#but LWJ is just a powerhouse

[sonik-kun]

Jiang Cheng's achievements are so overshadowed and overlooked in this fandom, especially by JC antis.

Like them calling him a miserable, pathetic loser who's not good at anything is both a lie and a cope because:

He literally built his sect up virtually on his own with little to no experience thanks to his neglectful father

He was able to keep up with WWX in training and ability, despite the former being a child prodigy

He is one of the strongest swimmers in his sect, hence why WWX suggested JC dived first in the turtle cave to look for a safe exit for everyone

He is a hard worker who is politically adept, who scarily predicts outcomes correctly and can read the room *cough* unlike WWX

He was a renowned hero during the sunshot campaign, so much so, it earned him the title of the three poisons

He recruited new disciples pretty much on his own, all whilst searching for WWX

He travelled for days without rest or any food and water just to rescue WWX (and LWJ) from the turtle cave. He still didn't receive any thanks for this

His sect not only bounced back, but also became a political powerhouse, rich enough to completely do up Lotus Pier which WWX remarks as being gaudy now

He is able to provide JL with dozens of nets to help him on his night hunts and have his disciples assist him

He was able to counteract JGY's attack at Guanyin temple. He only failed in stopping him because he was forced to defend WWX

He did all these achievements, building up his sect and apprehending DCs all whilst helping to raise JL despite not being required to

There could be more I'm missing out on here. But it's such a shame he's a slept on as a character because JC antis have a shallow interpretation and understanding of him and can't get over their weird hate boner for him to admit that actually, he is a strong, capable and competent man. And that actually, he is a much more successful leader than WWX. 🤷‍♀️

[runespoor7]

For the ask meme, au where wwx kills lxc at qiangpi path instead of jzx.

Or gender swap jc au.

Ok, so it took me a while to think this over, because there’s a lot here, and then talking it over with @demoiselledefortune I realized there’s even more than I thought! (still thinking about the genderswap jc one)

Also, poor, poor LWJ. 🙁 (LQR doesn't bear thinking about. That poor, poor man. I don't talk about LQR under the cut because it's too sad for me to contemplate.)

1) So the thing is, this isn’t a noticeably better accidental killing for WWX, because while the Lans may be less the powerhouse than the Jins, JGS will definitely try and use LXC’s death to turn against WWX. And it’s going to be stupidly easy, because LXC was a sect leader and the sworn brother of his son.

(I assume LXC was there because he was invited to JL’s 100 days ceremony and his passing there was a coincidence, while in canon he was already at Jinlintai. So maybe JZX is still in Jinlintai here, the confrontation happening earlier and thus before JZX departed; or JZX is here as well as he was in canon, and LXC was the one running late - in which case, JZX is alive and a witness and might speak up on WWX’s behalf at least to his wife and his BIL, at least to tell them that it seemed an accident. This turns out not to have much of an impact on the grand scale of things OR on JYL and JC’s understanding of what happened, bc they already trust WWX so much, but it does have an impact on JZX’s view of the world and himself. This is less about WWX than it is about politics in general and his father in specific. In that version he’s much more in-the-middle of things, much more aware of being personally dismissed. In that version there’s a chance he and JYL go live in LP.)

Besides the Jins, there’s also NMJ, who is a big fan of his sworn brothers not getting killed and of not shielding people from the consequences of their actions. Just putting it out there where we can see it. On the other hand, they’re not LXC’s most direct family. LWJ and the Lans are, so NMJ lets LWJ take point.

(There's a version of this prompt where NMJ qi-deviates when he hears about LXC's death. In that timeline should WWX get killed NHS' plans never feature bringing him back.)

2) Know for whom LXC dying instead of JZX changes things a lot, though? WQ and WN. When they decide to surrender themselves, they go to Cloud Recesses, not Jinlintai. LWJ and his sect I feel wouldn't punish WQ for LXC’s death. She wasn't there.

(WN, otoh, is very done for. There is no way GSL pulls a Jin to keep him around. He's a fierce corpse and the one who killed their sect leader at that. They execute him/lay his soul to rest. There's no further desacration of WN and that's probably the bitterest comfort WQ could hope for. WQ does try to shield WN when she realizes the Lans aren't planning on executing her, but she doesn't get that.)

WQ would easily get a promise of safety from LWJ for at least A-Yuan, probably Granny, maybe the others - on the sterner end of the scale for the adult cultivators. This is somewhat dependent on what JGS (and NMJ) are clamoring for but JGS wants the Stygian Seal more than he does the Wens and NMJ would be satisfied with the Lans supervising the fate of the Wen remnants. Besides, the most high-profile of the Wen remnants is WQ and she just surrendered herself. WN would say WWX isn’t responsible for LXC’s death, it was a freak resentful energy accident–

3) I think what LWJ does demand about WWX is... that WWX be given over to Gusu Lan. They can lock him up. And purify him of the resentful energy.

LWJ is in a frankly abysmal mental space - it’s only because his cultivation is so orthodox that he doesn't qi deviate. It’s all tearing him up, LXC’s death because of the guy LWJ has a crush on, LWJ’s want for WWX and LWJ’s wish that he could (imitate his father) bring someone back to CR and lock them up and LWJ suddenly being in the horrendous situation where he is imitating his father. The memory of the kiss is now a nightmare. It was always a mixed memory (how shameful, to lose control of himself thus - to take advantage of the one he loved - to lack even the courage to simply ask, either for the kiss, or at least for forgiveness) but now it makes him retch.

It's all twisted in the fact that LXC is dead, because of WWX. There can be nothing between LWJ and WWX now. Simply wishing there could be would be the worst betrayal.

(LWJ remembers the days of their youth, LXC’s delight and gentle teasing at LWJ’s inexplicable liking of WWX. The Water Abyss. And now LXC is dead, because of the boy he was so happy LWJ wanted for a friend. LXC always wanted LWJ to have friends, something akin to his own friendship with NMJ.)

0) (the Problem. The Problem is that I cannot see WWX staying in the Cloud Recesses if he's imprisoned there. If he wouldn't rather die at first, he will afterwards. LWJ thinks of his mother. If WWX dies LWJ would enter seclusion like his father once did. This isn’t something LWJ tells himself consciously.)

4) JC and JYL visit WWX in the Cloud Recesses while he's imprisoned there. JC hates LWJ for it, but I think he's self-aware enough to think “what if it had been Jiejie.” It’s hard to hate LWJ wholeheartedly.

5) WQ is in Cloud Recesses, too. She’ll never live outside the Cloud Recesses again, but it could have been far worse. She’s allowed time with A-Yuan (she is not in forced seclusion and neither is she A-Yuan’s mother but LWJ cannot let himself see them together, or else he starts to think of how she isn’t allowed to raise her kin herself.)

When it comes out *pretty damn early* that WWX doesn’t have a core, she’s the one who implies WZL got him.

(JC is in LWJ’s office clamoring, begging for WWX to be released into the care of YMJ in a hot minute after he finds out - which takes at least one or two visits, because no-one wrote to tell him, and it takes him asking a question about how getting WWX rid of resentful energy and not letting go when the answer’s too cagey to his taste for him to know. If it were just LWJ– but LWJ has elders. plus there’s also LXC’s sworn brothers to contend with; LWJ isn’t thinking of that, and JC will think of it later, after LWJ has refused to return WWX to YMJ.) JC is so so so angry at everyone involved - WWX for *lying to him*, why didn’t you *tell me*, I would have *helped* - WQ for hiding it from him AND not telling him when she told the Lans (to which she retorts that she isn’t exactly allowed a free correspondence. Hmph. Okay. JC allows that. WQ has negative scruples about lying to him about the core rn.) - LWJ for keeping WWX a prisoner here even though WWX is, is, WWX isn’t a cultivator anymore he’s a normal person let YMJ watch over him, let JC - even JYL for having something else in her life that she loves, that isn’t WWX locked up in another sect.

WQ is also the one who sees when WWX is seriously at risk of his life just fading away, and this time she tells JC: if WWX doesn’t get out, he will die.

The fic ends with WQ and JC breaking WWX out of the Cloud Recesses (it’s implied LWJ is looking the other way). WQ stays in CR, of course, but JC is taking WWX to Lotus Pier. There’s no plan for “later”.

[stiricidewrites]

All the Things We’ll Leave Behind: ch 39, pt 2

Previously

~

It probably helped that his brother-in-law had finally shown up. nmj wasn’t just a powerhouse in these games, but an alpha who most alpha respected and feared. It didn’t matter that he held more liberal views on omegas; the man was considered by many to be the perfect physical and intellectual example of an alpha. To have him show up and chastise more than a few of the competitors—and give advice to many more? That alone was enough to have many of the alpha who leaned into being followers clean up their acts.

Unfortunately, nmj’s presence wasn’t enough to have the more ardent supporters of alpha rights straighten or shut up. Most of those alpha were obtuse, unable to read when they should and shouldn’t be spouting their nonsense—not that they should ever have been spouting it! But vocalizing their superiority complex in front of the heads and future heads of some of the country’s most powerful companies was just bad form.

They were still doing so, however, not even having enough sense to keep their vitriol hidden away.

jzxun had found himself a following of such people over the last few challenges, including sms, who unfortunately hadn’t drowned on his way to join the event. The female alpha, Lau Wendy, who jzxun had teamed up with for the diving challenge, had also joined the group that had taken to following him around. Between her, sms and a handful of other alpha, she was by far the more dangerous, having quickly solved the puzzle and secured her team fifth place, despite jzxun being one of the last to retrieve all their pieces—lwj and jzxuan had come first, of course.

Of the other alpha who had taken to following them around, most were suitors who lwj had previously seen congregating around him and screaming RAAR alongside him—something they had even done during the event, in a truly embarrassing show. A few of the local alpha, mostly those on the older side who had likely already been exposed to the glory of RAAR at university, had joined in the cheer, and a line had been drawn.

Thankfully, lwj and jzxuan were currently competing against people who seemed to be on their side of the line: lqy and Lu Ming.

How and why lqy had come to be competing against three men significantly larger than herself, lwj wasn’t sure. It wasn’t against the rules, and certainly, there were a number of potential micro-challenges that could be featured in this challenge that favoured smaller bodies. It was still a decision for her to compete against them, one he commended her for.

“I’m sick of competing against the girls,” was all the female alpha had said when asked about it, shrugging and readjusting her bathing suit. It was a rare one piece, many of the other women opting for bikinis. There had been more than a few wardrobe malfunctions and would surely be more to come as many of the more physical challenges were located on land, where drowning was less of a risk.

[llycaons]

in cql, wwx's parents' generation (jfm, myu, lqr, possibly jgs) all look so much older than wwx and his peers do even when jc, lwj, nhs, lxc etc. must have gotten close to the same age as their parents by post-timeskip. you can't really explain this with cultivation since they're all cultivators, and nhs and jgs aren't even particularly good at it so there's no reason THEY would have stopped aging, but they both looks just as young as they did before, same as certified powerhouses jc and lwj, and just-came-back-to-life-in-a-20-year-old-body wwx

and the younger generation looks more like little kids too! ig you can chalk that one up to the juniors living in a kinder world with gentler guardians and less risk of imminent invasion and death, and thus they just act younger and more childlike, BUT my preferred reading that I just thought of is that we see the story from wwx's pov and he sees everyone older than him as very old and mature, and everyone in the junior's generation as little babies kjsdhkjas

[hualesbian]

dragon lwj and rider wwx that have a bond that connects them to their feelings

the gusu lan is a kingdom of prosperity that had never fallen under the last 300 hundred years, making it one of the longest and steadiest dynasties of the real. after them are the wens, who stand on equal footing with the lans.

the lans are known for their dragons, as the main line can transform themselves into a magical beast, but they need a rider to connect and have the full potential of their powers. that role is usually taken by someone who is trusted by said dragon.

wei ying comes to the lan as a knight for lwj, and the development of their relationship makes wwx the rider of lwj.

lwj has a powerful dragon, with the owner of controlling the clouds and thunder on a small scale.

in the gusu lan kingdom, there are minor clans as members of the court. the most powerful and influential houses are the jin, the jiang, the nie and the wen.

the nies are connected to the royal family through the marriage of nie mgj and lxc, the current king of gusu, and he is the rider of lxc.

many have the misconception that the rider is the one who has the power, but in reality, he is the one at a disadvantage because the dragon and the rider have to sustain a bond, that usually wears the rider in the long term if they’re not careful.

lwj is the number one bachelor, being the sibling of the king, he is desired by the main powerhouses because of that. however, he refuses every courtship, as he is already in a relationship with his knight wwx

wwx and lwj as a pair have acquired a reputation for being extremely efficient on the battlefield.

once, a jin noble dare enough to insult lwj in a banquet, with repercussion, he lost his tongue by wwx hands. lwj just ignored the accident and continues his night, but everyone was quite clear to never bother lwj in front of wwx.

maybe after a rebellion, the lan start to worry about their hold in the power and that leads to lan zhan being married off to wen xu.

the only condition for lwj to accept this marriage is to keep wwx as his rider, and the lan and wen reluctantly agree to it.

wen xu lust after lwj but keeps his hands to himself, one because of wwx and two because lwj threaten to cut his throat in his sleep if he came any closer to what was expected in public appearances.

this is just vibes and 0 plot uuuuugh

having a brainroot rn and probably gonna do a fanfic about it taking inspiration from house of dragon 🧐 who knows

[besanii]

DH prompt, maybe: after seeing the fire festival, I kinda wanna see the first time LWJ ever managed to fluster WWX? I imagine WWX (and all of their mutual friends) would be absolutely gobsmacked about it after three centuries. Thank you so much for everything you do for us—DH is the absolute highlight of my day and never fails to make me smile. Smugji is a blessing on this Earth XD

Extra 12: Prize | previous parts here

“A-Cheng, A-Xian, good luck!” Jiang Yanli calls from where she’s standing with the rest of the spectators. “And be careful!”

Wei Wuxian waves back at her enthusiastically with his sword aloft, jumping up and down amidst the line-up of competitors in today’s tournament. A red competitor’s headband is tied across his forehead, the ends draping down the length of his back, and he’s swapped out his usual loose, flowing robes for a more form-fitted ones in black and red. He likes these robes, likes the way they look on him, and how easily he can move around in them.

Beside him, Jiang Cheng is also waving at his sister, albeit in a more dignified manner, inching as far away from Wei Wuxian as possible.

“Can you calm down?” he hisses, barely restraining the urge to kick him. “I’m embarrassed just standing next to you.”

“Heh, don’t be so prudish, Jiang Cheng, you’re not even sixty thousand,” Wei Wuxian says. “You’re acting as old as Lan-laotouzi.”

He dances away from Jiang Cheng’s attempted swipe at his head with a laugh, only for a pair of hands to grab him by the shoulders.

“Oops, sorry,” he says, turning around to see who it is. “I didn’t mean to—oh, hey Lan Zhan.”

Lan Wangji looks down at him, bemused, his hands still on Wei Wuxian’s shoulders so he has to crane his neck to look at him over his shoulder.

He’s dressed in white, as always, with a white headband, but like Wei Wuxian has swapped his usual flowing robes for ones that allow more freedom of movement. The shortened hem shows off his unfairly long legs, and the sleeveless outer robe his muscular torso and arms, which suddenly reminds Wei Wuxian of their current position. He twists himself around to face Lan Wangji, breaking free of the hold on his shoulders at the same time, and beams at him.

“Hi, Lan Zhan!” he says. “Ready to lose?”

Jiang Cheng snorts under his breath, but Lan Wangji only raises an eyebrow.

“You believe you’ll win?” He sounds almost curious.

Hah! Little does he know, Wei Wuxian is the best at these games. Undisputed champion in Qing Qiu and Lotus Pier. He grins.

“Wanna bet?” he asks, and waggles eyebrows suggestively. “Loser has to grant the winner one wish.”

Lan Wangji considers this for a moment, expression thoughtful. 

“What sort of wish?” he asks.

Wei Wuxian grins confidently. “Anything! As long as it’s within the loser’s power to grant, of course. Don’t worry, I won’t ask you for anything that goes against the laws of the Nine Heavens.”

“Alright,” Lan Wangji agrees finally.

To his credit, Lan Wangji doesn’t look concerned in the slightest. That will change really soon, Wei Wuxian thinks smugly. Once they get into the arena, he won’t know what hit him. He raises his sword in both hands and bows with exaggerated formality.

“Then please go easy on me, Lan-er-dianxia,” he says.

--

When the gong sounds, all twelve competitors fly up and position themselves on top of the pillars of ice dotting the arena. Wei Wuxian winks at Jiang Cheng from where he’s perched on top of one of the shorter pillars as they draw their swords and wait for the signal to begin. He looks around for Lan Wangji and spots him close by, Bichen’s blade glinting in the sunlight.

Typical Lan Zhan to choose the tallest vantage point. All the better to look down on us from on high.

Not that it matters. Wei Wuxian has a way to deal with him. He might as well start thinking about what embarrassing thing he can get Lan Wangji to do after this is over.

“Rules are simple,” the referee is saying. “Remove the headband from your fellow competitors’ heads. You may use swords, talismans, and spells, as long as it does not endanger the lives of your fellow competitors. You must remain in human form throughout the competition. The last one with their headband still on will be declared the winner.”

Easy. He rolls out his shoulders and neck and bounces a few times on the balls of his feet to loosen up his joints. 

As soon as the gong sounds again, he whips out an amplification talisman and torches the pillars surrounding him, melting them enough so that the competitors perched on top of them come crashing down as they crumble. Wei Wuxian darts forward while they get their bearings and undoes their headbands quickly on his way past them. He grins, three headbands in his grasp.

Across the other side of the arena, Jiang Cheng is plucking the headband from another competitor whose lower body has been completely frozen onto the pillar to prevent them from moving. He looks over at Wei Wuxian and raises Sandu in challenge.

With his fire trick used, Wei Wuxian starts jumping between pillars, quick and sure-footed. He trades parries and punches, dodges the occasional fireball—because of course the other competitors would follow suit and favour fire in an arena of ice—all the while keeping an eye out for Lan Wangji. He doesn’t want to knock him out too early in the competition.

Half an incense stick’s worth of time later, there’s just him, Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji left in the arena. He has four headbands, five including his own, Jiang Cheng three, and Lan Wangji four. The ice pillars around them are in various states of collapse, making their footing rather precarious, but they pay it little mind as they size each other up from different corners of the arena.

“Hey Lan Zhan,” he calls, waving his collection of headbands in the air and flashing him a cheeky grin. “Remember our bet! You better prepare yourself, cos I’m not gonna let you off that easy!”

“You talk too much,” Jiang Cheng snorts, and takes into the air.

“Says you!” Wei Wuxian draws a quick sigil in the air and fires it in his direction; it catches Jiang Cheng’s ankle, wrapping around it like a piece of string. “Gotcha!”

He yanks on his end of the spell and the talisman amplifies the force, sending Jiang Cheng crashing into the arena below with an undignified shout. The string shortens as he reels it in like a fishing line while he hops forward to meet it halfway, grinning down at a dishevelled Jiang Cheng covered in snow.

“Thank you,” he says glibly, reaching down and plucking the purple headband from around his head. Jiang Cheng grins.

“No,” he says. “Thank you.”

He grabs hold of Wei Wuxian’s outstretched hand, holding him in place just as a flash of blue skims the side of his head. A moment later, his own red headband flutters down past his nose, piling around his neck. Jiang Cheng releases him with a whoop and flops back on the ground with a satisfied grunt. Wei Wuxian is frozen in place, staring at neat cut through the side of his headband.

What the fuck just happened?

He nearly jumps out of his skin when a pair of hands appear on either side of his head. He whips around to see Lan Wangji standing much too close for comfort, his fingers brushing Wei Wuxian’s neck.

“Wha-What are you doing?” he asks, voice oddly high-pitched, heart racing. His skin feels like it’s on fire where Lan Wangji’s fingers have made contact, and the heat spreads to his ears and neck.

Lan Wangji lifts the headband carefully from around his neck and holds it up in front of him, an strange, unsettling glint in his amber eyes.

“I win,” he says calmly.

Wei Wuxian forces himself to laugh, but it comes out louder than he’d intended, and a lot more hysterical. He hears Jiang Cheng snort; Lan Wangji’s lips twitch.

“Congratulations!” Wei Wuxian says. “Well done! Haha, yes, uh—I can’t believe you and Jiang Cheng teamed up against me—”

He breaks off with a breathy squeak when Lan Wangji steps even closer and he can feel the heat radiating from his body. It may be just his imagination, or a trick of the light, or maybe Wei Wuxian’s vision growing fuzzy around the edges, but Lan Wangji’s eyes have darkened to almost a molten gold as he holds his gaze. It’s suddenly really, really hard to breathe.

He squeezes his eyes shut as Lan Wangji leans in—his body doesn’t seem to be able to do move at all, did Lan Wangji use a freezing spell on him?—and he braces himself for—for something. Except...there’s nothing more than a light tug on his scalp, and then his hair comes tumbling over his shoulders.

“What...?”

He opens his eyes to see a familiar length of red ribbon in Lan Wangji’s hand, along with the red headband, and a look of immense satisfaction in Lan Wangji’s eyes.

“My prize,” he tells him. “As promised.”

And then he turns on his heel and flies out of the arena, leaving Wei Wuxian standing there, flummoxed and speechless, as Jiang Cheng wheezes with laughter on the ground.

// buy me a ko-fi //

[upside-blue]

svuave, cocky, vulnerable international criminal wwx and fbi agent lwj who goes rouge for him and protects him from the world

[gloriousmonsters]

I kind of dig CQL Su's backstory for how unfair it was. Like, novel him you could see exactly why WWX and co were disgusted by him for his actions in almost handing over MianMian, but CQL him it's like... his friends were being slaughtered??? It just adds this sense of 'yeah king, kill the gentry' that matches Xue Yang more.

eh, for me the two narratives serve different purposes and I'm slightly fonder of the novel one. CQL SMS is good and very crunchy and also just. the sweetest boy and like you said, more overtly sympathetic; but:

Novel SMS sets up a more interesting 'character contradiction' in that he starts as a teenager who does something genuinely bad and cowardly (we know it, everyone knows it, he knows it) who can't quite match the local golden boy in skill... and then he grows up to be a sect leader, a brilliant powerhouse of a fighter, and a brave-to-the-point-of-self-sacrifice, loyal man. And he does it for the villain because the 'good' people treat him like crap. And he does it, crucially, offscreen.

No matter how he grows and changes, he's treated like a failed disciple for the Lan, a failed copy of LWJ. No other reason is given than 'he gets mad at being compared to LWJ and plays the guqin, the most common spiritual instrument.' He's not despised by WWX for being a coward in the past--WWX is pissed off in the moment, and then true to form forgets about it. He mocks SMS for daring to criticize the Lan while having once come from them, and later--when he remembers seeing SMS in the past--he's only concerned with why did you ruin my life, what did I do to you? And SMS' response is, basically, why do you think you're the main character?

SMS considers himself the center of the story when it's not about him. Watsonianly, it takes the form of people finding him arrogant and his anger unjustified; doylistically, it's fascinating to realize that he has a dramatic character arc that we never see, and interesting to read his baffled rage at LWJ--what reason does he have to act arrogant and get away with it? why is fate on his side and not mine? as an almost fourth-wall aware complaint. Why isn't SMS a main character? He just isn't. It's not his story. He was created for a certain role and he wants a different one, but it's impossible inside this framework. It's a frustration at the center of his character that plays in a fun way with other themes of the story (is it only perspective that makes a hero or a villain? etc).

And it's totally understandable that CQL sort of... shifts that an inch sideways and it becomes class-specific rage. What is class jumping but wanting a role you weren't given? The change of his Cowardice Event to something more sympathetic also makes sense in this context, and it's placement nearly side by side with Meng Yao's murder of the captain does drive in his increased similarity to his later villainous friends. I like CQL, genuinely. It feels like a less meta story to me, but that doesn't make it worse--just more self-contained, a little bit different overall.

But the novel's version of events is honestly more about audience perception than the involved characters, imo. People don't despise him later for what he did then, except (possibly; we see no indication but he could be thinking it) LWJ. It's on the audience to still only see him as the cowardly kid who nearly handed over Mianmian, just as the Lan see him as a failed disciple and others see him as arrogant beyond his station. Then Guanyin Temple displays so much that was concealed about everyone, and you find out SMS has been hiding his accomplishments and abilities for years, is not too proud to loyally serve the son of a prostitute, and is willing to die without hesitation.

What a character, what an arc. In a different life (story), he could have been great (the main character).

Not in this life, though.

and that's my extremely too many words overanalyzing essay on why novel!sms is my fave by a slim margin. it's about the tragedy of the meta implications that feel like they aren't really there in the more sympathetic/contained CQL version 👌

[labyrynth]

ok i know that it might come off sometimes that i dislike nie huaisang but i do not!! i do quite like that little stinky bastard of a man!!

i just think it’s very important to acknowledge that he is, in fact, a member of the Bitches With Dubious Methods Club (the other members being wwx and jgy), and that his motivations, as compared to wwx and jgy, were entirely selfish.

and also that his scheme seems to have fucked over a LOT more people than it helped

dead directly bc huaisang started stirring shit up: mo xuanyu & mo family, qin su, jin guangyao, su she, many miscellaneous monks, possibly many more; unknown (honorable mention: meng shi’s soul, as we have no idea what huaisang did with her body)

otherwise screwed: lan xichen (lan sect to a lesser extent thanks to lan qiren, but lwj certainly isn’t helping), jin ling & jin sect, moling su, the collective jianghu in the absence of an incredibly competent powerhouse of a leader, the common folks when jgy’s watchtowers are inevitably decommissioned in an attempt to erase his legacy (honorable mention: nie huaisang, who personally got the guy more or less keeping his sect afloat killed)

helped: nmj’s soul (but also not really bc his ass is NOT resting) and…sisi? wwx indirectly, bc he’s Alive again, and now everyone blames jgy for shit wwx actually did do? so also lwj by extension i guess but nhs didn’t really give a shit about that. bicao got a nice bracelet out of it, i guess.

so yeah just to clarify, huaisang is a conniving little bitch (affectionate)

[ddanmeissu]

i need someone i can yell at about my very niche tma au ;w;

(see me playing fast and loose between tma lore and mdzs canon under the cut wheeee~)

this is part headcanon, part drabble, all-around mess. just dont think too hard about it please

the classification of each entity isn’t fully documented yet, smirke’s 14 doesn’t exist, but each major clan has a specific fear that called their founders. there are also some entities haven’t been identified yet so a lot of fears bleed into each other 

they’re still cultivators here. they’re cultivating fear.

golden cores are the physical manifestation of your connection with your god within your body. the more you feed it, the more connected you are to your patron, the more powerful you become.

each clan is a powerhouse to a specific entity but their disciples can be touched by multiple entities (and honestly, i cant make everyone a slaughter avatar) only the sect leader needs to be fully devoted to their fear god

Gusu Lan = Beholding, Qinghe Nie = Slaughter, Yunmeng Jiang = Hunt, Lanling Jin = Stranger, and Qishan Wen = Desolation

wei wuxian was once heavily touched by the hunt. his mother a famous Huntress and rogue cultivator and his father a servant and close friend to the sect of The Everchase

jiang cheng’s Hunt core is slightly weaker but its fine because they are of the same pack. they are partners, brothers in everything but blood, and will hunt down anyone who dares to hurt the other.

jiang yanli isn’t an avatar, not marked by the hunt but touched by the Hive, manifesting more on the love/belonging and family aspect rather than the filth aspect

i have more Thots about the family aspects between hive/hunt and how they are both very possessive on who they call their Persons but expresses it different ways that mirror jyl and jc but that’s for a different post

during their time in the cloud recesses they meet a quiet watcher who wwx immediately zones in on him as his new “prey”.

lan wangji is silent and knowledgeable as is expected from a disciple of the beholding, but there is a certain chill around him that other eye avatars do not have

wwx stalks the poor boy, pounces on him whenever he manages to catch him alone, and is just a general disturbance all-around.

he does not feel the Eyes that sometimes watch him when he is alone.

lan xichen does not need the beholding’s power to see the way his brother looks at the young hunter disciple. he is pleased to feel the cold surrounding the jingshi has lessened. shufu seems perplexed and torn.

wwx’s also has his eye on jin zixuan, the pompous plastic peacock that’s engaged to his shijie. he isn’t actually allowed to hunt him down so he settles on dismembering the lifeless mannequins that he uses as servants.

(playing with the timeline here) they get kicked out when a text is destroyed within the Library Pavilion even though it was just a pornography book (any kind of knowledge is still knowledge) and even though it was lwj who destroyed it (the eye had punished him severely for that).

the desolation!wen are attempting to bring The Scourged Earth into the world. they burn down the cloud recesses “in the name of ‘cleaning up the place’ so that it would be ‘reborn from the firelight.’” ( - directly from the mdzs wiki)

the xuanwu of slaughter is an ancient manifestation of, well, the slaughter and cannot be reasoned with.

(”Lan Zhan, can you See anything?” “No. My connection with The Beholding has been greatly severed.” “Oh. well.. Uh, it’s kinda foggy in here huh? Here have my outer robe, you look kinda cold.” “…Mn.”)

lotus pier burns and jiang cheng loses his core. wwx asks flesh!wen qing for help because only an avatar of the flesh (the boneturner, though that isn’t its name yet) is able to carve open another avatar long enough to take something out and place it somewhere else.

jiang cheng immediately becomes a fully-fledged avatar using wwx’s hunt-influenced core. it manifests as strong bloodlust against the wens, fear of being seen as weak prey by the other clans, (and later, hunting down wwx and other end-aligned cultivators.)

wwx gets thrown in the burial mounds. he is dead for three whole months. and then he wakes up.

his hunter core is gone but that’s fine. he is alive not because he wants to but because he has to. when he is awake, he calls upon the dead to exact his revenge. the wens are defeated and everyone is in frightened awe of the new being that he has unwillingly become. when he is asleep, black tendrils of death plague his dreams. He relives the horrible memories of his own and others’ deaths. sometimes he can feel someone watching him but cannot see them in return.

wei wuxian is alive but he is not part of jiang cheng’s pack anymore. he does not follow them out on hunts anymore, doesn’t even bother to stay within the residences. he isn’t part of their pack anymore, abandoned their patron for something else more powerful, and for what? he feels resentment brewing inside him. resentment and fear.

wwx knew not to trust the polished and waxed faces of the jins. all the wen remnants are non-avatars, barely touched by anything other than the fear the jins had instilled by themselves. they do not deserve this cruelty, to be both entertainment and livestock for the rest of the cultivation world. it is true that death comes for everyone, but wwx will not let these people die at the hands of these strangers.

the wens become touched by the End during their stay in the burial mounds. wen ning, with flute music playing in his head, wins an archery game against Death and finally wakes.

 one day a cold mist surrounds yilling when wwx takes a-yuan out on a stroll. He loses him but finds him again clinging to a man in white robes that looks like he wants to disappear. wwx feels himself smile brightly at the sight. (”lan zhan! it’s so nice to see you again! It’s been so cold out today but luckily it’s warmer now!” “Mn.” “You really blend in with the fog with those white robes of yours. it’s okay though because i’m sure i can find you wherever you disappear to!” “Mn.”)

qiongqi path becomes a massacre of plastic mannequins and not!beings. the smell of death and manufactured flesh fill the air like an offering to his unwanted patron, and black tendrils surround wwx and his assailants. It blinds him and he can’t see it, can’t control it, can’t stop it as jin zixuan is pierced through his chest and falls to the ground, dead.

the clans are outraged. they speak in fear of him, they hear of his power over life and death and that he, like the wen fugitives by his side, is trying to bring about his patron into the world. they call for an attack, a bloodbath to take him down once and for all.

and a bloodbath it is. the entire cultivation world against a one-man army. fear rings high in the air and all the Entities are well fed in the aftermath, the most satisfied: Slaughter and (paradoxical to their intent) The End.

later, much later, when the siege is over and nothing is left of his anchor other than a small child marked by death, lwj accepts the punishment lashes and then goes into cold seclusion. the jingshi is completely covered by clouds of fog. no one can See him, the elders only get a debilitating headache when they try to pry too hard. not even lxc, who has become the Eye’s most devoted avatar, can know his brother’s whereabouts. only lan yuan seems to able to navigate through the dense gloom.

the world moves on

jin guangyao’s wide smiles are not conspicuous within the plastic faces and painted lips within lanling jin. If his limbs are too long or if his smile a bit distorted or if he disappears through a bright yellow door and doesnt come back then no one makes mention of it.

No one also notices the webs above them hidden in the high ceilings of lanling jin nor the tiny spiders that skitter around the gossiping servants, spinning and weaving threads of thick silk around them.

it takes years for his brother to come out from the fog and lxc nearly weeps at the knowledge that The Lonely had not forsaken another member of his family. still, lwj has changed. there is a certain chill around him now that persists wherever he goes. though he has always been silent since childhood, his silence now is cold and unfeeling, eyes faraway as if not seeing those around him and only floating through the days. He is not completely alone though and that is enough to alleviate some of xichen’s worries. 

time abates some wounds but certainly not all. there is still an empty cold pit in lwj’s chest but it does not bleed as freely as it did 10 years before. Before, he would have readily disappeared into the fog when the elders comes to look for him, now he chooses to disappear from the cloud recesses and absconds into night hunts. he goes wherever the chaos is, seeking (but not willing to hope) that he might find something that can stir the deadness in his heart.

tbc ?

[drwcn]

follow up to [post] exploring the crack au if lwj was a girl 

〒▽〒 ps im not trying to erase canon lwj representation, not at all, wangxian is mm in all my other fics, this is just stupid fun

in a ceteris paribus situation aka all other things staying equal: 

1) Lan Wangji 100% still has a resting bitch face, which probably would get her a couple of “Lan-er-guniang 美若天仙 (beautiful as an immortal/goddess) but would benefit from smiling more” comments but nobody is that desperate to die yet so, she’s spared. But damn... imagine the sheer number of thirsty boys who’d try to secure a marriage with LWJ. None of them is good enough for Wangji as far as Lan Xichen is concerned. Okay - maybe in Lan Xichen’s opinion, Nie Mingjue is good enough, but he couldn’t be less interested. I see her as I see Huaisang, Xichen please. 

2) Everything interaction between Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian in Wei Wuxian’s first life is now 500% more scandalous. 

Exhibit A) Their first meeting at the gates; Jiang Cheng immediately felt his spidey senses tingling.  —“You’d sooner have immortals flying out of your ass than get with someone like her. The second jade of Gusu? The pearl in old man Lan’s eyes? C’mon.”  —“Shut up, A-Cheng.” —“Uh-huh.”  —“Also, she’s not that pretty. Her brother Zewu-jun is much better. There’s a reason he’s ranked first.” WWX is still a disaster bi.  — “LMAO, you? Zewu-jun? Please.” 

Exhibit B) Just because LWJ is a girl does not mean WWX grew more brain cells. 

WWX, straight up to Lan Qiren’s face, “Lan-meimei and I - we’re zhiji.” (he means it like we’re kindred spirits, peas of a pod, etc)  LWJ: *does not deny* Lan Xichen: ⚆_⚆ Lan Qiren: ಠ╭╮ಠ

Exhibit C) Lan Wangji getting drunk the first time. Wei Wuxian knew he crossed a line the minute he invited Lan-er-guniang for a drink. Really, WWX, even for you, this is inappropriate. When Lan Wangji fell face first onto the table, Wei Wuxian knew, he fucked up. “Hey....hey...Lan....Lan...-er-guniang,” He poked her. “Don’t...don’t sleep here! You can’t sleep here! If your Uncle finds out or if Jiang-shushu finds out...they’ll skin me alive and then...and then they’ll make me marry you! I don’t want to marry you; you don’t talk and I’m too young!” 

WWX, being a dipshit, “Hey Lan Zhan, call me Wei-gege.”  LWJ, drunk as fuck, “Wei..gege.”  WWX *((( heart )))* ??? 

Exhibit D) The Cold Pond. Okay, so I don’t think Zewu-jun would sabotage his sister’s virtue by sending a stupid teenage boy her way while she’s bathing, but doesn’t mean Su She is above all that. Wei “I didn’t see anything I swear!” Wuxian. Lan “I will gouge out your eyes.” Wangji. Somehow they still end up in the cave. Maybe WWX got in the water after LWJ got out and got sucked into the vortex and LWJ heard the commotion, turned around, saw WWX had disappeared. “Wei Ying?!” A panicked LWJ jumps back into the pond, “Stop fooling around, come out!” 

Jiang Cheng and Wen Qing 👀👀 when LWJ and WWX fall out of the cave together. Also the fact that Lan-er-guniang and Wei-gongzi went missing, together, for two days. Who knows what could’ve happened. I mean anything really. I mean... that’s gotta stir the pot a little were it not for the Yin Iron stealing everyone’s attention away from this bit of juicy scandal. 

Oh the whole story... so much to work with, so little time. 

3) Because Lan Wangji is a girl, now suddenly there’s a high ranking member of the Lan Clan who can host the girls at Cloud Recesses. I mean, Mianmian, Jiang Yanli, Wen Qing, Lan Wangji - SISTERLY FRIENDSHIP. Other than Mianmian, none of the girls are really talkers which suits Lan Wangji perfectly. Even Mianmian’s chatter is endearing.

4) Lan Wangji is absolutely still a powerhouse during the Sunshot Campaign. The inherent aesthetics of fem!lwj telling the Wen goons to “kneel” - no one will deprive me of this.  Also she will still cut off your arm if you cross her - Xue Yang and Jin Guangyao ya better watch out still. 

I am TORN between two options: Lan Wangji tol and kickass or Lan Wangji smol and kickass. On one hand, the aesthetics of willowy elf-like LWJ, on the other hand, 5′2′’ of whoop ass who can and will throw an unconscious wwx over her shoulder firewoman-style and toll him to safety.  

And amongst other things: 

A) Lan Wangji still becomes Chief Cultivator, because excuse me who else is left to clean up this mess? Jiang “Short-fuse” Wanyin? Nie “I won’t do what I’m not intended to do” Huaisang? Jin “13 year-old” Ling? Or Sect Leader Yao?  Technically, being a woman means that she was never Lan Xichen’s heir, but at the end of it, it’s not like Gusu Lan is left with a lot of choices.  Just the poetic justice of Gusu Lan pleading for Lan Wangji to come back when she fully intends to 隐居山野 (retreat into the mountains) with the resurrected WWX.

Lan Wangji being Chief Cultivator would echo Lan Yi’s tenure and rectify the fact that Gusu Lan’s only female head of family “failed”. Lan Yi had to face a mountain of prejudice because she was woman; someone has to say “up yours” to that. A woman as not only the sect master of Gusu Lan but the Chief Cultivator? Love that for Gusu Lans. (⌐■_■) ☞ ☞

B) Because of ~ sexism ~ I wonder if Lan Wangji would get titled “Hanguang” at all even after the Sunshot Campaign. Even Lan Yi, the SL Lan of her time didn’t have a title. Chances are LWJ won’t either. (Note: Violet Spider is not a title, it’s a moniker). So — say after the way Lan Wangji is still just “Lan-er-guniang”, and she does not obtain the title “Han Guang” until after she leaves Cloud Recesses and become rogue. (srsly how did they come up with these titles in canon, did gusu lan just look at 21 year old lwj and be like yah he’s lord light bearer *cue trevor noah stand up joke* why do you call yourself “great” britain? isn’t that a bit presumptuous? shouldn’t you go around doing good things and then let other people come to the conclusion: oh britain look how great you are? same logic with lwj.) 

Lan Wangji, a Jade of Gusu or a nameless rogue, still goes where trouble is, helping those who need it. After laying low for a year or two to heal, Lan Wangji began night hunting. Donned neck to ankle in white silk and tulle, and a weimao (wide brimmed veil hat) obscuring her face, she became known to the people as Hanguang Sanren, the lightbearing wanderer. Gusu’s highest power probably has some idea who she is - or at least they can guess - but the vast majority of people don’t. 

C) Lan Sizhui raised by rogue Lan Wangji as his mum would be different. Still cultured, respectful, but definitely with an air of keeping others at arm’s length. 

For instance, grown-up Sizhui running interference and saving a cohort of gentry disciples on joint hunts.

Jingyi: 这人谁呀？Who is this guy? Zizhen: 多谢兄台搭救之恩，小可看您眼生，敢问兄台尊姓大名，何门何派，改日当登门拜访. Many thanks for saving us. I don’t believe we’ve met, pray tell what is your name and sect, so we may visit at a later time to thank you for tonight. Sizhui: 在下无门无姓 ，单名思追 。举手之劳不足挂齿 ，怎敢劳烦各位名门子弟答谢。My name is Sizhui, belonging to no family and to no sect. As for tonight - I only did what anyone would; it bears no mentioning and requires no thanks. Jin Ling: 你这人，看你工力不凡，想和你交个朋友，可你怎么遮遮掩掩的。Hey you, we see you’re a talented cultivator and want to make your acquaintance. Why are you so dodge-y? Zizhen：金陵 — Jing Ling - Sizhui: 若是有缘，还会相见。告辞。If it’s fated, we will meet again. Farewell.  

Later:  Jingyi: 思。追。 思追谁？Si. Zhui. To recollect and long for whom?  Sizhui: 母亲的一位故人. Someone from Mother’s past.  Jingyi: 你父亲？...Your father?  Sizhui: 我不知。I don’t know. 

I thought about how cute it would be if sizhui and jin ling knew each other but guys...Jiang Cheng literally thinks he killed Sizhui’s biological father. Like he literally thinks he orphaned Sizhui before Sizhui is even born. And Lan Wangji would never accept anything from Jiang Wanyin, not that it would stop Jiang Wanyin from trying. 

A package of books here, a new robe for Sizhui there. Lan Wangji doesn’t know how Jiang Cheng keeps finding her. She and Sizhui are nomadic.  

D) The inevitable conversation after wwx is revived. 

You know what would be funnier than Jiang Cheng thinking Sizhui is a wangxian baby is if Lan Qiren thinks Sizhui is a wangxian baby. 

[silverflame2724]

WWX, LWJ and Wen Remnants accidentally timetravel to the past.

From a outside perspective WWX and LWJ eloped and left their sects the day WWX was expelled coincidentally WQ is called back to Quishan after the volcano at Nightless City erupts unexpectedly killing WRH & sons making WQ the new Sect Leader by default. When asked to be Sect Leader WN went not it. WQ invites WWX and LWJ to join the new Wen Medical Sect.

For this to make sense, think of the terrain as the one in the Untamed as well as Wei Wuxian dying by throwing himself off the cliff. Everything else is the same as MDZS canon.

_____________________________________

Lan Qiren had hoped he was having an elaborate dream or some sort of mischievous sprite had cursed him to have such a memory, but no. Detailed in Wangji’s perfect calligraphy was the reason he had left Gusu: to elope with Wei Wuxian.

Things seemed to....change from that moment on and if Lan Qiren were to connect the dots - no matter how unrealistic it might seem - it had started the day Wangji had left the Cloud Recesses.

But for now, Lan Qiren quietly cursed up a storm - in a very Lan-like manner, at least - and sent out search parties for his runaway nephew and expelled student. He did not believe for a second that his precious nephew would just leave like that!

.......................

The Yunmeng Jiang sect and Gusu Lan sect had sent out search parties for Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji but could not find them. It was like they had disappeared into thin air!

Lan Qiren had not given up though, periodically sending people out to see if they passed by any towns. Yu Ziyuan, on the other hand, had muttered ‘good riddance’ according to the Yunmeng servants and quickly made plans on replacing him. This was, of course, met with backlash from Jiang Fengmian and the married couple’s fights had gotten a lot worse from then on. According to a fisherman, with Wei Wuxian no longer around, Yu Ziyuan had started to target her own children more often now. 

But it seemed that the exciting news hadn’t ended yet! 

Apparently, when some of the branches of the Qishan Wen sect had been out on night hunts or collecting medicinal herbs, going about their normal business, the dormant volcano Qishan had rested on suddenly became active and flooded the main compound of the Wen sect with lava! Luckily, the civilians were able to be evacuated quickly. Unfortunately, Wen Ruohan and his sons, who had stayed at the Sun Palace to make plans for the archery tournament, perished in the chaos.

Everyone secretly breathed a sigh of relief since Wen Ruohan had been pushing on the sects’ borders recently. 

The issue now, though, was electing a new Wen sect leader. The closest relatives were the renowned healer, Wen Qing, and her little brother, Wen Qionglin. Honestly speaking, Wen Qionglin should have inherited it but the boy had cited reasons he wasn’t suited to lead and handed the honor over to his sister, who was more than qualified in the eyes of the surviving Wen elders. So Wen Qing was crowned the new sect leader and went about making huge changes to the Wen sect. 

Whereas before, the Wen sect was an arrogant powerhouse, focused on only furthering their own selfish desires. Now, under Wen Qing, they specialized in healing and medicine. 

But that wasn’t all.

What made people the most shocked was that Wen Qing had personally invited the missing Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji to join their sect..........and they accepted!

The Yunmeng Jiang and Gusu Lan sects immediately stormed into Qishan, demanding to see their respective wayward disciple - who had been gone for five years now - only to see them leaning against one another, comfortable and happy.

No amount of pleading or poisonous words had deterred them from joining the new Wen sect and when asked why.......

“We have had enough of being fit into a mold of your own design.” They said. “It’s time for us to be ourselves with anything to restrict us.”

Lan Qiren had not known what to say to that.

“Are you happy?” Lan Xichen had asked. 

Lan Wangji’s resounding smile had been answer enough.

Yu Ziyuan, on the other hand, had to be escorted out. Jiang Fengmian had understood that Wei Wuxian had had enough of being put down in his sect and had accepted him leaving.

Jiang Cheng had been angry, upset that Wei Wuxian wasn’t at his side, but grudgingly admitted that Wei Wuxian looked happier than he had been in Lotus Pier. Jiang Yanli smiled and congratulated Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji on their union. 

All in all, a positive reaction to the situation.

....................

Wei Wuxian cuddled with his husband, content and relaxed. They had done it. 

One day, they had fallen asleep side by side and between one moment and the next, found themselves over two decades into the past. They had been disoriented but decided that the best course of action was to change the past. Finding out Wen Qing and Wen Ning along with all the Wen remnants came with them was a huge bonus and evidently worked in their favor. 

They had made plans to evacuate the citizens, made diversions so that the innocent branch families would be spared, and decided how they should move on after they had eliminated Wen Ruohan and his sons. In the end, Wei Wuxian had used resentful energy to stir up the volcano and make it active again, killing their biggest enemies including Wen Zhuliu in one fell swoop.

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji debated on going back to their families but decided against it. Away from the influences of their families, they had both come alive in ways they hadn’t in their previous lives. They were happy, free, and unrestricted. It was......a fulfilling life. And they wanted it to stay that way.

Though.....joining the new Wen sect under Wen Qing would be nice. As much as a life of travel was freeing, they would have a constant roof over their heads and wouldn’t have to worry about a stray spirit or two causing havoc. 

Wei Wuxian had been thinking about adopting a child or two anyways. And five years away from the sects’ influences had been enough.

Wei Wuxian looked at Nightless City, lingering on a certain cliff’s edge. In that other world, on this day, he had died. Today, in this new world, he was living a happy life. All his loved ones were alive and he was not the enemy of the world.

As Lan Wangji came to his side, Wei Wuxian took his hand, looking forward - for once - to what life had to offer him next. 

[somereaderinblue]

Jiang Wanyin; Love=Convenience

.........................sometimes, I look at JC’s resentment and I’m scared. Not scared of him per se but rather, scared of what I discovered.

The thing about love is that it’s never easy. Love, whether we thrive in it or are wary of it, is capable of turning toxic. I mean srsly, just look at the Jiang family (*koff* Madam Ew *koff*).

And one thing that I’ve come to realize about how JC views love? To him, it’s a convenience. He treats love like a convenience. WWX once loved him like a brother and look at how that ended. YZY claimed to love him too and she’s not getting best mom of the year award in a million lifetimes.

And even JYL, perhaps the one positive love JC had in his life was eventually turned into a convenience. Because if JC truly loved her, if he truly respected and wished to honor her memory, he wouldn’t have used his love for her as an excuse to hate WWX.

When you use someone’s love as an excuse to hurt and torture innocent ppl simply on the basis that they remind you of someone you're blaming, a love that’s meant to be pure and cherished, aren’t you tainting it in the worst way possible? Especially if it’s love towards a person like JYL, who for all her mediocracy, would definitely not approve of all the screwed up shit JC committed for the past 13 years.

It made me realize how so many ppl can end up repeating the same thing, perhaps without even knowing it. It made myself terrified of loving someone for fear that if I were to lose them, I would become just as bitter & miserable as JC.

JC also viewed love as a convenience in the sense that he believes it should just be handed to him. Like how there should be toilet paper available in all restrooms. He expects it to be handed to him when he himself makes no effort to give it. 

He saw WWX’s brotherly love for him as a convenience too; for it conveniently granted him a guard dog/powerhouse during the SSC and a scapegoat post-SSC. When JFM seemingly didn't give him his 'love', he saw it as him being derived of a convenience he's owed. He used it as a convenient excuse to resent WWX more and to believe his toxic mother's bs accusations.

Sometimes, I wonder if he also sees JL’s familial love as a convenience for he conveniently has some remnant of his dead sister within easy reach & no matter how shitty he is, he won’t leave him bcz they’re family and they ‘love’ each other.

Love IS NOT A CONVENIENCE. If you view love as a ‘convenience’ then forget finding true love bcz at the end of the day, the love you give is always conditional and rlly, who wants to put up with that if they can avoid it? WWX certainly burned that bridge and never looked back once he stepped onto the narrow-planked one with LWJ, a man who loves him unconditionally.

Come to think of it, if JC had this same mindset while searching for a partner, it’s no wonder he was blacklisted. It’s no wonder at the end of the novel, he’s even more bitter and lonelier. It’s no wonder there’s a possibility that even if the core thrumming in him is strong enough to reach immortality, he’s most likely cursed to live a miserable lonely life without someone by his side. 

If you wanna argue along the lines of arranged marriages then fine; but when it comes to familial love, it is not a convenience. Period.

JC stans who hc him loving his nephew, his brother, his disciples or whatever- pls just don’t clown my post.

[llycaons]

this idea of lwj often goes hand in hand w the popular fanfic ideal of him as this tall hot mean muscular powerhouse top which was soooo baffling to me just coming into fic from the drama I tell you bc I was like 'first of all they're the same height...his hands are barely bigger than MINE....second of all he's a big softie wdymnnnn' and thus began my years-long campiagn against the novel forces

fanfic authors will put the most monogamous man in fiction into sex clubs to fulfil whatever fantasies they think are hot won't they....

[vrishchikawrites]

Novel quotes that were sitting in my drafts and my thoughts 

It is canon that JC’s own people are afraid of approaching him with their concerns. The people of his territory don’t approach the Jiangs for help unless the matter is deadly. This is supported by novel text. This is the state of YungmengJiang after it is one of the remaining three great sects, an economic, political, and martial powerhouse.

Ch 92 - Longing Part 3 (Exiled Rebels translation)

The owner, “That I’m not so sure about. Anyways, the temple’s quite popular. In Yunping City, no matter what someone runs into, we’d all go there and pray for the Guanyin’s protection. I sometimes go there and light a few sticks of incense too.”

Wei WuXian asked, “Then why don’t you go find the cultivational sect that’s in charge of this region?”

He only remembered after he asked. Wasn’t the cultivational sect in charge of this region precisely the YunmengJiang Sect?

Yet, the owner curled her lips, “Go find them? How dare we?”

Wei WuXian, “Oh? Why not?”

The owner, “Young Masters, you’re not from Yunping City so you don’t know. The Jiang Sect is responsible for all of us along the Yunmeng area. The Sect Leader’s got quite a bad temper. It’s almost frightening. His subordinate’s said so a long time ago. Only one sect is in charge of such a large area. Each day, there are almost a hundred cases of small ghosts or other creatures pulling pranks on the living and all that. If every single small thing had to be dealt with immediately, would there be enough time and energy? Those that don’t kill anyone aren’t malign spirits, and we’re not supposed to disturb them with trivial matters that aren’t malign spirits.” She complained, “What is this supposed to mean? Wouldn’t it be too late if we waited until somebody’s died to find them?!

No way would WWX let a his sect be actively feared by people they are supposed to protect.

There are a few other examples that I can’t really spend time to find. There was no lack of economic resources at this point. I don’t think there was any sort of disadvantage even after the SSC, because they would’ve gotten back their money after it and divided Wen assets among themselves. Yungmeng would have gotten a fair share of the plunder because it was one of the main sects active in the war.

JC had every opportunity at this point to say, ‘look we owe these particular Wens a life debt.’ That’s all he has to say to have honor on his side. They don’t need to risk anything because even JGS wouldn’t be able to say anything against a debt of honor. NMJ and LXC would both support him. 

JGS was only able to get so far because JC played right into his hands. There are several scenes with JC letting his anger and envy get the best of him. One in particular, where some cultivators gossip that people only joined YunmengJiang because of WWX and his power. JC refused to speak up as a direct response to that.

(WWX has already proven he doesn’t forget about debts)

That very same conversation indicates that by the time Pheonix Mountain situation happened, YunmengJiang was already in a good position. JGS didn’t take advantage of YMJ’s economic and martial weakness (the text indicates that they were sufficiently recovered by this point if i’m not mistaken). In fact, YMJ received a big influx of seasoned cultivators just after this incident and before WWX’s defection. He took advantage of JC’s insecurities and his willingness to cast WWX aside if it benefited his sect.

Jin GuangShan, “Sect Leader Jiang, Wei Ying is your right-hand man. You value him a lot. All of us know this. However, on the other hand, it’s hard to tell whether or not he actually respects you. In any case, I’ve been a sect leader for so many years and I’ve never seen the servant of any sect dare be so arrogant, so proud. Have you heard what they say outside? Things like how during the Sunshot Campaign the victories of the YunmengJiang Sect were all because of Wei WuXian alone—what nonsense!”

Going further back, my original point was - there was a foreshadowing of their ideological differences way back in the Dusk-Creek mountain incident.

Ch 52 - Courage Part 2 (Exiled Rebels translation)

Wei WuXian, “It’s alright if he hates me—I don’t hate him. I’ll get him onto my back the second I get hold of him. Could he possibly choke me to death while on my back?”

Jiang Cheng warned, “We aren’t even able to care for ourselves; how do we have the time to care about the trivialities of others?”

Wei WuXian, “First, this isn’t a triviality. Second, things like this, somebody will have to care about them, sooner or later!”

WWX’s first instinct is to help people. JC’s first instinct is to protect themselves. This keeps on happening again and again.

When they returned to the Lotus Pier, JC scolded WWX for trying to play the hero and was scolded by his own father to reconsider the words. (This wasn’t favoritism, this was a dad telling his son that scolding someone for saving people’s lives isn’t the right thing to do and he should consider his words)

Both of these incidences are just few of the many examples scattered throughout the novel. These are possibly the earliest indications of their ideologies being materially different. WWX would be an excellent second hand but he’s no Wen Zhuliu. If his leader doesn’t live up to his expectations of morality and righteousness, he isn’t going to stay. He may linger for a long while but eventually he’ll start to feel complicit and would want to take a different path. He fell in love with LWJ because LWJ was righteous and morally superior to others in the novel, after all.

So to conclude - JC actually didn’t want to help the Wens, text clearly states he hated them. This man planned and lead a siege even after seeing a small child at the BM.

YMJ wasn’t actually in that bad a state. It was recovering but so were the Jins. They didn’t get away from the war unscathed. YMJ had money and several new, trained cultivators.

Bear in mind, during their staged fight, JC gutted WWX while WWX broke his arm. As in, his intestines legit fell out. The fact that he recovered quickly doesn’t matter. It was a near fatal wound and WWX has very few resources at his disposal. He was living in near poverty. That trip to the BM is a grace that JC could give without spending too much effort.

idk if I have expressed my point properly. But it covers as many points as I can recall off the top of my head. Unless JC’s character changed in some significant ways, I still think they would eventually have a falling out. The are examples littered throughout the novel about their core ideals, their very character clashing in significant ways. 

[mostlikelytofangirl]

What was your first impression about every character in mdzs ?

And also who do you think you resemble the most ?

Ahhh good question!

Mostly bc my memory is crap XD. But I'll try my best to remember! Full disclaimer tho, the first version of mdzs that I consumed was donghua, so that's where my first impressions came from.

- WWX: I'm honestly not the kind of person to fall first and foremost for a protagonist (it's been years since the last time a protag was my fave), but I genuinely liked this dude from day one. I thought he was fun and a bit (lot) unhinged, but legit smart and capable without being smug and annoying about it. And for the record, I still like him lots!

- LWJ: That entrance, man. That was cool af XD. But I do remember thinking that I needed to see more of him to form an opinion bc the silent, mysterious type has never been particularly interesting to me.

- LZS & LJY: Good Boys! Both of them. One was a polite darling, and the other a chaotic little gremlin that worked together well and did their best ;u;.

- JL: Bit of a brat, ngl. I legit thought this was going to be the Draco Malfoy "my uncle will hear of this" kid. And he was XD. But I'm glad he wasn't just a One Trick Pony character.

- JC: Another badass entrance! Gotta confess the horny overpowered the cleary asshole vibe he was exuding. I thought he was going to be an actual villain too. But since I'm a villain fucker I had no issues with that whatsoever. I even thought that he was the dude I was going to root for throughout the story (spoiled: I did).

- WN: Oh, I remember thinking "dude, this guy must have such a badass past. Surely someone so powerful named Ghost General must have been a real powerhouse. Can't wait to see his story of epicness" :').

- NHS: I was honestly not impressed lol. I thought that this was going to be the comic relief character that everybody likes but doesn't do much apart from being cute and silly. Also the exposure character bc he always explained everything that was being talked about in a scene. FORESHADOWING.

- LXC: Regal man, good wingman for bro. The big brother that solves your bullshit and is always kind and full of Wisdom(tm). If he says something, it must be true. Liked him right away.

- JFM: He is nice, I like this guy. His parenting seems questionable tho, but he seems to have the best intentions at heart.

-YZY: Bitch. But damn, she has a point or two.

- JYL: Precious angel that must be protected but she is totally not going to get protected T-T.

- JZX: Even before I put two and two together that this was JL's father, I remember thinking this was another "my father will hear of this" brat. Runs in the family, I guess lol.

- NMJ: Oh boi. This one I have the clearest memory of all. I saw him appear on screen and I automatically thought "this is him, isn't it? This is daddy". I was right, I was so right.

- WC: Not impressed either, typical asshole villain that is going to be more a pain in the ass than a real threat. Same with girlfriend whose name I can never remember.

- WRH: Hot DILF Villain. Legit threatening and scary, good bad guy.

- WQ: Rough love there, but she has a good head on her shoulders and has balls. Wen Queen it is.

- JGS: Curse donghua for making everybody hot XD. I honestly thought this dude was not going to be of much relevance, he seemed the scaredy, play it safe kind that would get destroyed in a real conflict.

- MY/JGY: First thought was "aww he's cute". Second thought was "please don't be a bad guy, look at you, all milfy and smily, trying to help common ppl and do good". Third thought was "ok you shady, but also still cute and milfy, so I'll probably end up staning you anyways". Take a wild guess on what happened XD.

- XY: Whoa, you cray-cray. Didn't like him much at first tbh, he seemed to be cruel for no reason and I never liked the Evil for the Sake of It trope, nor characters that were nothing but sassy bastards. He grew on me tho.

- XXC: OMG you are another angel that must be protected! You deserved so much better wtf!!

- SL: He deserved better right away tf!

- A-Qing: I only remember pitying her, she was living in a psychological horror all those years.

These are all the characters I remember having an impression on, others I didn't give much thought or cared enough about to put real effort into what I thought of them, at first at least.

Now that I think about it, most my first impressions remained the same in essence as the story progressed, sans an exception or two. But for the most part, it seems like my opinion on these characters got more nuanced and complete without changing much.

As to who I think I resemble the most. Hmm, that's a complicated one bc I don't think I'm particularly similar to anybody. If I absolutely had to pick only one tho, I'd say LXC. I try my best to be nice and see things from different perspectives, but I also suck at handling conflict, and would give good solid advice that I'm definitely not going to apply to myself bc it's easier to see others' problems, but my own? If I don't talk about them, they are not there :))))