witch-and-writer

[witch-and-writer]

every mdzs fic i’ve written, regardless of initial intent, has ended up, at least in part, being a character study of lan wangji. and i still don’t really know what about him makes me so feral tbh.

but anyway, today i’m thinking about how an interesting side effect of him being the main character’s love interest is that his entire character very much revolves around wei wuxian. and this could be perceived as a flaw in the writing, but honestly, i find it fascinating (and at times infuriating but in, like, an exciting way).

because it’s not like he’s a one dimensional or underdeveloped character. we know his likes and dislikes, his passions and grievances, his moral beliefs, his relationships with family members and a few other characters, his strengths and weaknesses. he’s a complete character in his own right.

but! his primary characteristic is steadiness, stability, constancy. he is there (in the narrative) with the express purpose of being free-as-a-kite wei wuxian’s tether, his rock. but what that also means is that, without wei wuxian, he is completely static, boring even. he becomes interesting only when wei wuxian disrupts his equilibrium. and wei wuxian is the only one who can do that, bc if he wasn’t, then lan wangji wouldn’t be a super steady guy to begin with!

and it’s this complete chaos—juxtaposed with the stability—that makes lan wangji the teen idol heartthrob of my fandom-addled mind. it’s the throwing an immovable mountain into a cocktail shaker of it all. and he comes out of it steady again but also muddled. shaken, not stirred.

this also makes it impossible for me to even think about writing a fic about lan wangji that isn’t also about wangxian. i’m not saying that you can’t ship him with someone else or even have him endgame up with someone else, but his obsession with wei wuxian is the crux of his character and has to be present in some foundational way, unless you’re fine with him just being boring steady rock guy, i think.

obviously, this is my interpretation, and maybe you like to imagine him differently, but i feel that this is supported by the text and also what makes him interesting. and it also makes it difficult to write him in anything that isn’t shippy.

[witch-and-writer]

Ever think about how in the prologue of the novel when all the cultivators are listing the "great evils" of the Yiling Patriarch, nobody ever mentions that a war happened? They really just act like Wei Wuxian up and "went crazy" one day for absolutely no reason whatsoever. Nothing else happened in between Wei Wuxian getting taken in by the Jiang, the Jiang being wiped out, and the cultivation world gathering to kill Wei Wuxian that's worth mentioning at all. Like, the first mention of the Sunshot Campaign doesn't appear until chapt. 10/the last chapter of Pride/Arrogance, and the context is missing, just thrown in there that there was a war in which Wei Wuxian summoned hordes of the dead to fight. As far as any new reader is concerned, this could have been the crime that caused the cultivation world to come together to kill him!

Omitting the QishanWen and the Sunshot Campaign from the origin stories of the Yiling Patriarch not only collapses the QishanWen's crimes into Wei Wuxian's completely separate actions, but it also neatly bypasses the fact that the cultivation world encouraged Wei Wuxian's cultivation path when it was about saving their own lives. QishanWen Clan, who? It was Wei Wuxian all along!

[witch-and-writer]

Are you normal or do you cry about how A-yuan was almost the same age when Wei Wuxian died as Wei Wuxian was when his own parents left him?

Both of them were taken in by major Sects because of who their parents were ( or guardian in the case of A-yuan), one loved because that was all that was left of their guardian but the other hated for the same reason.

One wasn't allowed to learn about their origins to keep them safe and protected in a world where every last member of their Clan was hunted down and killed. Still, the other was simply forbidden from learning anything about their parents because of a baseless rumor, jealousy, and insecurity.

One was truly accepted and the other was called a slave in their whole life.

Their backgrounds were so similar yet their childhoods were vastly different. They both went through so much.

The one with a good memory forgot the pain due to a fever.

The one with a horrible memory remembered every bit.

[witch-and-writer]

I think part of the reason I’m so obsessed with MXTX’s works is the way that each story seems to hold you gently as say “Your kindness mattered. It didn’t alleviate the suffering, it did not undo the pain. But your kindness mattered.”

Kindness could not erase Luo Binghe’s abuse, but it changed the story into a kinder one.

Kindness did not stop Wei Wuxian’s death, but it did save a-Yuan.

Kindness did not undo Xie Lian’s suffering, but it renewed his sincerity to help others.

Kindness did not change the entire world, but it helped create a softer future.

Its such a nice message, that maybe kindness will not protect you, maybe you don’t see the outcome of it, but you should still try to be kind, and I love that honestly.

[witch-and-writer]

Lan jingyi speaking the unwritten rules

[witch-and-writer]

wei changze strikes me as that type of quiet unassuming guy who has friends in all kinds of places in all walks of life. wei "i know a guy" changze. but also wei "of many niche talents" changze.

he can fix your car, your leaky faucet, mend that hole in your favorite sweater, make you [censored]. he is simply ✨️Very Good With His Hands✨️ in all the ways.

All the ways.

what can't he do in a modern au? drive.

[witch-and-writer]

Pick me TeenXian 💞

[witch-and-writer]

xie lian's bamboo hat really doesn't have a whole lot of practical use in the novel. very often he doesn't even wear it, he just carries it around on his back. it probably falls to the ground and he has to go back and pick it up more often than he wears it. but he would never go anywhere without it.

because it reminds him that there's good in the world and in humanity. it reminds him that even if everything else is terrible, even if he feels like dying, there's still something worth living for.

at the end of the day, the bamboo hat is what makes xie lian different from jun wu. because he was able to see that even if most of the world is cruel, there's also kindness and he chose to focus on that kindness while jun wu chose to focus on the cruelty.

it's probably one of the strongest symbols in this novel, but in a very literal way it also serves as a reminder for xie lian of why he keeps going after all those years and it's why he always goes back to retrieve it when he loses it somewhere along the way

[witch-and-writer]

the yiling patriarch

[witch-and-writer]

tumblr should have a pin comment button but shoutout to this one <3

[witch-and-writer]

Love is stored in the wangxian

[witch-and-writer]

Ek passe tu babbu, ek passe hai jag saara

-You on one side, my beloved, the entire world on another-

[About Ch-3 of Something is Wrong with A-Zhan!]

Remember the morally grey Wei Wuxian tag? Yeah, that line at the top is what I meant by that. I don’t think Wei Wuxian would ever be morally grey, he’s the most morally upright character I have ever come across, but just for this fic, as long as it’s Lan Wangji vs the world, Wei Wuxian would always choose Lan Wangji, even if it conflicts with his moral and principles. Putting it simply, Wei Wuxian would condemn murder and harming the innocents, but if it’s Lan Wangji committing these crimes, he wouldn’t be able to bring himself to condemn him, instead, he’ll come up with possible justifications for Lan Wangji and defend him.

I hope I was able to capture an inkling, an essence of this in the chapter.

Also, is anyone surprised that no Lan elders except Lan Qiren are furious at Lan Wangji's wantonness? I just think that after the whole Qingheng-jun fiasco, they will think Lan Wangji much more tame, especially since Wei Wuxian, unlike the Madam Lan in my head, doesn't seem too bothered by their second heir's behavior. Maybe they are even turning a blind eye to this because of how much they love Wei Wuxian and his genius.

My thought process behind their thought process is that- since Wei Wuxian is a once in a lifetime genius and he is here (in cloud recesses) because of Lan Wangji and he is staying because of his obvious love for their second heir, and they know this. They can see this. So, just for the sake of keeping Wei Wuxian in their sect as their prized disciple who is famous all around for his no-less-than-miraculous inventions, they all collectively decide to overlook Lan Wangji's shameless behaviour that is definitely not befitting of someone holding the title of the Second Jade of GusuLan.

Of course, no one added Lan Qiren to the group chat and that's why he's still bitter about his nephew's changed behaviour.

Mini Theater:-

*lwj acting shameless, holding wwx by the waist and kissing him publicly* Lan Elders: I can't see, I'm blind~ blind~ Lan Qiren, who was not added to the chat and thus was not informed that they have to ignore all this: *qi-deviates* Lan Xichen, who now has to deal with his dramatic uncle: Wangji, if you could just get a room, I would be grateful. You know uncle can't handle this much pda. Lan Wangji: *too busy sucking wwx's soul out through his mouth to hear, further sending his dramatic but weak-hearted single uncle into a qi-deviation* Lan Xichen: ... I love you, didi, but I feel like I should not. When did you become such a menace?!

I don't even know why I'm babbling, but I am and I refuse to suffer through the on-goings of my mind alone, so here we are~

Sofia out~

[witch-and-writer]

Wwx: *trying to flirt*

Wwx: Can you help me? I’m lost.

Lwj: Mn.

Wwx: Could you tell me where the road to your heart is?

Lwj: Shouldn’t Wei Ying know that already? Wei Ying was the one who paved it.

Wwx: *is flustered* *blushing intensifies*

//When you’re a flirt but he’s also a flirt//

(Insp.)

[witch-and-writer]

Wei Wuxian: Do you ever wonder what your future wife is doing?

Lan Wangji: What are you doing?

[witch-and-writer]

Wei Wuxian: I think my instincts about people are better than yours.

Lan Wangji: Why?

Wei Wuxian: Well, I picked you...

Wei Wuxian: you on the other hand, picked me.

[witch-and-writer]

I once saw someone describe WangXian as "autistic gay bunny enthusiast falls for a bisexual with adhd" and.... yeah no notes there that's accurate

[witch-and-writer]

everytime i remember that lan wangji was actually the emo one dressing in mourning robes and wwx was actually a normie is so fucking funny to me