#imagine if itachi uchiha was reborn as lan xichen au

[rarepears]

Thanks for getting back to me! I think he certainly had a little pre-teen crush on Kakashi, he and Shisui had this 'us against the world lean on each other' mutual pining thing and Kisame was his most consistent and persistent one on one male influence in his life.

Now picture he's now a young Lan. Going about his days, he's half living his life like a vacation with his cute baby brother and half running his sect and building a pseudo spy ring/information market. (Nothing too impressive, just a few dozen informants in the other sects and spread evenly in all the red light districts between Cloud Recesses and the Nightless City)

And then he's introduced to Nie Mingjue

And Nie Mingjue is the rockin' hard bod and unshakable honesty of Kisame. The overwhelming skill and might of Kakashi and Shisui's unflinching loyalty not so much to a cause but to his loved ones.

And also the muscles. Those chiseled, glistening muscles and those cut from granite eyes and those deceptively gentle but calloused hands.

And how he treats his brother and his duties as a sect leader?

Que little Lan Zhan worriedly asking his brother if he is sick because Itachi has gone glassy eyed, flushed in the face, and breathing rapidly.

This startles Itachi who realizes he had been staring at Nie Mingjue training for the past half hour lol

Another reason as to why Itachi falls for Nie Mingjue is because Nie Mingjue is blunt, direct, honest. There's no self-guessing what Nie Mingjue really meant, no need to look for the underneath of the underneath. Nie Mingjue is predictable with how rigidly he adheres to his personal moral code and yet Itachi is still struck by just how unfiltered and honest Nie Mingjue is, even while playing sect politics. (Kisame was honest, but not that honest.)

Itachi is tired of political backstabbing and manipulation.

Also, I imagine Itachi... kind of sucks at politics. His solution to everything is murder: murder his clan to protect his brother, solve his brother's trauma by letting his brother murder him, etc. Nie Mingjue's reaction to the Wen Clan is thus *chef kiss*. Yup, just murder the whole clan - that fits right in with Itachi's personal solution to... pretty much everything. (Also, what else do you expect when this barely teenager gets through into ANBU which is an assassination squad? And then Itachi gets thrown into the Akatsuki which does a lot of killing too...)

Like yeah, sure, Itachi is a pacifist, but pacifist means something very very different in ninja terms than, well, what we have.

-o-o-o-o-

(It would be really fucking hilarious and sad if Itachi's little PTSD episode gets mistaken as him being lovestruck. Nah, it's just that Nie Mingjue sometimes does something that causes one of Itachi's old memories to pop up and Itachi gets up... not really dissociating but rather living in his memories again. For better or for worse.)

[Read more in the #imagine if itachi uchiha was reborn as lan xichen au]

[rarepears]

Always happen to answer - I love bringing old AUs back! (PS sending an ask might be easier because there's no character count... I think.)

Anyhow, what I meant by Itachi not comparing Gusu Lan to his old life is that he doesn't see Gusu Lan as a shinobi clan at all. He has no basis of comparison - this life is super odd.

What he does compare is the differences in clan heir expectation, the way that the Lan expect everyone to obey each rule (whereas the shinobi guidebook... no one ever memorized and followed that by heart - only an idiot would!), and other smaller things like that. It's the small rules and unsaid expectations of daily life that really hit hard at home of just how different his "before" and "after" lives are.

Like the chopsticks. (Because yes, Chinese and Japanese chopsticks are different and fuck I hate using Japanese chopsticks - gimme what I'm used to-)

Sadly though, politics stays the same. It's the same motivation - greed and power - and the same tactics, just under a prettier, more righteous, veneer.

Aw! That's such a cute reaction from Itachi... but...

ARE YOU TRYING TO IMPLY THAT ITACHI HAD CRUSHES ON THOSE THREE PEOPLE OF HIS PREVIOUS LIFE-

...Somehow I'm getting the feeling that Itachi treats Mingjue the same way that he'd treat a stray cat.

No Itachi going pspspspsps

I love the tirade! Send me more (if you want to) @aworldoflovely!

[Read more in the #imagine if itachi uchiha was reborn as lan xichen au]

This time Itachi would be way more invested in his brother's happiness in this life. After he fucked up Sasuke and got Edo Tensai'd and saw how badly he messed up would probably not do that again.

He'd probably appreciate no overbearing father pushing him to be the best since LQH is in seclusion until he's killed. Although he gets an upright (uptight) uncle instead. But at least LQR really does want the best for his nephews even if he can't express it properly.

He probably really misses having a mom and doesn't appreciate her being locked away from him and LWJ. I think he might feel he deserves no parents after killing his last ones but he really isn't happy about LWJ not having parents either.

The Elders should definitely be afraid. If not over the issue with his mom (and he Will Remember That) then over their problems with WWX and LWJ.

Does Itachi ever feel like he got reborn into some bizarre mashup of the Uchiha and Hyuuga clan? White everywhere, stoic clansmen, Love problems.

Does Itachi equate the Sects with Villages? What does he think of cultivation and the monsters they have to fight on Night Hunts?

How would he feel about his new baby brother falling in love? Most fics I've read implied that LXC ships them, at least during the Cloud Recesses School arc. Would Itachi follow that or be even more Extra about it?

Would he be determined to keep his brother's Love here, where he can make sure nothing can ruin his brother's happiness? Barely deciding not to do what LQH did and lock LWJ and WWX into a safe house, saving LQR from a heart attack, qi deviation and apolexy, since he learned how poorly that went with the clan. Does LQR have to keep his nephew from sending marriage proposals for WWX on his brother's behalf to LFM? Does Itachi take the time to try extolling his brother's virtue and how WWX should totally think about marrying LWJ? Does he sabotage JWY's attempts at telling WWX that LWJ doesn't like him? Does he meet JWY in a dark corner of the Sect with a Very Sharp Sword to tell him to knock that shit off? Does he recruit NHS to run interference? Does he tell LWJ of all the ways he's heard love described so LWJ doesn't think he hates WWX? Does LWJ appreciate all this or does he want his brother to stop embarrassing him?

And most important of all. DOES ITACHI FOREHEAD POKE LWJ?

I have a lot to say to your (very) long ask, so I'm going to SS sections of your ask to make it more clear to what I'm responding to.

I wouldn't say that Itachi is more invested in his younger brother's life here. He's equally invested; he merely better understands what "happiness" is and where it is derived from.

I don't think Itachi, the one who was a (isolated) prodigy put on a pedestal for his brain and pedigree and sent to murder people at an elementary school age, exactly experienced true happiness. He had short burst of happiness from eating pocky sticks and whatever, but that's not true happiness from family and friends.

By being in the Gusu Lan clan, Itachi doesn't exactly experience as much "happiness" as he would have if he was born in the... say Jiang clan, but he does have a whole lot more happy memories. Plus seeing the results of his good intentions in his previous life turn out to be... not so great also taught him a lesson on what NOT to do.

So yeah, Itachi is better at achieving his goal of making his little brother happy in his second life. He's learned from his first life (and Itachi now doesn't have to worry about a Danzo-like evil mastermind kidnapping, torturing, and/or brainwashing his little brother); but ultimately the goal is still the same.

He would have overbearing elders, however. And for all that Lan Qiren tries to protect Itachi and Lan Wangji, Lan Qiren is still only the acting sect head. Lan Qiren would also be not so popular among the elders due to his very upright personality - no corruption/taking morally incorrect political stances for the sake of personal gain (like bribes) which some of the elders would like to do.

But hey, at least the elders aren't pushing Itachi to become an assassin or make decisions which would put Lan Wangji's safety at risk. This time, Itachi's loyalty to his clan and nation aren't torn - the Gusu Lan is both his sect and clan, unlike how Uchiha was only a section of Konoha.

Itachi wouldn't miss his mom persay - his mom in the second life isn't the person that he considers to be his mom. That would be Mikoto Uchiha. Instead, Itachi misses the concept of "mother" - the person who cooks meals, the person who hugs him, the person who protects him from his father's overbearing expectations.

But Itachi does feel like he's too "old" to be missing "mother" and "parents"; and his original set of parents are dead, at his own hands.

Itachi is enough of a bro-con that I don't think he would be unhappy about Lan Wangji not having parents. If anything, he's happy that there are no parents to "mess up" Lan Wangji with unrealistic (or terrible) expectations. Itachi can be the one influential person for Lan Wangji to follow, listen, and obey.

Itachi the bro-con is quite happy about that, honestly.

(Also I don't imagine that Itachi really likes either Lan Qingheng or his birth mother.)

The elders aren't afraid; they are annoyed with Itachi not listening to them. But they have the protection of being elders (aka seniority) and family, so they aren't, like, afraid for their lives. They just know they have lost influence and political power compared to before.

Itachi doesn't think of the Gusu Lan as comparative to the Uchiha or any shinobi clan because cultivators do not have the same values as ninjas. All these concepts about morality, righteousness, good vs evil are more akin to the Land of Iron's sword wielding samurai.

Plus he's been away from Konoha for so long on his spying mission that I don't think his mind immediately leaps to Konoha comparisons.

Yep the sects = village.

Well, he appreciates that it doesn't weigh on his soul killing the monsters like when he's being sent out to assassinate innocent civilians and children because some rich person had the money for pay for such a mission.

Itachi is going to be a weird mix of "YOU ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR MY BROTHER" and pragmatic "hm, what value does bringing this person into my sect and clan through marriage have?"

He's a shinobi at the end of the day. He's more concerned about the benefits (Lan Wangji marrying a person who can control a nearly infinite army to protect Lan Zhan or invent any and all talisman that would benefit Lan Wangji) outweighing the negatives (Lan Wangji not prioritizing him as no. 1 influential person).

First and foremost, Itachi prioritizes Lan Wangji's safety and survival. And then he considers Lan Wangji's happiness. Last and bottom of his considerations is his brother's love for him.

He does want Lan Wangji to value him, not just because he wants his brother to love him, but because it gives Lan Wangji extra protection. If Lan Wangji loves and trusts Itachi, Lan Wangji will listen to Itachi's commands and not put himself in danger out of foolhardy rebellion or stubbornness.

Itachi isn't going to interfere because generally when he interfered with Sasuke's life, it backfired. He does like Wei Wuxian and sees how it brings Lan Wangji out of his shell. So he subtly encourages things, but he's not going to do something so basic as to threaten Jiang Cheng - he IS a ninja and younger person to join the ANBU.

So instead, he arranges a series of coincidences that no one notices or realizes are not, in fact, funny coincidences. And no one can trace Itachi's involvement in them.

I want to be like, OF COURSE! But... there's the Lan ribbon.

So Itachi settles for booping Lan Wangji on the nose instead.

[Read more in the #imagine if itachi uchiha was reborn as lan xichen au]

[rarepears]

Nov 2022 Masterpost

rarepears recs

make up fake fic title ask game

endeavor x gin

tywin lannister x sung jinwoo

shen qingqiu marries a brothel madam au

the married life of sung jinwoo and wen ruohan au

time traveling obi wan pretends to be a professor specializing in the study of the Jedi Order au

Shen Yuan and his siblings transmigrate into PIDW and are all Cang Qiong peak lords... the previous Cang Qiong peak lords au

imagine if itachi uchiha was reborn as lan xichen au

Aemond Targaryen x Endeavor

Daemon Targaryen x Endeavor au

time traveler obiwan needs to YEEEEET anakin into therapy asap au

Jinah tries to teach Sung Jinwoo's shadow summons some Human Traditions AU

shen qingqiu has an emotional support parrot and hijinks happen au

if sung jinwoo was reborn as luo binghe au

the lan and order au (the law and order reimagined with mdzs)

shen yuan is mobei jun’s mother thanks to his wife beam and an early transmigration au

shen qingqiu: qing jing peak lord by day and crime lord by night au

the hunt for shen jiu's biological family au

meet percy jackson god of kamino and star wars clones au

shen qingqiu knew luo binghe was su xiyan's son au

shen yuan the fraghead getting thrown in svsss au

aerys targaryen becomes less of a mad king with the steady application of harry potter’s magical healing cock au

Shen Yuan transmigrates into a basilisk character in PIDW au

When PIDW!Luo Binghe is pushed into the Endless Abyss he falls through a dimensional rip into SVSSS world au

svsss modern AU 24/7 dom Shen yuan and sub luo binghe

if Su Xiyan fell in love not with Tian Langjun but Sung Jinwoo (solo leveling) au

svsss my little pony fusion au

observant cang qiong disciples realize somethings about their Shen shibo AU

Liu Mingyan (Svsss) gets reborn as Sung Jinah (Solo Leveling) and gets reunited with her brother again... with a twist au

no one believes LBH to be the real LBH au

solo leveling meta: life insurance

luo binghe's xinmo sword is actually a plasma sword once known as darksaber svsss x star wars au

Sung Jinwoo becomes Gregor and Sandor Clegane's adoptive dad au

Shen Yuan transmigrates as Liu Qingge's mom and becomes a high quality MILF character AU

instead of the fullbringer arc ichigo gives birth to chibified versions of his zanpakuto and hallow au

poison ivy is mistaken to be a goddess of nature in game of thrones and tully is quick to claim her as their ancestor au

shen yuan and luo binghe are aizawa's adoptive parents au

sqh's chicken or egg au

When your disciple LBH tries to marry your shizun SY - AKA Shen Jiu isn’t having a good time in this au

the cang qiong mountain sect hot pot tradition au

a time traveling/dimension crossing!Luo Bingge tries to woo Shen Jiu's shizun aka Shen Yuan au

PIDW reborn as cats and Shen Jiu is the lucky cat owner au

sqh and sy sleepover au

[rarepears]

The Lan and the Uchiha...

The Lan Sect has their "I only love once but I love deeply almost to the point of insanity" curse.

The Uchiha was the clan that loved like no other, to the point that it can turn into the Curse of Hatred.

So... Itachi should totally be reborn into the Lan Sect as Lan Xichen. That totally wouldn't be an issue, right? /s

[rarepears]

I am fascinated with the concept of Itachi being Lan Xichen and the different relationships he would have, especially with JGY. Like Itachi is nowhere near naive enough to be completely fooled by the man, but he wouldn't necessarily dislike him? Maybe? And what his feelings about WWX and his relationship with LWJ? I can definitely see him giving WWX the shovel talk that he never got in canon

Meng Yao: says something Lan Xichen, internally: awe, that's such a cute attempt at manipulation. Such a cute baby, why yes he is. I can't wait to see how he progresses.

Itachi can't help but be fond of Meng Yao who's the closest to having a shinobi mindset in this world.

BUT IMAGINE the ways in which Itachi likes to fuck with Meng Yao. Like the little crush Meng Yao has on him. Itachi makes sure to be a little more smiley, a little more physically affectionate around Meng Yao as a result, tripping up the poor guy's mind from having another go at trying a manipulation attempt. He teaches Meng Yao a fun little Uchiha song for children instead of Clarity and smirks. He says leading sentences that makes Meng Yao sweat, thinking he's been caught, before saying the rest of the sentence which is about a whole different topic.

Itachi feels like Wei Wuxian is the sunshine to Lan Wangji's more reserved demeanor. It's cute, almost like watching Shisui and him interacting. Plus Wei Wuxian is pretty smart and Itachi does want to get his hands on Wei Wuxian's newest inventions, so what better way than to have Wei Wuxian as an in-law?

Itachi gives Wei Wuxian a shovel talk with threats about dogs and a certain Hound popping up where the rabbits reside. (Itachi has kept his sharingan a secret, but he gives Wei Wuxian a couple nice nightmares about what could be if he doesn't treat Lan Wangji right.)

[rarepears]

Masterpost [July 2022 ideas 1/2]

July 2022 (1/2)

Find the second half of July's masterpost here.

lan wangji finds himself being married off to cang qiong sect auluo binghe

shen jiu's brocon brother au

imagine if itachi uchiha was reborn as lan xichen au

hashirama and madara reincarnates as wei wuxian and nie huaisang respectively au

sung jinwoo is a farmboy au

shang qinghua in bungo stray dogs au

wei wuxian reincarnates into svsss as an imperial prince and raises a dead shen jiu as a fierce corpse (and his future tutor) au

give me a tech illiterate Jinwoo who's feeling the impacts of growing up poor w/ single parent & then struggle to raise sis on his own au

shen jiu was aizawa's hero teacher and then becomes bakugou's as well au

shen yuan is married to yue qingyuan and everyone thinks that shen yuan is shen jiu's older brother when he isn't au

lan wangji finds himself being married off to cang qiong sect au

Dolores must be the wizarding world’s name equivalent of Karen.

Mama Jiu tea party in which multiple shen jiu's with kids meet up to discuss life au

sung jinah transfers to ouran high school after high orcs destroy her previous high school au

 Sung Jinwoo who is a professor AU

if sung jinah used her internet slang for evil aka she bullies jinwoo with it au

sung jinwoo x tywin lannister au

Sung jinwoo ends up with a baby Hibari (khr) au

mdzs modern verse poolboy wei wuxian and music professor lan wangji au

xanxus's cloud guardian is shen jiu (and cloud!luo binghe tags along) au

 the married life of sung jinwoo and wen ruohan au

PIDW reborn as cats and Shen Jiu is the lucky cat owner au

cumplane i didn't know that was you edition au

aizawa's chronic pain the TMJ edition au

if yue qingyuan and shen jiu were actually blood brothers but shen jiu was too young to remember their family au

in which the system places shen yuan's soul into shen jiu's body in a very very different way au

hibari reborn as a lannister au

shen yuan unknowingly is dating his son's teacher au

solo leveling meta

shen jiu moves to gotham with baby!shen yuan to start a new job at wayne enterprise and his new neighbor is jason todd au

Nie Mingjue X Meng Yao - married AU

shen jiu gets a thirsty onlyfans system so he never goes to cang qiong au

jason todd has no clue what the fuck is going on but he's oddly popular among these svsss folks when he's just trying to kill them au

if luo binghe did not join cang qiong then what would happen? au

pitch black is the guardian of tik tok au

sung jinwoo time travels and now there's two sung jinwoo's au

gojo x tony stark

Yue Qingyuan revives a dead Shen Jiu and Cang Qiong assumes that Shen Jiu must be Yue Qingyuan's childhood love au

twink!Sung Jinwoo (except he's the immortal monarch of death) X Endeavor au where hawks is SufFeRiNg

 sung jinwoo's english name is chad sung au

 hibari reincarnates as Lang Xichen's twin au

single parent of a plant baby thy name is shen jiu au

aizawa gets himself a posh european boyfriend named hannibal and it's going GREAT until it's not au

Sung Jinwoo is Jinah's maternal grandfather who reawakens as S ranked hunter au

the svsss war on drinking milk to prove ones true noble heritage au

tifa (FF7) reincarnates as jiang yanli and thus jiang yanli x nie mingjue

[rarepears]

This time Itachi would be way more invested in his brother's happiness in this life. After he fucked up Sasuke and got Edo Tensai'd and saw how badly he messed up would probably not do that again.

He'd probably appreciate no overbearing father pushing him to be the best since LQH is in seclusion until he's killed. Although he gets an upright (uptight) uncle instead. But at least LQR really does want the best for his nephews even if he can't express it properly.

He probably really misses having a mom and doesn't appreciate her being locked away from him and LWJ. I think he might feel he deserves no parents after killing his last ones but he really isn't happy about LWJ not having parents either.

The Elders should definitely be afraid. If not over the issue with his mom (and he Will Remember That) then over their problems with WWX and LWJ.

Does Itachi ever feel like he got reborn into some bizarre mashup of the Uchiha and Hyuuga clan? White everywhere, stoic clansmen, Love problems.

Does Itachi equate the Sects with Villages? What does he think of cultivation and the monsters they have to fight on Night Hunts?

How would he feel about his new baby brother falling in love? Most fics I've read implied that LXC ships them, at least during the Cloud Recesses School arc. Would Itachi follow that or be even more Extra about it?

Would he be determined to keep his brother's Love here, where he can make sure nothing can ruin his brother's happiness? Barely deciding not to do what LQH did and lock LWJ and WWX into a safe house, saving LQR from a heart attack, qi deviation and apolexy, since he learned how poorly that went with the clan. Does LQR have to keep his nephew from sending marriage proposals for WWX on his brother's behalf to LFM? Does Itachi take the time to try extolling his brother's virtue and how WWX should totally think about marrying LWJ? Does he sabotage JWY's attempts at telling WWX that LWJ doesn't like him? Does he meet JWY in a dark corner of the Sect with a Very Sharp Sword to tell him to knock that shit off? Does he recruit NHS to run interference? Does he tell LWJ of all the ways he's heard love described so LWJ doesn't think he hates WWX? Does LWJ appreciate all this or does he want his brother to stop embarrassing him?

And most important of all. DOES ITACHI FOREHEAD POKE LWJ?

I have a lot to say to your (very) long ask, so I'm going to SS sections of your ask to make it more clear to what I'm responding to.

I wouldn't say that Itachi is more invested in his younger brother's life here. He's equally invested; he merely better understands what "happiness" is and where it is derived from.

I don't think Itachi, the one who was a (isolated) prodigy put on a pedestal for his brain and pedigree and sent to murder people at an elementary school age, exactly experienced true happiness. He had short burst of happiness from eating pocky sticks and whatever, but that's not true happiness from family and friends.

By being in the Gusu Lan clan, Itachi doesn't exactly experience as much "happiness" as he would have if he was born in the... say Jiang clan, but he does have a whole lot more happy memories. Plus seeing the results of his good intentions in his previous life turn out to be... not so great also taught him a lesson on what NOT to do.

So yeah, Itachi is better at achieving his goal of making his little brother happy in his second life. He's learned from his first life (and Itachi now doesn't have to worry about a Danzo-like evil mastermind kidnapping, torturing, and/or brainwashing his little brother); but ultimately the goal is still the same.

He would have overbearing elders, however. And for all that Lan Qiren tries to protect Itachi and Lan Wangji, Lan Qiren is still only the acting sect head. Lan Qiren would also be not so popular among the elders due to his very upright personality - no corruption/taking morally incorrect political stances for the sake of personal gain (like bribes) which some of the elders would like to do.

But hey, at least the elders aren't pushing Itachi to become an assassin or make decisions which would put Lan Wangji's safety at risk. This time, Itachi's loyalty to his clan and nation aren't torn - the Gusu Lan is both his sect and clan, unlike how Uchiha was only a section of Konoha.

Itachi wouldn't miss his mom persay - his mom in the second life isn't the person that he considers to be his mom. That would be Mikoto Uchiha. Instead, Itachi misses the concept of "mother" - the person who cooks meals, the person who hugs him, the person who protects him from his father's overbearing expectations.

But Itachi does feel like he's too "old" to be missing "mother" and "parents"; and his original set of parents are dead, at his own hands.

Itachi is enough of a bro-con that I don't think he would be unhappy about Lan Wangji not having parents. If anything, he's happy that there are no parents to "mess up" Lan Wangji with unrealistic (or terrible) expectations. Itachi can be the one influential person for Lan Wangji to follow, listen, and obey.

Itachi the bro-con is quite happy about that, honestly.

(Also I don't imagine that Itachi really likes either Lan Qingheng or his birth mother.)

The elders aren't afraid; they are annoyed with Itachi not listening to them. But they have the protection of being elders (aka seniority) and family, so they aren't, like, afraid for their lives. They just know they have lost influence and political power compared to before.

Itachi doesn't think of the Gusu Lan as comparative to the Uchiha or any shinobi clan because cultivators do not have the same values as ninjas. All these concepts about morality, righteousness, good vs evil are more akin to the Land of Iron's sword wielding samurai.

Plus he's been away from Konoha for so long on his spying mission that I don't think his mind immediately leaps to Konoha comparisons.

Yep the sects = village.

Well, he appreciates that it doesn't weigh on his soul killing the monsters like when he's being sent out to assassinate innocent civilians and children because some rich person had the money for pay for such a mission.

Itachi is going to be a weird mix of "YOU ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR MY BROTHER" and pragmatic "hm, what value does bringing this person into my sect and clan through marriage have?"

He's a shinobi at the end of the day. He's more concerned about the benefits (Lan Wangji marrying a person who can control a nearly infinite army to protect Lan Zhan or invent any and all talisman that would benefit Lan Wangji) outweighing the negatives (Lan Wangji not prioritizing him as no. 1 influential person).

First and foremost, Itachi prioritizes Lan Wangji's safety and survival. And then he considers Lan Wangji's happiness. Last and bottom of his considerations is his brother's love for him.

He does want Lan Wangji to value him, not just because he wants his brother to love him, but because it gives Lan Wangji extra protection. If Lan Wangji loves and trusts Itachi, Lan Wangji will listen to Itachi's commands and not put himself in danger out of foolhardy rebellion or stubbornness.

Itachi isn't going to interfere because generally when he interfered with Sasuke's life, it backfired. He does like Wei Wuxian and sees how it brings Lan Wangji out of his shell. So he subtly encourages things, but he's not going to do something so basic as to threaten Jiang Cheng - he IS a ninja and younger person to join the ANBU.

So instead, he arranges a series of coincidences that no one notices or realizes are not, in fact, funny coincidences. And no one can trace Itachi's involvement in them.

I want to be like, OF COURSE! But... there's the Lan ribbon.

So Itachi settles for booping Lan Wangji on the nose instead.

[Read more in the #imagine if itachi uchiha was reborn as lan xichen au]

[rarepears]

He also has a track record of murdering people if it could mean a better future for younger brothers too.

Gusu Lan elders... beware. 😈😈😈

[Read more in the #imagine if itachi uchiha was reborn as lan xichen au]

The Lan and the Uchiha...

The Lan Sect has their "I only love once but I love deeply almost to the point of insanity" curse.

The Uchiha was the clan that loved like no other, to the point that it can turn into the Curse of Hatred.

So... Itachi should totally be reborn into the Lan Sect as Lan Xichen. That totally wouldn't be an issue, right? /s

[rarepears]

@spideypoolalways I enjoy the long ask! It's just not convenient to constantly scroll up and down to reference the one paragraph in the ask when I'm trying to reply to your each point - ahem, hey Tumblr, can you create some sort of feature to make that better? 👀

Canon Lan Xichen and Itachi have very different motivations and priorities that drive them and so their actions and policies are very different. But at the very surface level, the way that they come off as - aka the way that people misunderstand Itachi's facade and Lan Xichen's personality - are very much similar.

Itachi would stop the burning of Cloud Recesses. He would set up a lot of traps and barriers (talisman, cultivation techniques, ninja seals, whatever) that would make Cloud Recess an incredibly protected place to the point that the Wen cannot break in.

I do have to wonder if, since Itachi has already killed family members before (even if he was forced to by Danzo in exchange for Sasuke's life) he would be willing to kill clansmen in his second life if his brain could somehow conclude that it would serve to protect Lan Wangji's life... like maybe a couple elders die "of old age" and Lan Qingheng oh just happens to die when Itachi is of age to assume the Sect Head position (now that it's free) without a regent.

Yes Itachi would keep Nie Mingjue alive. Since the Gusu Lan and Nie sects are the closest alliance out of all the Gusu Lan's alliance, Itachi would like the Nie to remain as strong as possible, which means that Nie Mingjue remains alive and well.

This time Itachi would be way more invested in his brother's happiness in this life. After he fucked up Sasuke and got Edo Tensai'd and saw how badly he messed up would probably not do that again.

He'd probably appreciate no overbearing father pushing him to be the best since LQH is in seclusion until he's killed. Although he gets an upright (uptight) uncle instead. But at least LQR really does want the best for his nephews even if he can't express it properly.

He probably really misses having a mom and doesn't appreciate her being locked away from him and LWJ. I think he might feel he deserves no parents after killing his last ones but he really isn't happy about LWJ not having parents either.

The Elders should definitely be afraid. If not over the issue with his mom (and he Will Remember That) then over their problems with WWX and LWJ.

Does Itachi ever feel like he got reborn into some bizarre mashup of the Uchiha and Hyuuga clan? White everywhere, stoic clansmen, Love problems.

Does Itachi equate the Sects with Villages? What does he think of cultivation and the monsters they have to fight on Night Hunts?

How would he feel about his new baby brother falling in love? Most fics I've read implied that LXC ships them, at least during the Cloud Recesses School arc. Would Itachi follow that or be even more Extra about it?

Would he be determined to keep his brother's Love here, where he can make sure nothing can ruin his brother's happiness? Barely deciding not to do what LQH did and lock LWJ and WWX into a safe house, saving LQR from a heart attack, qi deviation and apolexy, since he learned how poorly that went with the clan. Does LQR have to keep his nephew from sending marriage proposals for WWX on his brother's behalf to LFM? Does Itachi take the time to try extolling his brother's virtue and how WWX should totally think about marrying LWJ? Does he sabotage JWY's attempts at telling WWX that LWJ doesn't like him? Does he meet JWY in a dark corner of the Sect with a Very Sharp Sword to tell him to knock that shit off? Does he recruit NHS to run interference? Does he tell LWJ of all the ways he's heard love described so LWJ doesn't think he hates WWX? Does LWJ appreciate all this or does he want his brother to stop embarrassing him?

And most important of all. DOES ITACHI FOREHEAD POKE LWJ?

I have a lot to say to your (very) long ask, so I'm going to SS sections of your ask to make it more clear to what I'm responding to.

I wouldn't say that Itachi is more invested in his younger brother's life here. He's equally invested; he merely better understands what "happiness" is and where it is derived from.

I don't think Itachi, the one who was a (isolated) prodigy put on a pedestal for his brain and pedigree and sent to murder people at an elementary school age, exactly experienced true happiness. He had short burst of happiness from eating pocky sticks and whatever, but that's not true happiness from family and friends.

By being in the Gusu Lan clan, Itachi doesn't exactly experience as much "happiness" as he would have if he was born in the... say Jiang clan, but he does have a whole lot more happy memories. Plus seeing the results of his good intentions in his previous life turn out to be... not so great also taught him a lesson on what NOT to do.

So yeah, Itachi is better at achieving his goal of making his little brother happy in his second life. He's learned from his first life (and Itachi now doesn't have to worry about a Danzo-like evil mastermind kidnapping, torturing, and/or brainwashing his little brother); but ultimately the goal is still the same.

He would have overbearing elders, however. And for all that Lan Qiren tries to protect Itachi and Lan Wangji, Lan Qiren is still only the acting sect head. Lan Qiren would also be not so popular among the elders due to his very upright personality - no corruption/taking morally incorrect political stances for the sake of personal gain (like bribes) which some of the elders would like to do.

But hey, at least the elders aren't pushing Itachi to become an assassin or make decisions which would put Lan Wangji's safety at risk. This time, Itachi's loyalty to his clan and nation aren't torn - the Gusu Lan is both his sect and clan, unlike how Uchiha was only a section of Konoha.

Itachi wouldn't miss his mom persay - his mom in the second life isn't the person that he considers to be his mom. That would be Mikoto Uchiha. Instead, Itachi misses the concept of "mother" - the person who cooks meals, the person who hugs him, the person who protects him from his father's overbearing expectations.

But Itachi does feel like he's too "old" to be missing "mother" and "parents"; and his original set of parents are dead, at his own hands.

Itachi is enough of a bro-con that I don't think he would be unhappy about Lan Wangji not having parents. If anything, he's happy that there are no parents to "mess up" Lan Wangji with unrealistic (or terrible) expectations. Itachi can be the one influential person for Lan Wangji to follow, listen, and obey.

Itachi the bro-con is quite happy about that, honestly.

(Also I don't imagine that Itachi really likes either Lan Qingheng or his birth mother.)

The elders aren't afraid; they are annoyed with Itachi not listening to them. But they have the protection of being elders (aka seniority) and family, so they aren't, like, afraid for their lives. They just know they have lost influence and political power compared to before.

Itachi doesn't think of the Gusu Lan as comparative to the Uchiha or any shinobi clan because cultivators do not have the same values as ninjas. All these concepts about morality, righteousness, good vs evil are more akin to the Land of Iron's sword wielding samurai.

Plus he's been away from Konoha for so long on his spying mission that I don't think his mind immediately leaps to Konoha comparisons.

Yep the sects = village.

Well, he appreciates that it doesn't weigh on his soul killing the monsters like when he's being sent out to assassinate innocent civilians and children because some rich person had the money for pay for such a mission.

Itachi is going to be a weird mix of "YOU ARE NOT GOOD ENOUGH FOR MY BROTHER" and pragmatic "hm, what value does bringing this person into my sect and clan through marriage have?"

He's a shinobi at the end of the day. He's more concerned about the benefits (Lan Wangji marrying a person who can control a nearly infinite army to protect Lan Zhan or invent any and all talisman that would benefit Lan Wangji) outweighing the negatives (Lan Wangji not prioritizing him as no. 1 influential person).

First and foremost, Itachi prioritizes Lan Wangji's safety and survival. And then he considers Lan Wangji's happiness. Last and bottom of his considerations is his brother's love for him.

He does want Lan Wangji to value him, not just because he wants his brother to love him, but because it gives Lan Wangji extra protection. If Lan Wangji loves and trusts Itachi, Lan Wangji will listen to Itachi's commands and not put himself in danger out of foolhardy rebellion or stubbornness.

Itachi isn't going to interfere because generally when he interfered with Sasuke's life, it backfired. He does like Wei Wuxian and sees how it brings Lan Wangji out of his shell. So he subtly encourages things, but he's not going to do something so basic as to threaten Jiang Cheng - he IS a ninja and younger person to join the ANBU.

So instead, he arranges a series of coincidences that no one notices or realizes are not, in fact, funny coincidences. And no one can trace Itachi's involvement in them.

I want to be like, OF COURSE! But... there's the Lan ribbon.

So Itachi settles for booping Lan Wangji on the nose instead.

[Read more in the #imagine if itachi uchiha was reborn as lan xichen au]