#mxtx did not put her whole dubussy into writing wwx just to be mischaracterised and misunderstood by the fandom

[starrywangxian]

it always urks me when i see people saying that wei wuxian was really dumb to not realise that lan wangji was in love with him, and well it is a valid analysis (because there's no right answer here) i do think it's a shallow one. i do understand the appeal and the humour of wei wuxian being the smartest person of his generation but being too stupid to realise when he's in love or when someone is in love with him but i don't really think that's what happened.

i think it's more wei wuxian believing he isn't worthy of love and it's something that you have to earn.

if you think about his upbringing, when he was homeless he was still smiling and kind and never bothered people for food, he waited until it was given to him or would go after the scraps that no one ever ate.

and yi ziyuan really leaned into that fact, telling him he was indispensable and that he was just a pawn to protect jiang cheng and jiang yanli, that this wasn't his family and he was just a servant to them. blaming wei wuxian for everything and punishing him for his achievements instead of celebrating them. wei wuxian constantly felt like he owed the jiangs for taking him in and hence he sacrificed so much for them to 'repay' them.

so when lan wangji clearly shows concern and love for him, wei wuxian explains it away; he thinks that lan wangji is just so noble and kind.

the scene in cql where wei wuxian tries to say that he tricked lan wangji into helping him so that lan wangji's reputation wouldn't be harmed is an example of that. he thinks lan wangji is just kind enough to risk his own reputation to help him but wei wuxian doesn't think he deserves that so once again tries to sacrifice himself to save the ones he loves.

it's also why after their first time, wei wuxian says thank you. because he believes that he's earned lan wangji's attraction and he should be grateful for it. he doesn't consider that it's something lan wangji was giving him freely and willingly just because he loved him and he wanted to.

wangxian's miscommunication comes from lan wangji thinking wei wuxian doesn't love him or that he's just an amusement to him (particularly after their first time) and wei wuxian thinks he's not worthy of love and he doesn't deserve to be happy and in love.

it's a funny gimmick to say that wei wuxian was just too dumb to realise, and i even joke about it when i reread the novel too, but i think there's so much more to pack. with lan wangji too. their characters are so much more than that and their trauma runs very deeply and influences a lot of their actions.

so you're fine to say that wei wuxian is an oblivious dumbass but as long as you realise that that's only really the surface (wei wuxian is an oblivious dumbass yes but he love him for it all the same <3).