, A-Yuan. His A-Yuan. The little mole by his lip, the shape of his eyes, his nose. A-Yuan, A-Yuan, A-Yuan. The Bio Dad WWX AU I’ve been screaming about for months.

~*~

Ebb and Flow

by trulywicked (@trulywicked)

M, 10k, Wangxian | Kay's Rec

Summary: Wei Wuxian has not been having an easy time of it since his mate left to reclaim his home and now he's beginning to wonder if the promise to return had all the substance of seafoam.

~*~

divine, divine

by sunflowersfield

T, 3k, Wangxian | Kay's Rec

Summary: “Wei Ying. May I ask…what are you doing?” Wei Ying doesn’t glance up from the assembly manual he is reading. “I have to at least scan the instructions before I build your end tables, Lan Zhan!” “But…why are you building my end tables?” Now, Wei Ying does look up from where he is crouched on the floor. “Because you paid for assembly, of course!” he responds. Lan Zhan shakes his head. “I don’t believe I did.” Or: Lan Zhan accidentally adds assembly service to his furniture order and meets Wei Ying in the process.

~*~

till death

by darjeelinh (@darjeelinh)

M, 7k, Wangxian | Kay's Rec

Summary: Near death after destroying the Stygian Tiger Seal, Wei Wuxian has one last wish. He wishes to see Lan Zhan one last time. The universe grants him this final act of kindness. In the dead of night, Lan Wangji wakes up with a surprise visitor.

~*~

‘cause it’s worth the sacrifice to finally be strong

by MichelleFeather

G, 4k, Wangxian | Kay's Rec

Summary: "Why does no one believe you both are in a relationship with each other?" he asked over dinner, Lan Huan not in attendance. Lan Zhan and Wei Ying shared a glance filled with years of that exact same question - along with the rage, anger, sadness, and acceptance that came with such a thought. Wei Ying swirled his drink around with his straw, the ice softly clinking against the clear glass. "They don't believe us. That's the only conclusion we've ever been able to come to Uncle." he responded, hesitantly looking up at the elder. "Uncle, you and the Wen siblings are the only people who believe Wei Ying and I are together, that we are married. Brother has always said we were best friends, soulmates, then immediately offered to arrange dates for me." ------------------------------------------------ Reverse trope: "instead of fake dating, everyone is convinced that you aren't actually dating"

~*~

duo xie

by Inventorofchairs

E, 1k, Wangxian | Kay's Rec

Summary: oops

~*~

New, Little Bit Better

by LydeNicoKITE

G, 3k, Wangxian | Kay's Rec

Summary: Wei Wuxian comes back from the dead after six years, and he's exactly like anyone remembers him, but also entirely different. He has a different face, the same smile, a less conspicuous laugh, the same worn t-shirts of obscure bands Lan Wangji doesn't try to listen to at full volume because he cares too much about his hearing. He is not the version of him Wangji obsessed over in the past six years of insomnia, the Yiling Patriarch with a mind poisoned by dark magic, but he's not the boy he fell in love with, either. Having him back would would be an impossible type of joy, endless and complete, if Wei Wuxian was not avoiding him.

~*~

(Please REBLOG as a signal boost for these hard-working authors if you like – or think others might like – these stories.)

[mxtxfanatic]

Wei Wuxian, Morality, and the False Justice/Revenge Dichotomy

A key feature that drew me into Wei Wuxian's character is that while he is moral, he is not an unconditional pacifist. He will always do the right thing first and foremost without a care for how others will view him, because his morality is not dictated by vanity or reputation:

[Wei Wuxian said] "...But, let the self judge the right and the wrong, let others decide to praise or to blame, let gains and losses remain uncommented on. I, too, know what I should and shouldn’t do...."

—Chapt. 75: Distance, exr

However, that doesn't mean that he will accept just any treatment towards him. Wei Wuxian is the absolute last person to just lay down to be trampled underfoot by his adversaries:

If he were Chang Ping, he wouldn’t have cared how prominent or powerful the LanlingJin Sect was, or how much glory the road ahead offered him, and he wouldn’t have let the matter go. Instead, he would’ve went to the dungeons on his own, cut Xue Yang up so that he was nothing more than a puddle of flesh on the ground, and summoned his soul back to repeat the process to the point that he regretted ever being born in this world. But, not everyone was like him, preferring to perish together with his enemy.

—Chapt. 30: Dew, exr

The scene inside of the supervision office was more than horrifying. Within the courtyard, corpses lay everywhere. Not only there, the bushes, hallways, fences, and even roofs were piled up with corpses. All of the corpses wore sun robes. They were disciples of the Wen Sect.

—Chapt. 61: Evil, exr

He returns the suffering dealt to him by his enemies back 100 fold, but after he has gotten his revenge, he is able to move on peacefully, which is why he holds no grudges towards the Wen remnants once the Sunshot Campaign against the QishanWen concludes and even encourages Wen Ning's corpse to seek revenge against his murderers. Mianmian actually explains it best:

The woman seemed as if she was scared. She was even more careful, “No... I don’t mean anything more. There’s no need to be so agitated, everyone. I just feel that the words ‘killing indiscriminately’ isn’t really suitable.” Someone else spat, “How is it unsuitable? Wei WuXian has been killing indiscriminately ever since the Sunshot Campaign. Can you disprove this?” The woman tried hard to protest, “The Sunshot Campaign is a battlefield. In the battlefield, would it mean that everyone is killing indiscriminately? Let’s consider this as it stands. I really don’t think it’s right to say that he killed indiscriminately. After all, there is a reason. If the inspectors really abused the prisoners and killed Wen Ning, it wouldn’t be called killing indiscriminately anymore, but rather revenge...”

—Chapt. 73: Recklessness, exr

Seeing a protagonist that believes in "an eye for an eye" without being labeled as bad or "morally gray" by the narrative for refusing to turn the other cheek, who also knows how not to take it too far and stray out of my personal morals, has been such a breath of fresh air. It is also very validating to see a work of fiction so concerned with the subject of oppression and marginalization that doesn't frame violence and vengeance as antithetical to moral righteousness and justice. Because what is "justice" without restitution? And is it truly restitution if the option to avenge oneself of an unconscionable wrong is denied based on the false equivalency of being "just as bad as" your own oppressors' actions? Because the truth is that in most cases, violence is the only route to liberation, and sometimes, revenge is the only way to make possible the release of your resentments, lest the unaddressed wrong keep you stagnant in your malcontent. I am glad that Wei Wuxian serves as a model for this particular lesson.

[ayingdidi]

It absolutely fries my brain whenever I see people say akshually, allying with the Jin Clan after the Sunshot Campaign was a *smart* *pragmatic* political move.

Like, hello? This is diplomacy 101: you don’t ally with a group that’s blatantly untrustworthy. It's basic common sense. Sure, the Jin Clan might be wealthy, powerful, and influential, but all of that is completely worthless if they’re just going to stab you in the back. Which—surprise!—is exactly what happened. Nie Mingjue got his ass assassinated, and Lan Xichen? His clan’s secrets and techniques got stolen right from under him. All thanks to their brilliant little alliance.

It’s one thing to ally with a snake bc you're desperate or the rewards massively outweigh the risks (and even then, you’d better keep both eyes open), but that wasn't even the case here. Neither Nie Mingjue nor Lan Xichen needed the Jin Clan that badly. The Jiang Clan, the one that was hit the hardest during the war, managed to rebuild itself just fine without any major help. But sure, tell me again how the Nie and Lan Clans couldn't possibly survive without Jin "assistance."

Both Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue prioritized their personal feelings over what was best for their clans. They agreed to the alliance not because it was a sound political move, but because they felt personally indebted to Jin Guangyao—Lan Xichen for being saved and cared for during his escape from the Cloud Recesses, and Nie Mingjue for having his life saved during the confrontation with Wen Ruohan.

Both of them knew how shady as hell Jin Guangyao was. But Lan Xichen, in his willful optimism, convinced himself that Jin Guangyao MuSt HaVe HiS ReAsOnS and chose to overlook the gigantic red flag. Meanwhile, Nie Mingjue was on some bizarre crusade to "reform" Jin Guangyao, thinking he could somehow guide him down a better path or something.

So, was allying with the Jin Clan a “smart” “pragmatic” political move? Absolutely not. It was the kind of disaster you get when you put personal feelings before facts and hope a known snake won’t bite you—spoiler: it always does.

[ibijau]

heeey who's up for some more mdzs daemon au?? Today, wwx has a horrible terrible time of being alive again, and mxy's daemon isn't helping

Something was insistently pecking at Wei Wuxian's head and hands, trying to wake him up. A few times he pushed away his attacker, refusing to open his eyes. Being dead was bad enough, he didn't need to be awake as well. But the pecking always quickly resumed. 

“Pashou, leave me alone,” he grumbled. 

“I'm not Pashou.” 

Startled to hear a male voice coming from the bird, Wei Wuxian quickly sat up. Too quickly, perhaps; his head was spinning from the sudden effort, almost making him nauseous. Once he no longer feared it would make him puke, Wei Wuxian looked around for the source of that voice, and quickly found it. Down on the ground, he found a miserable looking raven staring up at him. A daemon, no doubt about that, although not one he had ever seen before. 

In fact, the entire room around him was unfamiliar. It looked as miserable as that raven, with his mangy feathers and his air of being underfed.

No sign of Pashou, though.

It wasn’t exactly a surprise. The black swan had gotten so sluggish in the years after Wei Wuxian gave away his golden core, it often happened she’d fall asleep somewhere and he’d have to look for her. Back in Yunmeng, she’d often be napping in Jiang Cheng’s office. Since they’d moved to the Burial Mounds, Pashou had become less consistent. His silly, useless daemon.

His stupid daemon, he remembered her clumsily flying to his rescue when the fierce corpses he’d controlled turned against him. They’d torn her apart in front of him, and him soon after, although the most important part of him had already died alongside her. The way she’d cried, his poor little daemon who’d always warned him against this, whenever she could focus again for a moment.

His Pashou, dead…

Nausea hit again. This time, Wei Wuxian couldn’t contain it and vomited a mix of bile and blood on the already dirty floor.

“You’ll have to clean that up,” the raven flatly informed him.

Wei Wuxian shivered. It was always odd for one person’s daemon to address a human directly. Among cultivators it wasn’t as scandalous as among common people, since they sometimes used their daemons to communicate with one another. Still, it was preferred to only do so if you had already been introduced to the person, and Wei Wuxian most definitely didn’t know anyone with such a pathetic raven daemon.

“Who are you, anyway?” Wei Wuxian asked as he got up on shaky legs.

He felt weak, even by what he’d become used to since the Sunshot Campaign. His entire body ached, but most of all his wrists.

“I’m his daemon,” the raven retorted. “Obviously.”

“Whose?” Wei Wuxian insisted.

“His,” the raven repeated. “Ah, maybe you don’t realise… I told him that curse didn’t look right. He’s… There’s a pot with some water on that table. It’ll be easier if you look at yourself.”

Saying this the raven hopped toward an old table, and Wei Wuxian followed. That strange daemon was right, looking at his reflection told Wei Wuxian what no explanation could have convinced him of: he now inhabited a body that wasn’t his. Even used as he was to dark arts, Wei Wuxian nearly shouted in surprise, although he told himself that was mostly because of this new body’s ghastly makeup.

Shocked as he was, Wei Wuxian had to sit down. Now that he looked around again, he realised he’d woken up laying in the middle of inscriptions written in blood on the floor. His current body’s own blood, for better or for worse, and that was why his wrist itched and ached that way.

“I always thought daemons were affected by possessions,” he told the raven. “Every case I’ve seen before, the person’s daemon falls asleep or even changes appearance. But you seem fine.”

“Is that really what you’re worried about right now?” the bird scoffed.

“It’s the oddest thing about it,” Wei Wuxian retorted. Pashou would have understood. She was curious, like him, for all that she usually tried to rein him in.

The raven shook his head. “He said it wouldn’t be possession. He said he was offering himself to you, so it would be your mind in his body, and your daemon would replace me. I figured disappearing was better than going on like this.”

Without thinking, Wei Wuxian nodded. He’d heard about rituals capable of invoking a spirit and giving it a body, but he’d naturally never tried it himself. He’d always assumed the person’s daemon would be affected too, but it seemed he’d been wrong.

“I won’t be your daemon,” the raven suddenly announced. “You’re not my human, I’m not your daemon. Even if you have his body, I’m not yours. I’ll never be anyone’s but his.”

“Who was he, anyway?”

“His name was Mo Xuanyu,” the raven said with something unbearably sad in his hoarse voice. “His mother was the daughter a servant of this great house had with the master, and she had him with a cultivator. We were even in a sect, for a while. It didn’t end well. We're not allowed to speak of it anymore.”

That much made sense. Of course only a person with some knowledge of cultivation could have known a ritual of that sort, not to mention using it at all. But as Wei Wuxian checked his new body, he realised with dismay that it was truly very weak. It didn’t even have a golden core, and more of a crumbled piece of dust that wasn’t good for anything.

“Why did he invoke me?” Wei Wuxian asked. “It’s not something you do without good reasons.”

“We were suffering,” the daemon explained. “Every day for years, our life was terrible, never feeling any joy, never allowed anything good to happen to us. Our family, our aunt and some others, they mistreated us constantly. It broke us. It broke him. Near the end, he wouldn’t listen to me anymore. I don’t think he could hear me, most of the time. He’d even attack me when he was upset because he forgot we were the same person.”

Wei Wuxian shivered, his nausea returning. It happened, people harming their own daemon, but it was always troubling. He’d not always been patient with his poor Pashou toward the end, but at least he’d never hit her, no matter what terrible things he’d said to her.

“Don’t get me wrong, I agreed to what he did,” the raven stated. “I want these people who hurt us to suffer, even if I have to die too. My aunt, her son, her husband, and A-Tong. They are the price you have to pay to keep using this body.”

Lowering his eyes, Wei Wuxian observed the four deep gashes on his wrists. That was inconvenient. Since he personally had no grudges against these people, he wasn’t terribly interested in killing them, but since they were complete strangers and they had pushed his body’s previous owner to such a desperate state, it was also hard to feel much pity for them.

“It’s not like I asked to have this body,” Wei Wuxian pointed out. “Aiyah, I don’t even remember accepting it! But I’m here, so I must have. And that means we…”

“There is no ‘we’,” the daemon cut him. “I am not yours.”

“So you’ll fly away and live like a normal bird, eh?” Wei Wuxian snickered, as if the mere idea weren't repulsive to any sane person. 

Well, he'd done his share of repulsive things anyway, so this seemed tame in comparison.

As for the raven he said nothing, but shuffled awkwardly on his legs. This reaction, combined with what he’d felt within his body so far, made Wei Wuxian grow suspicious.

“How far can you go from your human, anyway?” 

“Pretty far, but also less than the normal distance,” the raven said, preening himself in an embarrassed manner. “We were kicked out of Jinlin Tai before I settled. We tried to do the ritual here, on our own. We'd seen others go through the trial, it didn't seem hard to organise. It… Backfired. I can go away, as far as I need. I went far into the North once, on the other side of the country. But being apart… it hurts us both as much as if we hadn’t done the separation ritual. It feels… Wrong when we're not touching.”

That explained Mo Xuanyu's non-existent golden core, then. Even if he had started forming one, a botched separation from his daemon would have ruined it. The part about not being able to stay apart, Wei Wuxian had never heard about. But of course that was because few people survived a failed separation, and those who did were so broken you couldn't ask them questions. 

That was why there were so many precautions around the separation, potions to make it less painful, family and teachers present to make it less traumatic. In the century or two since cultivators had started separating from their daemon, they had improved the process. Children used to die almost half the time, or so Wei Wuxian had been told. A high price to pay, but when the Wen sect had discovered it guaranteed a strong golden core at a very young age, they'd paid it without hesitation. The other sect had followed suit, most of them. Those who didn't hadn't survived long, unable to compete when the old method required twenty, thirty years to form a golden core, sometimes more. 

Wei Wuxian had never met before someone whose separation had failed. He knew some children had died from it at the Wen indoctrination camp, but he'd never met a survivor, although he recalled some speculations about someone he’d known back then. He couldn’t remember who it had been, though, and ultimately he’d lost interest in that topic, too busy with his own problems.

“You’ll have to stay with me then,” Wei Wuxian decided. “There’s no other way.”

“I’m not your daemon.”

“No, you’re not my Pashou, that’s certain,” Wei Wuxian retorted with cheerful disdain.

His beautiful daemon, even after she’d become diminished, she’d remained a sight to behold. The most beautiful black swan the world had ever seen, his pride and joy as long as she thrived, still loved and cared for once she was little more than a dead weight. A mere raven couldn’t compare to her, least of all one as ugly and pathetic as that one.

“We’ll see if it’s easier for you to go away now that there’s a different soul in this body,” Wei Wuxian suggested. “If you can, then go and become a bird if you like, I’ve managed without a daemon before. Otherwise, you’ll have to stick around. I’ve been in enough pain in my life. How is that for a deal… ah… what’s your name anyway?”

The raven preened himself. “I don’t have to tell you that. I’m not your daemon. We don’t need to talk, so you don’t need to know my name.”

Frustrated by that stubborn bird, Wei Wuxian had half a mind to grab it by the neck and shake it around until it stopped making things difficult. But this was another person’s daemon, and just that brief thought was nauseating. He didn’t want to ever touch that raven.

Maybe the bird was right. Wei Wuxian didn’t need to know his name. All he needed to know was whether they could work together to sort out their strange situation… but even that would have to wait: before Wei Wuxian could argue his case, the front door opened and a richly dressed boy entered accompanied by servants, intending to beat him up for something his body’s previous occupant had done.

That damn raven couldn't even be counted on to help. Perhaps guessing what was about to happen, the daemon had flown away the instant the door opened. Normally Wei Wuxian wouldn't have needed him anyway, but as he quickly discovered, even that little distance between his new body and Mo Xuanyu's daemon caused him considerable pain. Shocked by that sensation, he was unable to defend himself against his bullies. To the pain of separation were soon added numerous bruises, which were more bearable because more familiar. 

The rich boy and his minions left, but closed the door behind them before the raven could return. 

Laying on the floor, bruised and miserable, Wei Wuxian cursed the body's previous occupant, the daemon raven, and everyone else in the house. As he tried to catch his breath, his hand wandered at his side, grasping for something absent. Even as her condition worsened, Pashou had always felt it when he truly needed her, and she'd waddle her way to him no matter what. 

But she was gone now. He would never again hold her in his arms. 

In a way Pashou had been lost long before they died, of course. From the moment they'd done that core transfer… she'd been little more than another walking corpse at Wei Wuxian's side. 

It would be hard, living without even that much left of her. But Wei Wuxian had done many hard things in his life. He would manage this, too. 

At least, he would do it once that damned raven came back within a reasonable distance.

[thatswhatsushesaid]

WWX and JGY bodyswap AU, post-Sunshot Campaign

oooooh i know someone else other than me could do something VERY fun with this, but i just am not interested in wei wuxian enough to do it justice (': however, some fun plot points to consider, esp if we're going with cql canon where 1) meng yao kills wrh while wrh is strangling wwx (maybe this is where the body swap happens) and 2) lan wangji is notably more invested in a friendship with wwx pre-timeskip:

wei wuxian spending two minutes in jin guangshan's company on his own and realizing "holy SHIT this guy is bad news"; meng yao realizing RIGHT away that wei wuxian has no golden core and that is why he's resorted to demonic cultivation;

wei wuxian and meng yao eyeing each other surreptitiously during the post-sunshot banquet, trying to figure out whether they're both in bodyswap hell or if the other 'them' has no idea what is going on. wei wuxian isn't totally sure because meng yao is a very good actor, after all; meanwhile, meng yao clocks wei wuxian for who he is right away (and is big into his feelings about hearing his courtesy name applied to someone else);

lan wangji and lan xichen immediately sense that something is up

huh. actually maybe i could do something with this!

[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????

[mdzs-fanon-exposed]

MDZS Fanon VS Canon: 7/?

Mo Xuanyu and Xue Yang were Jin disciples at the same time

Rating: FANON – SUPPORTED

There's a not insignificant amount of fanworks that depict Xue Yang and Mo Xuanyu interacting during their time as guest disciples of the Lanling Jin sect. While we do not have any concrete evidence that the two characters ever met, it is (mostly) possible to discern whether they were guest disciples at the same time.

The timeline of Mo Dao Zu Shi is often hard to follow because specific years and dates are rarely given in the books, but using context clues, I can piece together a rough estimate of when both characters were present at Golden Carp Tower and use that to identify any points they may have overlapped.

Xue Yang:

Xue Yang's time as a guest disciple is easier to define, so I'll start with him. The earliest time we see him, chronologically, is during the flower-viewing banquet that Lanling Jin held directly following the end of the Sunshot Campaign:

Xue Yang was extremely young at this point in time. Although his face still had a boyish cast to it, he was already very tall. He also wore a Sparks Amidst Snow robe, the very picture of carefree youth as he stood beside Jin Guangyao, like a spring breeze caressing the willow. (Seven Seas Ch. 10, Part 2)

He is already a disciple of the Jin sect, although he hasn't been one for long, according to Nie Mingjue's reaction:

Nie Mingjue frowned. “Xue Yang from Kui Prefecture?” Jin Guangyao nodded. Xue Yang was already infamous at a young age. Wei Wuxian could clearly sense Nie Mingjue’s frown deepening. (Seven Seas Ch. 10, Part 2)

Note that at this point, both Wei Wuxian and Jin Zixuan are alive (and attending the flower-viewing banquet as well). We can assume that this happens approximately 1-2 years before Wei Wuxian's death, due to factors such as time skips and a reference to the Sunshot Campaign from when Xiao Xingchen leaves the mountain, which we know is about a year after the Siege:

At the time, it had only been a few years since the end of the Sunshot Campaign, and the Siege of the Yiling Burial Mounds had just concluded. (Seven Seas Ch. 7)

and

Twelve years ago happened to be the year right after the Siege of the Yiling Burial Mounds, so they had just missed each other. (Seven Seas Ch. 7)

We can also approximate when Xue Yang's time as a disciple ended. He had to have been a guest disciple of the Lanling Jin until between one and two years after Wei Wuxian's death. We know it was at least one year afterwards, because he meets Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan while still associated with the Sect:

Xiao Xingchen smiled, seemingly well aware that it was in Jin Guangyao’s nature to speak in an ingratiating way. “Lianfang-zun speaks too highly of me.” His gaze then turned to Xue Yang. “He may be young, but since he ranks among the guest cultivators, he must still exercise self-discipline and restraint. The Jin Clan of Lanling is distinguished, after all, and should strive to set an example in many aspects.” (Seven Seas Extra 3)

And it must have been up to two years or less because Xue Yang was both imprisoned and exonerated for the crime of the Chang Clan massacre (and therefore no longer a disciple) while Jin Guangshan was still alive:

“I’m not shielding him,” Jin Guangyao defended himself. “The incident with the Chang Clan of Yueyang shocked me greatly as well. How could I have anticipated Xue Yang would slaughter a family of over fifty people? But my father insists on keeping him…” (Seven Seas Ch. 10)

and

Jin Guangshan began thinking of ways to pull Xue Yang out of jail ... until finally, the Jin Clan of Lanling successfully persuaded Chang Ping to change his story. He withdrew all the grievances he had stated before and announced publicly that the clan extermination case had nothing to do with Xue Yang. (Seven Seas Ch. 7)

And we know Jin Guangshan died eleven years before Wei Wuxian was resurrected, from Sisi's story.

“I’ll go first, then!” She casually curtsied to the crowd. “What I’m about to tell you is an incident that happened roughly eleven years ago.” ... And the half-dead man on the bed must have been Jin Guangshan! (Seven Seas Ch. 19)

Therefore, Xue Yang's time as a guest disciple lasted anywhere from two to four years in total, beginning at the end of the Sunshot Campaign and ending approximately a year (give or take) before Jin Guangshan dies.

Mo Xuanyu:

Mo Xuanyu's timeline is harder to define, because we never actually see him while he's a disciple, and have to rely on rumors and circumstantial evidence. The only reliable information we have, date-wise, is that he was fourteen when he was called to Golden Carp Tower by his father:

And sure enough, when Mo Xuanyu turned fourteen, that clan leader sent over a grand party to officially take him back. (Seven Seas Ch. 2)

Although knowing he's fourteen isn't particularly helpful, we do know that Jin Guangshan was still alive at the time. As for the exact time frame in which Mo Xuanyu could have been accepted as a disciple, Jin Guangyao says this:

“Did you think that I would rise in position with Jin Zixuan’s death? Jin Guangshan would rather bring back another illegitimate son than have me succeed him!” (Seven Seas Ch. 10)

This implies that Mo Xuanyu was accepted into Lanling Jin after Jin Zixuan's death so that Jin Guangyao would be further down the line of succession. This sentence is said when Nie Mingjue confronts Jin Guangyao about sheltering Xue Yang from the consequences of the Chang Clan massacre. Therefore, Mo Xuanyu could have (theoretically) entered the Jin sect at any point between Jin Zixuan's death and Nie Mingjue's confrontation, the latter of which took place after Xue Yang's imprisonment.

However, I believe it is more likely that Mo Xuanyu was brought in during the aftermath of Jin Zixuan's death, for the sheer reason that it would shunt Jin Guangyao out of the line of succession quicker.

We do know that Mo Xuanyu was present at Golden Carp Tower after Wei Wuxian's death, because Jin Guangyao gave him access to Wei Wuxian's manuscripts on possession:

He had written plenty of these manuscripts back then, all penned on a whim and tossed aside just as easily, scattered all around the cave where he slept in the Yiling Burial Mounds. ... He’d wondered where Mo Xuanyu had learned such forbidden magic. Now he knew. Never in a million years would Jin Guangyao have allowed unimportant people to glimpse the remains of a manuscript on forbidden magic. (Seven Seas Ch. 10)

And although we don't know exactly when Mo Xuanyu was kicked out of Golden Carp Tower, we can infer that it happened before Jin Guangshan's murder. During the events in the Sword Hall of Lotus Pier, after Sisi and Bicao's testimonies, one unnamed cultivator says this:

"He spent the last few years before Jin Guangshan’s death busily clearing the land of his father’s illegitimate sons, for fear that someone would suddenly pop out of nowhere and challenge him for the position. Mo Xuanyu was probably one of the lucky ones. Had he not gone crazy and been booted back home, he would likely have ended up disappearing like the others." (Seven Seas Ch. 19)

This implies that Mo Xuanyu's expulsion from the sect happened at some point before Jin Guangshan's murder. Theoretically, this was done because he would be a potential threat to Jin Guangyao's legitimacy (and have gotten killed) otherwise. As Mo Xuanyu was not legitimized, though, it's unlikely that he would have posed a genuine threat to Jin Guangyao's succession. Regardless of the reasoning, the quote here indicates that Mo Xuanyu was kicked out before Jin Guangshan's death.

To be clear, however, this cannot exactly be taken as reliable evidence. As Wei Wuxian says about this exchange,

If they’re just rumors, why so quick to believe them? If they’re secrets, how would you even know of them? This was not the first time these rumors had spread. While Jin Guangyao was in power, they had been suppressed so well that no one took them seriously. But tonight, the rumors all seemed to have become hard facts with irrefutable evidence. They became a solid foundation for Jin Guangyao’s multitude of crimes, proving just how unscrupulous he was. (Seven Seas Ch. 19)

So while it's possible that the timeline here is correct, we know that (as established earlier in the books – see Chapter 1) rumors in the world of Mo Dao Zu Shi are unreliable at best and often contradictory. For the purposes of this post, though, I am choosing to assume that this is at least partially true.

So taking the assumptions I've made into account, we know that Mo Xuanyu's time as a Jin disciple could have lasted up to approximately three years, anywhere between directly following Jin Zixuan's death to just before Jin Guangshan's death.

The timeline:

Now that I have a rough estimate of when both characters were present at Golden Carp Tower, I can try to find places where they overlap. Unfortunately, even with all this sleuthing, I cannot say for sure if they were present at the same time. The chance that they just barely missed each other, though, is unlikely.

Given the most generous interpretation of their respective timelines, Xue Yang and Mo Xuanyu could have been Jin disciples together for almost three years at maximum. This assumes:

Mo Xuanyu was accepted into the Jin sect almost immediately following Jin Zixuan's death.

Both Xue Yang and Mo Xuanyu's expulsions happened soon after one another, within the same year as Jin Guangshan's death.

This means Mo Xuanyu would have been a disciple since before Wei Wuxian died, and that Xue Yang's imprisonment and exoneration happened on a very tight timeline right before Jin Guangshan's death. This is the interpretation that gives both characters as much time to interact as possible.

Given the least generous interpretation, however, Xue Yang and Mo Xuanyu just missed each other. This assumes:

The massacre of the Chang Clan happened very soon after Xiao Xingchen descended from the mountain.

Mo Xuanyu's acceptance into the sect happened just before Nie Mingjue confronted Jin Guangyao.

This means that Mo Xuanyu's call to join the sect would have happened in between Xiao Xingchen apprehending Xue Yang and Nie Mingjue confronting Jin Guangyao about it, which is presumably a very short amount of time. This is also the least likely interpretation, as it wouldn't make much sense for Mo Xuanyu to have been accepted so late and during such a controversial period for the sect.

The most likely interpretation is somewhere in the middle: that Mo Xuanyu and Xue Yang were, in fact, Lanling Jin disciples at the same time, but that they did not have much overlap. I believe it is probable that Mo Xuanyu would have been accepted into the sect within a year or so of Jin Zixuan's death, and that the Chang Clan massacre happened at least half a year after Xiao Xingchen descended, meaning the two would have had around a year of overlap between them.

In conclusion, I can say with relative confidence that Xue Yang and Mo Xuanyu would have been Jin disciples at the same time. However, I cannot confirm this as canon, as there is not enough evidence available in the books. Therefore, this must be rated as SUPPORTED FANON: the text does not directly state this is true, but it is a distinct and likely possibility.

[stiltonbasket]

prompt: an au where wrh raises wwx, who is then forced to fight for the wens during the sunshot campaign.

“You are useless to me now,” Wen Ruohan says, contemplating his drink. “One little archer, one lucky shot—and my greatest hope after Wen Zhuliu has been ruined.”

The cup in his hand should have held wine: some of the clear, astringent liquor that Wen Qing favored, since it was a passable antiseptic in an emergency—but somehow, it had darkened to a deep, almost oily crimson, like the broth of the stewed lamb Wei Wuxian ate on the night before he rode out to Hejian.

He does not like to think of what his liege must be drinking now, and so he does not ask.

“Not useless,” Wei Wuxian says at last. “Wen Qing claims that a full bodily recovery—if it should take place at all—will come too late for this war effort, but I am still sound in mind. And that is at your service still, as much as it ever was.”

“That is some relief. I could have done without your mind, if I had your jindan and your strength; but since I am not to have either, your mind will have to do.”

Wei Wuxian nods, scarcely concealing the tremor in his fingers as he does so. When he arrived half a shichen ago, he was granted a chair instead of a patch of floor to kneel on, out of respect for his battle wound; but drawing breath in Wen Ruohan’s presence has never been easy, in spite of the fact that the man would likely rather cut off his own right hand than harm him, and the Lan-made poison eating away at Wei Wuxian’s veins has only made matters worse.

“Wei Ying.”

Wei Wuxian blinks. “My lord.”

“That concubine of yours, the one that serves you on the battlefield—what is his name?”

His heart stutters in his chest. “Yu Zhenhong, junshang. I have only two, and Yu-shi is the only man.”

“He should have thrown himself before that arrow, rather than suffer any risk to you,” Wen Ruohan snarls, dashing the white-jade cup upon the tiled ground at his feet. “He is a man, and all he can do for the continuation of your line is to ensure the continuation of your life—and if the arrow struck true, and you had been slain, who would have taught your yiniang’s child in your place?”

Painfully, Wei Wuxian lifts himself out of his chair and sinks to his knees on the floor.

“It was I who rode ahead of Yu-shi that day. The rest of the regiment would have come to harm, if he had followed me,” he says, bent so low that he can feel the coolness of the tiles on his forehead. “On his behalf—and on behalf of my yiniang, for Lady Li is close to her time, and any harm done to one of our household could injure her, or my child—I beg that you show him mercy.”

A sharp pain sparks under one of his fingers. He lifts it from the ground, and notes with dull surprise that his skin had been pierced by a shard of Wen Ruohan’s jade cup. 

Wen Ruohan pinches the bridge of his nose.

“Very well, then. I will not give him any corporal punishment, for the sake of your yiniang’s peace of mind. But he must be punished somehow, and you are far too soft-hearted to do it properly.”

“My lord—”

“He is your favorite, is he not?” Wen Ruohan says idly. “You care for Li Shuai, and surround her with all the luxuries a man of your rank can afford. But Yu Zhenhong is the one who follows you to battle, the one you take into your confidence; so must he not be the one closest to your heart?”

“Yes.” The word feels like whetted steel on his tongue.

“Good,” his liege says, smiling. “Yu-shi has forgotten where he stands; and so, he must be reminded. He is not your husband—will never be your husband, for in all these years I have found no man or maiden worthy of being joined with you in marriage—but I think it would break his heart if I were to gift you another concubine. He tolerates Li-yiniang, because she can give you children, but if you were to take in another man...”

Wei Wuxian thinks wretchedly of the night Li Shuai and Yu Zhenhong came to his manor in the Nightless City, having run so long that Yu Zhenhong’s feet were bleeding, and begged for shelter: any way you can grant it, Yu Zhenhong had said, swaying on his injured feet as he supported Li Shuai. Any way, Wei-jiangjun—Brother Wei—A-Shuai can travel no further, I beg of you—

“May Wen-zongzhu’s will be done. I accept,” Wei Wuxian murmurs aloud, lifting his head to look Wen Ruohan in the eye. “Who is it to be?”

Wen Ruohan waves a dismissive hand.

“I’ll introduce you to him tomorrow,” he says, with a grin that makes his too-long front teeth shimmer in the yellow lamplight. “But you need not fear for your own sake, Wei-jiangjun. After all, your Yu-shi could not rival this one for beauty if he tried for the rest of his life.”

_____

“A concubine? For Wei-jiangjun? Has Father lost his mind?”

Two figures in red were standing in the dungeons of the Sun Palace, by the very last cell in the deepest of the six underground keeps. Its lone inhabitant had been languishing there for a month, not permitted to set foot outside his prison save when he was dragged to the torture chambers; and even when the tendons in his legs were slashed, some twelve days earlier, he remained so impassive that the head torturer began to wonder if he could feel the pain at all.

Wen Xu lifts his torch and examines the prisoner. 

“I suppose he’s good-looking enough,” he shrugs, suppressing a shiver as the torchlight moves over Lan Wangji’s unblinking eyes. “His nephew was the archer who brought General Wei down at Hejian, so Fuqin must think that marrying Lan Wangji to Wei-jiangjun is a fitting punishment—for the uncle and nephew both.”

In the shadows of the cell, Lan Wangji’s bloodied hands curl over a splinter of stone he had torn away from the walls. 

He has been shaping it for the last fortnight, filing it against the reinforced rock of the floor until the top end had been ground to a razor-sharp point. Before his legs were broken, he intended to use it to pick the lock of his cell door and escape, but now...

“Tian ah,” Wen Chao whispers, apparently under the impression that Lan Wangji was in a meditative trance, and thus unable to hear him. “I don’t fancy Lan Wangji’s chances in the Wei-fu. Wei-jiangjun was furious when Wen Qing found out about the poison in his jindan.”

But now his escape had been planned for him. 

Lan Wangji’s grasp on the splinter grows tighter. 

“When will it be?” asks Wen Chao.

“Three days from now.”

Three days. 

Lan Wangji looks up at the ceiling of his cell, and then down at the sharp piece of rock in his palm. 

He has crossed paths with General Wei only twice: once in the Cloud Recesses twenty years previously, when the young Wei-jiangjun attended Lan Qiren’s summer lecture courses, and then again on the battleground in Hejian where he was taken prisoner thirty days ago. 

Until that fateful battle, he could not have picked General Wei out of a crowd if his life depended on it: but that night, Lan Wangji dreams of a hauntingly lovely face lost in sleep mere inches away from his own, and the trembling of his hands as his makeshift knife plunges into his bridegroom’s throat.

[wangxianficfinder]

In the mood for...

~*~

1. Hii! This is my first time asking for a fic, well cause usually other fans ask the same thing.

Any fic with JC/Jiang Sect bashing in the canon era.

Thanks a lot! I love all the work you guys do! @ffaddictsrn

🧡 All will be well when the day is done by abCEE (T, 76k, wangxian, time travel, canon divergence, fix it, not YZY friendly, not Jiang friendly, butterfly effect, no sunshot, madam lan lives, lan WWX)

A Matter of Time series by mrcformoso (E, 84k, wangxian, time travel fix-it, graphic depictions of violence, underage, LWJ pov, JC pov, dark LWJ, manipulation, grooming, teen body adult mind for LWJ, happy ending for wangxian, problematic consensual underage sex, blood & violence, insane LWJ, manic LWJ) lwj is BRUTAL to jc

💖 Return to Sender by Thesaurus_with_no_words (M, 73k, wangxian, not JC friendly, Canon Divergence, BAMF WWX, Wangxian Get a Happy Ending, YLLZ WWX, Golden Core Transfer Fix-It, Not Everyone Dies AU, Temporary Amnesia, Partial Memory Loss, Literal Emotional Manipulation, Unreliable Narrator WWX, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon typical horror and gore, Slow Burn, WIP)

🔒💖 Resilience. by Vrishchika (T, 7k, wangxian, time travel, not JC friendly, golden core transfer fix-it)

🔒💖 After Truth Lies the Honest Path by Vrishchika (M, 10k, wangxian, WIP, Canon Divergence, Truth Serum, Angry WWX, Post-Sunshot Campaign, Mild Angst, Wangxian Get a Happy Ending, Everyone Lives AU, Getting Together)

🧡 Never Again by Hauntcats (T, 67k, WangXian, WWX & WQ & WN, Canon Divergence, Time Travel, Golden Core Transfer Fix-It, Angst, Not JC Friendly, BAMF WWX)

The Core Issue by Hauntcats (T, 21k, WangXian, Angst with a Happy Ending, Not JC Friendly, Canon Divergence)

Go Hiking With a Blindfold On by Hauntcats (M, 12k, wangxian, JC & WWX, WQ & WWX, not JC friendly, Time Travel Fix-It, No Golden Core Transfer)

Lay my body down by tawaen (M, 48k, WQ & WWX, WN & WWX, wangxian, JYL & WWX, Canon Divergence, Time Travel, Rogue Cultivator WWX, Eventual Wangxian, No Golden Core Transfer, Not Cultivation World Friendly, Canon-Typical Violence, Not JC Friendly, Tagged just in case because there is no redemption arc here, What if WWX saw the first siege of the burial mounds and said Nope to the war, Original Character(s), OC point-of-view for one chapter for plot reasons)

Symmetry by Vir_Abelasan (M, 13k, WangXian, LSZ & WWX, One-Sided ChengXian, One-Sided ChengZhui, Canon Divergence, LSZ is raised by wwx, Wwx still dies sorry, Revenge, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Dark LSZ, Manipulation, Power Imbalance, Torture, Not JC Friendly, JC’s Canonical 13 Years Murder Spree, BAMF LSZ, WangXian Get a Happy Ending, LSZ Gets to Go Apeshit)

🔒 The Second Hand Unwinds by trulywicked (E, 30k, wangxian, WIP, Time Travel Fix-It, Not JC friendly, Not Yúnmèng Jiāng Sect Friendly, Not Jiāng Family Friendly, Not YZY Friendly, Time Travelling LWJ, Protective LWJ, Fluff, Minor Angst, Minor Character Death, JGS is his own warning, ,Wooing, LWJ is romantic af, Inventor WWX, Genius WWX, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Protective Gūsū Lán Sect Supportive LXC, Good Uncle LQR, WWX Protection Squad) Has both JC being a little shit & the Lans finding out about WWX's treatment during CRSA

🔒 Instead by apathyinreverie (T, 27k, wangxian, fix-it, darker gusu lan, manipulative elders, but in a good way?, golden core transfer fix-it of sorts, not Jiang friendly, or anyone friendly, except wangxian, cultivation world critical, fluff, sunshot, politics, courting rituals, genius WWX, no demonic cultivation, talismans, possessive LWJ, protective LWJ, WIP)

Get it right (mdzs time travel) Series by AmiraAlzilu (M, 85k, WangXian, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Suicidal Thoughts, Canonical Character Death, Temporary Character Death, Fluff, Not JC Friendly, Unreliable Narrator, Unreliable Narrator WWX, Getting Together, Time Travel Fix-It, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Not Jiang Clan Friendly, Jiāng Family Bashing, Character Death Angst, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Grieving LXC, Grieving LQR, LQR Is So Done, Dead LWJ, Dead WWX) (link in #2)

~*~

2. heyyy thanks for all your hard work! itmf for fics that the lan clan finds out about wwx abuse from the jiang sect. thanks in advance!

🧡 All will be well when the day is done by abCEE (T, 76k, wangxian, time travel, canon divergence, fix it, not YZY friendly, not Jiang friendly, butterfly effect, no sunshot, madam lan lives, lan WWX) link in #1

🔒🧡 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)

🔒 The Second Hand Unwinds by trulywicked (E, 30k, wangxian, WIP, Time Travel Fix-It, Not JC friendly, Not Yúnmèng Jiāng Sect Friendly, Not Jiāng Family Friendly, Not YZY Friendly, Time Travelling LWJ, Protective LWJ, Fluff, Minor Angst, Minor Character Death, JGS is his own warning, ,Wooing, LWJ is romantic af, Inventor WWX, Genius WWX, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Protective Gūsū Lán Sect Supportive LXC, Good Uncle LQR, WWX Protection Squad) link in #1 Has both JC being a little shit & the Lans finding out about WWX's treatment during CRSA

🔒 Instead by apathyinreverie (T, 27k, wangxian, fix-it, darker gusu lan, manipulative elders, but in a good way?, golden core transfer fix-it of sorts, not Jiang friendly, or anyone friendly, except wangxian, cultivation world critical, fluff, sunshot, politics, courting rituals, genius WWX, no demonic cultivation, talismans, possessive LWJ, protective LWJ, WIP) link in #1

🧡 Company by WithBroomBefore (T, 29k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Pre-Relationship, Getting Together, POV LWJ, Fix-It, Pre-Canon, at least to start, WWX goes to Cloud Recesses, But Not In The Usual Way, fear of character death, Everybody Lives, Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, Light Angst, good teacher LQR, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, brief discussion of past minor character suicide, Kitten, Not YZY Friendly)

Get it right (mdzs time travel) Series by AmiraAlzilu (M, 85k, WangXian, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Suicidal Thoughts, Canonical Character Death, Temporary Character Death, Fluff, Not JC Friendly, Unreliable Narrator, Unreliable Narrator WWX, Getting Together, Time Travel Fix-It, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Not Jiang Clan Friendly, Jiāng Family Bashing, Character Death Angst, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Grieving LXC, Grieving LQR, LQR Is So Done, Dead LWJ, Dead WWX)

~*~

3. Hello!! Itmf/does anyone know of any canon-compliant fics where when WWX comes back to life it is like no time has passed for him so he still feels and acts like a teenager/young adult? Where he gets along better with the juniors rather than his generation because he still is young at heart? Thank you!

~*~

4. heeyy mods, hope youre enjoying the holidays!!

this is for itmf

A) I recently read audience of one which is basically being XiCheng being sweet babies, so I would really love if someone could rec good XiCheng fics

B) are there any good modern wangxian detectives au!!?? @mercurygirlwt28

4B)

🧡 CSI: Gusu Edition Series by Stratisphyre (M, 39k, WangXian, WWX & LQR, Modern with Magic AU, College AU, Golden Core Reveal, Single parent WWX, Good Uncle LQR, Hospitalization, Allusions to violence and murder)

Moonlight as My Guide by BromeliadDreams (M, 32k, WangXian , Case Fic, Body Horror, Modern with Magic, Academia, (book) canon-typical desecration of the dead, actually far more soft domesticity than the previous tags imply, background/implied xiyao, grey-ace wwx)

~*~

5. hii, tje next Itmf can I ask for fics which feel the song. "dark red" by Steve Lacy.

thank you!!

~*~

6. Hola! for the next itmf, I have two requests please, they are kind of similar.

A) pls rec the good modern aus!! the fluffy, tje ones w angst, anything.

B) modern aus which also deal w depression.

6A)

🔒 Wangxian Tax Universe series by adrian_kres, RoseThorne (T, 5k, wangxian, modern, Getting Together, Americana, Family Dinners, Dysfunctional Family, Family Feels, Announcements, Therapy, POV Third Person, POV WWX, Crack, Fluff)

Extracts from the diaries of Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian, relating to the case of Lan Zetian (Nov. 4 to Nov. 27) by Accidental_Child (T, 6k, wangxian, modern cultivation, Case Fic, Epistolaryish, Diary/Journal, WWX-centric, LWJ-centric, Slow Burn, (academic), Enemies to Lovers, academic rivals i guess?, Rivals to Lovers, Mentions of Murder, mentions of abuse, mentions of assult)

🔒 Standing By by Prince_kun (T, <;1k, wangxian, WIP, Modern, Mutual Pining, Getting to Know Each Other, Getting Together, Strangers to Lovers, Past WWX/Other(s), Airports, Airports can be romantic and not just meant for the dramatic breakup scene, Rich LWJ, CEO LWJ, Bisexual Disaster WWX, WWX is LSZ's Parent, Fluff, Light Angst, Everyone Lives AU, Developing Relationship)

Lessons in Belonging by Nyatci (M, 12k, wangxian, Modern, Childhood Friends to Lovers, POV LWJ, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Canonical Child Abuse, Bad Parents JFM & YZY, Not Jiāng Family Friendly, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Homophobia, Good Uncle LQR, background 3zun, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Assumed Asexuality, but it’s just an assumption, some mild non-overly-explicit smut, LWJ really wants to put a ring on it, so he does, Domestic Fluff, wangxian adopt a-yuan, 5+1 Things, softer than how the tags make it sound)

The extravagant wedding, the gorgeous brother, and other reasons you should listen to your uncle by deliciousblizzardshark (T, 5k, wangxian, Modern, Kid Fic, Soft Wangxian, Good Uncle LQR, Matchmaking, Fluff and Humor, shark week)

The Art of Communication by mrcformoso (G, 4k, WangXian, Modern AU, College/University, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Meet-Cute, Engineering Student WWX, Music Student LWJ, Swimmer WWX, Martial Artist LWJ, POV Outsider, POV WWX, POV LWJ, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Communication Issues, But Wanxian Makes it Work, LWJ has limited words, WWX has too many words, Falling In Love, First Kiss, Love Confessions, Love Languages, Requited Love)

Just Ask Me To Stay by mrcformoso (M, 20k, WangXian, Modern AU, Former JZ/WWX, Minor NieLan, Minor XuanLi, No Powers, Dancer WWX, Musician LWJ, Roommates, Friends to Lovers, Break Up, Post-Break Up, Recovery, WWX Has Self-Esteem Issues, Sex as Self Worth Reaffirmation, Fluff, Light Angst, Anal Se,x Anal Fingering, Oral Sex, Domestic Fluff, LWJ Has a Big Dick, WWX Has a Breeding Kink, Size Queen WWX, Belly Bulge, Porn With Plot, WWX Has Friends, LWJ Has Friends, Hurt/Comfort, A lot of comfort, Romantic Comedy, Cuter story than the summary makes it out to be, Feel-good)

🧡 Hello, IT. Have You Tried Turning It Off and On Again? By overmountainandmeadow (T, 65k, WangXian, Modern AU, Office, Modern office AU, IT Director! LWJ, Graphic Designer! WWX, Father!LWJ, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Slow Burn, Juniors as interns, Light Angst, Mistaken Identity, Identity Porn, Rabbits, Cloud Recesses as a company, Happy Ending, Single Parent LWJ)

🧡 Yiling Salon: Hair, Nails and Piercing by TriviasFolly (T, 22k, WangXian, Modern AU, Hairstylist AU, Hairstylist WWX, 5+1 Things, Fluff, Experimental style)

leave all your love and your longing behind by ScarlettStorm (E, 143k, wangxian, modern, 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, setting out to make the neighborhood safer for your crush and accidentally building community, Eventual Smut, switch rights, Sex Toys, horny yearning, Masturbation, the chef's assortment of partnered sex acts) (link in #17)

🔒some things go forward by everythingispoetry (T, 73k, WangXian, Modern AU, Hospitals, Teenage Drama, Slow Burn, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Happy Ending)

oh brother by lanzhans_rbf (skzinger) (G, 5k, LXC & LWJ, WangXian, Modern AU, POV Outsider, Twin Jades of Lán Dynamics, Twin Jades of Lán Feels)

A Soft Storm by AvoOwO (Not rated, 47k, wangxian, modern, hurt WWX, LWJ pov, protective LWJ, not SS friendly, car accidents, hurt/comfort, heavy angst w happy ending, sexual harrasment, stalking, crying, blood & injury & gore, major character injury, college, slut shaming, insults)

Coincidence is Another Man's Fate by TriviasFolly (M, 164k, wangxian, rape/non-con, modern, ABO, Alpha LWJ, Omega WWX, Sexual Harassment, Implied/Referenced Sexual Harassment, WangXian play the long game, UNTIL THEY DON'T, Getting Together, fated pairs, Eventual Attempted Sexual Assult and Recovery, Office au, Mpreg)

I know what my heart wants by yakuso5u (Not Rated, 28k, WangXian, Modern AU, Single Father LWJ, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Getting Together, Accidental Child Acquisition, Domestic, Slice of Life, Christmas references)

flight of the birch tree by bleuett (T, 2k, WangXian, Modern AU, liminal spaces, Subways, dreamy vibes, Meet-Cute, kind of)

i know who i want to take me home by ScarlettStorm (E, 16k, wangxian, modern, bartender WWX, drunk LWJ, caretaking, meet-cute, fluff, comedy, smut, minor angst, major shenanigans)

spoke like we meant it by BlackWiresOnHerHead (T, 10k, WangXian, Modern AU, 5+1, Fluff, oh my god they were roommates, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, Pining, Cuddling, Accidental Confession, Humor, Abandonment Issues, Light Angst)

Keep Track of Losing Days by giraffeter (T, 74k, WangXian, Modern AU, Case Fic, Police, Missing Persons, Mystery, Getting Together, Flashbacks, Rooftop Conversations, Detective LWJ, antifa WWX, Endgame NieLan, Angst with a Happy Ending, Sharing a Bed, First Kiss, First Meetings, Seattle, Mutual Pining, nonfatal car accident, mafia wens, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Friends to Lovers)

6B)

🔒 moonlight falls series by RoseThorne (M, 15k, wangxian, SL/XXC, JC & WWX, WQ & WWX, NHS & WWX, Found Family, Modern, Corporate Espionage, Bunnies, Adoption, Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff, References to Depression, Anxiety, Blind Character, POV Third Person, POV WWX, Confrontations, Bad Parent LQR, Pre-JC & WWX Reconciliation, Dissociation, Mental Health Issues, Anniversary, Food, Food as a Metaphor for Love, Emotional Constipation, Communication Failure, JC is Bad at Feelings, JC is Trying, WWX Needs a Hug, Implied/Referenced Sex, Food Sex, Friendship, Reconciliation, Psychological Trauma)

Welcome to the Family series by jiejieaini (E, 231k, wangxian, LXC/NMJ, JYL/JZX, modern, Wangixian Get a Happy Ending, LWJ is best dad, Bunnies, London, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Adopted WWX, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Hurt/Comfort, Reunions, Hand Jobs, Tears, Gay Sex, Consensual Non-Consent, Dom/sub Undertones, Blow Jobs, Anal Sex, Anal Fingering, Christmas, Praise Kink, Rough Sex, Rough Kissing, WWX & LWJ Have a Breeding Kink, First Time, Public Blow Jobs, High School, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Falling In Love, Love, Love Confessions, Birthdays, Blowjobs, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Drowning, Canonical Character Death, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Dubious Consent, Rimming, Panic Attacks, Anxiety, A-Yuan is adorable, Marriage Proposal, Weddings, Nightmares, Adoption, Pregnancy)

Lessons in Belonging by Nyatci (M, 12k, wangxian, Modern, Childhood Friends to Lovers, POV LWJ, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Canonical Child Abuse, Bad Parents JFM & YZY, Not Jiāng Family Friendly, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Homophobia, Good Uncle LQR, background 3zun, Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Assumed Asexuality, but it’s just an assumption, some mild non-overly-explicit smut, LWJ really wants to put a ring on it, so he does, Domestic Fluff, wangxian adopt a-yuan, 5+1 Things, softer than how the tags make it sound) link in #6A

12 Hours In Hell and Paradise (Or: Lan Zhan’s Distinguished Guide to Seasonal Depression) by demonicsalad (T, 4k, wangxian, LXC & LWJ, Modern, Friends to Lovers, Developing Relationship, Mental Health Issues, Neurodiversity, Love Confessions, POV LWJ)

Just Ask Me To Stay by mrcformoso (M, 20k, WangXian, Modern AU, Former JZ/WWX, Minor NieLan, Minor XuanLi, No Powers, Dancer WWX, Musician LWJ, Roommates, Friends to Lovers, Break Up, Post-Break Up, Recovery, WWX Has Self-Esteem Issues, Sex as Self Worth Reaffirmation, Fluff, Light Angst, Anal Se,x Anal Fingering, Oral Sex, Domestic Fluff, LWJ Has a Big Dick, WWX Has a Breeding Kink, Size Queen WWX, Belly Bulge, Porn With Plot, WWX Has Friends, LWJ Has Friends, Hurt/Comfort, A lot of comfort, Romantic Comedy, Cuter story than the summary makes it out to be, Feel-good) (Iink in 6A)

💖 you are safe / loved / worthy / enough by everythingispoetry (T, 150k, wangxian, modern, College/University au, Social Media, Mental Health Issues, Healing, self-care, Anxiety, Hurt/Comfort, the mortifying ordeal of self-acceptance, Falling In Love, Depression, Slow Burn)

KILF (Knits I'd Like To Fuck in) by ScarlettStorm (E, 168k, wangxian, modern, sex work, fiber arts, 2nd in series)

Many happy returns. by orange_crushed (E, 25k, WangXian, Modern AU, Mistaken Identity, Misunderstandings, Grief/Mourning, Loss of Parent(s), Implied/Referenced Suicide, Past Suicide of a Parent, References to Depression, Anxiety, Therapy, References to Anti-Depressant Medications, Escort Service, Loneliness, Everybody’s Abandonment Issues, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst with a Happy Ending, Domestic Fluff, Moving In Together, Oral Sex, Penetrative Sex, Hopeful Ending, Recovery, References to Escorting/Sex Work but No Actual Escorting/Sex Work)

~*~

7. Itmf some fics that are just plain funny! Rec me any fics that made you lol please @peebls

Lan Wangji Gets Harassed by a Pack of Children by hyacinth4maria (G, 9k, wangxian, CSSR & WWX & WCZ, CSSR/WCZ, Madam Lan & LWJ, LWJ meets the Wei family, the Wei family consists of OCs and strays, Modern, High School, Young Love, Fluff and Crack)

rerun from the outside by Eicas (T, 2k, wangxian, JC & WWX, Time Travel, POV Outsider, JC POV, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, WWX has timetravelled! unbeknownst to him so has LWJ!, JC gets to be there for the glorious moment when the penny drops, Mojo's post)

❤️ Wangxian’s Time-Travelling Shenanigans series by pupeez4eva (G, 18k, wangxian, time travel, love confessions, humor, Mojo's post)

The Twelve Days of Christmas, OR, How to Drive Your Brother-in-Law Insane by Following One Traditional Carol by Hobbsy3 (T, 3k, wangxian, modern, Fluff, Crack Treated Seriously, Twelve Days Of Christmas, sending someone six geese and seven swans is definitely not an act of love, OR IS IT, Christmas Fluff, JC is So Done, LWJ is a Little Shit) link in #16

Deep Dive by MimiSpearmint (E, 24k, wangxian, JC & WWX, modern, therapy au, twin prides of yunmeng feels, angst w/ happy ending, career ending injuries, counsellor LWJ, eventual smut, crack, discussion of domestic abuse)

Meng Yao vs. the Board of the Homeowner's Association Series by Ariaste (M/T, 119k, WIP, XiYao, WangXian, Modern AU, Established Relationship, xiyao and wangxian are both already married, Family Feels, Domestic Fluff, Family Bonding, Slice of Life, Discussions of Past Trauma, wwx's canonical kinks, HOAverse) there's a reason it's recced all the time!

To Woo a Yao by Iamnotawriter (G, 8k, WangXian, Some Humor, Investigations, Post-Canon, Canon Compliant, Secret Letters, Mystery, Crack)

WeHateDogs by trippednfell (T, 3k, WangXian, Modern AU, Inspired by Twitter, Social Media AU, WWX is a professional dog hater, Fluff and Crack)

our own kind of magic. by scarletwanlian (T, 18k, WangXian, 5+1 Things, Fluff, Humor, Mutual Pining, Friends to Lovers, Modern AU, Magic, Magical Realism, College/University, Slice of Life!, Witch!WWX, Banter)

~*~

8. Uhm hi. I’m looking for a fic where instead of Jiang Fengmian, Yu Ziyuan was thought to be Wei Ying’s parent. Or where yu ziyuan adopts Wei ying

Hope series by RoseThorne (T, 57k, wangxian, WWX & YZY, WWX & JFM, WWX & JYL, YZY/JFM, JC & WWX, LQR & WWX, LXC & JYL, Madam Jin & YZY, LQR & JFM, LXC & LWJ, Transmigration, Time Travel Fix-It, Illnesses, Family, Scars, Memory Loss, Angst, Crying, Music, Nosebleed, Fear, Recovery, Nightmares, Sharing a Bed, Flirting, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Good Parent YZY, Referenced Sexual Slavery, Blood and Gore, Monsters, Sexual Tension, betrothal, Arranged Marriage, Grief, Adoption, POV Third Person, POV Alternating, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Good Parent LQR, Clairvoyance, Butterfly Effect, Kid Fic, Epistolary, Food, Secrets, Resentful Energy, Cultivation Sect Politics, Character Death)

~*~

9. Hi! Do you have rec fics where Wwx has a sibling/sister? (This part added to FF) Thank youu!! @gideonmorningstar

We Meet at the Thousandth Step by Admiranda, Rynne (T, 163k, wangxian, CSSR/WCZ, WIP, Canon Divergence, No Sunshot Campaign, CSSR & WCX Live, Rogue Cultivator WWX, Different First Meeting, Night Hunts, Genius WWX, Inventor WWX, Plot, Romance, Drama, Fluff, Strangers to married, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Everyone LivesAU, Developing Relationship, Minor Violence, Case Fic, Mystery, Flirting, WWX's Canon-Typical Flower Flirting, Arson, There Was Only One Bed, Getting Together, First Kiss, Meeting the Parents, Resolved Sexual Tension, Resolved Romantic Tension, WWX Is a Good Big Brother, New Relationship Bliss)

Lan Wangji Gets Harassed by a Pack of Children by hyacinth4maria (G, 9k, wangxian, CSSR & WWX & WCZ, CSSR/WCZ, Madam Lan & LWJ, LWJ meets the Wei family, the Wei family consists of OCs and strays, Modern, High School, Young Love, Fluff and Crack) link in #7

~*~

10. ITMF fics that changed your minds about tropes/settings/characters you had previously disliked? I am trying to try new things but I tend not to pick things for myself outside of plain plain status quo. TY!

mating rituals by detectorist (E, 16k, WangXian, XuanLi, Modern AU, College/University, Humour, Pining, Getting Together, Idiots in Love, The Rituals Are Intricate) Never cared about jzx until I read this fic

Coincidence is Another Man's Fate by TriviasFolly (M, 164k, WangXian, Modern AU, A/B/O Dynamics, Omegaverse, Alpha LWJ, Omega wwx, Sexual Harassment, Implied/Referenced Sexual Harassment, Getting Together, fated pairs, Eventual Attempted Sexual Assult and Recovery, Modern Setting - Office, Mpreg) This is the abo fic for anyone who’s never liked abo

symmetry by bleuett (M, 44k, WangXian, Space, Science Fiction, Happy Ending, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Holding Hands, Blow Jobs, Hand Feeding, Cultivation in Space, Yearning, Reunions, Hurt/Comfort, Family Feels, Canon-Typical Violence, Minor Injuries, Grief/Mourning, Unconventional Time Travel, Burial Mounds) Never liked fics set in space but this one was so good

Twin Demons of Mò by XiaoFeiFei (ArfBarkWoof) (M, 358k, MXY & WWX, wangxian, JL & MXY, XY & MXY, JGY & MXY, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Injury, Abuse, Death, Twin Demons of Mo, MXY Lives, Major Character Injury, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Minor Character Death, Angst with a Happy Ending, Character Death, Minor Implied/Referenced Incest, Implied/Referenced Torture, Near Death, Near Death Experiences, Canon Divergence, Self-Harm, Found Family, Sexual Abuse, Rape/Non-con Elements, POV Alternating) Twin Demons of Mo was my first foray into the super heavy angst that can pop up in the fandom, and since I'm very empathetic, heavy angst tends to be difficult for me to read, but TDOM was beautiful and now I can handle fics like Concord with more ease

TAKOYAKI by ariskamalt (E, 3k, wangxian, modern, Established Relationship, PWP, Tentacles, Tentacle Sex, First Time, Semi-Sentient Tentacles, Anal Sex, tentaclejobs?, Podfic Available) please don't let the tentacles scare you😆

~*~

11. hello! i just finished this fic on ao3 called 'like speaking to my heart' by SnowshadowAO3.

it has suibian and bichen as daemons and i've really enjoyed reading it.

i wanted to ask if it's possible to find more fic's where suibian and bichen play a major role either in their sword forms or are like these aus where they take a different form.

(not really necessary but are there any fics where suibian and bichen share a really close bond with lwj and wwx, respectively, too?)

thank you so much!

🧡 Song of Suibian and Bichen: Or, the Greatest (And Only) Furby Master of Demonic Cultivation by moonwaif (T, 64k, WangXian, Fix-It of Sorts, canon adjacent, The spiritual weapons are furbies, Angst with a Happy Ending, The parent trap but make it WangXian with furbies, Mutual Pining, Taking my favorite parts of every adaptation and smashing them together)

~*~

12. hi hi! i'm in the mood for fics where lwj feels insecure over his "bland and stiff" personality and wwx reassures him

~*~

13. Could you suggest some multi-chapter fics of genre Fox Wei Wuxian and Dragon Lan Wangji. @lostsoul234

(Dreaming of) Being Human by Harleydoll (M, 109k, JC & WWX, NHS & WWX, LXC & WWX, LXC & LWJ, wangxian, JYL & WWX, Soft Wangxian, Pining, POV LWJ, Protective LWJ, Oblivious WWX, YLLZ WWX, Fox WWX, Canon Divergence, Canonical Character Death, Huli Jing, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Cloud Recesses Shenanigans, Gūsū Lán Forehead Ribbon, Gūsū Lán Sect Rules, , Fluff, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Past Child Abuse, Cuddling & Snuggling, Sleepy Cuddles, Literal Sleeping Together, Sharing a Bed, Nudity, WWX is a Lán, WWX is Loved, Gremlin WWX, Shapeshifting, POV WWX, Qíshān Wēn Indoctrination, Not Lánlíng Jīn Sect Friendly, Burning of the Cloud Recesses, Post-Burning of the Cloud Recesses, Explicit Sexual Content, Oral Sex, First Time, First Kiss, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Sunshot Campaign, Fox Spirit WWX, Canon Temporary Character Death, Not Really Character Death)

🔒Due Process by Kytrin, Mslead (E, 279k, WangXian, XiChengSang, Poly Junior Quartet, Modern AU, Foxxian, dragonji, Genderfluid WWX, WWX identifies as male, Organized Crime, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, mentions of child abuse, Angst with a Happy Ending, Found Family, Reincarnation)

To lurk, to lie in wait by trippednfell (M, 124k, WangXian, Modern with Magic, Huli Jing, strangers to co-parents to lovers, Strangers to Lovers, Kid Fic, teenage juniors, background NieLan, Angst with a Happy Ending, Case Fic, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Not Really Character Death, Fox Spirit WWX, Dragon LWJ, Blood and Injury)

The early bird gets the worm, the early fox gets the bird. But the dragon wakes the earliest of them all. by sekhmetpaws (E, 52k, WangXian, XiYao, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Royalty, Prince LWJ, dragon lwj, fox wwx, dragonji, Arranged Marriage, but not really, Mistaken Identity, Omega WWX, Alpha LWJ, Foxxian, slowish burn)

~*~

14. ITMF a fic where wangxian bond over both being Chinese / having similar experiences?. It can just be a small moment in a bigger story or it can be whole story @zerokogane

Ticket to Ride Series by mistresscurvy (E, 21k, wangxian, modern, online dating, road trips, service top, phone sex, dick pics, wedding banquet, shower sex) Also it has a killer meet cute

~*~

15. Hey!! I’m fairly new to the fandom and I’m still trying to navigate through your blog so idk if you’ve already done this ask but can you recommend a fic that follows the junior quad as they accidentally give travel back to Wangxian at cloud recess??

Thank you so muchhh

~*~

16. Hey any Christmas wangxian fics that are not too smutty and just wholesome and pure @veryfoxyfulwuji

The Twelve Days of Christmas, OR, How to Drive Your Brother-in-Law Insane by Following One Traditional Carol by Hobbsy3 (T, 3k, wangxian, modern, Fluff, Crack Treated Seriously, Twelve Days Of Christmas, sending someone six geese and seven swans is definitely not an act of love, OR IS IT, Christmas Fluff, JC is So Done, LWJ is a Little Shit)

Ornaments Under the Stars by trippednfell (M, 57k, wangxian, Modern, Inspired by Hallmark Christmas Movies, the wangxian Hallmark Movie AU no one asked for, plot and title were randomly generated, Kidfic, Disabled Character, debilitating injury as substitute for missing golden core, Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Angst with a Happy Ending, Guest starring LWJ's sky blue coat, The Coat deserves its own tag, disordered eating habits)

We Wish You A Logical Christmas by little_ogre (M, 9k, wangxian, Star Trek AU, Mutual Pining, Happy Ending, Going to Vulcan for Christmas, WWX is Vulcan, LWJ is human, what could go wrong, Pon Farr)

Christmas Eve at Number 16 by liulans (T, 9k, wangxian, Christmas Fluff, Modern, Getting Together, Mistletoe as an icebreaker, Fluff, neighbors to lovers, Friends to Lovers, Christmas Eve, snowstorm date)

~*~

17. Hi! I recently saw a DIY where they printed out their favorite fanfic and they (did book binding, sorry, I don’t what the English word for this is) so I wanted to ask if anyone could recommend fanfictions wich are 1. long enough (so it makes sense to bind it into a book) and 2. good/awesome/ wholesome,etc enough ( so I will actually want to bind it).

To keep it short, please recommend your favourite long fics. Thank you so much!

An addition to my ask because my dumbass accidentally send it before adding detail.

If anyone knows a fanfiction with a great plot, good writing or one you think deserves to be a book (because some of them honestly feel more professional than most real books do) I would be super thankful to them <;3 @desperation-is-my-middle-name

Twin Demons of Mò by XiaoFeiFei (ArfBarkWoof) (M, 358k, MXY & WWX, wangxian, JL & MXY, XY & MXY, JGY & MXY, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Injury, Abuse, Death, Twin Demons of Mo, MXY Lives, Major Character Injury, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Minor Character Death, Angst with a Happy Ending, Character Death, Minor Implied/Referenced Incest, Implied/Referenced Torture, Near Death, Near Death Experiences, Canon Divergence, Self-Harm, Found Family, Sexual Abuse, Rape/Non-con Elements, POV Alternating)

leave all your love and your longing behind by ScarlettStorm (E, 143k, wangxian, modern, 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, setting out to make the neighborhood safer for your crush and accidentally building community, Eventual Smut, switch rights, Sex Toys, horny yearning, Masturbation, the chef's assortment of partnered sex acts)

💖 Magical Marriage Ribbons series by starandrea (M, 1M, wangxian, animal transformations, weddings)

Fallen series by Jaywalker_Holmes (M, 150k, wangxian, major character death, underage, time travel)

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

The Scarlet Lotusby rainbowninja167 (M, 137k, WangXian, Marriage of Convenience, Secret Identity, Fix-It, Angst with a Happy Ending, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Canon-Typical Violence, canon-typical war crimes, Yunmeng Bros, the mortifying ordeal of getting seduced by your own husband, nonlinear chronology we die like cql, just kidding nobody dies in this fic, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Miscommunication)

Twelve Moons and a Fortnight by stiltonbasket (M, 290k, WangXian, Humor, Slow Burn, Post-Canon Fix-It, Long-Distance Relationship, Epistolary, Love Letters, Family Feels, a-qing lives, teenage romance, Adoption, Romantic Comedy, Happy Ending, Weddings, Case Fic, Parenthood, Politics)

how to be a heartbreaker by sweetlolixo (E, 122k, wangxian, Sugar Daddy AU, Modern, Sugar Daddy LWJ, Sugar Baby WWX, Dark WWX, Dark LWJ, Pining LWJ, Possessive LWJ, Crossdressing WWX, Seductress WWX, Eventual Happy Ending, Dirty Talking LWJ, They Do Fall In Love and there’s Fluff, Dark Wangxian Power Couple, Off the Charts Sexual Tension, Size Kink, Daddy Kink, degradation kink)

🔒 Silver & Gold  by beeswaxing  (E, 162k, wangxian, post-canon, de-aging, fluff & angst, happy ending, fix-it of sorts, family bonding, established   relationship, non-sexual intimacy, BAMF WWX, pining, protective WWX)

A Matter of Time series by mrcformoso (E, 84k, wangxian, time travel fix-it, graphic depictions of violence, underage, LWJ pov, JC pov, dark LWJ, manipulation, grooming, teen body adult mind for LWJ, happy ending for wangxian, problematic consensual underage sex, blood & violence, insane LWJ, manic LWJ) link in #1

Meet Me Friday At Seven by craftyTrickster (luoxiaobai) (E, 128k, wangxian, modern, Fluff, Meet-Cute, Friends to Lovers, Blind Date, lots of texting, almost a chat fic, WC and WLJ aren’t evil but they are annoying, Kissing, Masturbation, Anal Sex, romantic sex, Bi WWX, bi nhs, Single Parent WWX, Slow Burn, Unreliable Narrator)

how to fall in love with a catfish: a guide by wei wuxian (disaster rat) by bwyn, Yuisaki (T, 54k, WangXian, Modern AU, College/University, Actors, Multimedia, Online Friendship, Drunken Shenanigans, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Underage Drinking, Drinking Games, Families of Choice, Ensemble Cast, Fluff and Angst, Slow Burn, Catfish AU)

finally safe (for me to fall) by sassybluee (E, 77k, wangxian, modern, sugar daddy au, age difference, sex work, rich WWX, older WWX, service top WWX, poor LWJ, single parent LWJ, sugar baby LWJ, family issues, hurt/comfort, angst w happy ending, slow burn, cockblocking, anal sex, blowjobs, no lube & lube, addiction, compulsory heterosexuality, implied/referenced abuse, wangxian + others)

it rains, it pours by jublis (Not Rated, 130k, WangXian, Hurt/Comfort, Humor, Food as a Metaphor for Love, Case Fic, Established Relationship, Angst with a Happy Ending, Soft WangXian, Canon Compliant, Post-Canon, The Junior Ensemble Love WWX, Protective LWJ, Protective WWX, WWX Needs a Hug, YLLZ WWX, Rogue Cultivator LQY, LQY & WWX Friendship, BAMF LQY, Horror, Friendship/Love, Junior Quartet Dynamics, Ambiguous/Open Ending, for the mystery, Our boys are fine) is dripping with atmosphere, and being able to hold a physical book and read it by the fire on a stormy night would enhance that so well

~*~

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!***

[askew-d]

mdzs midnight thoughts

lan wangji does not know that his forehead ribbon truly was askew the second time wei wuxian pointed it out, now does he

as i’ve mentioned before, lan wangji also does not know that wei wuxian had alike scars in his back as a punishment for having saved him

lan sizhui and the rest of the juniors have no idea about the story hanguang-jun and senior wei had together. if they saw the dire situation where they screamed at each other and fought, they’d be really shocked, because: seriously, these two men are so goddamn shamelessly affectionate in a daily basis, how could they ever had conflicts?

jiang yanli, jin zixuan, wei wuxian and the wens’ deaths were basically in the same couple of days. none of them actually know that besides wei wuxian. jiang yanli and the wens think they’ve died to save wei wuxian, but in the end it just spared him some more time. he died not long after anyway.

no one despite lan xichen has any idea why lan wangji was so interested in bunnies out of a sudden, right? he just one day appeared with a ton and they just thought, ‘oh yea, it’s hanguang-jun, we’ve got him covered’

if wei wuxian’s mother saw how much her boy tormented lan qiren and the lan clan in general, from what her reputation precedes, she’d possibly smile proudly

everyone still thinks wei wuxian was the preferred ‘son’ instead of jiang cheng. they think he’s got a privileged childhood for living with the jiangs being treated not as a servant, but as part of the family! they dont know everything he’s been through in that goddamn fucking environment!!

perhaps meng yao would’ve been more empathic towards wei wuxian if he actually got to know his tragic backstory in the streets and with the jiangs. maybe if he got to know him better, before the sunshot campaign events. they were treated unfairly in resembling points, weren’t they, after all?

nie huaisang and wen qing would be like brother and sister if they were to know each other. they never did. in fact, wen qing wasn’t spoken about or to enough.

mentioning the public eye again, for them it’s like wei wuxian was the dishonest and devilish son of the two most famous, righteous rogue cultivators of their age. and considering madam lan’s past actions, lan wangji is the son of a murderer. historically ironic.

wei wuxian is part of jin ling’s family three times. one as himself (martial uncle), second as being in the body of mo xuanyu (biologically an uncle) and third as being the husband of lan wangji, lan xichen’s brother, who’s sworn brother with his uncle (a very distant relative, but a relative likewise, especially since being sworn brothers is such an intimate thing there).

the lan disciples simply saw hanguang-jun, the epitome of righteousness and the king of blank expressions, pick a random gay demonic cultivator one day and let him tag along on his adventures only for them to get married later because, yeah, that’s the yiling patriarch, in fact, why nobody told me my idol had a situationship with the biggest badass villain in history??

from somewhere within, mo xuanyu is oddly satisfied for seeing wei wuxian getting a proper revenge for him and a bunch of other stuff, beyond having very gay sex with the hanguang-jun — can you imagine?! he must think that at least his body served for a good cause!!!

[beneath-a-moonlit-lake]

It's really boring and annoying to see Jiang Cheng's personality being reduced to nothing more than a bog-standard tsundere in this fandom. No, I don't think that some readers are evil for favouring flawed and 'unlikeable' characters. I have been a proud and unapologetic villainfucker in other fandoms. But I do think that their insistence on turning this character with a shitty personality into a sad misunderstood woobie comes at the cost of erasing the story's study of the ways that abuse can be inflicted and perpetuated even by people who are 'nice' and 'friendly' to each another.

Jiang Cheng is not a tsundere or a misunderstood woobie who just struggles to show that he cares. That character type is only hostile and verbally unpleasant on the surface. Jiang Cheng is a mess of classism, entitlement and abuse hiding under a veneer of friendship. The friendship is what exists on the surface level, not the hostility. He did some good things for WWX (such as rushing to rescue him from the Xuanwu's cave), but the underlying potential for abuse was already there even during their teenage years.

It's not that Jiang Cheng has never suffered or that he deserved to be left without his family, but JC has arguably received more restitution for his suffering that any other character apart from LWJ, who only received his happy ending after WWX returned to life via the completely unexpected sacrifice of Mo Xuanyu.

JC's parents were killed by the Wen? JC was able to avenge them via the Sunshot Campaign and rebuild the clan after the war. He lost his golden core by taking the risk to lead Wen soldiers away from WWX? Well, he received a new one shortly after (via WWX's sacrifice, but he doesn't know that and doesn't need to bear that guilt until the end of the story). Jiang Yanli was killed by a trigger-happy kid during the confrontation at Buyetian? That kid died in WWX's rampage, and JC got to lead the Siege on the Burial Mounds to kill almost every member of the surviving Wen clan and watch WWX destroy himself.

Would it have been better if none of these terrible things happened? Yes, obviously. And it's fine if JC continues to feel the burden of the loss. But why has he never found an ounce of peace in the long years after WWX's death? It's because he holds WWX responsible for everything instead of placing any of the blame where it belongs.

Xue Yang and JGY mock him for being obsessed with WWX, and they are completely right to do so!

WWX is Jiang Cheng's emotional punching bag for everything that has not gone right in his life. When JC feels stressed, miserable or threatened, WWX is the person who gets kicked under the bus to attend to JC's needs. Even after JGY's complicity has been revealed, even long after Wen Ruohan is dead, even after the full extent of Jin Guangshan's awfulness and scheming and the ways in which the cultivation world and JC himself enabled that awfulness has been revealed, JC still makes it a point to scream about WWX's debt to his family. He makes it clear that he still holds WWX responsible for things that clearly were not and never would have been his fault, such as the deaths of his parents. Jiang Cheng believes, and still at some level, continues to believe even after the confrontation at Guanyin Temple that he is owed the right to demand that level of unwarranted responsibility for WWX.

And Jiang Cheng is thankfully, not a monster like Jin Guangshan. But this entitlement is not that far off from what JGS used to expect of JGY. WWX is still expected to set aside his needs, to soothe and bolster his bad moods, to cut out parts of himself to restore JC if necessary, and yes, to endure physical abuse (2 strangling attempts, physical blows to help JC vent his frustrations and endless whippings from both Madame Yu and JC).

The loss of the dogs was not a sacrifice that JC made to put up with WWX. WWX was meant to be a replacement for the dogs, and it clearly shows in the expectations that JC had of him.

----

And if you consider the argument that JC just had to slander WWX as someone who turned to evil once he left for the Burial Mounds in order to protect his clan/family as a legitimate argument, you'd have to believe that JC has never considered WWX to count as clan or family, which just makes him look even worse (unless you start twisting WWX's character to make him a traitorous troublemaker, which he very much is not).