#rip to jzx's pretty face I guess

[llycaons]

ep25 (pt 1): the superior PM blindfolding and wx scene

picking up directly where we left off last episode, wwx and jyl coming back in from harvesting lotus, wwx teasing the kids all the way. it's cute! and jyl is sooo pretty

jzx shows up so she changed, I guess. her clothes were wet anyway

jzx is such a dork in this episode. yeah. he's obnoxious and arrogant to her later, but when his awkward immaturity slips out from his veneer of smug superiority, it's quite endearing.

I do NOT know what jyl sees in him before this but maybe she was just excited to get married and be loved by someone? but in this episode she was going to dump him if he didn't change how he treated her which is the only way I got invested in their relationship. he had to work for it and prove himself and be genuine and selfless and kind!! and he did!! rip

this is so funny I love him

wwx is so good at deflecting, I feel like most fics don't do it as naturally or skilfully as canon did. teasing, confident, bordering on condescending. he has such a strong personality and it sucks to see him reduced to 'traumatized and clingy crier'. he is all three of those things too, and postcanon he is a bit chiller but he's still HIMSELF. bold and clever and sarcastic and unwilling to grovel before authority

this is SUCH a jyl and wwx episode. they're so silly together, he's making her laugh and she's hiding her smile behind her fan. this reminds me of the goofy things my little brother would do 🥺 he's not dead or anything I just haven't seen him in months

the wens getting paraded out really changed the tone of the scene. EVERYONE was taken aback, everyone looked shocked or nervous. wwx is the most visibly angry, and it's only bc of jc's frantic motions to 'DON'T DO ANYTHING' that he steps back. honestly I get jc's fears here, but...sign. tho none of the other sect leaders did anything either, looking at you lan 'fair judgement' xichen and nie 'justice' mingjue. lwj is also curiously subdued this episode - lxc says later he's distracted but he's even less expressive than usual

everyone handing him stuff cracks me up. he doesn't even need to LOOK. and his bow and arrows matchy with his robes and the tents and the tower itself WOW this world is so color-coordinated

ohhh super impressive! I wonder how anyone can beat a perfect bullseye?

this request kind of baffled me, bc his forehead ribbon is far too narrow to use as a blindfold. maybe he wanted it as a good-luck charm? the cut to jc looking angry was kind of funny though. how dare wwx be so shamelessly gay in public etc.

we never see these unwrapped iirc 👀

and of course they have matching bows for the yunmeng aesthetic

HELL YEAH. SEXIEST MOMENT OF THE EPISODE

aww even jc clapping for him. this expression is like one of the nicest he ever gets

and he's smiling to his sister!!! his face is honestly a little sexy for that but that's what he's doing

DUDE DUDE THIS SCENE!!!! wwx all alone, then seeing lwj, then remembering lxc's warning and looking away, then lwj seeing him and LEAVING THE PATH TO COME JOIN HIM ANYWAY??!! yet another of the tiny re-enactments of their relationship over the course of the show. and wwx's eyes get so big when lwj comes to him, he's clearly so touched that lwj isn't abandoning him even if he can't tell him the truth.

fuck I love the post-ss arc SO much this is like catnip to me the relationships and the drama and the tragedies are all so delicious

eh, I'll always favor 'soulmate' even if it it's technically correct. honestly 'confidante' would work better here too. anywa THIS IS IT!!!! I STILL AM!!! so earnest, so full of love, so ready to help, so scared for him. ough, the romance. the tragedy!

wwx looks at chenqing for such a long time after lwj says that...lwj wants to know what's going on and how he can help but wwx is so paranoid and traumatized and afraid that he just can't say it 😭

and this scene, where they're just looking at each other for a long time...the tension in this scene was INTENSE. if it had gone on a little longer, who knows what would have happened.

[neverdoingmuch]

okay! tma au time!

so i’m gonna start off by saying jgs is elias in this au. i dont care what you say about elias’ sexy voice or charisma or whatever, they’re both slimy and evil. also gertrude, so to speak, is wen chao. (bear with me pls)

most other people are assistants. i think? i mean lwj, wwx, jzx and a few others are?

(my brain says it would be funny to have lwj as sasha and su she as not!sasha but lwj deserves better than that)

i’m not really gonna follow the plot of tma bc rip

anyway!

the assistants are just kind of vibing in the archives when they discover that wrh, who’s like the chief of police and is an avatar of the slaughter, is actively killing people for the fears bc acab

does he have a deal with jgs and that’s why wen chao is the archivist? yeah probably. wen chao is the archivist bc daddy had connections. wrh put jgs in charge and sent wen chao to make sure everything was running how wrh wanted it to be

yeah, wrh wants to have control over all the fears or something idk

so wen chao is the archivist. but unlike gertrude who purposefully made things really messy and a nightmare he’s just really incompetent. wen zhuliu is the avatar of the distortion and theyre tight bc zhuliu owes wrh or whatever.

so the wrh stuff comes out and a bunch of people band together to try and bring justice to him and thus we have the sunshot campaign

maybe all the families have their own fears? the lans are the lonely and the nies are the hunt. jfm and yzy are avatars of the bad parenting idk. 

anyway, before they took any action, wwx had already started investigating bc wen chao is a lil bitch and very suspicious

while investigating wwx gets sucked into the archivist stuff and ends up being thrown into the tunnels under the institute with wen zhuliu who then proceeds to do distortion fuckery for three months

he finally escapes and kills wen zhuliu using the powers he’d begun to develop in the tunnels (it’s so strange that he stumbled across a tape recorder which he’d named chenqing and after that he kept finding statements,,, so strange)

he’s killed wen zhuliu so he goes off and kills wen chao and now he’s the archivist whoo

he joins up with the others and they go kill wrh, sweet it’s all dealt with but jgs starts spreading shit about how all the wens are terrible and must be killed (including wen qing’s family who are like paramedics who work ed with the police, so not cops but forced to work w/ them)

while jgs is touting that bs jgy is in the background slowly manipulating wwx into getting all the different marks (idk what they were called) from the different fears

he gets kidnapped by xue yang who is nikola and spends a month getting moisturised by him and told that wow he’s so impressive killing the other avatars,, im gonna follow in your footsteps (let’s say that avatars have a truce not to kill each other in this world. like they’re all equals and pretty much the same strength so there’s no real point in killing each other or trying to kill each other)

wwx escapes and im kinda annoyed we dont have enough bad guys for wwx to properly get his marks but whatever

he goes back to the archives and they come up with a plan to kill xue yang and they go off and do it

imma let you pick what happens here. does jzx die? do we let xxc and sl have the spotlight and this is where their story comes into play?

whatever happens, wwx goes into a coma for thirteen months and enter extremely hot avatar of the end who helps him wake up (mo xuanyu?? mo xuanyu.)

he goes back to the archives and lwj has been taken by the lonely while he was gone so he’s working with his uncle again (the lans are the lukases and i take no criticism)

side note: in this au wwx gets two phobias! (gee wwx! how come you get to have two phobias?)

so mr spider was definitely a thing and so were the dogs

while wwx was on the streets he found this book and he’d just started learning how to read so he decided to practise but then some other kid stole it from him and he ended up watching him get eaten by a giant spider also the dogs attacked him bc no rest for wwx

does wwx pretend not to be aware?? i’d say yes. if not bc of trauma then bc it’s super obvious and the look on lwj’s face when the jane prentiss equivalent attacks and wwx says wow those worms were a lil weird huh? is so funny to him

anyway lwj was in the know the whole time and he probably moved out of his family home and joined the archives so he could investigate jgs but then wwx dies and hes like aight yeah imma feel real lonely right now

so wwx comes back and jc, who had been the host of ghost hunt CW (cultivation world) and was attacked by an evil ghost, tries to kill him

after their fight and subsequent freedom from the slaughter and the eye (sans eye removing bc fuck that) jc moves in with jyl

im sorry that what the girlfriends isnt a thing here but i love the idea of a jyl who just isnt scared of anything because she’s seen death and just can’t get scared anymore

she still dates an archives employee though. it’s jzx, who is kinda like tim in this au i guess? did he die in that explosion? (i want to say no so jyl would be happy but if he dies and she’s mourning him and jc and wwx fought,, well now wwx is alone for bad decision times)

one day wen qing comes up and is like pls help my brother, he’s been taken by the buried so wwx runs off and finds breekon and hope (su she and jin zixun), kill jin zixun and steals the coffin

the rest of the wens are in hiding atm so he doesnt have to like monkey chain all the wens out of the coffin 

so wwx goes inside the coffin and rescues wen ning (bc jon and daisy’s relationship was super sweet)

they get out and immediately run away with wen qing and the rest of the wens

where do they go? wen qing’s cute cottage in scotland (or cultivation world equivalent)

so they’re living as farmers and wwx is getting sick bc he can’t get statements from here but he has to protect them bc the jins keep attacking (what are the jins working for?? idk. the vast? the dark? who knows, not me)

anyway lwj comes and is like you have to come back to gusu/the archives and wwx is like no! bc he has to protect the wens

so lwj is like fuck ive gotta move my timeline up and find a way to off jgs

jgy ends up doing it and lwj is like /: my revenge,,

everyone is happy! jgs is dead, wrh is dead! but then jgy starts stirring up rumours about wwx and lwj is honestly so tired of this shit

and bc people keep attacking the wens, wwx manages to collect the rest of the marks from the other fears

jgy sends his letter: dear wwx sorry for the deception yada yada yada

but wwx is aware of that shit and just kills himself before he can finish reading it

whoo apocalypse averted but lwj comes to help with the wens just in time for his burial so not whoo?

anyway we know wwx isn’t dead and he’s just vibing in another coma or something equivalent (why does he die twice in this au? bc idk how s5 will end but it’s a tragedy horror podcast and i want them to be happy so he gets to die twice)

anyway, the avatar of the web, mister manipulation and secrets extraordinaire nie huaisang is very pissed after jgy manipulated his brother into becoming an avatar of the slaughter and decides to just expose the dude

lxc kills him bc he deserves to kill jgy tbh,,, manipulative toad

nhs also restores wwx’s rep bc they were besties in uni and i refuse to accept anything else

he rocks up to the cottage/farm and is like hey guys i helped clear wwx’s name and wen qing is like hes fucking dead what help were you? and nhs is like ?? he’s not dead

so they unbury him and lwj wakes him up through the power of love and all that jazz

anyway, wwx manages to do *insert super cool thing here* and gets rid of all the fears and they get a happy ending bc i really want them to have a happy ending

do they stay living on the farm/cottage with the wens?? no but they buy a cottage nearby and happily live there together raising rabbits and growing idk pumpkins

[trensu]

Episode 31: The One where Jin Zixun Dies but God at What Cost

So get ready to have your heart ripped out of your chest, guys!!

And we don’t even get Quality wangxiantics to make us feel better HAHAHAHA we get like, 3 breadcrumbs of wangxiantics, GREAT, HAHA.

I’M FINE

TOTALLY FINE

We open the episode with a deceptively tranquil scene of our precious sunshine boy picking lotus seeds

We get some a-yuan time here too!

A-yuan chips a tooth on a not-good seed or smth and wwx takes the opportunity to impart valuable lotus knowledge on his son

Idk what it was

I was too busy awwww-ing at the cute scene to pay attention to the details

Wen ning shows up and chats with his sister!

He’s all, some rando gave me this letter to bring up here!

Wen qing opens up the letter and SURPRISE it’s an invitation for wwx to go to his nephew’s one-month celebration!!!

Wen qing is reading this and is all okay okay good fine but THEN HER EYES GO ALL WIDE

Because the letter is signed by none other than LAN WANGJI

THAT’S RIGHT FOLKS

LWJ PERSONALLY WROTE THE INVITATION FOR WWX

And wq knows that lwj is a VERY IMPORTANT PERSON TO WWX

She gives wwx the letter and wwx is OVERJOYED.

So that was breadcrumb 1. 

Yeah.

And that one was the more substantial breadcrumb.

I’m so sorry

Now we’re in a tassel shop and there are gossipy cultivators

I wouldn’t bring this up but i need to express how UTTERLY OFFENDED I AM

Everyones talking about the jin clan and this celebration right?

And how fortunate the jin family is or whatever

And theN SOME BASIC BITCH GOES AND SAYS JYL IS NOT ALL THAT IMPRESSIVE?

COME HERE AND SAY THAT TO MY FACE, I WILL TEAR YOU TO PIECES WITH MY BARE HANDS, HOW DARE YOU.

You know, i make a lot of threats for someone who has the strength of, like, an earthworm. I should probably stop...

Wwx buys a tassel to go with the actual gift he made for his nephew with his own two hands!!

It’s a set of anti-evil beads!

So he can protect his little nephew even if he can’t be there with him physically!

Wwx is basically perfect in every way and i fall in love with him more every time i see him

Now he and wen ning are chitchatting about the upcoming party and whatever and we get breadcrumb 2.

Wn: when i first saw the jin clan’s invitation, i thought they were up to no good but i guess that jzx is a pretty decent guy! Also, lwj will be there too!!

Wen ning is such a supportive bro. 

HE DIDN’T HAVE TO SAY THAT LAST PART

BUT HE DID

BC EVEN THE UNDEAD CAN SEE HOW MUCH WWX LOVES LWJ

And now we get to see our beloved sunshine boy and his right hand ghost general get ambushed on the way to the party!!

How fun!!

I LIED IT’S NOT FUN AT ALL

THE WHOLE SITUATION IS AWFUL AND I HATE IT

There was a cool bit where wen ning snatches an arrow right out of the air that was just about to hit wwx head on

Bc wen ning is a Soft Boy but soft boys can also be BADASS

I’M GONNA GLOSS OVER MOST OF THIS SCENE

BLAH BLAH JZ IS AN ASSHOLE BLAH BLAH TRIES TO KILL WWX AND FAILS BLAH BLAH

JZX TRIES TO MEDIATE BLAH BLAH FAILS SPECTACULARLY BLAH BLAH WEN NING KILLS HIM BC HE’S OUTTA HIS MIND RN BLAH BLAH

On a happier note, wen ning also kills jz!! YAY, we don't’ gotta deal with that guy anymore

WWX GOES INTO SHOCK FROM THE EMOTIONAL TRAUMA BLAH BLAH

ARE WE HAVING FUN YET, GUYS??

oh god, i might be willing to take back jz if it means jzx doesn’t die this is all so awful why can’t we have nice things

Now we cut to carp tower where jc and jyl are playing with little jin ling in a state of blissful ignorance

So that’s happening and then we see lwj power-walk (aka the lan clan version of running) into the room

Lwj: where is jgy?

Jc: how the hell should i know. Why are you looking for him?

Lwj: has wei ying arrived yet?

Jgy joins the party and lwj starts interrogating him

Lwj: why did the disciples my brother and I bring leave carp tower with jz? Where did they go?

Jgy: hanguang-jun calm down

Okay, firstly he didn’t even raise his voice or speak sharply. Abruptly, maybe, but that’s how he always talks to not-wwx people.

And secondly, DON’T TELL HIM TO CALM DOWN YOU EVIL SMARMY LITTLE GREMLIN, I WILL CUT YOU.

Jgy: they just went to qiongqi way, jzx followed them too…

And then some rando jin cultivator runs in screaming about how the ghost general killed jzx

AND WE SEE JYL’S WORLD FALL APART, OH GOD, OH GOD WHY

We also get reaction shot from lwj

He looks completely stunned. He looks like the sinking “oh no” feeling you get in your stomach when you know something’s gone terribly horribly wrong and there’s nothing you can do to prevent or fix it

AND THAT WAS BREADCRUMB 3!

That’s right folks, that is the entirety of the wangxian time we get in this whole episode

And like, that’s nowhere near the end of the episode

Everything was death and emotional trauma!! And overall Devastatingly Sad Plot times.

Wen sibs and wwx have an emotional confrontation

We get horrifically painful lines like wwx saying that wn is a knife and the knife shouldn’t get punished for the murderer’s actions; and he’s cast himself in the role of murderer

And wq saying basically how the truth doesn’t matter in this situation, what matters is the wn killed jzx and the jins want the wen sibs dead

Wq: i’m sorry. And thank you

JUST KILL ME

And then the wen sibs turn themselves over to carp tower after immobilizing and knocking wwx out

LET ME DIE

EVERYTHING IS TERRIBLE MY HEART IS BREAKING

The episode ends with wwx finally breaking through the immobilization and stumbles through the burial mounds

HAHAHAHA I’M FINE, I’M FINE, TOTALLY FINE

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