#man all i seem to write these days is lwj falling in love with wwx at first sight

[stiltonbasket]

Short crack Prompt:

Wei Wuxian inherited many things from his mother, but he got his father's hair, thick, long, lustrous and silky. His hair has always been longer than most and darker than midnight. He doesn't want to cut it, but hates it coming onto his face, on his hands on his sword while he's doing anything, THUS, ✨he braids it✨.

It's a long thick braid, reaching below his thighs and sitting on his shoulders without his permission. Whenever he turns around or is sword drilling, it swishes behind him like it has a life of it's own.

Bonus: wwx in braid is many people's gay / straight awakening. Jc and yzh has to keep away suiters (and creeps) behind wwx , cuz he's oblivious to other's crush on him. As he's busy looking at lwj 🙃

"Lan-xiong," Nie Huaisang says one afternoon, while Lan Wangji is trying to meditate in the courtyard behind the Yashi. "There's something you ought to know before the guest disciples get here."

Lan Wangji squints at him.

"What is it?" he says flatly. Knowing Nie Huaisang as he does, he guesses that Huaisang intends to relay some piece of gossip; but as telling tales about others is strictly forbidden in the Cloud Recesses, Nie Huaisang ought to know better than to attempt such a thing before the clan's Head of Discipline.

"It's about Yunmeng Jiang," Nie Huaisang says.

"What about Yunmeng Jiang?" Lan Wangji has had little to do with the cultivators of Yunmeng Jiang, but he doubts that a class of their most talented disciples could cause much trouble at the lectures. "Have Jiang-zongzhu's daughter and her shidimei decided not to come?"

Nie Huaisang waves his fan in dismissal. "Oh, nothing so serious as that. It's only—well, have you heard of Wei Wuxian?"

"Briefly. He is Jiang-zongzhu's head disciple, is he not?"

The aforementioned Wei Wuxian's instatement as head disciple was an occasion of some note in the Jianghu, Lan Wangji remembers. For one thing, Wei Wuxian is not a bloodline member of the clan: though this is not so uncommon amongst the latest generation of head disciples, especially in sects where clan disciples are not the majority. For another, Wei Wuxian was apparently disfavored by his shimu from the day Jiang Fengmian first brought him to Lotus Pier at the age of five—and when the news of his appointment reached Lanling Jin last year, there was a great deal of murmuring about how Yu Ziyuan had taken it.

"He is the head disciple," Nie Huaisang says gravely, "but that is of no importance here. The trouble is—oh, it's just a word, don't look like that—is that Wei-gongzi is a calamitous beauty, and his shidimen wrote to me asking whether the Cloud Recesses would be willing to assist in his protection during the lectures."

He holds out a letter and passes it to Lan Wangji. "Here. Jiang-xiong explained everything."

Much to Lan Wangji's regret, the letter's contents are exactly as Nie Huaisang described them. Apparently, Wei Wuxian—referred to in the letter as da-shixiong, as it had been penned by Jiang Wanyin and his biaodi Yu Zhenhong—is both too handsome for his own good and dangerously charming; and as a result, Jiang Wanyin professes, his shixiong leaves a trail of broken hearts wherever he goes.

The last time we visited Lanling—which we would not have done if we had any choice, but the fact of my sister's betrothal ensured that we had precious little say in the matter—five of Jin Zixuan's cousins came to blows at the sight of my shige, each insisting that she and no other would be engaged to him in the future, Jiang Wanyin writes. One of the girls jilted her intended on the spot, vowing that she no longer wished to see him again as long as Wei Wuxian walked the earth; and her intended tore off the yaopei she had gifted him and flung it into the nearest koi pond before declaring that she need not worry about keeping their engagement, for he no longer had any love for her and now wished to bring our da-shixiong into his clan as a bride.

Lan Wangji looks up in dismay. "What?"

"Read on," Nie Huaisang advises grimly. "It gets worse."

Yesterday, he stole a flower from a local bun-girl and went to market with the bloom behind his ear; and later, we received news that the sight of him caused six carriages, nine produce wagons, and two riders on horseback to crash when he stopped to cross the street. He returned home after buying all the ruined produce and helping the women who were bruised in the melee, without the slightest idea that it only occurred because the driver of the first carriage was blinded by the sunlight reflected upon his hair; and the next morning, Fuqin received so many petitioners asking for Wei Wuxian's hand in marriage that he hung a sign at the gates to announce that he would entertain no suitors until after Wei Wuxian comes of age.

"Guanyin in heaven," Lan Wangji hears himself croak, stunned. "How—?"

Nie Huaisang shrugs. "If you ask me, it's the hair."

Lan Wangji shakes his head and looks back down at the letter in disbelief.

Thus, it is my hope that you will inform the second Young Master Lan about the two latest incidents, and impress upon him the importance of restraint in the Lan disciples—and in all the others who will come to study under Lan-laoshi—well before we arrive. (This passage is written in a more graceful hand, likely Yu Zhenhong's.) Our seventh shimei once fell off the pier and into the lake because da-shixiong smiled at her, and no trouble came of it because Lingxi-shimei is a strong swimmer; but if Lan-laoshi's disciples keep falling down the mountain because da-shixiong braided his hair instead of putting it up, someone might truly end up coming to harm.

"This beggars belief," Lan Wangji says doubtfully. "Can one man truly...?"

"I've seen him," Nie Huaisang replies. "And yes. Keep reading."

"'And if it would not be too much trouble,'" Lan Wangji reads aloud, "'please also consult Lan-er-gongzi or Zewu-jun on the subject of da-shixiong's safety.' Safety?"

Nie Huaisang winces. "Wei-xiong is very lovely to look upon," he offers, "and from his dress, it is not always clear that he has the backing of a great sect. Some men do not take well to being told no by a beauty."

"And by some men, you mean the men of Lanling Jin?"

"One never knows where such dangers may come from," Nie Huaisang tells him. "But if you ask me, you ought to keep an eye on the Jins anyway. Apart from Jin Zixuan, I doubt there's a single man in this year's course who doesn't hate Wei Wuxian for enchanting all the Jin girls."

Lan Wangji nods and rises to his feet. "I will handle this matter," he says decisively, turning towards the open door to the Lanshi. "You write back to Jiang-gongzi, and inform him that the Cloud Recesses will be duly prepared for his shige's arrival."

The Lan disciples are prepared accordingly; for over the next week, Lan Wangji orders all the male disciples between fifteen and twenty-five to copy the sect precepts concerning restraint, and ensures that none of the maiden disciples over the age of twelve will have cause to meet Wei Wuxian save for his own sect sisters. Fortunately for everyone concerned, Wei-gongzi is said to be twice as brilliant as he is beautiful: which means that Shufu is easily persuaded to place him in the advanced lectures reserved for disciples who would be hampered by study with the rest of their age-mates. Lan Wangji is the sole male disciple allowed to attend those lectures; so for much of his time at the Cloud Recesses, Wei Wuxian's only classmates will be a pair of married women and Lan Wangji himself.

Lan Wangji thinks better of the arrangement three weeks later, when he is carried to the infirmary after meeting Wei Wuxian on the mountain path and falling thirty feet into a copse of trees below.

"I'm so sorry. Lan-er-gongzi, I'm really sorry," Wei Wuxian gasps, gripping Lan Wangji's clenched fists as Xiongzhang and one of the healers set his broken legs at the other end of the bed. "You can hold on as tightly as you like, all right? Zewu-jun is nearly finished."

Lan Wangji closes his eyes tightly.

"What have I done?" he hears Wei Wuxian mutter to himself. "I'm so clumsy. I'll look after you until you're better again, second Young Master, just say the word and I—"

"Lan Zhan."

Lan Wangji feels his brother's fingers twitch against his knee.

"What?"

"Not—not Lan-er-gongzi," Lan Wangji wheezes. "You may call me Lan Zhan."

Wei Wuxian beams at him with tears brimming at the corners of his eyes. "You're not angry?"

"No."

His eyes fall shut again, provoking a sound of utter desolation from Wei Wuxian. "Here, I'll take that ribbon off," Wei Wuxian says soothingly, his rough hands stroking Lan Wangji's hot forehead. "Your ears are burning up. You'll feel better as soon as it's gone."

At the foot of the bed, Lan Xichen makes a choking sound: but Lan Wangji cannot bring himself to care.

"Mm," Lan Wangji sighs, smiling. "Thank you, Young Master Wei."

[wangxianficfinder]

Fic Finder

~*~

1. Hi I’m looking for this specific fic:

I remember there’s mpreg and lan Zhan is the one pregnant.

It’s a modern day AU where they’ve been hooking up in hotels. So friends with benefit to lovers to husbands eventually. Lan Zhan quits his job eventually to be a stay home and there’s conflict of interest between their two jobs.

Thank you so much!

//

Hi I’m looking for a fix where lz can get pregnant and eventually does. I recall it’s a modern au where they’re in rival companies. LZ eventually leaves the company to be a stay home dad for their kids. They meet up in hotels to have rendezvous frequently before their relationship was open.

They got eloped as well.

Thank you!!

FOUND? sweet as cherry wine Series by cicer (E, 81k, WangXian, Modern AU, Business rivals, Intersex, Mpreg, Barebacking, Pregnancy kink)

~*~

2. hello! for fic finder, may i ask for a great tumblr meta that i cant find anywhere? (i feel like i should disclaim that ppl should read what they find hot. i just saw a recent mxtx interview that said like the exact same thing as the meta and thought it was cool)

the meta talks about how mxtx specifically choosing to write lwj as a top WAS the gnc option. i think op was just frustrated about some people insisting that switching/top wwx was 'less heteronormative' (as a justification for liking it??). i think op mentioned that this seems like a western take on mdzs?

basically, in the meta, they expand on how lwj is gnc-coded. like how touching lwj's headband equals staining his honor like how a cdrama man kissing an unmarried woman would be (this is what mxtx also said herself in the interview), and a bunch of other things (handling money, etiquette, lwj keeping track of wwx's tastes as opposed to wwx buying him spicy food, the incense burner domesticity, and idk more stuff i cant remember)

i *think* they wrote something like "all mxtx couples come with the gnc already built in" which was a cool point imo (one example is hc flipping the gege kink), but i tried searching for that and i couldn't find it for the life of me. thank you! (Huh, I feel like I remember this one faintly 🤔 ~Mod L)

~*~

3. Hi there! I appreciate all the work yall do 🥰 I'm trying to find a fic where LWJ has to do an ascension trial in the moral world and WWX accidentally fucks it up. WWX has to break LWJ's heart in order for LWJ to still pass the trial. I remember that WWX takes the option to forget the trial but LWJ doesn't. Might be a foxxian fic? Thank you!!! @la-voce-to-me

FOUND! Keep Me on Your Pillow by catbrainedschemes (E, 42k, wangxian, fantasy au, pillow book au, high immortal LWJ, red fox WWX, pining, angst, fluff, eventual smut, slow burn, feelings, first meetings, misunderstandings, happy ending, sharing a bed, first kiss, oblivious WWX, oblivious LWJ, sexual tension, hero worship, falling in love)

~*~

4. A) This fic is a modern au, I think that both LZ and WY are cultivators, WY specifically is kind of a witch (?), he messes with dark magic and lives in a haunted town or something like this. There's a reencounter between the two (I don't know if by chance or if LZ tracks WY) and at some point LZ gets worried that WY is sorrounded by ghosts/resentful energy, but he is aware of the situation. I think WY even has a pet crow/cat, but I'm not sure. And the plot may envolve him being isolated, running away or being expelled because of his methods of cultivation. Also, I'm pretty sure there's a fanart featured in the story that has Wangxian and the haunted place WY lives/takes care.

B) The second one is also a modern AU, LZ father is very sick, almost dying and stays in the hospital all the time, but LZ refuses to visit him because of the resentment caused by the situation with his parents. He meets WY in this same hospital, I don't remember if he works there, but I think it has something to do with Yanli. They connect through this situation, LZ eventually goes see his father and I think WY has some part in convincing him to do so.

C) Another modern AU, Lan Qiren is a priest/owns a church, the Lans are very religious and that includes LZ. WY is kind of a delinquent, he starts to go to the church and begins a friendship with LZ, who is very upright and frigid like in canon, plus the super religious part. I think LQ even says WY is a bad influence bacause of his behaviour and the things he did/does, but LZ realizes he is not that bad and there's probably some toutoring/disciplining envolved from his part. They are both teens or young adults and I specifically remember a scene when the two have sex inside the church with LZ being on the receiving end.

Thank you in advance and keep up the awesome work!

4B)

FOUND? 兔死狐悲 (tù sǐ hú bēi) by Anonymous (M, 14k, WangXian, Modern AU, Getting Together, Meet-Cute, Doctor WWX, Hospitals, Canonical Character Death, (But a minor   character - not the ones listed), Angst with a Happy Ending, Misunderstandings, Emotional Hurt/Comfort)

4C)

FOUND? Say Amen by Wuxian_Biscuit (Charlie_Biscuit) (E, 6k, WangXian, Religion, Internalized Homophobia, Church Sex, Anal Sex, Anal Fingering, Oral Sex, Hand Jobs, Bottom LWJ)

~*~

5. Hi! I love your blog and I have found it really helpful in the past. I was wondering if you could help me find a fic? It does have wangxian as the endgame. With wwx and lwj being opposing generals on opposite sides of a war. However, they both respect each other and have worked together to save innocent lives in the past.

In the end the Lan win the war and lwj takes wwx under his protection as a sort of war prize. This fic is very heavy on the Jiang and Jin bashing and in the end I think the Jiangs and Jins have to stand trial for their crimes during the war. While wwx is under lwj’s protection and never committed any crimes thus is not punished. I don’t think it is terribly long and I thought it was finished or almost finished at the time when I was reading it. If you could help me find this fic I would really appreciate it! @kjwaikiki

FOUND! Crossing Paths by Ilona22 (M, 21k, wangxian, shapeshifter au, graphic depictions of violence, war between sects, war crimes, not JC friendly, happy ending)

~*~

6. 👋 I am looking for a time travel/kid fic among thousands. This one LWJ travels back to being a kid, rescues his mother and they escape cloud recesses. He takes then to save WWX from the streets of yiling and they all grow up together I think in Meishan yu sect elser house before war happens. Cam you help this lowly one? 🙏🏻 @the-untamed-stole-my-heart

FOUND? The Dreams of Youth by sami (E, 86k, wangxian, time travel, fix-it, family, not lan sect friendly, canon typical violence & gore, childhood friends to lovers, hurt/comfort, mothers who live, some people live/not everyone dies)

~*~

7. Hi for the next ficfinder please help with this request. This came as a random thought that refuses to leave my mind. I really only remember one scene. Which is someone, I believe it’s lan xichen, remarking that lwj would walk all over jyl. Not in a bad way just that he was more assertive and her being more demure i guess. It was a wangxian fic though. Not sure if it wasabi. Please help @lilly-420

FOUND? In Love and War by Cataclysmic_Calamity (E, 68k, wangxian, ABO, canon divergence, alpha LWJ, omega WWX, arranged marriage, slow burn, enemies to lovers, sexual tension, menace to society WWX, doing his best LWJ, miscommunication, past emotional abuse, dubious consent, consensual non-con, semi public sex, dom/sub)

~*~

8. hiii it's me again I'm sorry I can't seem to find anything rn and you guys are literal lives savers I'm looking for a fit where lwj was raisin A-Yuan and I just remember that they were talking about wwx and lwj compared him to a butterfly going in a dark forest to bring back treasures for other but each time he made the trip he lost some of his light until one day he couldn't come back. that all I have can you help ???🙇🏼‍♀️ thank youuuuuu✨✨ @ihaveasoftspotfora-yuan

~*~

9. Hi, thanks for your time! I'm looking for a(n older), well-written fic where wwx takes the wen away from the cultivation world after breaking them free from qiongqi road. Lan Zhan decides to follow after them. They settle far away, I think, on a mountain. Living conditions are harsh, at some point I believe mud floods washed their crops away and they had to move them elsewhere. Wwx was quite weak for some time. At the end of the fic was a grand scene where wwx and lwj destroy the tiger seal together, almost dying while trying. They don't rejoin the cultivation world. Any idea? @kesterling

FOUND! wide enough and wild by impossibletruths (E, 64k, wangxian, canon divergence, Getting Together, Canonical Accidental Baby Acquisition, Families of Choice, References to Depression, Canon-Typical Violence, Happy Ending, Noping Out Of Society With Your Boyfriend And Your 50 Wen Refugees: The Novel, Overzealous Use Of Imagery, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Well Except Wen Ning But He Was Already Dead So, Fix-It of Sorts, Podfic Available, Spanish Translation Available)

~*~

10. hello mods! I am looking for a fic where wei wuxian is taken over by a phoenix god (?) and is locked up post-sunshot in the cold pond cave so as to not kill everyone with his new phoenix powers. lan wangji willingly enters the cold pond cave as well even though he knows that wei wuxian is being controlled by the god.thank you in advance!! @yourancestorsarefrowning​

FOUND? Breathing Firestorm by ladyshadowdrake (M, 110k, wangxian, angst, fluff, captivity, creepy WRH, no non-con, dreamsharing, politics, people making the best decisions they can, epic length, mythical creature WWX, canon-typical violence, dark, happy ending)

~*~

11. Hi! I was actually searching for a mdzs meta blog here on Tumblr . i have been scrolling for hours now but i can't seem to find the blog.I am very sure that they write a detailed meta on the last scene of the untamed where Wwx says to lwj " You are indeed hanguang jun " and lwj replies with " you are indeed wei ying".They had a lot of other posts too .

I understand you do not find blogs / posts but if you know anything any account like that i would gladly appreciate it .

Please feel free to ignore this ask if you wish to ! Thank you.

FOUND! number eleven might be https://hunxi-guilai.tumblr.com/, with this being the post they mention

~*~

12. Hiya, im hoping you guys can help me find this fic? The only things I remember is it was canon setting, lwj pov, where he kept hiding/fidgeting with his hands in his sleeves and the author kept bringing attention to it to show him being nervous. It was also complete and definitely longer than 10k at least. Thank you!

~*~

13. Hi! I’m looking for a wangxian fic about right-hearted and left-hearted people. In the story, hetero couples have men with hearts on the left side and women with hearts on the right side of their bodies, and gay relationships were either both on the right side or a combo. I just remember that wèi yīng had a right sided heart. I remember that wèi yīng and lán zhàn got together before it was revealed that wèi yīng was about to be in an arranged marriage. I think wèi yīng turns the girl down and she shoots spiritual energy to his right side in an act of rage and almost kills him and because he and lán zhàn had, like become mates(?), he is the only person who could save him. I’m pretty sure it’s not a/b/o, and it is in the canonical time period. Thank you! @fries-n-salt

FOUND? Right-Hearted by 0_Heta_0 (E, 22k, wangxian, heartmark au, canon-typical homophobia, internalized homophobia, hurt/comfort, falling in love, fluff & angst, smut)

~*~

14. Hey ! For the next fic finder i am looking for a work where wei wuxian was a god and so was lan wangji .I think it was a Hades and Persephone au .the clans still existed . Also i think lwj was the god of flowers and wwx the god of death and when lwj visits the underworld he makes flowers grow for ayuan who is wwx adopted son

FOUND? Flowers Blooming in the Dark by TheLegendOfChel (T, 65k, wangxian, WWX & LSZ & LWJ, Gods & Goddesses au, Inspired by Hades and Persephone, Ancient Greek Religion & Lore Fusion, but it's still in a xianxia/wuxia setting, Pining, Courtship, Forbidden Love, Kidnapping, kind of, Smitten LWJ, Smitten WWX, Courting Rituals, Secret Relationship, references to wwx's canonical kinks, Child LSZ, Fluff)

FOUND? there will come soft rains by infinite (recursion) (Not rated, 14k, wangxian, gods & goddesses au, Hades/Persephone au)

FOUND? The Radish and the Pomegranate by MissMagus (T, 15k, wangxian, WWX & LSZ & LWJ, Inspired by Hades and Persephone, greek mythology au, kid fic, fluff & angst) could also be this, but in it ayuan is the God of flowers and makes them grow in the Underworld

~*~

15. Hi! It's me again. It's for fic finder. On this fic, Qin Su dies and Jin Rusong lives. Before QS dies, she told JRS to never trust JGY and a few days after she said that, she dies because of drowning (i think). That happen in the flashback. And JRS indirectly help NHS in his revenge. Thats all i can remember. Thank you!!! @idontknowwhattowriteforusername

~*~

16. Hello! I’m looking for a fic and I can’t for the life of me find it… I believe the plot was branching off after qiongqi path or nightless city, and it’s wwx running away from the cultivation world and lwj pursuing him. And while this is happening wwx meets xiao xingchen and lwj meets song Lan on the way. And it goes along with song Lan and lwj tailing wwx and xiao xingchen hoping to find them and explain everything and make up. I know wwx and xxc end up at baoshan sanren’s mountain and that lwj finds mo xuanyu during this and takes him with them. I remember the detail that a-qing brings song Lan to Lan wangji bc she knows they’re looking for a cultivator dressed in white with a white cloth “over his eyes” and she mistakes the forehead ribbon for that description. Any help is appreciated I have such a hankering to reread!

FOUND! These Things Unseen by bonyenne (T, 34k, wangxian, WWX & XXC, WWX & LY, canon divergence, fluff & angst, accidental baby acquisition, getting together, happy ending, found family, alternating pov, pining, kid fic)

~*~

17. Hi, hope you guys are good. I'm looking for a fic I read that I forgot to bookmark. I remember WWX never got adopted by the Jiangs and was instead raised by BSSR. One day he got caught sneaking into Cloud Recesses while helping to pass messages between her and LY. When asked why he was there he panicked and claimed he was a Jiang disciple and JYL rolled with the lie for the drama of it all. I also remember the Wens attacking and he helped defend the place with the help of the other guest disciples

FOUND! Become Tomorrow by ShanaStoryteller (Not rated, 39k, wangxian, alternate universe, cloud recesses study arc, WWX is BSSR's disciple)

~*~

18. hello!

i was trying to find a fic but it's as if it disappeared from the internet.

it's one where wei wuxian 'died' at qiongqi path and lan wangji goes to pay respects in burial mounds but turns out he isn't dead.

thank you.

FOUND? Also it’s possible 18 is my fic? in this place where we don’t have a prayer by Cerusee, Mikkeneko (T, 42k, JC & WWX & JYL, WN & WWX & WQ, wangxian, JYL/JZX, JC & WQ, JC & WN, future JC/WQ, character death (WWX), JC shouting, humor?, JZX is ok for a Jin, necromancy)

FOUND? End Racism in the OTW | The Fire Lapping Up the Creek by notevenyou (E, 66k, wangxian, canon divergence, hurt/Comfort, Canon-Typical Violence, blood & injury, injury recovery, respiratory illness, major illness, fever, grief/mourning, angst w happy ending, implied/referenced suicide, hunger & food scarcity, surgery, Fix-it of Sorts)

~*~

19. Hello! Please help! 🙏 I've been going crazy trying to find this fic. It's post-canon, married wangxian in wwx pov, where lwj is under a spell/curse which makes him emotionless (i think its a long one-shot). I remember a scene where wwx thinks lwj just fell out of love w/ him in the beginning until he sees lwj interact with sizhui and a very robotic sex scene that ends with wwx feeling very uncomfortable. @littleladysilver

I just read #19, I wanna say it was on a recent fic finder ?? it was a 2 part fic, I think it was tagged for curses rather than amnesia

FOUND? Does anyone even read work titles? idk what to call this by Nighttdust (M, 14k, WangXian, Curses, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, though not to much, Both get hurt both get comforted, Established Relationship, Post-Canon, Happy Ending, Protective WWX, Insecurity, a bit only)

~*~

20. Hi!

So i read a canon divergence fic long time ago that wangxian were betrothed to each other since young and wei wuxian always had to wear a mask and besides the jiang family no one was allowed to see his face, also he lived in a mansion in yilling with mian mian and xue yang, plus wei wuxian and lan wangji were pining hard in this fic. Also for the sake of her family wen qing married lan wangji. I feel like it was deleted from ao3 cause i searched a lot but i wanted to get help from you guys too.

Thanks!

20 might be a deleted fic. I've seen people asking about it before, but I can't think of the name.

FOUND? I think #20 might be Price to Pay by Wangxianist and unfortunately it is a deleted fic. I also don’t think it was ever finished.

~*~

[yiifu]

more mdzs random thoughts

there’s so many behind the scenes character interactions with other characters that i really wanna see, like jin guangyao, for instance. we got that nice little donghua montage of jgy and lan xichen while lan xichen was on the run, but there’s also jgy and xue yang being villainous besties (there’s an audio drama extra that i’m looking forward to listening to) and us not knowing what actually went down between them for xue yang to end up in a roadside ditch half-dead ... like what did they even talk about on a day to day basis lol. did they actually like each other’s company or was it just a transactional thing. and then we also have jin guangyao and jin zixuan (did they really like each other, i’m guessing jin zixuan despite being an arrogant prick at times was actually more accepting of people from a lower class than most others in lanlingjin, on the other hand jgy making jzx’s portraits the same size as his on the mural walls could just have been to make him look good instead of the fact that he actually saw jzx as his equal), jin zixuan and his mother (does jin zixuan also have mummy issues like jiang cheng cos im guessing he did), jin zixuan and jiang yanli (we were robbed of a wedding scene also i need more footage of them and jin ling and doing the whole falling in love thing and being new parents) and jin guangyao and mo xuanyu (there’s potential for an entire arc within mdzs for these two cos what the hell actually happened between them) 

side note jgy seems to always banish people from lanlingjin under mysterious circumstances that we as readers never really know about. we don’t know for sure what happened between him and xue yang because xue yang never gives any indication about what happened. we don’t know for sure what happened between him and mo xuanyu because mo xuanyu never addressed these himself and it was all just rumours which could be made up by anyone. jgy is just so mysterious.

also the interactions between nie huaisang and mo xuanyu (man i would have loved to see nie huaisang slowly planting that idea in mo xuanyu’s head), and jiang cheng and kid jin ling, or even jiang cheng and jin guangyao having regular meetings where they discuss how they’re gonna co-raise the child. song lan and xiao xingchen becoming friends and fighting evil together, and their falling-out after baixue temple. more of what happened during those two years of the yi city arc with a-qing, xue yang and xiao xingchen. lan sizhui and lan jingyi attending daily lessons and how they became friends (or paired up as buddies in the field). lan wangji raising lan sizhui (there’s an audio drama extra with bunnies too, so that’s cool) 

there’s just so many of these little background interactions with their own little narratives and trajectories (also lots of fodder for fanfiction to plug the gaps) and idk it’s all so fascinating.

another lovely thing about wangxian that i realized while reading reddit threads there was this comment that mentioned how wwx leaving with lwj on a donkey to get married parallels his memory of his mother on the donkey and like ,,, wangxian’s love story parallels their respective parents’ journeys so well?? wwx riding away on a donkey with his husband just like his mother, even wearing the same red ribbon in his hair. lwj falling HARD for someone that his sect says he shouldn’t fall for, and wanting to take them back and hide them in cloud recesses to keep them safe. just like what his father did with his mother. ugh. the writing is just so amazing i’ll never stop being amazed by this story it’s a gift that keeps giving

[pumpkinpaix]

Pleeeeeeease get into the class one at some point because I very much want to understand the class dynamics happening in the story but I have yet to find a meta that dives into it

god anon you want me dead don’t you alsjdfljks

referring to this post

okay, so -- my specific salt about class interpretations in mdzs are very targeted. I can’t pretend to have a deep understanding of how class works in mdzs generally because uhhhhh yeah i don’t think i have that. i’m just not familiar enough with the genre and/or the particulars of chinese class systems. but! i can talk in general terms as to why I feel a certain way about the class dynamics that I do think I understand and how I think they relate to the themes of the novel! i’m gonna talk about wei wuxian, the daozhangs, xue yang, and 3zun with, I’m sure, a bunch of digressions along the way.

the usual disclaimers: i do not think you are a bad person if you hold opinions contrary to my own. i may disagree with you very strongly, but like. this isn’t a moral judgment, fandom is transformative and interpretive etc. etc. and i may change my mind. who knows what the future will bring!

OKAY so let’s begin!

here’s the thing about wei wuxian: he’s not poor. I think because characters use “son of a servant” kind of often when they’re trying to insult him, a lot of people latch onto that and think that it’s a much stronger indication of his societal status than it actually is. iirc, most of the insults that fall along the “son of a servant” line come after wei wuxian starts breaking severely from tradition. it’s a convenient thing to attack him for, but doesn’t actually indicate anything about his wealth. (exception: yu ziyuan, but that’s a personal familial issue) this is in direct contrast to jin guangyao who is constantly mocked for his family line, publicly and privately, no matter what he does.

so this, coupled with all the jokes about wwx never having any money (wei wuqian, sizhui’s “i’ve long since known you had no money” etc.), plus his like, rough years on the street as a child ends up producing this interpretation of wei wuxian, especially in modern aus, as someone who is very class conscious and “eat the rich”. but the fact of the matter is, wei wuxian IS rich. aside from the years in his childhood and the last two years of his life in yiling, like -- wei wuxian had money and status. he is gentry. he is respected as gentry. he is treated as a son by the sect leader of yunmeng jiang -- he does not have the jiang name, but it is so very clear that jiang fengmian favors him. wei wuxian is ranked fourth of all the eligible young masters in the cultivation world -- that is not a ranking he could have attained without being accepted into the upper class.

wei wuxian’s poverty does not affect him in the way that it affects jin guangyao or xue yang. he is of low-ish birth (still the son of jiang fengmian’s right hand man though! ok sure, “son of a servant” but like. >_> whatever anyways), but for most of his life he had money. he, jiang cheng, and their sect brothers go into town and steal lotus pods with the understanding that “jiang-shushu will pay for it”. this is a regular thing! that’s fucking rich kid behavior!!! wei wuxian is careless with money because he doesn’t have to worry about it. he still has almost all the benefits of being upper class: education, food security, respect, recognition etc. I think there may also be a misconception that wei wuxian was always on the verge of being kicked out by yu ziyuan, or that he was constantly walking on eggshells around her for fear of being disowned, but that is just textually untrue. i could provide receipts, but I admittedly don’t really feel like digging them up just now ;;

even in his last years in yiling, he was not the one who was dealing with the acute knowledge of poverty: wen qing is the one managing the money, and as far as we know, wei wuxian did little to no management of daily life during the burial mounds days -- mostly, he’s described as hiding in his cave for days on end, working on his inventions, running around like a force of chaos, frivolously making a mess of things -- it’s very very cute that he buries a’yuan in the dirt, but in classic wei wuxian fashion, he did Not think about the practical consequences of it -- that A’Yuan has no other clean clothes, and now he’s gotten this set dirty and has no intention of washing them. is this a personality thing? yeah, but I think it’s also indicative of his lack of concern over the logistics of everyday survival, re: wealth.

furthermore, i think it is important to remember that wei wuxian, when he is protecting the wen remnants, is not protecting common folk: he is still protecting gentry. fallen gentry, yes! but gentry nonetheless. wen qing was favored by wen ruohan, and wen ning himself says that he has a retinue of people under his command (the remnants, essentially). their branch of the family do not have the experience of living and growing in poverty -- they are impoverished and persecuted in their last years, but that’s a very different thing from being impoverished your whole life. (sidenote: I do not believe wei wuxian’s primary motivation for defending the wen remnants was justice -- i believe he did it because he felt he owed wen ning and wen qing a life debt, and once he was there, he wasn’t going to stand around and let the work camps go on. yes, he is concerned about justice and doing the right thing, but that’s not why he went in the first place. anyways, that’s another meta)

after wei wuxian returns, he then marries back into gentry, and very wealthy gentry at that. lwj provides him all the money he could ever want, he is never worried about going homeless, starving, being denied opportunities based on his class and accompanying disadvantages. who would dare? and neither wei wuxian nor lan wangji seem to have much interest in shaking up the order of things, except in little things like the way they teach the juniors. they live in gusu, under the auspices of the lan, and they live a happy, domestic life.

were his years on the street traumatizing? yes, of course they were, there’s so much delicious character exploration to be done re: wei wuxian’s relationship to food, his relationship to his own needs, and his relationship to the people he loves. it’s all important and good! but I feel very strongly that that experience, while it was formative for him, did not impart any true understanding of poverty and the common person’s everyday struggles, nor do I think he ever really gains that understanding. he is observant and canny and aware of class and blood, certainly, but not in a way that makes it his primary hill to die on (badum-tss).

this is in very stark contrast to characters like jin guangyao and xue yang, and to some extent, xiao xingchen and song lan. I’ll start with the daozhangs, because I think they’re the simplest (??).

I think both xiao xingchen and song lan have class consciousness, but in a very simplified, broad-strokes kind of way (at least, given the information we know about them). we know that the two of them share similar values and want to one day form their own sect that gives no weight to the nobility of your lineage and has no concern with your wealth. we also know that they both disdain intersect politics and are more concerned with ideals and principles rather than status. but, I think because of that, this actually somewhat limits their perception and understanding of how status is used to oppress. as far as we know, neither of them participated on any side in sunshot and they demonstrate much more interest in relating to the commoners. honestly, i hc that they were flitting around trying to help decimated towns, protecting defenseless villages etc. I ALSO think this has a lot of interesting potential in terms of xiao xingchen and wei wuxian’s relationship, if xiao xingchen is ever revived. regardless of whether you’re in CQL or novel verse, xiao xingchen really doesn’t know wei wuxian at all, other than knowing that he’s his shijie’s son. he knows that cangse-sanren met with a tragic end, like yanling-daoren before her, and that he wants to be different. but here is cangse-sanren’s son, laying waste to entire cities, desecrating the dead. I would very much like to get into xiao xingchen’s head during that period of time (and i think, if i do it right, i can write some of it into the songxiao fixit), but that’s neither here nor there, because i’ve wandered off from my point again.

i would posit that song lan is used to an ascetic lifestyle, and xiao xingchen probably is too -- but that’s different from poverty because there’s an element of choice to it. I also think that neither of them is particularly worldly, xiao xingchen especially. he lived on an isolated mountain until he was like, seventeen, and he came down full of ideals and naivete about how the world worked. I think that both of them see inequality, that they are angered by it, and that they want to do something about it -- but their solution is neither to topple the sects, nor is it to reform the system. rather, it seems to be more about withdrawing and creating their own removed world. I think that the daozhangs embody a kind of utopianism that isn’t present in the minds of any of the other characters, not even wangxian. honestly, baoshan-sanren’s mountain is a utopian ideal, but one that is not described. it exists outside of and beyond the world. i have a lot of jumbled, vague thoughts about utopianism generally, mostly informed by china miéville and ursula k. le guin, and I don’t think i have the ability to articulate them here, but i wanted to. hm. say something? there is something about the inherent dystopianism contained within every utopia, that utopias are necessary, but also reflections of the existence of terrible things in their conception. idk. there’s something in there, I know it!! but i suppose what I want to say is -- i do not think the daozhangs understand class and social hierarchy very deeply because they don’t see a need to examine it deeply. for their goals, the details aren’t the point. they’re not looking to reform within the system, they’re looking to build something outside of it. I think they spend a lot of time concerned with alleviating the symptoms of social oppression, and their values reflect the injustices they witness there.

regardless, even if their story ends in tragedy and there is a certain amount of critique re: the utopian approach, i think the text still emphasizes that xiao xingchen left a utopia and that he thought that people mattered enough for him to try, and that was an incredibly honorable, kind, and human thing to do.

YEAH SURE THE DAOZHANGS ARE THE SIMPLEST ok ok RETURNING to class and moving forward: xue yang.

i also don’t think xue yang has class consciousness lol, or not in any way that really matters, but I do think poverty impacted him in a much stronger way than it impacted wei wuxian. wei wuxian spent some years on the street as a child. xue yang grew up on the streets. chang ci’an’s horrific treatment of him was directly due to his class and social standing: chang ci’an is a nobleman and xue yang is not even worth the dirt beneath the wheels of his cart. what I think is the seminal point though, is that this does not make xue yang think particularly deeply about systemic injustice, because xue yang is so self-centered, self-driven, and individualistic. he is not even slightly concerned about how poverty and class might affect other people -- they’re other people. what he takes away from his experience is not an anger at being wrongfully cheated by a system, but an anger at being wrongfully cheated by a specific man.

xue yang is not particularly concerned with the politics of the aristocracy -- he has no obvious ambitions other than, “i want to eat sweets whenever i please”, “i want to hurt anyone who wrongs me”, and “i want to be so strong that no one can hurt me”. like, he just doesn’t care -- it’s not the kind of power he wants. he sneers at people for like, personal reasons, not class reasons -- “you think you’re better than me” re: xiao xingchen and song lan. to him, all people -- poor, wealthy, noble, common -- are essentially equal, and they are all beneath him. after all, what does he care what family someone comes from, how much money they have? everyone bleeds when you cut them. some of them might be harder to get to than others, but xue yang does not fear that sort of thing. it’s just another obstacle he needs to vault on his way to getting revenge and/or a pastry.

ANYWAYS onto jin guangyao (wow this is hm. getting rather long ahaha oh dear): I would argue that the two characters with the most acute understanding of class/societal politics and the injustice of them are jin guangyao and lan xichen. i’ll start with jin guangyao for obvious reasons.

where xue yang took the damaging effects of poverty as personal slights, I think jin guangyao is painfully aware that there is nothing personal about them, which is, in some ways, much worse. why are two sons, born on the same day to the same father, treated so differently? just because.

he watched his mother struggle and starve and work herself to the bone in a profession where she was constantly disrespected and abused for almost nothing in return, while his father could have lifted her out of poverty with the wave of a finger. why didn’t he? because he didn’t like her? no -- because he didn’t care, and the structures of the society they live in protect that kind of blase treatment of the lower class.

“so my mother couldn’t choose her own fate, is that her fault?” jin guangyao demands. he knows that he is unbelievably talented, that he has ambition, that he has potential, and that all of it is beyond his grasp just because his father didn’t want to bother with it. his mother’s life was destroyed, and his own opportunities were crippled with that negligence. it isn’t personal. that’s just the way things are. your individual identity is meaningless, your humanity does not exist. when he’s kicked down the steps of jinlin tai, it’s just more confirmation that no matter how talented or hardworking he is, no one will give him the time of day unless he finds a way to take it himself and become someone who “matters”.

jin guangyao’s cultivation is weak because he had a poor foundation, and he had a poor foundation because he was denied access to a good one. he copies others because that’s all he can do at this point, and he copies so well that he can hold his own against some of the strongest cultivators of his generation. he’s disparaged for copying and “stealing” techniques, but -- he never would have had to if only he had been born/accepted into the upper class. the fact is that i really do think jin guangyao was the most promising cultivator of his generation that we meet, including the twin jades and wei wuxian: he had natural talent, ambition, creativity, determination and cunning in spades. in some ways, I think that’s one of the overlooked tragedies of jin guangyao: the loss of not just the good man he could have been, but the powerful one too. imagine what he could have done.

jin guangyao spends his entire time in the world of the aristocracy feeling unsteady and terrified because he knows exactly how precarious his position is. he knows how easy it is to lose power, especially for someone like him. he’s working against so many disadvantages, and every scrap of honor he gets is a vicious battle. jin guangyao fears, and I think that’s something that’s lacking in xue yang, wei wuxian and the daozhangs’ experiences/understandings of poverty. i think it’s precisely that fear that emphasizes jin guangyao’s understanding of class and blood. jin guangyao exhibits an anxiety that neither wei wuxian nor xue yang do, and it’s because he truly knows how little he is worth in the eyes of society and how little there is he can do to change that. to me, it very much feels related to the anxiety of not knowing if tomorrow you’ll have something to eat, if tomorrow you’ll still have a home, if tomorrow someone will destroy you and never have to answer for it. it’s the anxiety of knowing helplessness intimately.

moreover, jin guangyao is the only person shown to use the wealth and power at his disposal to take concrete steps to actually help the common people typically ignored by the powerful -- the watchtowers. they’re described in chapter 42. it’s a system that is designed to cover remote areas that most cultivators are reluctant to go due to their inconvenience and the lack of means of the people who live there. the watchtowers assign cultivators to different posts, give aid to those previously forgotten, and if the people are too poor to pay what the cultivators demand, the lanling jin sect pays for it. jin guangyao worked on this for five years and burned a lot of bridges over it. people were strongly opposed to it, thinking that it was some kind of ploy for lanling jin’s personal benefit. but the thing is -- it worked. they were effective. people were helped.

i believe CQL frames the watchtowers as an allegory for a surveillance state/centralized control (i think?? it’s been a minute -- that’s the hazy impression i remember, something like a parallel to the wen supervisory offices?), but I personally don’t think that was the intent in the novel. the watchtowers are a public good. lanling jin doesn’t staff them with their own sect members -- they get nearby sects to staff them. it’s a warning network that they fund that’s supposed to benefit everyone, even those that everyone had considered expendable.

(did jin guangyao do terrible things to achieve this goal? yeah lol. it’s not confirmed, but his son sure did die... suspiciously...... at the hands of an outspoken critic of the watchtowers........ whom he then executed....... so like, maybe just a convenient coincidence for jin guangyao, two birds one stone, but. it seems. Unlikely.)

lan xichen is the only member of the gentry that ever shows serious compassion for and nuanced understanding of jin guangyao’s circumstances. lan xichen treats him as his equal regardless of jin guangyao’s current status -- even when he was meng yao, lan xichen treated him as a human being worthy of respect, as someone with great merits, as someone he would choose as a friend, but he did so knowing full well the delicate position meng yao occupied. this is in direct contrast to nie mingjue, who also believed that meng yao was worthy of respect as a human being, but was completely unable to comprehend the complexities of his circumstances and unwilling to grant him any grace. you know, the difference between “i acknowledge that your birth and status have had effects upon you, but I don’t think less of you for it” and “i don’t consider your birth and status at all when i interact with you because i think it is irrelevant” (“i don’t see color” anyone?)

to illustrate, from chapter 48:

大抵是觉得娼妓之子身上说不定也带着什么不干净的东西，这几名修士接过他双手奉上来的茶盏后，并不饮下，而是放到一边，还取出雪白的手巾，很难受似的，有意无意反复擦拭刚才碰过茶盏的手指。聂明玦并非细致之人，未曾注意到这种细节，魏无羡却用眼角余光扫到了这些。孟瑶视若未见，笑容不坠半分，继续奉茶。蓝曦臣接过茶盏之时，抬眸看他一眼，微笑道：“多谢。”

旋即低头饮了一口，这才继续与聂明玦交谈。旁的修士见了，有些不自在起来。

rough tl:

Probably because they believed that the son of a prostitute might also carry some unclean things upon his person, after these few cultivators took the teacups offered from [Meng Yao’s] two hands, they did not drink, but instead put them to one side, and furthermore brought out snow white handkerchiefs. Quite uncomfortably, and whether they were aware of it or not, they repeatedly wiped the fingers they had just used to touch the teacups. Nie Mingjue was not a detail-oriented person and never took note of such particulars, but Wei Wuxian caught these in the corner of his eye. Meng Yao appeared as if he had not seen, his smile unwavering in the slightest, and continued to serve tea. When Lan Xichen took the teacup, he glanced up at him and, smiling, said, “Thank you.”

He immediately dipped his head to take a sip, and only then continued to converse with Nie Mingjue. Seeing this, the nearby cultivators began to feel somewhat uneasy.

all right, since we’re in full cyan-rampaging-through-the-weeds mode at this point, i’m going to talk about how this is one of my favorite 3zun moments in the entire novel for characterization purposes because it really highlights how they all relate to one another, and to what degree each of them is aware of their own position in relation to the others and society as a whole.

1. nie mingjue, who is a forthright and blunt person, sets meng yao to serving tea and is done with it. he notices nothing wrong or inappropriate about the reactions of the people in the room because it’s not the sort of thing he considers important.

2. meng yao, knowing that his only avenue is to take it lying down with a smile, masks perfectly.

3. lan xichen, noticing all this, uses his own reputation to achieve two things at once: pointedly shame the other cultivators in attendance, and show meng yao that regardless of others’ opinions, he considers him an equal and does not endorse such behavior--and he does it while taking care that no fallout will come down on meng yao’s head.

is this yet another installment of cyan’s endless lxc defense thesis? why yes it is! no one is surprised! but this is my whole point: both meng yao and lan xichen understand the respective hierarchy and power dynamics within the room, while nie mingjue very much does not. this is not because nie mingjue is a bad person or because nie mingjue is stupid--it’s a combination of personality and upbringing. nie mingjue is straightforward and has no patience for such games. but then again, he can afford not to play because he was born into such a high position: that’s a privilege.

to break it down: meng yao knows that he is the lowest-ranked person in the room, sees the way people are subtly disrespecting him in full view of his general who is doing nothing about it. in some ways, this is good -- nie mingjue’s style of dealing with conflict is very direct and not at all suited to delicate political maneuvering. after all, the way he promoted meng yao was actually quite dangerous to meng yao: he essentially guaranteed that his men would bear meng yao a grudge and that their disrespect for him would only be compounded by their bitterness at being punished on his behalf. (it’s like, why often getting parents or teachers to intervene ineffectively in bullying can just be an incitement to more bullying -- same concept) meng yao’s reaction during that scene shows that he’s pretty painfully aware of this and is trying to defuse the situation to no avail. nie mingjue gives him a bootstrap speech (rip nie mingjue i love u so much but. sir) and then promotes him, which is pretty much the only saving grace of that entire exchange, for meng yao at least.

lan xichen, on the other hand, understands both that meng yao is the lowest-ranked person in the room and that any direct attempt to chastise the other cultivators in the room will only serve to hurt meng yao in the long run. he knows that if this were brought to nie mingjue’s attention, he would be outraged and not shy about it -- also bad for meng yao. so he uses what he has: his immaculate reputation. by acting contrary to the other cultivators’ behavior, he demonstrates that he finds their actions unacceptable but with the plausible deniability that it wasn’t directed at them, that this is just zewu-jun being his usual generous self. this means that the other cultivators have no one to blame but themselves, nothing to do but question their own actions. there is nowhere to cast off their discomfort. meng yao didn’t do anything. lan xichen didn’t do anything -- he just thanked meng yao and drank his tea, isn’t that what it’s there for? he doesn’t disrupt the peace, he doesn’t attack anyone and put them on the defensive, but he does make his position very clear.

i know this is a really small thing and i’m probably beating it to death, but I really think this shows just how cognizant lan xichen is of politics and emotional cause and effect in such situations. certainly, out of context I think the scene reads kind of cliche, but within the greater narrative of the story and within the arc of these characters specifically, I think it was a really smart scene to include. it also showcases lan xichen’s style of action: that he moves around and with a problematic situation as opposed to moving straight through.

not to be salty on main again, but this is why it’s very frustrating to me when I see people call lan xichen passive when he is anything but. his actions just don’t look like traditional “actions”, especially to an american audience. it’s easy to understand lan wangji and wei wuxian’s style of problem-solving: taking a stand, moving through, staying strong. lan xichen is juggling an inconceivable number of factors in any given situation, weighing his responsibilities in one role against those in another, and then trying to find the path through the thicket that will cause the least harm, both to himself and the thicket. lan wangji and wei wuxian are not particularly good at considering the far-reaching consequences of their actions -- again, not because they are bad people, but because of a combination of personality and upbringing. they’d just hack through the thicket, not thinking about the creatures that live in it. that is not a terrible thing! it isn’t. it’s a different way of approaching a problem, and it has different priorities. that’s okay. there are advantages and disadvantages on both sides, and where you come down is going to depend on your personal values.

okay we’ve spiraled far and away from my original point, but let’s circle back: i was talking about class.

I think it’s undeniable that class, birthright, fate etc. are some of the driving forces of thematic conflict in mdzs, and the way each character interacts with those forces reveals a lot about themselves and also about the larger themes of fate, chance, and what it means to be righteous and good and how that is and isn’t rewarded. a lot of the tragedy of mdzs (the tragedy that isn’t caused by direct aggression on the part of one group or another) stems from the injustices and slights that people suffered due to their lot in life. it isn’t fair. none of it is fair! we sympathize with jin guangyao because we recognize that what he suffered was unconscionable, even if we don’t excuse him. i sympathize A Lot with xue yang as well for similar reasons, though I understand that’s a harder sell. this is a story focused on the mistakes of an entrenched, aging gentry and the effects that those mistakes had on their children, and a lot of it has to do with prejudice based in class and birth status. whether the prejudice was the true reason or whether it was just a convenient excuse, the fact remains that the systems in place rewarded and protected the people in power who used it to cling to that power. mdzs is also a story of how the circumstances of one’s life can offer you impossible choices that you cannot abstain from, and it asks us to be compassionate to the people who made terrible choices in terrible times. it’s about the inherent complexity in all things! that sometimes, there are no good choices, and i don’t know, i’d like to think that people would show me compassion if I had to make the choices some of these characters did. not just wei wuxian, mind you, every single one of them. except jin guangshan because I Do Hate Him sorry. and i guess wen ruohan. i think that’s it.

good. GOD this is clocking in at //checks notes -- just over 5k. 8′D *stuffs some weeds into my mouth like the clown i am*

(ko-fi? :’D *lies down*)

[vrishchikawrites]

Could I have a prompt? 🥺🥺 So WWX is taking bath in the Cold Pond to heal from the wounds by the discipline paddle (which I assume he was punished being clothed in his Black robe or in his Gusu Lan disciple robes or Head disciple Jiangs robes whichever fits). Before going to CR, wwx is whipped by mdm yu and LWJ notices wwx’s raw red scars and many scars across his back kinda overlapping and not yet being healed because maybe MDM yu sealed his core or something. LWJ, or with LXC saw WWX’s many crisscrossing scars and realize they’re still raw and kinda risking for infection because when mdm yu unseals his spiritual energy before going to CR, WWX never thought of healing it. Cue LWJ and LXC gets horrified and ask WWX why he had many scars on his back (or other parts of his body can also be included!) no pressure 💕 I love your writing! ❤️❤️

Anyway, it is set during the period in which WWX studies at CR. Lån Qiren, who is obviously not eyeing Wei Wuxian just in case the boy creates some trouble ends up realizing that he is too non chalant about  not eating (because the food there is for rabbits) and WWX is like "Oh, yeah. Nah its fine, I've been worse".

This one has trigger warnings for child abuse, negligence, and issues related to eating habits. Keep that in mind before proceeding. Nothing graphic, but I wanted to warn nonetheless.

I've merged two prompts here.

Please remember that prompts are closed. Also, remember I do not write self-deprication. All prompts that require WWX to have low self-esteem are not going to be written, apologies but the subject is very uncomfortable for me and I don't believe it is canon accurate anyways.

On to the prompt fill.

"That Wei child is entirely too careless." 

Lan Qiren closes his eyes and prays for patience. That boy has been a menace ever since he stepped into Cloud Recesses. Brilliant but wily and mischievous with absolutely no regard for rules. 

"What has he done?" He asks gruffly, reading over the reports from the kitchen staff. Cloud Recesses always monitors the food intake of their guests to make sure everyone is well-fed and no one is consuming more than their due. It wouldn't do for young cultivators to fall ill in their care, after all. 

The primary healer, a matron of some age, had brought the reports instead of the kitchen manager, which was quite unusual, "He forgets meals. Goes without food for days. Survives on small bits of fruit."

Xichen, who has been working on his own reports, raises his head and looks concerned. 

Lan Qiren crosses his arms, feeling a growing sense of ire, "He dislikes our meals." He's not the first one to skip meals because he considers them 'bland' and 'boring'. It's likely the child has been sneaking down to Caiyi town to have more extravagant meals. 

"I checked with our ward team. When he goes days without eating, he doesn't make any trips to Caiyi town either."

Lan Qiren pauses and studies her. Lan Mingyun nods curtly, "When I first noticed this behavior, I immediately put him on my list." Her list of children with food-related issues, he assumes, "His eating habits are very erratic, erratic enough that I wish to assign one of our senior disciples to keep an eye on him."

"You're that worried?" Lan Xichen asks in surprise while Lan Qiren frowns. It isn't unusual to do so but he wonders if it is really necessary.

"As far as I know, the child lived on the streets for quite a few years," She says and Lan Qiren narrows his eyes, inwardly reprimanding himself. He had forgotten about that aspect of Wei Wuxian's history, "The link between early childhood trauma and behavioural problems are well known to us."

Lan Xichen frowns, "I'll ask Wangji to keep an eye on him."

He glances at his nephew sharply, "Why Wangji?" He demands because surely someone else would be better.

"From what I understand, Wei-gongzi will not welcome an assigned senior. He seems to be someone who brushes injuries or illnesses off. He likes Wangji and will be more willing to accept his company."

While the argument is reasonable, Lan Qiren is loath to involve his precious nephew in this. He's already so bothered by the boy. 

But.

He thinks of Wei Wuxian with his sharp eyes and lingering smile and nods. 

---

Wangji listens to Xichen patiently even as his fingers curl into fists under his sleeves. 

He doesn't like Wei Wuxian. The boy is too disruptive, too bold, too distracting-

Too beautiful.

He doesn't like him, but that doesn't mean he's content to ignore his well-being. When Xichen asks him to keep an eye on Wei Ying's eating habits and general behavior, Wangji agrees. 

It will be taxing for him, but he agrees.  

What he doesn't anticipate is… everything that follows. When he starts consciously looking for them, the signs are alarming. Wei Ying doesn't just skip meals whenever he gets too distracted, he picks at the food even when he is eating. While Wangji is comforted to know the boy frequently seeks something richly flavored at Caiyi Town, he doesn't do it often enough to compensate.

There are also some concerning behaviors in the Jiang contingent. Upon closer inspection, it is clear that while Wei Ying does break the rules, the other Jiang Sect disciples are often complicit. Including Jiang Wanyin. 

They not only let their da-shixiong take the blame for all of their actions, but also encourage it. Wei Ying seems disconcertingly accustomed to it. He makes a scene while being punished but seems alright within an hour. 

Jiang Wanyin encourages mischief and reprimands him in turns. 

Wangji doesn't understand this.

"Xiongzhang, I am concerned," Xichen looks up from his tea, his attention immediately on Wangji, unwavering and comforting, "Wei Ying," He takes a moment to form his thoughts, "I am uncertain. I believe he is in an unsafe environment."

Xichen sets his tea aside, "How so?"

"I happened upon a conversation," He grimaces because it is eavesdropping even if his intentions are noble, "Jiang Wanyin and Nie Huaisang requested and encouraged him to get alcohol into Cloud Recesses. When he complained about the punishment, Jiang Wanyin said 'at least, it wasn't Zidian'."

His brother sucks in a sharp breath, "Zidian? Madam Yu? Spiritual weapon? A high-grade weapon typically used against enemies?"

Wangji dips his head. 

"I'll ask uncle to stop assigning corporal punishments." Lan Xichen says, "They won't have the desired effect in any case and we don't want to damage him permanently. Tomorrow, ask him to practice Cultivation in the Cold Pond as punishment."

Wangji nods, "I'll assign Jiang Wanyin and Nie Huaisang proper punishment as well."

"Wait until we have a better grasp on the situation." Xichen says solemnly, "If we act too quickly, things will escalate and may cause more harm to Wei-gongzi."

Wangji is reluctant because his sense of justice is not satisfied. He remembers how the Jiang disciples encouraged Wei Ying to accept punishment on their behalf. And then to know Jiang Wanyin was also complicit…

"We must approach this cautiously, Wangji."

He nods.

---

Red, irritated, scarred.

Wangji swallows as he sees the state of Wei Ying's back as the Jiang disciple steps into the Cold Pond. There are so many whip scars on his back, so many that have barely begun to heal, that he feels nauseous. 

"Wei Ying," He struggles to keep his tone neutral, "Your back." He cannot imagine the agony that Wei Ying would've suffered when he took more punishment on it the other day. 

Wei Ying glances at him and grins, "Aiya, Lan Zhan, is that concern I see on your pretty face?" He asks, spinning around eagerly, "Concern for little old me?"

His back is out of sight and the way Wei Wuxian is leaning towards him is meant to distract and fluster.

Wangji… suddenly understands. Wei Ying is naturally playful and mischievous, but he uses his personality for disguise and manipulation as well. Not maliciously, but in a way that harms him.

"Wei Ying," Wangji refuses to be moved. There is a significant shift in his mind. He no longer feels annoyed by the person before him. If anything, he feels furious. 

He feels protective.

"Wei Ying, your back."

The Jiang disciple shrugs, "Punishment, you know how it is." 

"For what?" He demands, catching Wei Ying's elbow and turning him around. The willingness to touch him stuns Wei Ying momentarily, enough for Wangji to get a good look at the brutal devastation written on Wei Ying's back. 

Wei Ying clears his throat and shrugs, "It's more of a preemptive punishment? Madam Yu knew I would cause trouble here, of course." He chuckles.

"Preemptive punishment?" He asks softly, the very notion troubling him. 

Wei Ying shrugs again but doesn't attempt to explain when it is clear Wangji isn't willing to indulge him.

"Wei Ying,"

"Lan Zhan," Wei Ying starts to move towards the shore, "Don't worry about things that don't concern you. Your head will forever be burdened if you do."

Wangji feels something in him recoil at such a blunt dismissal. 

"Doesn't concern me? How can it not concern me?" He wants to ask but is unable to. 

Wei Ying has made him very uncomfortable with his forward personality and near constant teasing, but Wangji has seen the genuine offer of friendship underneath it all. 

He has always spurned it. 

As Wei Ying climbs onto the shore, his wounds red against his naturally pale skin, Wangji makes a decision, "Would you not feel concerned if it were me?" He asks but he already knows the answer.

He already knows this man enough.

"Of course," Wei Ying says and shrugs on his robes, hiding a wince but unable to help his body's reaction to pain, "But you and I are different." He glances over his shoulder at Wangji, "I consider you my friend," He says, "But you don't consider me yours."

His breath stills at the acceptance in Wei Ying's tone.

"And that's alright." The Jiang disciple waves and walks away, "Don't worry too much, Lan Zhan. This one isn't weak. The wounds will heal within a few days."

---

"The facts are these - Wei-gongzi is punished preemptively with Zidian, often enough that there are deep scars on his back," Lan Xichen explains, "I assume it is his Golden Core keeping him from sustaining permanent damage."

Lan Qiren is still bristling at the very thought of preemptive punishment. What a ridiculous notion! Of course, the child doesn't care about rules and upsetting people! He has already been punished enough to excuse everything but outright treason.  

How is such a method effective? How does it correct a child's misbehavior? 

"The Jiang Sect disciples are accustomed to their da-shixiong being punished in their stead. They actively encourage it. Jiang Wanyin has asked Wei-gongzi to sneak in alcohol. And he refused to come forward when Wei-gongzi was punished." Xichen takes a deep breath, "I believe any lingering issues he may have because of his early days as a street orphan-"

"Are ignored," Lan Qiren concludes grimly, "It is no wonder the child has such strong cultivation. He is facing strife constantly."

"Is there a way to rescue him?" Wangji asks after being grimly silent for the entire meeting, "Get him away from the Jiang Sect?"

Lan Qiren eyes him, "Wangji, the situation is complicated. He's still the Jiang Head Disciple and sects don't just part with their high ranking disciples."

Xichen smiles sympathetically, "We'll find a way to pressure Jiang-zongzhu into taking action. He'll lose face if the other Sects know how his lady is treating their Head Disciple." He shakes his head at Wangji's expression, "Let us think about it. Meanwhile, you just need to be there for your friend, Wangji."

Lan Qiren arches a brow, "Friend? Wangji, I thought you disliked the boy."

Wangji purses his lips, a stubborn light entering his eyes, "Wei Ying is my friend." He insists, resolve lining his every word. 

He looks at Xichen, who just looked amused, "According to Wei-gongzi, he considers Wangji a friend and will be very concerned if Wangji was in a similar situation," He huffs, "But Wangji doesn't consider Wei-gongzi his friend, so there's no need for Wangji to worry."

Lan Qiren closes his eyes and rubs his forehead in an uncharacteristic display of frustration, "That boy is a singular menace."

---

Wangji pursues friendship with all the dedication in his being. He learns to cook savory dishes and gives them to Wei Ying every day. Wei Ying, unable and utterly unwilling to deny, eats it all. 

He glares the Jiang disciples into submission whenever they attempt to draw Wei Ying into mischief. The Jiang Head Disciple is fully exempt from corporal punishment. Instead, he spends hours in the library either copying rules, rewriting classics, or transcribing Buddhist texts. 

All of these activities prove to be much more effective punishments.

Meanwhile, Lan Qiren attends a Discussion Conference and has word with Jiang Fengmian. 

The response is a gentle order from the Jiang-zongzhu for Wei Ying. He asks his disciple to remain in Cloud Recesses for Musical Cultivation training. He also mentions it is time for Jiang Wanyin to take up Head Disciple responsibilities and learn true leadership. 

Wei Ying eyes the smiling Lan Xichen and impassive Lan Qiren sharply but doesn't say anything.

In two years time, the distance between Wei Ying and the Jiang Sect grows. The distance between Wei Ying and Lan Zhan ceases to exist. 

Just like that, Wei Wuxian's destiny changes.

[monsieurboyardee]

Tw // biphobia

One of these days I will write a fic where wwx is falling in love with lwj but he hadn't known he was bi beforehand but instead of just the intense denial there will be slightly less denial so that I can reflect on my own experience with being bi yet never having dated through wwx

Wwx doesn't really like women's voices in porn. Like it's fine he can listen to it, he just really prefers men's voices. This doesn't make him gay though, he tells himself (later, he will reflect, and he will laugh himself silly).

He finds himself staring at men a lot, more so than a straight man probably should. It's all for the aesthetics though, right? Nothing wrong with that.

He's been into girls since the first grade, when he first fell for a sweet girl in his class whom he liked to talk about wii games with. He's only ever been into girls, though that's not saying much seeing as he's only really been interested in a few.

But then lwj comes along. And he's super standoffish and a stickler for the rules but he's the most beautiful boy wwx has ever seen. And so wwx begins bothering lwj every chance he gets bc he Needs lwj to look at him, needs his attention to be only on him. At first he doesn't think much of it. He's an attention whore, this isn't news.

But then the years go by and wwx starts learning about sexuality, and what it means to be gay. He learns a lot through underground forums and maybe like jj stories and comments or smthn but he's still very into girls. So he's not gay, which is such a relief to him, bc madame yu would not be happy if it turned out he was gay.

But then he learns about bisexuality, and pansexuality, about all the different letters that make up the LGBTQ+ community and all of a sudden things start to click for wwx.

But he's never dated any girls, let alone any guys. So he doesn't know for certain. Maybe he just really wanted to be a part of this community, and now he's deluding himself. Maybe it's just a phase. Maybe he's making mountains out of molehills.

But as he starts trying to figure out what he is exactly, he starts to realize that he has been attracted to males in the past. He thinks back on all the crushes he's had, and he starts to pick things apart.

And then there's a school trip, and lwj and wwx have to share a bed. And somehow, while lwj is asleep, his leg ends up in between wwx's and his nose ends up pressed to his neck, and wwx gets so hard he has to disentangle himself and run to the bathroom to take care of things.

And then wwx sits on the counter and realizes that during this strange experience, lwj's gender never came to mind. Wwx was just into it regardless. And so then wwx let's out a sigh of relief c finally!!! He knows what he is now, he finally understands.

But then the rest of the fic would be about wwx's fear surrounding his realization at being bi and his Constant worry that he was mistaken, and that he's actually straight or he's actually gay or whatever. And then madame yu finds out, and she's demanding that he make a choice, and he keeps telling her that he can't, bc he's into girls and guys, and she keeps asking him "so what are you?! Are you gay or are you straight?!" And bc he spends so many years trying to convince her that he's neither that he never is given the chance to really allow himself to be in between labels, to reflect on what he truly is, bc he's constantly trying to convince madame yu of what he is and if he doesn't know himself how can he Possibly convince her?

But wwx's also a baby virgin kid whose never had his first kiss, so he still doesn't know whether he's actually bi or whether he's not, so he's constantly worried about whether or not he's been faking or whether he really knows what he is bc he just doesn't know.

And I think it'd be interesting to juxtapose wwx with lwj, whom in this fic would have known he was gay since he was like 8, who is so steadfast and sure of his sexuality that he doesn't understand why wwx can't seem to take pride in his label, or why wwx is constantly second guessing his sexuality and himself. And lwj asks wwx at some point like "are you into me or not" and wwx tells him he doesn't know, bc he thinks he is?? He really, really thinks he is, but what if he's not? What if his supposed feelings for lwj are Actually just a phase? he couldn't string lwj along like that, it would be so awful and so cruel to do that to him. And it frustrates lwj when they're younger, that wwx just never seems To know, but when they get older and lwj is more balanced and a modern interpretation to wwx's running away with the wen's occurs, he is okay with wwx not knowing, bc even though it's caused him so much heartbreak he understands that wwx just needs time, he won't be like this forever he just needs to become a bit more sure of himself.

And eventually when wwx is open and available to the idea of opening himself up to somebody and being able to rely on them completely, he and lwj kiss and it sucks bc they're not good at it but it's still amazing Bc it's lan Wangji, whom he really has been in love with this entire time, he wasn't just deluding himself. And they have sex and that sucks too but it's still amazing and wwx is finally at peace with the idea of himself being into men (there will still be instances where he Will second guess and will question, but he feels infinitely stronger in his perceptions of his preferences).

And maybe wwx is okay with the idea that he's never been with a woman, bc he recognizes that he doesn't need to date or have sex with woman to still be attracted to them, and that he's still bi regardless. Or maybe after he and lwj do their thing, he tells lwj that he needs to find himself just a little bit more first, just needs a bit more time, and it breaks lwj's heart to do it but he tells wwx that it's okay. And then wwx goes on a couple of dates, has a couple one night stands, and at the end of it is certain that while he has mostly been into women, he is still very much into men, and he finds comfort in his sexuality. But ultimately, he realizes that he really really loves lan zhan, so he goes to lwj and Confesses, and lwj confesses too, and they kiss and wwx feels happy and confident and comfortable with who he is, and the man that he now has by his side.

Btw lwj wasn't just like "oh do ur thing I'll wait for you" he was more like "I recognize that you need To figure out who you are before you are able to enter into a relationship, so therefore I encourage you to do that, and if I'm not what you want at the end of that then I will try my best to move on"

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 04 (second part)

(Masterpost) (Episode 04, first part) (Episode 05, first part)

Warning: Spoilers for All 50 Episodes

Continued from the first half of this very long post! 

Lets Go! Gusu

Wen Qing is lovingly exploring the magical wards of Gusu. She tries a little digital penetration on the ward at the waterfall, but gets the hard nope.

Note: Here at Canary3d we don’t ship Wen Qing with any cultivator ladies because we’re too busy shipping her with modern-day infosec-pro ladies, if you get what I’m saying and/or have read my bio.

Meanwhile Wei Wuxian is fishing with Nie Huaisang, using the method of sneaking up and grabbing fish with his bare hands. This actually works, because he is good at literally everything.  His “I’ll be the prodigy” speech to Lan Xichen, isn’t actually arrogant. 

Aw, Look at Xiao Zhan pretending this fish isn’t already dead.

Nosy Parker Wei Wuxian

Wei Wuxian goes to chat up Wen Qing and none of his crap works on her.

If I want to admire a pretty face I’ll go look in the mirror

His interactions with Wen Qing help to mature Wei Wuxian quite a bit over the months and years. Initially she’s a mystery to him, and he wants her attention and esteem. And can’t get either.

Look how stunned he is to encounter a boundary when she won’t let him touch her needle. “Wards are made to be broken” but she’s not going to let him past any of hers. 

Jiang Cheng, Insecurest Boi

Oh you beautiful sad angry boy. 

(More after the cut!)

Jiang Cheng is angrily waving the laundry around practicing his angry sword moves without a sparring partner, which is noteworthy partly because it shows how dedicated he is, but also because it shows how much he depends on Wei Wuxian for social interaction and cultivation practice. There must be 40 or 50 kids he could go practice with, but he’s by himself.

Camera Operator: Why you gotta take it out on me?

When he bitches to Yanli about his Dad preferring Wei Wuxian, she gaslights him.

Yanli is so gentle and kind, and she’s been the real mother for both of these boys when she didn’t have to be. But she ain’t perfect.

Yanli found this soup recipe on youtube. The ingredients are: water

Jiang Cheng has such a complex about Wei Wuxian he won't take the fish from him directly. He just looks hungry until Yanli grabs a stick and passes it to him.

Look, Jiang Cheng, we know you have reasons to be upset, but you need to get the fuck over yourself.

Aw, look at Xiao Zhan pretending this fish is cooked/palatable. (note: it is not)

Xiao Zhan deserves multiple awards for this performance. With bonus points for gratuitously eye-fucking Wang Zhoucheng into next week.

Wang Zhuocheng is an amazing actor who plays an incredible range of emotions, but selling the “delicious fish” lie exceeds his abilities. Look how he steels himself before he opens his mouth.

Yanli tells Wei Wuxian to be good starting tomorrow, and WWX gives her his patented lying-motherfucker salute.

This one has 4 fingers, unlike the 3-fingered boy scout salute he gave Lan Wangji on the roof in the previous episode. The extra finger is for extra lying.

Lan Lecture: Goofing off

Wei Wuxian is bored and spends the lecture time goofing off or sleeping like any other smart kid with ADHD.

Eventually he draws a bunny while Nie Huasang tosses him a nut wrapped in paper and he eats it. It’s the same kind of nut he eats at the beginning of his second life, when he remarks that they tasted better 16 years ago.

Don’t mind me, just putting Nie-Xiong’s nuts in my mouth

It’s cute how WWX and NHS are so vaguely gay for each other without bothering to be seriously gay for each other.

Several of the rules that are read out during this part of the lecture are things that Wei Wuxian is doing during this part of the lecture, or will become known for doing in the near future.

sitting improperly

causing noise

teasing others

ignoring others and being undisciplined

borrowing money

being late

Lan Lecture: Showing off

The question & answer part of the lecture arrives, which is when Wei Wuxian gets to show off his gifts. 

He is that classic kid who already knows the essence of the material, does not need stuff explained, and is super bored at rote learning.

Lan Qiren makes Lan Wangji show off his skills to the whole class, which would guarantee an after-school ass kicking for the teacher's pet except that LWJ is basically the most aggressive person in the entire Lan clan (thanks Mom for those "I'm going to kill you now" genes!) and is unbeatable. 

Lan Lecture: Going off

Next, Wei Wuxian introduces an idea for sustainable energy.

He starts off challenging Lan Qiren's hypothetical scenario, and as Lan Qiren draws breath to answer him, Lan Wangji starts speaking. LWJ has been listening very carefully and is speaking out of turn instead of letting the master speak, which is...probably not how he usually conducts himself?

From Wei Wuxian’s perspective, this is just the run-up to his next outrageous suggestion, but for Lan Wangji, this has to be an enormous moment. This boy who is unexpectedly a good sparring partner with swords and words is also an intellectual sparring partner - someone who can give Lan Wangji an actual chance to debate something.  

Wei Wuxian’s answer "it's such a waste" is directed to Lan Wangji, not to the class as a whole. Lan Wangji, Gusu’s loneliest boy, is suddenly in a relationship with an equal. The relationship is adversarial, but it's EQUAL.

Wei Wuxian carries on explaining his idea: How about digging up and desecrating corpses? No no no Not for fun, but in order to have massive, unthinkable power? 

Seems like a waste to just leave the dead to their rest when you could be using them for something. 

Lan Qiren: I can see we are going to have to kill you eventually, aren't we

Jiang Cheng: oh my god Wei Wuxian you can't just ask about decapitating corpses

Jiang Yanli: perhaps my unwavering loyalty to Dad's methods with my baby brother should be reexamined

Nie Huasang: my dude, conceal don’t feel, seriously

Lan Wangji: hmmm he’s not exactly wrong

Lan Wangji was a LOT more horrified at Wei Wuxian sticking a note on Lan Qiren’s ass than he is at this whole demonic cultivation thing. Lan Wangji is really really attracted to Wei Wuxian’s talent and intelligence, even when it's completely heterodox. You can see it much later when Wen Ning gets his personality back; Lan Wangji is impressed and congratulatory, unlike literally everyone else in the cultivation world.

Punishment

When Wei Wuxian gets sent to copy a chapter 1000 times, Jiang Cheng and Yanli are both horrified, whereas Wei Wuxian’s reaction is totally chill. 

Basically he knows that he has reached the part of the classroom discussion where he is inevitably sent for punishment, because he is totally used to that being how things go in his education.

Similarly, kneeling doesn't bother him because Madame Yu made him kneel for everything.  Wei Wuxian is the mascot for too-smart bored kids everywhere.

On his way out, Wei Wuxian hits Lan Wangji with this troubled look of yearning. In this moment where Wei Wuxian is sparking Lan Wangji’s interest and tentatively seeking a path toward Lan Wangji’s heart, he is also mapping out the unorthodox path he will follow away from him as they grow up.  

Lan Qiren in his rage does the dumbest and, frankly, most irresponsible thing the parent of a teenager can do in this situation; he sends Lan Wangji to supervise Wei Wuxian’s punishment. 

"This terrible WWX is a one-man bad crowd. Let me send my deeply conflicted, stubborn, intensely private, teetotling, abstinent and abstemious newphew to spend several days in a private location with him, being bored together."

Lan Wangji responds to this order with 100% calmness, not even an eyebrow furrow.

I'm sure no cussing, pornography, romantic portraits, flirty ink grinding, or changes in forms of address will happen.

Lan Lecture: Blowing off

Wei Wuxian meanwhile has fucked off to go make more friends, and is hanging out with Wen Ning. Wen Ning demonstrates his archery by hitting the worlds slowest falling rock in midair and Wei Wuxian earnestly praises him and offers to trade skill pointers.

I love how sweet and kind WWX is to this younger kid who is obviously a little different.

When Wen Qing shows up, Wei Wuxian takes another opportunity to get into her business, but he skips the charm this time. He also 100% correctly deduces what she is up to.

Swords by the Waterfall

Then comes another sexy sword fight as Lan Wangji sneaks up on Wei Wuxian and almost get his face sliced open as a reward.

Now that the swords are out it’s time for...homework, sigh. Summer school is the worst.

Outro

Writing Prompt: Lan Xichen’s letter to Nie Mingjue after meeting Meng Yao

Episode 05 Restless Rewatch is over here!

[agendratum]

hey @tootiredtoosadtooangry i tried to answer your 6 weeks old ask, but as i saved it as a draft to check the formatting and all that, it just fucking disappeared, cause tumblr is a website. it may magically come back later, but idk if it will happen. good thing is that i saved the text of that ask separately, cause i’m a genius and i wasn’t gonna lose this essay *wink wink* to this fucking website

ok, so it's been 6 weeks

it's basically 5-7 business days, right?

so 6 weeks ago i made a gif, and under that gif i said that i might write an essay about some things (wei wuxian), but then some other things happened (word of honor) and i kinda got distracted. but now i have my glass of whatever this alcohol that i'm drinking is, and i think i'm ready to talk a bit about our depressed necromancer who in that gif just came back to life. mostly about:

1. the specific flashback he's having in that moment, the one about seeing lan wangji for the first time

2. the general concept of being back to life 16 years later and getting using to that new world around him

so, first of all, what i find really interesting, is that upon seeing sizhui's clothing pattern, wei wuxian remembers, of course, lan wangji. but the thing is, being just back to life, his last memory from being alive is him falling down the cliff with lan wangji's face fading while the distance grows. that is not what he remembers. his memory goes back to the very first moment they met, the moment before literally anything happened, including all the things that went wrong.

because think about it. even tho i'm going here by the live-action canon, if we go back just a little bit to the novel canon, wei wuxian doesn't actually remember lan wangji fighting by his side in that final battle. when he comes back to life, he believes that he's remembered as the terrible yiling laozu by everybody. and that includes lan wangji. by the end of wei wuxian life he became everything that lan wangji warned him about, and everything he said he wouldn't become. so he believes that if lan wangji would find out that he's back to life, it wouldn't make him happy (oh how wrong he is)

when wei wuxian sees lan sect juniors for the first time, there seems to be a bit of hope - "is *he* also here?" but later we find out, that he doesn't actually want lwj to be here, cause he thinks that their meeting will not look like a friendly reunion (it will look like a very romantic reunion, but that happens later). and i think that when he has that small flashback to their very first meetings, the sadness that overcomes him is caused by the realization of that enormous gap between them when they just met and them after all the terrible things that happened. wei wuxian wants to see his old friend, a person who once at least tried to believe in him, who is also still alive, which can't be said about a lot of people he knew, but there is this huge barrier that he believes cannot be crossed. and he crossed that point of no return himself in his previous life, and he is now undeserving of lan wangji's trust and friendship.

and that's of course isn't true. but there is a difference between what we know, what lan wangji thinks and what wei wuxian believes and remembers.

there is no smooth transition i can think of to get to the second point, so here we are. 16 years. 16 years is a lot. it's a whole fucking life. a human can be almost fully formed in that time period (which is perfectly represented by both fully grown up sizhui and jin ling, who, when wwx died, was a one month old baby) in 16 years a lot can happen to a person. a person can grow to change their whole world view, their believe system, some of their principles, become comfortable with their identity and finally figure out what they want from life. a person can grow from a child to an adult, who's carefully and patiently initiating a plan they've been cultivating for years, while playing a role and hiding their true face from everybody. a person can take their enormous grief, their rage, their pain and direct it all towards achieving their goals, actually fulfilling the impossible, while managing to raise a child and not completely ruin them from the inside, but actually letting the child know that he's loved and safe.

and then wei wuxian who died 16 years ago before any of that happened, comes back to this world full of people he used to once know. but he doesn't anymore. and we can see it in everything, from little details to big very important conversations. the most obvious is him trying to play and flirt with lan wangji the ways he used to when they were teens, and being so confused by lwj's reaction. because lwj grew past that so long ago, while wwx just didn't have a chance to get this out of his system. that part is him getting to know lwj again, from the beginning, because he meets a new man. but at least with lwj, wwx is willing to get to know him and lwj is willing to let him do that.

then there is jiang cheng. there was always a certain level of misunderstanding between yunmeng bros, but at the same time, wei wuxian used to know jiang cheng pretty well. when jiang cheng was upset or something was going wrong home, with his parents, wwx mostly knew what to do or what to say or how to distract him and make light of the situation. he used to be able to look jiang cheng in the eyes and lie, and jiang cheng would believe that. and when wei wuxian comes back, he thinks it's the same jiang cheng. but the thing is, it's not. jiang cheng grew in not the most healthy ways, but he still grew up. there are so many moments, where instead of making the light of the situation, wei wuxian's actions escalate it. it's both jc just being a new person and wwx not knowing anymore how to act around him. the most important scenes showcasing that are lotus pier fight and the conversation in the temple.

there is also nhs, who's fooling everybody around him easily because he always did. even if it was just about school work. but isn't it fucking sad, that he's fooling even he's best friend. wwx isn't really surprised in the end, of course, when we find out that nhs has been behind all these deeds, but still he doesn't really suspect him. like at all, if i recall correctly? and they used to be on the same page of fooling everybody to think that these two boys are just some lazy fools. they're clearly not on the same page anymore.

wwx comes back to the world full of people who look like people he used to know or remind him of people he used to know, but they aren't them. meanwhile he didn't have the time to grow or change or just have some peace. wherever he's been while being dead, he was just out of it. his path of growing and figuring himself out stars with him coming back. but he's years behind. and with someone like lan wangji, we know that he's willing wait and he gives him space and he gives him love and home and warmth. but then, for example, jiang cheng's frustration is visible in the air, because he had years to overthink everything went wrong again and again, and wei wuxian comes back and it seems like he just want to ignore and leave "the past in the past" and it's infuriating for someone who couldn't let go of it all for 16 years. but it's understandable for someone who just came back and now the weight of everything they did multiplied by 16 years is suddenly being thrown at them.

and he has to get to know all these people from the beggining, if they will be willing to get to know each other at all. and the growth, that getting to know himself, it's a journey he has to take on his own. that's why i'm such a big fan of that trip he takes in the end by the way. but still it's a trip he takes alone, and there are still huge chunks of life he missed. and he will never get them back. he missed all those years when sizhui and jin ling were growing up. and it will always be there. they will be sharing their childhood stories with him, and the lack of wwx in their lives will be so obvious. he will continue to learn new things about lwj, about his old friends, about the world, because it's been so long, and it will be noticeable that he was not there.

i would say that all the characters of their generation (that survived) are lonely in their own way. but for wei wuxian it's the loneliness of being dead and just completely not present on the lives of his loved ones.

i don't know where i'm going with it now, so i think i will just stop here and maybe come back to you 6 weeks later with another terribly messy emotional take influenced by me drinking alcohol.

[neverdoingmuch]

I just really love Two Person Love Triangles and Identity Porn. So, maybe a You've Got Mail AU? Or a superhero AU when one of them falls for both the masked hero and the secret identity?

because i love both of these aus i’ve written both!! but they’re pretty long bc i wouldn’t be me if i didn’t plot out an entire fic so the superhero au is here. 

as for the you’ve got mail au, i went off and watched the movie for the first time and i am delighted by your taste anon,,, the au works so well!! 

(okay for some reason tumblr won’t let me indent my bullets so idk how to fix that so big rip)

so we have lan & sons books, a company that prides itself on providing cheap books for everyone to read. think less evil corporation and more we wanted to provide easily accessible books for all people and ended up getting really rich off it

mr lan dadman was meant to be in charge but he ran off and lqr stepped up until lxc was old enough to take over and now lqr just kinda assists lxc when he needs help and does some other work

lqr is definitely the old guy who had a letter thing with this one woman who was enchanting but instead he was chatting to cssr and she was shameless 

anyway lwj works as *random high up job that joe fox has* and his best work friend (and real friend) is jin zixuan

jin zixuan is the heir to some coffee franchise and the two families have a deal which is why you have the cafe inside the bookstores

we gonna give lwj some friends

as for wwx, his mother owned a bookstore, the burial mounds (why did she name it that?? idk she probably told bssr that she wanted to call it that as a joke and bssr tried to call her bluff so she ended up having to call it that a la suibian)

anyway he grew up with his mother and grandmother and they left the store to him (idk what happened to them?? maybe they just retired and are now travelling the world while wwx gets to have the bookstore)

now for the actual plot!!

lwj and wwx met on omegle an instant messaging site and now exchange emails. wwx goes by yiling patriarch and lwj goes by hanguang-jun bc we want that flavour

so they’ve been emailing for years and they never share any personal information - wwx knows that hgj has a pet rabbit but not hgj’s name or his job

as for the significant others?? idk let’s pretend they don’t exist. 

wwx’s best friend nhs, who writes a column for so-and-so, always just comes over to his place and now he’s semi moved in and wwx isnt really sure why he’s here but he is. 

lwj just vibes bc i can’t see him putting up with a patricia unless his uncle  forced him to. even then he’d probably just be ~mysteriously~ gone while she’s home

maybe he has a really annoying pa who thinks its his job to come over and like make him breakfast. it’s su she,, it has to be

so wwx goes into work one morning and wen ning is waiting outside as he always is, ready for him to open and then like ten minutes later wen qing comes in and lastly granny wen comes in

why do they work together?? idk?? granny wen and bssr were close and so the wens and wwx kinda grew up as siblings? yeah i like that let’s go with that

so when cssr decided to go travelling wwx gets left with her store and he kinda knows how to run it but also he doesn’t have enough staff so he ends up hiring the wens (except granny who’s mostly there just to hang out with her family)

bonus: a-yuan always come to the shop after school and wwx gets to recreate the childhood he had with his mother with a-yuan. when the store closes wwx and a-yuan just twirl and twirl until they get too dizzy to stand up and then they lay on the floor and discuss their favourite book they’ve read this week. it’s very sweet

okay so the next day lwj gets to babysit his cousin/uncle/nephew/idk-how-they’re-related-person lan jingyi who is like eight or something?

they go out and hang at a festival and lwj does not buy him a goldfish bc i was very stressed by the way they treated the goldfish in the movie but he does get him balloons and a stuffed toy and plays all the games with him

eventually they’re walking back and see that the small bookstore near the new lan bookstore is hosting a story time so they go inside 

lwj walks in and he’s immediately taken by the atmosphere of the store bc that place was absolutely beautiful and then he hears this voice and follows it around to the back of the store to see the most gorgeous man he’s ever seen in his life sitting on a kinda too small chair with a princess hat? cone? thing on top of his head

he’d planned to stay for like one story and then take jingyi home but he ends up staying for the entire book and it’s definitely not because the guy reading the book smiled at him once or twice

after the story time ends, lwj is reluctant to leave so he ends up letting jingyi pick a bunch of books and looks at a few fancy first edition books with wen qing

and maybe his mother used to love collecting books - the old ones with the yellowed pages and beautiful pictures - and that’s why lwj helps out with his family business,, bc he wants everyone to be able to have books like that (never mind that all their books are like mass produced and lack any sentimentality & the staff dont actually care about the books)

anyway he sees wwx help jingyi pick out books and lets him borrow his handkerchief when he sneezes and lwj’s like oh nooo he’s good with kids too so now he has to talk to him 

so he goes up to buy the books and wwx’s telling jingyi about how much he likes daisies and lwj just blurts out “can i ask what your name is?” and wwx blinks but then smiles and is like i’m wei wuxian, but you can call me wei ying, and i own this store. what about you? and lwj is like wangji, you can call me wangji

wen qing takes one look at lwj and the way he’s staring at wwx and goes you’re going to come back aren’t you and lwj is trying so hard not to just run away so he just ignores her but then she mentions something about lan books and he’s Panicking and jingyi almost says that he’s a lan and lwj just kinda guides him over to a table and then goes back to flirt talk with wwx

anyway wwx ends up going on this big tangent about books and what they mean to people and the whole when you read a book as a child it becomes a part of your identity and who you’re going to become the way nothing else does (and lwj remembers his mother and her books) and then he apologises for going on and lwj is mentally going marry me, but he ends up calling wwx and his mother shameless

but it’s okay!! wwx & cssr are proud of it!

and then yada yada lwj buys the kinda expensive books and ends up awkwardly shepherding jingyi out of the store 

cut to the next day when the lan book store opens properly and lwj ends up telling lqr about how he met wwx and lqr is like >:/ the son of that shameless woman,, how terrible,, it’s okay he won’t be a problem for long bc they’ll be driven out of business. which isn’t the response lwj wanted but lxc seems supportive enough if a bit concerned about how it would work with them as business enemies 

business is already bad for wwx and it’s barely been a week since the lan store opened and he’s pretty bummed out but hopeful that maybe it’s a fluke

then nhs invites him to some fancy dinner with him bc wei-xiong they’re all so boring and smart and have opinions, please don’t make me have opinions so wwx gets dragged along

he ends up talking to lwj at the bar bc how could he not talk to the man who’s standing in front of all that fancy alcohol and getting some fruit juice. (he’d get water but lwj has had to put up with su she all evening so he needs something stronger)

anyway they chat and it’s pleasant but then after wwx gets approached by someone who’s like wow im surprised you’re talking to lan wangji and wwx is like lan?!

cue their passive aggressive argument around the food table complete with caviar and a turkey knife. 

now bc it’s lan wangji,, instead of making scathing comebacks he just makes like factual and to-the-point statements that end up being really bitchy (or does he intend them to be that way? it’s a mix of both of them tbh but in this case he’s definitely being bitchy on purpose) and wwx is spluttering bc that boy does not stand up well against hot and mad people

nhs ends up coming over and defusing the situation but wwx makes a point of stealing the rest of the caviar off lwj’s plate before leaving 

lwj ends up ducking out early as well to avoid su she and emails wwx that night at like 9:45 bc the guilt of being so rude kept him up late and yllz is like oh no that’s so sad ): but impressive! i wish i could zing people,, my brain just turns off the second i need to make a comeback

creative liberties,, wwx is good at teasing but not being genuinely mean? lets go with that

anyway now we get the delightful montage of wwx hiding behind cheese displays and lwj walking out of coffee stores with a newspaper covering his face as they try to avoid each other

when wwx gets in the wrong line at the supermarket lwj comes over and kinda glares the checkout woman into submission and gets her to let wwx use his card which wwx is really conflicted about bc why would he help me?? and once again angry lwj = hot lwj

a few weeks later wwx ends up asking hgj for help bc business isn’t getting any better but refuses to give any details and i refuse to have lwj watch the godfather so lwj just straight up messages him and is like tear that bitch apart

and so wwx decides to tear that bitch apart and asks nhs for help. nhs, fan of the arts and small businesses and local culture, is 100% down for it and writes a scathing article about lan books and how they’re destroying all the aforementioned things nhs cares about

it ends up getting a lot of traction and people show up to protest and wwx even goes on television

lwj ends up seeing the news coverage on the matter while he’s at the gym with jzx

jzx is 100% the guy who goes to the gym just to apathetically walk on the treadmill while lwj jogs

he sees the interview with wwx and lwj is like he’s not this nice in real life and jzx is like you met him?? and lwj is like mn. then jzx is like i bet he’s not as hot and lwj is completely silent but his ears are bright red and that’s how jzx knows that wwx is just that hot

also?? lwj goes on tv and says like three words and he’s kinda annoyed how the news decided to spin that but he also said like three words so what did he expect?

but, despite all the publicity, sales don’t get any better so wwx is like fine can we meet in person and lwj is like sure

he brings jzx along bc he doesn’t know the way there, it’s not because he’s nervous and kind of in love with yllz, it’s because he doesn’t know how to get to the cafe. (it’s two blocks from his apartment)

anyway jzx is like oof man it’s seems like yllz is wwx but he is that hot so not all is lost and lwj is like yikes no not happening im not going in but he also feels bad about standing wwx up so he ends up going in and sitting down in front of wwx

and lwj is like wei wuxian, all this publicity will do nothing to save your business and wwx is like lan wangji who do you think you are (or however that scene goes) but instead of lwj being asked to leave wwx decides he’s not gonna chicken out first so they end up spending like two hours having the most aggressive cup of coffee and chat he’s ever had

lwj is exhausted but he also refuses to give up

but then wwx spits something about how lwj is some cold, heartless suit who doesn’t actually care about or appreciate books so how can he possibly dare to think that he’s better than wwx and that hurts bc lwj had thought that he’d been doing exactly that so he leaves

anyway the next morning wwx is moping around the bookstore bc he didn’t get stood up, he swears. am i not cute enough he moans to wen qing and she’s like your hgj doesn’t know what you look like. but what about my personality? is that cute enough? and wen qing eventually manages to grit out that yes it is cute enough

wen ning comes in and is like are you okay? you got stood up? that’s good! your date might have been the rooftop killer xue yang! he got caught last night! and wwx is like i wish, i just got stood up like a chump

so they ignore each other for a few weeks bc wwx is very hurt and lwj doesn’t know what he’s going to say but wwx ends up caving and emails hgj about how guilty he feels and how even though wwx probably means nothing to lwj, he’s worried that maybe he did hurt lwj and also please hgj i still want to talk to you

now hgj never says a lot, he’s always really succinct and direct but this time he takes the time to write a proper apology. it’s not an explanation bc he doesn’t want to give this up, even if the yllz he thinks he loves is the wwx that he hates, but it is an apology

the next day wwx goes to lunch with granny wen and finally dares to ask her whether it would be okay to shut the store down. he doesn’t want, of course he doesn’t want to, but he doesn’t think he can afford to keep it open. granny just tells him that it’s okay and that if the time has come, the time has come

we don’t have to worry about wwx breaking up with anyone, so he just goes home and asks nhs if he can have some space and nhs quickly packs his stuff and goes home. as he stands in the doorway with his last box of stuff he tells wwx that he’s sorry and wishes he could help more and wwx sends him this tremulous smile but manages to hold it together until nhs leaves and then he cries and cries 

the next day he goes back to work and tries to stay bubbly and cheery even as he sees all of his shelves slowly being emptied and people who haven’t stepped foot in his store in six months are telling him what a shame it is and how they wish it didnt have to come to this and wwx is internally screaming

he manages to stave off any actual screaming but when he closes up that day he ends up going to the children’s section of lan bookstore and just as he had thought, none of the staff care about the books, none of them know any books and he ends up recommending a series to some young mother

lwj, who’d spotted wwx and come over to see if whether he was here to pick a fight, comes to the awful realisation that maybe wwx is right about his store lacking heart

he goes home that night and su she tags along even though lwj just wants space and the elevator breaks. he’s sitting there on the ground listening to his neighbour talk about reconnecting with family and the elevator button pressing dude talks about getting engaged and su she is just there whining about his job and the inconvenience and lwj goes fuck this. when the elevator starts working again he grabs his rabbit and goes back down to the ground floor, ignores su she’s shouts, and goes back to his childhood home

wwx gets stuck closing his store down. he looks around at the shelves and tables he’d grown up with and sees his childhood and a-yuan’s and countless moments he’s had with people he’s loved and realises he’s going to lose it all forever. he grabs the bell, the last thing he has left of the store and closes up for the very last time

in the meantime, lwj is living the high life. he hangs out with his bunny, gets to read pride and prejudice for fun and actually manages to get all the way through it and then his brother comes to visit

apparently he’d broken up with jgy bc he was gold digger-esque and had decided to run off with someone richer and lwj is like oh thats so sad ): anyway nmj is right there and he fills your heart with joy and lxc is like have you ever had someone like that? and lwj immediately thinks of wwx and is like fuck

his first order of business is to buy wwx’s shop bc it broke my heart that she didn’t get it back in the og movie and he starts filling it with books again. he buys ten copies of his mother’s favourite books and places them on the shelf by the door and then he sees a book that reminds him of jingyi so gets some of them and he sees a book covered in daisies and thinks of wwx. and slowly, slowly he’s building up his own library, his own store, and this time every single book means something and for once lwj looks out across the floor with pride and satisfaction

his second order of business is to apologise to wwx for being a dick. he buys some daisies and goes to his place and comes in and cooks soup for wwx. lwj apologises and tells him it wasn’t personal and wwx is like that’s not true, it was personal to me and it’s personal to a lot of people and lwj understands that now. he remembers the way he’d filled wwx’s store and left his own touch and bared his heart through each of those books and he understands. he doesn’t actually say this and just tells wwx that he wants to be friends 

lwj considers coming clean about being hgj but he knows now that he definitely loves wwx and knows that wwx currently hates him but damn is it hard not to say anything when wwx is telling him how much he loves hgj

anyway he’s like organise a meeting again with hgj 

i’d say it’s ooc for lwj not to come clean but this is the man who pined for x decades and just didnt tell wwx that his son was alive so like not ooc at all

so lwj decides he’s going to woo wwx as best as he can and organises to meet up with yllz and then goes and meets with wwx and they end up going to hang out and for some strange reason, even though wwx keeps getting stood up, he doesn’t seem to care too much. he keeps agreeing to meet hgj and when he doesn’t show is more than happy to spend the rest of his day with lwj

and slowly, they start to get closer. wwx takes a sip of lwj’s coffee and lwj buys him daisies. wwx brings him an interesting book and lwj tells him about his mother. they chat freely about hgj and lwj is happy for the first time in a long time

eventually lwj organises the final meeting. wwx is really confused about the place he picked but he’s hopeful that maybe this time hgj will show. after wwx and lwj’s farmers market date ends, lwj ends up asking wwx if he could love lwj and wwx is like you put me in such an uncomfortable situation. ie stammering and blushing and eventually going oh no ill be late and running off

anyway a couple hours later wwx finds himself standing outside his old bookstore and he refuses to look at it bc he doesn’t want to see what it’s become but then, through the open door of the store, a bunny hops out and over to wwx

lwj comes running out after it calling out its name (bichen?? flopsy?? rabbit?? one of them) and wwx looks up and is like oh,, it’s you, i’d hoped it was you and he’s all teary and lwj has a handkerchief that he’d embroidered himself (with gentians of course) and he’s like dont cry yllz and then they kiss and it’s beautiful

bonus: lwj takes wwx inside the store and shows him everything and explains the meaning behind every book that they’ve picked and then wwx does cry for real bc there is definitely an entire two walls dedicated just to wwx

do they open the store as a bookstore again and work together? does wwx end up writing books?? idk up to you. i like the idea that they open the store for story time and sell children’s books but lwj still works with lan & sons to get some heart in their stores and wwx works on his own books in his spare time

[rosethornewrites]

Wednesday’s NR, E, and M reading

See below!

Finished:

Not Rated:

The light that reappeared, by KawaiiKittyCat (second in a series)

Lan Wangji hears it. That song. Their song.

He speeds up more than rules at Cloud Recesses would allow him. But that doesn’t matter now. Nothing does. Beside that music. Beside the person that plays this music.

Do not leave me, by Mydla (second in a series)

There is a vicious ghost on the loose. But who would be able to catch such a creature when its only manifestation is that it will let you see your worst nightmare one time? Only once and then it would move to another person. No one will even know that the ghost had ever visited them...

---

Jiang Cheng's worst nightmare

Just you and me, by Poitre_4

Promt: 153. "I Want you to go upstairs and lock the door ok? Don't come out until I tell you to"

Character: Nie Huaisang

Birth of a mastermind, by Poitre_4 (second in a series)

Promt: 153. "I Want you to go upstairs and lock the door ok? Don't come out until I tell you to"

Character: Nie Huaisang

Explicit:

Speechless, by SuiteJayne

Bored with transcribing the Lan Clan's Collection of Righteousness, Wei Wuxian again decides to provoke a reaction out of Lan Wangji. He gets a different one than he expected.

Some Like It Cold, by SuiteJayne (second in a series)

A hot spell settles on Gusu. Sleepless one night in Cloud Recesses, Wei Wuxian decides to visit the cold springs to cool off, but finds he’s not the only one who had that idea.

One More Rule, by SuiteJayne (third in a series)

After a small misunderstanding, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji reveal a little more about their feelings for one another and discover a new addition to their bedroom repertoire.

Some Sunny Day, by SuiteJayne (fourth in a series)

The Jiang clan leaves Cloud Recesses; Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji have a hard time saying goodbye.

All Talk, by SuiteJayne (fifth in a series)

Wei Wuxian finds a way to work both sides of a light d/s dynamic. (A porny coda to the scene in The Untamed e9 where wwx and lwj battle enchanted chains and the dire owl in a misty forest.)

Long Shadows, by SuiteJayne (sixth in a series)

Wei Wuxian leaves the Jin Clan’s celebratory banquet in Nightless City. Lan Wangji follows.

Early Days, by SuiteJayne (seventh in a series)

Lan Wangji meets Wei Wuxian in Yiling and finds he has a few things to tell him. He manages to say some of it.

Restless, by SuiteJayne (last in the series)

As it turned out, Lan Wangji would have done almost anything to keep Wei Wuxian safe. He’d have lied, stolen, risked his life, exiled himself from his clan, from the whole cultivation world. But in the end, it didn’t matter, because Wei Wuxian didn’t want to be saved. Lan Wangji understood this. At any rate, on some days he understood it. On other days he felt in his bones that the opposite was true: that if he had been a little faster, a little smarter, a little better; if he’d anticipated how things would play out; if he’d intercepted Wei Wuxian and brought him back to Gusu; if he’d said the right things, then Wei Wuxian would still be alive.

library pavilion, by wearing_tearing (second in a series)

Wei Ying’s grin widens. “Do you know how many times I’ve thought about this?” he asks, pressing his body closer to Lan Wangji’s. “You’re always so focused when you’re here, so serious, Lan Er-gege. All I want is to mess you up a little. Even back then, I wanted a reaction out of you.”

*

Lan Wangji has had one too many fantasies about Wei Ying in the Library Pavilion.

incense burner, by wearing_tearing (last in a series)

Lan Wangji takes in a sharp breath and snaps his mouth shut. Surprise rushes through his entire body, sending sparkles through his spine and down the tips of his fingers. He stares at his husband, taking in his loose hair falling down his shoulders, his flushed cheeks and bright smile, his hands gently cradling the round bump of his belly.

His very pregnant belly.

*

The incense burner has been a wedding gift they have used often, and it always makes their wildest fantasies come true—if only for the duration of a dream.

Guaranteed Seduction, by cl410

Wei Wuxian puts the freezing talisman to better use

Mark You(r Words), by MajiLovePrincess

“If you keeping fucking me like this, I might just have to marry you,” Wei Ying gasps, too breathy to be properly teasing.

The pace of Lan Wangji’s hips falters as his whole body— not just his thrumming heart— skips a beat.

Or, The post-canon one where they both think the other is sleeping with them for platonic reasons, when that is not the case.

Blood, blood, blood on my hands, by Mydla (third in a series)

There is a vicious ghost on the loose. But who would be able to catch such a creature when its only manifestation is that it will let you see your worst nightmare one time? Only once and then it would move to another person. No one will even know that the ghost had ever visited them...

---

Lan Xichen's worst nightmare

Mature:

running the bases, by quillifer (wbtrashking)

Lan Zhan knows his boyfriend plays baseball.

But not, like professionally, or anything. How famous could baseball players truly be? he thinks.

Jealous, are you?, by SugarBottom13

Wei Wuxian looks at the man before following what he was looking at only to frown curious when he sees it was Lan Wangji he was looking at. "I need water" the man awkwardly starts and Lan Wangji nods.

"I didn't bring any" he replies softly and Wei Wuxian looks at Lan Wangji surprised when he replied to the man, like he knows him, before Lan Wangji moves forward until he and the man were facing each other.

Rabbit Parenthood and other Domestic Affairs, by LadyHallen

Wei Ying has been suggesting increasingly more pets to adopt than usual and Lan Zhan is starting to wonder if there's something more to this.

bound, by hauntedotamatone

When the walls of the cave at Muxi Mountain had begun to splinter and crack open, Lan Wangji thought that rescue had come just in time. He hoped beyond all reason and rationality that the flash of a white sleeve he saw in the torchlight belonged to Xichen.

Further into the light they stepped, and he saw that the white sleeve was dipped in red, flames licking around the unfamiliar hand. His stomach dropped, hope sinking to the very depths of despair with each new Wen cultivator streaming in.

It had taken four men to pry him from Wei Ying. Two more to bind him as they dragged his unconscious form behind them in the dirt like a plow in the field.

Unfinished:

Not Rated:

It Happened Just a Little bit Earlier, by Dragonsruleist (Dr_disore)

Wei Wuxian was tired, he had just got out of the burial mounds and had just crushed Wen Zhuliu's core. Jiang Cheng gave him back Subian- he would be happier if only he could use it. Lan Zhan wants to take him back to Gusu- for what he doesn't know but it's probably for punishment.

He has one last thing he has to do before he can rest, however. And so he turns his back on Jiang Cheng and walks away with his brother nun the wiser. He has Wen he promised to save after all.

(This kinda explains what happens- but is like a watered-down version of what I actually wrote)(the first chapter can be read as a one-shot) (also- despite what this may seem like this story- if I ever write more- will center the juniors until finally ending with lovely Wangxian romance. You've been forewarned.)

Explicit:

Because of Wen Qing, by QteCuttlfish

What if Jiang Cheng had chosen to support Wen Qing, the Wen clan remnants, and most importantly, Wei Wuxian? Follows CQL/Untamed canon. Canon Divergence from Episode 20.

[isabilightwood]

The Problem with Authority - Chapter 1

CQL!Verse, Wangxian and Yanqing, canon divergence with Qin Su sacrifice summoning JYL after Jin Rusong’s death. JYL teams up with NHS to fix things, starting with bringing back WWX. Wen Qing is alive because I said so, and LWJ gets in the way of plotting because he’s a romantic.

See my self reblog for the AO3 link/additional tags and warnings

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The problem with authority is that if you leave it lying around, others will take it. — Yoon Ha Lee, Ninefox Gambit

Qin Su was tired of the constant hovering.

Every time she set foot outside her own rooms, she was beset by disciples and the wives of subordinates, telling her over and over how very sorry they were.

It was all bullshit.

Fake, social climbing schemers, who were more concerned with the fact that Jin Guangshan’s legitimate grandson was once again the sect heir, than sorry for the death of her son. Her A-Song.

They expected her to sob constantly, to wail and tear her hair from her scalp. That they could comfort Qin Su by repeating the same trite, cloying words day-by-day. Earn a little status out of tragedy. If Qin Su had to listen to one more apology, she was going to be sick all other the offending madam’s embroidery hoop.

It was true that she still couldn’t go a day without crumbling into tears. But mostly, she was numb. Exhausted, in more ways than one. She wanted to go to sleep, and wake with her son tucked safely into bed, or not wake up at all.

The private treasury was the only place where she could be certain she would not be disturbed. Even in her own bedroom, it would only be so long before a maid was sent to find her. Only she and her husband could open the hidden entrance to the vault. Only in the treasury, could she be alone, to find something to distract herself, however briefly, from the avalanche of her grief.

There were still many items that had been claimed by her deceased father-in-law after the war that had not been cataloged. Priceless relics and weapons and irreplaceable texts alike sat neglected in trunks. Jin Guangshan had cared only for possession, occasionally touting one item or another out to show off. Ten months after A-Yao’s succession, shelves continued to sit empty. Neither she nor A-Yao had found the time, busy keeping everything running smoothly, as he made bids for projects he called progress with the gleam in his eyes that had first made her chase after him. Back when he seemed flattered by her attention, interested in her as more than a friend or colleague.

Qin Su herself managed the internal minutiae of the Sect and oversaw disciple training. The latter would traditionally fall to the Head Disciple, but they had lost one after another. The woman who had been intended to aid Jin Zixuan had resigned over some disagreement before his death. Her replacement, a second or third cousin to the main Jin Clan, married out to the leader of the Fengyang Hua Sect, a growing sect that bordered Gusu and Lanling. Their replacement died at Nightless City, along with the next dozen or so disciples in line. And so Qin Su was free to manage the training as she wished.

Or had been, until she was asked to take a step back from training, for fear her grief would destabilize her qi. It was true that she had been unable to focus. However, stewing in the unending reminders that she would never hold A-Song in her arms again was no help. Attending to her duties as a hostess only made it worse.

Sorting the looted relics was mindless work, that required none of the focus she had lacked for the forty-one days since A-Song’s death. But it was something to occupy her hands, and some small part of her thoughts.

She began with the books that day, sorting into titles that were common and could be sold, those that needed to be repaired, and those to dangerous to be held anywhere but the treasury. Qin Su moved to start a new pile, for useful, rare texts that should be copied, on a table, and a disorganized pile of notes and notebooks caught her eye.

It was the disorganization that stood out. A-Yao never left anything out like that. He must have been called away, but if he returned and saw it, that would trigger his own flood of tears.  Qin Su had heard him sobbing, late into the night, from the next room over. But each morning, he greeted his work with his habitual dedication, no matter how puffy his eyes, or how little he’d slept. A-Yao would never forgive himself if his work was delayed by his composure crumbling over a small thing out of place.

She picked up the papers, intending only to organize them into an even stack, and place them evenly between the notebooks. But their subject caught her attention.

A circular array was drawn on each paper. Identical, to her unpracticed eyes, with varied notes printed in precise calligraphy in different locations on each page.

Qin Su had always focused on the sword, leaving talismans to those with innovative minds yet weaker cores, like her husband. Yet this array made her look twice.

Sacrifice Summon was written at the top of the first page, the one with the least writing. The soul of the caster is permanently exchanged for that of a chosen spirit or ghost, fully resurrecting the deceased. It was a complex design, meant to drawn in the blood of the caster.

Voices, from the other side of the portal. A-Yao must have wanted to show an item from the vault to a guest. Her heartbeat sped up, her hands shaking as she dropped the papers back onto the table.

The last thing Qin Su wanted was to have to greet her husband’s guests, while he smiled his disappointment in her for shirking her duties.

She raised the tablecloth and ducked beneath, knocking one of the papers off the table as she did so. Catching it, she pulled it to her chest, dropping the cloth back into place just in time. It was dark in the small space, and stuffy. Her heart hammered hard enough Qin Su felt certain it must be audible throughout the room. But her presence was not discovered, and so Qin Su did not have to answer as to why Jin-furen was hiding from her own husband.

“The remainder of the He Clan has been dealt with.” Su Minshan reported. His voice was easily identifiable from the obsequiousness with which he always treated her husband. She’d asked A-Yao what he saw in him once, and he’d flashed his dimples at her and said, unfaltering loyalty is a trait I cannot afford to lose. So Qin Su tolerated Su Minshan, though he made her skin crawl. And made certain never to be caught alone with him. “Xue Yang tracked them down to the last man.”

Why he kept Xue Yang around, on the other hand, was a mystery.

“Good, that’s good,” A-Yao said. Never shy of heaping praise on his subordinates, he would be smiling up at the other man. “Tell me, what did Xue Yang bring back with him?”

“A few urchins, from town. He said they were his payment for leaving the bodies alone.” Su Minshan scoffed, disgusted.

It didn’t sound like Xue Yang had brought the children to become disciples.

There was the slap of a forehead hitting a palm. A-Yao’s voice was slightly muffled as he gave an exasperated sigh. “I told him he could experiment with animals or dead bodies or not at all. Especially not children.” There was the slightest break in his voice at the word children. “Xue Yang has outlived his usefulness. Have him disposed of and left somewhere remote.”

The command was delivered coldly, casually. He sounded nothing like the warm, if more distant than Qin Su had initially expected, husband she knew.

“Yes, Zongzhu.” A pair of disciples said, their footsteps receding as they took their leave.

“Your research is not completed, is it?” Su Minshan asked, once they were gone.

“I have better means now. My dear younger brother is eager to please, and will not dismember the test animals for kicks and giggles.” A-Yao spoke as though this was an ongoing discussion, yet Qin Su, his wife, had never heard a whisper of research on animals before that day. Only of field testing of the Yiling Patriarch’s inventions. “Or decide to run tests on townspeople and dismember them, too.”

Just what had her husband been allowing Xue Yang to do? It seemed impossible that flighty little Mo Xuanyu could achieve it, whatever it was.

“Another headache eliminated, then.” Su Minshan said. “That’s nearly all the most dangerous ones out of the way.”

There was a weighted pause before A-Yao replied, incongruously. “I did love my son, you know.”

“I did not mean to imply otherwise.” Su Minshan rushed to assure him. “I am deeply sorry this step was necessary.”

Step? What was he implying about A-Song?

“If only that woman had told you the truth earlier.” Su Minshan snarled. “Keeping it a secret while her daughter courted her own half-brother? What a selfish bitch.”

What? Qin Su clapped her hands over her mouth, stifling a choked gasp.

“Now, Minshan, please. You remember what my father was like. We were all of us his victims. A-Su, me, and both of our mothers.” For the first time, Qin Su understood what Lianfang-zun’s detractors meant when they said he dripped insincerity. “Ultimately, A-Song’s death can be placed at his feet.”

But A-Song was murdered after Jin Guangshan died, she thought stupidly. Utterly frozen in place, the short, harsh pants of her breath the only sign she had not just been dropped into hell. The two men spoke for a few more minutes, but Qin Su didn’t hear a word.

It was some time after they left that Qin Su moved, her stiff joints causing her to fall onto her side on the edge of the tablecloth.

How was she ever supposed to face the court, knowing what she did now? Look her half-brother in the face without screaming?

The honorable thing would be to expose him, and to then take her own life to restore her own honor.

She couldn’t. She couldn’t do that to her father, to her older siblings. Half-siblings, now, she supposed, with a crazed giggle. The only real siblings, the only real father Qin Su would ever have. It would be better if they never knew what had happened to their mother. To her.

But she couldn’t carry on as she had, either.

The forgotten paper crinkled in her hands. The Sacrifice Summon. Exchanging her life for another’s.

Was that the solution she was searching for? Could she?

Qin Su remembered her husband’s - her brother’s voice saying especially not children. Only breaths before declaring his own son’s death necessary.

Her A-Song was lost forever.

There was, however, another child under Lianfang-zun’s care. Another mother whose son was not lost, but who had nevertheless lost the chance to see him grow. If Qin Su exchanged her life for that woman’s, perhaps her soul would pass on quickly enough to find A-Song in another life.

Jiang Yanli would see Jin Ling grow up safely, ensure Lianfang-zun did not keep the power he had married his own sister and murdered his own son to secure.

That would be best for everyone.

Qin Su shakily extracted herself from beneath the table, returning to the one room she could be certain Lianfang-zun would never enter.

Now she knew why.

Locking the door to her room, Qin Su emptied what little was in her stomach into the chamber pot. When she was through, she began to draw the array.

 The first thing Jiang Yanli noticed was the silence. She had been on the battlefield at Nightless City, pushed A-Xian aside, and a sword went through her heart —

She had been dead. She was certain.

Oh, A-Xian. What did you do?

Slowly, Jiang Yanli sat up. She was sprawled on the floor of a well-appointed lady’s bedroom. In Koi Tower, by the color scheme, but its occupant had uncommon taste. Rather than gilded everything, there were accents of gold on the drapery and to emphasize ink paintings of the ocean and a palace she did not recognize.

There was also the matter of the array of blood that surrounded her. Demonic cultivation, which only supported her certainty that A-Xian was involved. But where was he? And if she was in Koi Tower, where was her son?

Yunmeng, something inside her whispered. Though she could not explain why, she knew it was true.

Checking herself for cuts, she found a gash across the palm of her hand. But it was already sealing, far faster than Jiang Yanli had healed from so much as a paper cut before her death.

She wasn’t an expert in raising the dead like her brother, but Jiang Yanli was fairly certain fierce corpses did not work that way. At the very least, she should have been bleeding black. Yet her blood was as red as ever.

Getting to her feet, she started to inspect the room for clues. On the way to the desk, she passed a mirror. Her gaze skipped past a mirror. And snapped back.

It was not Jiang Yanli’s face that looked back.

This woman’s face was rounder and softer than her own. Pretty, with a natural pink in her cheeks where Jiang Yanli’s had always had to be painted on, due to the frequency with which she lost her breath and grew dizzy. There, too, was a hint of the agelessness that came with a fully developed golden core. With a feeling of foreboding, Jiang Yanli felt along her meridians until she reached her core. No longer a weak, underdeveloped thing due to her inability to practice the heavily physical Jiang techniques, it shone bright and strong.

That was a point against this being A-Xian’s doing. He wouldn’t have stolen her a body, when he could simply bring back her own.

Why am I alive? Asked a voice in her head.

That would have been a reasonable question. Only it wasn’t Jiang Yanli thinking it.

Maybe resurrection came with the ability to understand spirits. The results were entirely untested, so it was possible. Yet the voice seemed certain it was alive. If her current state was due to demonic cultivation, she might as well do what A-Xian would: experiment.

“I could ask you the same question.” Jiang Yanli told the voice.

Jiang Yanli? It worked! But why am I in your head?

“Are you the one who brought me back?”  She tilted her head back, trying to place the way the voice made her head feel. Almost like the moment at the start of meditation when she began to forget her body to focus on her spirit, but with a disconnect keeping her grounded.

Yes. And then, I can hear your thoughts, the voice said, you don’t need to speak out loud.

That was disconcerting. Is this your body? She thought at the voice.

Yes. The voice said. Stop calling me that. I’m Qin Su.

Strangely, it was a relief to have a name. It made Qin Su feel more real than anything else in this surreal afterlife. So it would be more accurate to say I’m in your head. Am I possessing you?

It was supposed to be an exchange. My soul for yours.

Well clearly, it hadn’t worked that way.

Responding to her unformed question, the woman continued. The array is on the desk.

This… It was obviously A-Xian’s work, copied out by a more careful hand. But it looked incomplete, a half-developed first draft or his scattered notes on an older text that he could always piece back together perfectly, but left out crucial details for anyone else. Utterly unlike the labeled, if nearly illegible, minutiae on his complete work. Jiang Yanli would never have cast an array with so little information. Especially not one of A-Xian’s.

I didn’t know the Yiling Patriarch. And I wasn’t exactly thinking clearly.

No, she supposed not. Anyone casting this array would have to be desperate.

Everything fell apart and I just… used what I had on hand. There was the impression of a shrug, like her mind contorting itself into a new shape. My impulse decisions always have terrible consequences. That’s how I ended up pregnant and marrying the last person in the world I should have. Qin Su gave a short, harsh burst of hysterical laughter, startling Jiang Yanli into making the same noise aloud.

Telling whoever this abusive asshole was that her husband had died only a week ago, and she was certainly not performing any marital duties could wait until she figured out what Qin Su had done.

There are other pages with more notes in the treasury.

Jiang Yanli sprang to her feet. I’ll need to see them immediately.

She slid open the doors, and came face to face with a maid carrying cleaning supplies. Jiang Yanli quickly shut the doors behind her, so the maid could not catch a glimpse of the blood still staining the floor.

“Oh! Jin-furen.” The maid bowed deeply. “This one apologizes for assuming you would be out.”

It was something of a shock to be addressed by a title that had, from her perspective, belonged to her mother-in-law only yesterday. Jin-furen?

Ah, yes. I’ve been Jin-furen since Jin Guangshan… passed… ten months ago. The word “passed” came with a flash of embarrassment, telling Jiang Yanli enough for her to extrapolate the cause of death.

Jin Guangyao must be Jin-zongzhu then. Strange, he hadn’t seemed the abusive type.

Not abuse. Worse. Qin Su gagged in her mind, making Jiang Yanli do the same.

“Are you all right, Jin-furen?” The maid asked, hovering closer.

At least the gagging gave her an excuse not to allow anyone inside. “I’ll be fine. But please wait to clean until tomorrow. I’m afraid I’m not feeling well. Would you have some soup sent on a tray for my dinner?”

“Of course, Jin-furen.” The maid backed away, bowed, and hurried off.

Jiang Yanli turned to inspect the door, placing her hands on her hips. With Qin Su’s Golden Core, she could likely cast a locking spell. If she knew how, that was. She had always relied on A-Xian’s talismans, many of which he developed specifically for her. Unfortunately, she had none on hand.

That’s easy. Qin Su said. Draw the characters for lock, then modify it with…

It took Jiang Yanli a few tries to draw properly on her new core, but she was able to lock the door against casual entry. No cultivator with a sword would be kept out for long, but they would have to be willing to trespass in Jin-furen’s bedchamber.

The thin flush of victory faded the second she stepped through the treasury portal. Suibian lay on a shelf, visible from the door. A-Xian had not carried his sword for a long time. But he would never have handed it over to the Jin Clan, unless it was directly into Jiang Yanli’s arms. Something had gone terribly wrong.

Qin Su. Why is my A-Xian’s sword in the treasury? Jiang Yanli demanded. The answering silence was deafening. “Qin Su! Tell me why!”

He… died. At Nightless City. Not long after you did. Qin Su’s voice was hesitant, as though confused why she cared.

“No!” She let out a choked sob, clasping a hand over her mouth. A-Xian wasn’t — he couldn’t be —

Didn’t he kill you? I was told —

“No! Never!” A-Xian would never have hurt her. I tried to save him.

Silence, for a moment, other than Jiang Yanli’s own ragged breaths. Then, I’m sorry. I’ve learned a lot of things I believed were lies today. Perhaps what they said about him was too.

They were. A-Xian was bright, and good, and cared too much. He had never been what they thought. Jiang Yanli had not needed to ask to know A-Xuan’s death was a horrible mistake, likely the result of stepping in between his cruel, vindictive cousin and her brother at the wrong moment. If he had meant to kill Jin Zixun, A-Xian had had good reason.

I think anyone who had the misfortune of meeting Jin Zixun considered killing him. Qin Su said wryly.

Jiang Yanli had had those thoughts. She gave a watery giggle that was answered in her head. It was sweet of Qin Su to try to comfort her when she could feel that she was still reeling for her own reasons. The least Jiang Yanli could do in return was get her some answers.

On the table.

She found the stack of diagrams easily, along with a tattered notebook that appeared to contain A-Xian’s original work. Jiang Yanli flipped through that, knowing that unless had both gotten a hold of one of the few people that could read his note-taking scrawl — her, Lan Wangji, and perhaps Wen Qing, who had taken their turns as A-Xian’s sounding board in succession — and convinced them to help details would likely have been missed.

You can read that? Qin Su was incredulous.

Years of practice, she replied. Before Lan Wangji, Jiang Yanli had been the only person who took A-Xian’s inventions seriously, the only person willing to sit and listen while he bounced from idea to idea, eventually solving the problem himself.

The average person would not think it necessary to puzzle out the text under a sketch of Lan Wangji holding a child, assuming it was a caption. When it was, in fact, an absolutely crucial detail. A detail that had made A-Xian conclude the Sacrifice Summon Array should never be used.

There were perhaps a dozen variations on the array. Most worked in a similar way to what Qin Su had intended, summoning a spirit to take the caster’s place. The earliest could not target a specific soul, but A-Xian had worked that out. Luckily, Qin Su had used one of those arrays, allowing Jiang Yanli to be summoned, rather than causing the closest vengeful spirits to battle for her body. The very last caused the caster’s body to be torn apart, and replaced with a copy of the spirit’s own.

But every version had two things in common: a call for revenge, and the destruction of the caster’s soul.

In her mind, Qin Su went perfectly still.

Jiang Yanli had a theory as to why Qin Su’s soul had not been consumed by the array. It had started the job, pulling Jiang Yanli in, but Qin Su had not asked for revenge, and so the array spat most of her back out. What the consequences were, for either of their spirits, she could not begin to guess.

There was a distinctive air of panic to Qin Su’s continued silence.

Qin Su, Jiang Yanli prodded, if this had worked the way it’s written, your soul would have been consumed by it. What could have been worth this?

I didn’t know about that. I didn’t want that.

It didn’t happen. You’re still here. She attempted to reassure Qin Su, wishing there was a way to mentally pat someone on the head. That had always helped calm both her brothers.

I’m still here. Whatever the fuck that means. Qin Su giggled nervously. That wasn’t very ladylike.

I think it’s forgivable, under the circumstances. Jiang Yanli raised a sleeve to cover her smile.

You don’t know the half of it. Qin Su sighed. I didn’t think things like this happened, outside of stories.

Jiang Yanli waited for her to go on, gritting her teeth in response to a wave of bitterness.

Only a few hours ago, I found out my so-called husband is my half-brother and he murdered our son. And now here we are.

Oh. Jiang Yanli could not so much as think of a reassuring response. What the fuck is correct.

“A-Su,” Jin Guangyao said from behind her, before Qin Su could say anything more. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

[stiltonbasket]

Renouncement verse: you said lwj combs wwx hair in the morning, can you write the first time that happens? Maybe wwx gets overwhelmed but lwj won’t let him run away

anon 2: For your arranged marriage au, I would love it if you can do some domestic scenes between them. Basically things like hair brushing and braiding or making dumplings together, etc 🥺

(brief author’s note: please please reblog if you can, since that’s how we get prompts for future chapters!)

On Wei Wuxian’s first day as a married man, he opens his eyes at chen shi to find Lan Zhan still lying in the wedding bed at his side. 

When the two of them prepared for sleep the night before, Wei Wuxian expected Lan Zhan to retire in full dress, since he had done so every time the two of them slept in the same room before their engagement. During the time they spent traveling together, Lan Zhan only ever removed his shoes before going to bed; he even kept his hairpieces on, most of the time, and he only took them off to keep them from stabbing Wei Wuxian in the face on the few occasions where space constraints and over-booked inns required them to rest in the same bed.

On their wedding night, however, Lan Zhan undressed behind a privacy screen (nearly frightening Wei Wuxian back to death, given the context of what he and Lan Zhan are to each other now) before bathing in a wooden tub and emerging with his hair down and his forehead ribbon looped around his wrist. He was wearing a clean set of sleeping robes, loosely embroidered with clouds and white flowers to match the nightwear Wei Wuxian received as one of his many wedding gifts, and then they got under the covers and went to sleep without saying a word to each other. 

But they held each other the whole night through, which is why Wei Wuxian feels so painfully shy when he wakes up in Lan Zhan’s warm embrace with his left ear pressed over his husband’s pounding heart.

“Does being a newlywed excuse me from getting up at five?” he whispers, trying to hide his face in Lan Zhan’s soft gown. “Can I go back to sleep?”

He isn’t actually sleepy, though; the excitement of the wedding has been thoroughly transformed into the nervousness of a new bridegroom, bringing a thousand uncertainties about living in a new place, with a new family, and with new duties to tend to. No one expects him to do anything, he knows, but he has to do something, or—

“Wei Ying.” Lan Zhan leans down and kisses his forehead, calming his fears just enough for Wei Wuxian to decide that getting out of bed might be worth it today. “You may do whatever you like, and no one will think any worse of you for it. But will you eat before going back to sleep, at least? For me?”

They eat breakfast together after that, and Wei Wuxian notices that the meal seems pointedly unsuited to Gusu tastes. There is a little bamboo steamer filled with baozi, with pork and cabbage filling for Wei Wuxian (and possibly a vegetarian filling for Lan Zhan, though none of those end up in Wei Wuxian’s plate) and hot dry noodles coated with peanut sauce and chili oil, just like Jiang-shushu used to make for family breakfasts sometimes—and then a few plates with the usual trappings of a meal served to a bridal bedchamber, like sesame cakes and preserved dried longan fruits, but Wei Wuxian ignores them and sticks to the noodles and sweet millet porridge. After all, he rarely had sesame cakes during his childhood at Lotus Pier, and he likes lotus-seed cakes better, anyway. 

“There will be some for lunch,” Lan Zhan assures him, and Wei Wuxian flushes at the realization that he must have said that last aloud. “Brother sent a butterfly to tell you that Li Shuai intends to spend the next week cooking southern dishes and preserving them for you and Xiao-Yu to eat later on.”

Wei Wuxian feels his heart swell. “Really?” he smiles, finally reaching for one of the sesame cakes and putting it into his mouth. “But she’s supposed to be our guest, Lan Zhan.”

“Yu Zhenhong is with her,” his husband points out. “The pair of them took over the kitchens and drove out all the disciples on cooking duty. I expect that the whole clan will know what hot peppers taste like by tonight.”

Thoroughly cheered up by the mental image of A-Shuai cackling over a Lan kitchen cauldron and forcing it to learn the touch of chili paste for the first time, Wei Wuxian finishes his meal and then returns to the bedroom to dress, since he and Lan Zhan are expected at the hanshi for the auspicious hour to greet Lan Zhan’s family. He decides to dress in his usual colors, with a deep red undergown against his white silk chemise and a blue patterned over-robe on top of it all, and then he spends a few minutes choosing a new hair ornament: but the old wooden guans have been put aside for Xiao-Yu, and all of the silver hairpieces feel strange when he touches them, so Lan Zhan picks up the gold lotus comb and helps Wei Wuxian put it on. 

“You have thicker hair than I thought you did,” he murmurs, as he places the teeth of another comb—white ivory, this time, and part of Wei Wuxian’s wedding dowry—against the crown of Wei Wuxian’s head and smooths the knots out of his hair. “It curls a little, just here.”

Wei Wuxian nods drowsily. “I use hot oil to keep it straight. Jiang Cheng does, too.”

Lan Zhan nods and keeps working with his comb, brushing out every last snarl until Wei Wuxian’s hair is smooth and glossy again. It still falls in waves, since he hasn’t doused it in hot soybean oil since the day he left Yunmeng, but it looks presentable enough; and then they put their shoes on and get ready to leave, though Lan Zhan makes Wei Wuxian put a cloak on to keep the morning breeze off his shoulders.

“A-Yu has not seen you for nearly ten hours,” Lan Zhan reminds him, holding out his hand for Wei Wuxian to take. “Come, Wei Ying. We must fetch our son.”

Our son. 

Oh. 

He and Lan Zhan share two children. 

How on earth had he forgotten that?

We can make this work, he realizes. At least until Lan Zhan finds the person he really wants to marry. 

“All right,” Wei Wuxian laughs, lacing their fingers together. “Let’s not keep them waiting.”

[ouyangzizhensdad]

MDZS: Canon divergence fic idea

I will never write this fic, but I am sharing it in case someone else feels game.   WHAT IF... when wwx is first taken to the Cloud Recesses after being brought back to life, he overhears gossip. Maybe elders, maybe servants, talking about how Hanguang-Jun has brought back another unexpected guest--last time, it had been his bastard son! 

Of course, wwx doesn’t take gossip at face value (duh), but he’s definitely intrigued. Did lwj really do something so outlandish? The mere thought of it sounds far-fetched--he can’t imagine lwj abandoning a woman who is with his child, even if it had been the result of a single night of passion (lz? a night of passion? Pfft!) 

But, you know, wwx keeps thinking about it. And so, when Drunk #1 happens, instead of asking lwj whether he’s in love to test how honest his answers are, he asks him about having a son. wwx is stunned not only by the answer, but by the soft smile on lwj’s face (because lwj thinks of a-yuan as his son and adores him and you cannot tell me otherwise).  Throughout the events leading to the resolution of Yi City, wwx sometimes thinks about how lwj could remain unmarried (he didn’t meet or hear of a wife! so lwj has to be unmarried!) and yet have a son. He starts imagining a super tragic  story (didn’t he think lwj looked like he had lost a wife the first time he had seen him after being brought back to life?). wwx also wonders what lwj’s son must be like (he jokingly wonders if ljy is lwj’s son and nearly dies laughing--even lwj looks worried for a second).

Drunk #2 happens, but the fight between the juniors is slightly different than in the novel. While arguing, jl also accuses lsz of acting all high-and-mighty because he’s Hanguang-Jun’s son and under his protection--yes! He knows the shocking truth, because he’s a sect leader and sect leaders know all the gossip! (ljy LOUDLY defends lsz’s honour and ouzz is like how could you do this to your FRIEND?!). wwx is shocked--but then, he finds it all makes sense (and he can’t help admiring lz even more--he’s too good, to have brought up such a good kid). Fast forward, back in the inn, after the kiss, wwx wonders whether it was lwj’s first kiss and then reminds himself that 13 years have passed, and that lwj even has a son! He’s not sure if he should feel better or worse--he didn’t steal someone’s first kiss, but he kissed a man mourning the love of his life (at this point wwx is convinced that lwj fell in love with someone his clan disapproved of, eloped, but that his wife tragically passed--probably an illness, Hanguang-Jun would have been able to protect the woman he loves from any threat!!!!--and then that he went back to the Cloud Recesses with his only child, the surviving proof of their shared love). 

(later on, when his thoughts get a little dark, he starts wondering whether she was killed by the Yiling Laozu).

The next day, while he’s talking with with lsz and ljy, instead of asking about forehead ribbons, he tells lsz he’s heard what jl said because he wants him to know he’s aware of something lsz seemed unwilling to share openly. wwx jockingly asks at some point why lsz calls his dad Hanguang-jun and not a-die, and just when lsz is going to explain he’s adopted--gasp! nmj’s corpse is there and the conversation comes to an halt (so that wwx can continue misguidedly thinking lsz is lwj’s bio son). 

Then for the rest of the novel, everything that happens is tainted by the fact wwx is convinced lwj is mourning his wife and that lsz is his bio son. Cue more freaking out about his feelings and whether lwj returns them (lz can’t be a cut-sleeve! how shameless does he have to be to fall for a widower), cue inserting lsz in his retirement fantasy (they already have a --well, kind of big--small one!). 

How much would it change the events of the novel? IDK, I am bad at plot.

So please, anyone, write this. 

[inessencedevided]

The Untamed, episode 23 - watching notes

I can't believe it took me so long to watch the next episode. Somehow with all this staying at home, I still don't have time

I'm still scared and horny for wwx

"I've been dead once. We, of course came from hell"

This is news to me!

Did he die on burial mounts??? Or is it a figurative death?

Both kinds fit, though. He seems really distant right now. Like he really isn't completely present among the living

The ... hell?

He says "stygian tiger amulet" like I'm supposed to know what he's talking about but I have no idea!

Everyone is so completely out of their depth that they are literally just spectators at this point

Who just killed ...?

Okay, I stand corrected. Everyone is too shocked to move, except for lwj, who is not going to let anything stop him from catching his boyfriend :D

Wtfwtfwtfwtfwtfwtfwtf???

What's Meng Yao's deal???

I love Lan Xichen with all my heart, but when he looked into the distance and said "The sun is finally setting down" all I could think was "Thanks Legolas!" Because that was really very legolas of him

Nie Mingjue ... don't die 😥

Ooh, so Meng Yao was a spy!

This whole story of how Meng Yao saved Lan Xichen's life and then wrote letters to him, as a spy, in secrecy is a shipper's dream!

I just noticed something about the netflix subtitles. I'm pretty sure they just let Jiang Yanli call wwx "Wei Wuxian, when she said A-Xian and wwx call her "Yanli" when I'm pretty sure I heard "shijie"

Three days. I'm glad they're making it very clear just how much if a toll his new way of cultivating is taking on his body

Have we seen the Jin clan leader before at all? I don't think so

It breaks and warms my heart at the same moment how afraid wwx is of Shijie's judgement. Honestly, he seemed the most like himself around her and this is one more instant where, for a brief moment, he looks like a little boy again.

"Why do you keep mentioning second young master Lan all the time?" Because she KNOWS! :D

He came every day and played his guqin!

And there he is! 😭😭😭

His expression when he sees that wwx is awake. I'm melting!

That whole scene if lwj playing for wwx ... 💖💖💖

At least we isn't trying to actively push lwj away anymore

I just remembered that we did meet the Jin clan leader before. All the way back in cloud recess

So much is happening right now, it's hard to follow, so I'm just going to try and make sense of it by writing it down: the Jin clan leader arrived late and now wants to tell everyone what to do: mainly , round up an kill the remaining wen clan, even those that are defenseless or didn't do anything. Also, he wants to question anyone who suspicious, which I take means wwx at this point. Ah yes, and also, he will take in Meng Yao and legitimize him as his son.

Now, that's a transformation! 😳

I gotta ask: what's up with the hat?

And he even gets reintroduced. Oh man! Someone else I have to remember two names for! 😭

Jin Guangyao ...

How much of his rise to that position was planned? How much could he plan, really?

But him and Lan Xicheng still give me all the feels! That callback to their first meeting, when Lan Xicheng wouldn't let him bow to him because he considers them equals! 😭

Holy shit! that's a lot of blood!!!!

I have a whole lot of feelings about this conversation between wwx and lwj. From how beautifully it was shot (but let'sface it, any shot of these two is drop-dead gorgeous!), to the brilliant progression of the score that got progressively sadder to ... basically everything they said. Lwj's primary concern seems to be to protect wwx from the repercussions of demonic cultivation, while wwx does not seem to spare much thought to his own wellbeing at all. He is obviously not fine and he mostly ignores it.

It is remarkable, imo, that his primary concern seems to be the moral dilemma he finds himself in. Just the fact that he is able to tackle it at all is astonishing! Not only does he not automatically transfer his thirst for revenge against Wen Ruhoan and his son to the rest of the Wen clan, he seems to be the most concerned with sparing the innocent who just happened to be born in the wrong clan.

He's such a fascinating character!

I had to Google "absterge", btw. I'm not a native English speaker, but it's rare these days that I haven't even heard a word before. So apparently it's similar to "cleanse".

I will definitely have to rewatch that tortoise episode btw. I think I remember that something happened inside that shell, but I do not know when in earth wwx should have had time to start forging the tiger amulet there

The angst!!! 😭😭😭

Waitwaiwaitwait! Isn't this also the cliff wwx will eventually fall from??? 😳

All the angst!!!

Hey, Jin soldiers? You're barely better than the people you fought right now 😒

He was about to shoot a mother running with her child in her arms ....

I have a feeling that the pledge that Nie Mingjue, Jan Xichen and Jin Guangyao make is another example of a scene where I don't understand the full context because I'm so unfamiliar with the culture

Jiang Cheng being flanked by Jiang Yanli and wei Wuxian in his first official appearance as sect leader gives me so many feelings 🥺

Every interaction between nie Mingjue and Jin Guangyao is soooooo uncomfortable at this point

Why does this banquet give me red wedding vibes ... something terrible is about to happen, I can feel it

With all of these etiquette rules being on display, I'm wondering, how much they lend from various chinese traditions and how much is just made up to suit this particular fantasy world. I'm ashamed to say I honestly don't know :/

Ohhh, the marriage is back on. Great... not

Granted, Jin Zixuan isn't a complete idiot anymore

Oh God, Wei Wuxian. What are you going to do? 🙈

@sweetlittlevampire @fandom-glazed @elenirlachlagos @allhailthedramallama @luckymoony 💖

[adhd-wifi]

So uh, someone sent me an ask about my opinions of the different adaptations of mdzs (and cql) but I accidentally deleted it. Anon pls forgive me. 

Anyways here’s the answer under a cut so I don’t spam anyone with my opinions (unless you wanna know I guess in which case thanks???) Warning: I got a little more into this than I probably should have. 

I’m just gonna do them in bullet points it’s just easier. At least while I’m on desktop lol.

The novel

It’s a really great read overall. I love the details and the comedic aspect of the story and characters really shines in the novel. However I can’t say all too much because I’m still actually struggling to finish reading it. 

The reason for this is because I actually...hate reading Chinese-To-English novels. Not saying the English fan-translation is bad, and in fact I think Exiled Rebels Scans did an amazing job with it (there are some nitpicks, but eh, they’re providing free content with no compensation they deserve all the praise regardless). I just hate it because, as a Chinese person, you tend to notice all the things that are lost in translation or things that just CAN’T be translated properly. I’m currently reading the Chinese version, but my Chinese reading isn’t great so it’s taking a while. 

The animation

My personal favourite, but mostly because I’m biased towards animation in general LMAO. It was also my starting point into the franchise. My friend, who I hadn’t seen in 10 months at that point, came to my house and made me watch the first two episodes. I finished the anime at like 6am from that same night. Safe to say I had fallen into hell. 

The only things I didn’t like about the anime was the fact that it was clearly rushed, which is why I’m okay with season 3 coming out in 2021, and the fact that I’m PRETTY SURE the censorships hit it and we’re not gonna be getting any on-screen gay. I mean the only scene that displayed this was the scene where WWX pretended to be attracted to LWJ to get JC off his back, but that scene was played off as him flirting with EVERYTHING on the basis that he was insane, but gay. So yeah, I’m not expecting gay but eh. 

Unpopular opinion, but anime!WWX has my favourite WWX voice. I love the audio drama/CQL voice, but I just love the playful notes of anime!WWX’s voice. 

The anime also amps the dramatic flair of literally everything up to 11 on a scale of 1 to 10. As much as I love the other adaptations, you can’t really beat the anime in terms of it being the drama queen of the adaptations. I love it. Also, it was therapeutic to see Wen Chao torn to shreds and beheaded the way it was done in the anime. 

The manhua

The manhua actually has my favourite art style of the adaptations, I like it even more so than the anime. Also props to them for making teen!WWX look different from Mo XuanYu (seriously, help me I’m a confused dumbass okay)

I’m...not a fan of the pacing. The pacing of the manhua for like the first few arcs was just so rushed and confusing, and because of the more comedic nature of the manhua as a whole, sometimes the seriousness of the scene just falls flat (e.g. the Mo Manor scene with the fierce corpses, it was so...dull). Then Yi City comes along and that arc alone seemed to last like 62 years. While I like the characters, I’m not a major fan of the arc itself, so I was mildly peeved. Oh well. 

The audio drama

To be fair, I’ve only heard like 3 episodes and several snippets of the audio drama. Mostly because I can’t find it. (I’m aware SuiBianSubs have it shared on their discord, but I’m scared of giant servers so I’m holding off on that unless I really can’t find it anywhere else.)

That being said, I really like the audio drama so far. I really, really like WWX’s voice actor here, and you can tell he’s really going ham with it while he was more restricted to match Xian Zhan in CQL. 

Anyways the audio drama version of WangXian is the best one don’t @ me.

The Untamed/Chen Qing Ling (Warning: LONG)

Hhhhhh oh CQL, CQL, where do I even start with you?

See, I didn’t like the first one-third of the drama, and took like a month watching those bits, but then basically after WWX became the Yiling Patriarch I got really into it and basically finished like 30+ episodes in 3 days. 

I still don’t like several of the changes, and I’m not a fan of some of the directing decisions, because some of them just made little to no sense. I especially hated the fact that WWX wasn’t the founder of demonic cultivation, and instead it was some rando who was probably Xue Yang’s greatX12 grandfather. 

All that being said, I actually like the character writing THE MOST out of all the adaptions. Every single (named/significant) character was expanded upon, and it gave basically everyone more depth as characters (except I guess Wen RuoHan and Wen Xu, but no one likes them in CQL anyway so who cares). 

Basically, every character just felt so much more alive, and I’m not just saying that because it’s live people on screen. It’s that the actors really did wonderfully, bringing out the characters so vividly, and giving them more depth and building on their relationships. The little moments here and there, like JZX planting lotus plants for JYL There are some moments I’m just EH on (such as the changing of the moral scale for some *cough*MOST*cough* characters), but for the most part, I just found it so much easier to relate and feel for them. And as someone who doesn’t typically like watching live dramas (again, I just prefer anime), that meant a lot to me as a member of the audience.

I especially like how they handled Mianmian, I was EH at first to see her as a member of the Jin Sect, but in the end I really liked that. I mean, who can’t love a bitch who renounces her sect colours right in front of the then-most powerful man in the cultivation world? Also, the soup scene with JZX and JYL, I really liked that it was Mianmian who defended her instead of some nameless, faceless servant girl. It gave her more character, and built nicely on her relationship with JZX as his subordinate. Mianmian in MDZS was great, but she felt little more than a plot device to me. In CQL, she was actually a character, and thus made her actions more significant.

Listen I just have a lot of feelings for Mianmian considering she was the only named female character to survive the series and I have salt about that but I still like her so I’m glad CQL made it easier for me to like her

Welp I’m done rambling. If you didn’t get bored halfway and made it all the way down here, thanks for you time lol. I hope this was entertaining. :D Also, anon I hope you’re reading this. ^^;

[lee-luca]

I read your ZhuiYi fic and it makes me wonder if it’s omegaverse. Not that I mind or anything, it’s just I see this everywhere lol. It’s so cute. Also, no hate, I just don’t get why some people ship LSZ and JL. Aren’t they like cousins? LSZ is LWJ and WWX adopted son and JL is JC and WWX nephew. It’ll be very weird if WWX was JL father-in-law if he is JL uncle at the same time. By the way I’m all about ZHUIYI!!!

Regarding LSZ/JL, even though I don’t really ship them, I’m not squicky about them either. They’re just…there, I guess. A popular ship that I can’t get into for some reason. I suspect LSZ/JL are so popular because they’re the main junior characters–they have significantly more of a backstory than anybody else (we don’t even know how old LJY is orz) so it might be easier to write about them. And it wasn’t like anybody knew they were kinda-sorta cousins in the beginning since LSZ’s relationship to WWX wasn’t revealed until much later. Even then, they weren’t raised together, so I doubt they’d really think of each other as cousins, and WWX (who has always considered himself JL’s uncle and LSZ’s kind-of-parent) might be the only one who would find the situation awkward.

(Anyway, I think the ship gained ground in the English fandom because it was first popular in the Chinese fandom. While I’m not an expert on Chinese culture, from what I’ve seen on Twitter about how some straight Chinese men thought WWX and JYL would get together in CQL, it seems like adopted children aren’t really considered part of the family, which may explain why Madam Jin was so against JYL being alone with WWX at Baifeng. So if we consider all that, LSZ, who is the adopted son of an adopted son, might be a perfectly reasonable partner for JL in (ancient?) Chinese culture.)

I’m leaving the logistics of conception up to the reader to decide. How A-Yu was conceived wasn’t really important to the fic, and I didn’t want to get into all the other common sources of conflicts in omegaverse (e.g. heats, scenting, hierarchy, etc.) because at heart this fic is about emotions and I didn’t want to detract from it. If this were omegaverse…it’d be a much longer fic lol because there’d be a lot of worldbuilding to set up. If you’re interested in how the fic might change (or what questions need to be answered) if it was explicitly set in omegaverse, I’ve listed some bullet points under the cut.

1) Is everybody’s secondary gender common knowledge? Does LSZ know LJY is an omega? Does LJY himself know he’s an omega? What are LSZ and JL’s secondary genders? Do their secondary genders affect LSZ&LJY and LSZ&JL’s relationships? How does this affect LSZ/JL and LSZ/LJY’s compatibility?

- I’d probably work under the assumption that everyone knows everyone’s secondary genders unless they’re being deliberately suppressed. I don’t actually know how ABO would work in GuSu, because it feels like omegas would be educated separately from alphas the way female cultivators are separate from the male cultivators. In which case…would LJY and LSZ manage to preserve their friendship through this separation after they present (assuming LSZ is an alpha)? Their genders alone would prime everybody around them who’s seen their close friendship to assume that they’d get together once they’re of an age to actually be interested in relationships, which itself might influence LSZ to see LJY as a potential partner earlier. In which case…this fic would not exist since they’d be happily together since they were teenagers and I’m sorry JL but you don’t get the chance to kiss LSZ in this AU lol

- What would JL’s secondary gender even be?? Honestly I could see him as any of them, and it would probably barely change the plot. LSZ/JL as an A/A pairing? Good for them, showing the finger to gender norms. It’d have the same problems as a non-omegaverse M/M pairing in that males (like alphas) cannot conceive and are expected to be able to lead their sects, probably frowned upon due to the impossibility of conceiving children and also female cultivators all China over will be weeping that two eligible bachelors have taken each other off the market. LSZ/JL as an A/B pairing? Similar to A/A, honestly. A/O? If JGY was alive he’d be scheming to marry JL off to GuSu, so he could be the undisputed leader of the Jin sect, and everybody would probably have been undermining JL’s ability to be a sect leader since the day he presented, which is…well, actually I don’t really know. I have my own ideas of how this might affect their relationship, but I suspect that you can find more varied opinions by looking up LSZ/JL ABO fics.

- If LSZ is a beta…idk man I doubt it’d do much for the plot, honestly, since betas are almost like normal people and all that’s different in this universe would be LSZ having to deal with is LJY’s omega nature.

2) Is this a typical omegaverse where omegas are considered…well, mostly just breeding cows?

- God I hope not. I want LJY to be able to cultivate. If this is how omegas are viewed, then LJY would probably be an extremely frustrated ball of energy, and there’d be a lot more self-doubt in the fic, including LJY wondering if LSZ even likes omegas (if JL was an alpha or a beta in this AU).

3) Heats. How common are LJY’s heats? Does LSZ help him through them, does LJY deal with them on his own, or does he just use suppressants all those years?

- Assuming that LSZ and LJY did not get together despite being very close A/O friends, and assuming that LSZ still managed to like JL, does LSZ try to help LJY through his heats? Does LJY let him? If suppressants are available, LJY would probably just stay on them throughout the entire marriage, and if they failed he might force LSZ to take A-Yu somewhere far from their home while he deals with it himself. I doubt LSZ would try very hard to help with them, given that he’d either be (1) still hung up over JL in the first year and (2) worried that LJY wouldn’t want to be touched by him in the second and third years.

4) Scenting, marking, and bonding.

- Scenting won’t really be a huge part of the fic plot-wise, I guess, but it would add another layer of “things LJY wishes LSZ did out of love”. He’d be happy to have LSZ’s scent on him (assuming that bonded/marked/married omegas are expected to be marked to as not to attract the attention of other alphas), but he wouldn’t dare to scent LSZ back. And A-Yu would be a wonderful mix of LJY and LSZ’s scents (and A-Yu’s own scent), but it’d just make LJY think about what he’s missing out on.

- Does LSZ mark LJY when they slept together the first time? Does LJY stop him? Who knows. Honestly, it could go either way, and both ways would hurt. Option (A): no marking, no bonding, would result in a marriage that is purely contractual, the way it already is in the fic, but with LJY feeling that this marriage is nothing like what he wants in more ways than just LSZ not loving him. Where is the comfort of having a mark and knowing that your partner wants everyone to know you’re together? Where is the comfort of having a bond and knowing that your partner has willingly bound themselves to you for life? Option (B): marked and bonded. LJY would learn that being marked and bonded means absolutely nothing if LSZ’s heart is not in it. It’s just like a brand, like a mark of possession, except that the owner doesn’t even want to look at what he possesses. Marked and bonded, the feeling of being unwanted is even stronger.

- Okay, but happy ending: after they talk it out, LSZ might scent LJY and ask to be scented back right before they fall asleep, so that they’d sleep as completely mutually scented family for once. And when they exchange ribbons (on their fourth anniversary), they finally mark and bond like they mean it (or, if they’ve already been marked and bonded, they go through the motions again and LJY revels in knowing that it finally means what it wants it to mean).

As you can see…a lot of questions need to be answered, and I didn’t want to dedicate an entire chapter to setting the scene so I just…left this to the reader’s imagination haha