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ouyangzizhensdad · 4 years

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Correct me if I'm wrong but do we see in the novel during the archery competition in Qishan that LWJ is close with several members of his sect even if they remain unnamed? WwX pulls off LWJ's forehead ribbon and both LXV and several other Lans go over to comfort him before he leaves the competition. I just feel like some of the events are emphasized in CQL that show that LWJ wasn't a loner who only had LXC and WWX.

Hi Anon,

I’m going to assume this is an out-of-the-blue ask because I can’t seem to figure out which post of mine you were responding to otherwise.

I am not certain I can recall which events in CQL that you are referring to, but if necessary you can always specify later.

As for what is in the novel, it is indeed suggested that LWJ leads a lonesome life as a youth. He’s Lan Qiren’s proudest discipline, a prodigy of peerless beauty and manners, already far along in his cultivation studies and tasked with responsibilities that demonstrate his position within his sect (in charge of discipline, on top of doing night patrol) He’s revered, respected and feared by disciples of his generation, within and outside of his sect.

Nie Huaisang spoke, “Wei-xiong, listen to a sincere advice of mine. [...] On this trip to Gusu, remember that there’s one person whom you shouldn’t provoke.”

“Who? Lan Qiren?”

“Not that old man,” replied Nie Huaisang. “The one you need to be careful of is his proudest disciple; Lan Zhan.”

Wei Wuxian spoke, “Gusu Shuangbi’s (姑苏双璧) Lan Zhan? Lan Wangji?”

The respectable title of Gusu Shuangbi had been bestowed upon the two sons of GusuLanShi’s current sect leader—Lan Huan and Lan Zhan. From the time they were barely out of childhood, they had been deemed by the elders of every sect as exemplary models against which to compare their own disciples. They were exceptionally famous among the juniors, it was as such only natural that anybody would recognize their names.

“What other Lan Zhan is there?” spoke Nie Huaisang. “Yes, the one. My, he’s the same age as you and I, but he has none of the energy of a teen. He’s stiff and strict, even worse than his uncle.”

[...]

“You’re gonna die, Wei-xiong! Lan Zhan has never been at such a loss before. He’s probably after you. You should be careful. Lan Zhan will not be attending classes with us, but he’s in charge of punishments!”

Wei Wuxian was not frightened at all, waving his hand.

“What’s there to be scared of? Doesn’t everyone say that Lan Zhan is a prodigy? If he’s been accomplished from an early age, he’s probably done learning under his shufu and busy doing secluded meditation all the time. How would he ever have time to come after me? I…”

From a characterisation standpoint, LWJ’s speech patterns also offer an interesting insight. While it makes him seem distinguished and well-learned, his erudite way of speaking frames him as someone who’s spent more time in the company of books, not of his peers. LWJ is reserved and dedicated to his cultivation, to his clan/sect and to the common good (”going where the chaos is”). He has known loss at a young age, and he is not inclined to volunteering or expressing his needs and desires. Based on all of this, we get a sense that even if other disciples of his generation did not act differently around him out of fear or deferrence or jealousy, young LWJ would have had his attention focused elsewhere than on fostering amicable relationships with kids his age.

Still during the Cloud Recesses arc, the dynamics set up by LWJ being a prodigy/respected figure amongst his generation is further illustrated through Su She and the water ghouls incident. Su She clearly idealises LWJ and aims to emulate him, but LWJ does not appear to have a close or personal relationship with him or any of the other Lan Sect disciples who came in support.

WWX is, seemingly, the first person to treat and try to get close to LWJ as his equal, as a friend of the same generation. The fact that they stop using their courtesy names so early into their relationship, considering how formal LWJ manners are, is not insignificant. This does not preclude that LWJ has no interactions with other disciplines of his sect as a teenager, but these interactions are formal and seemingly impersonal. Actually, the disciples seem to have more of a parasocial relationship with LWJ than an actual relationship, which explains their scandalized expressions when WWX takes LWJ’s ribbon during the Archery competition and the way they are protective of him without being seemingly close to him. If we look closer at how the archery competition scene is written, while there are other disciples around, LWJ is not standing with or alongside them. He’s just focused on doing what he came to the competition to do (until WWX distracts/angers him too much).

Wei Wuxian let go the moment he snatched it. The rest of the Lan Sect’s disciples ceased with their attacks as well, and everyone came over. Arm around his younger brother, Lan Xichen talked to the unspeaking Lan Wangji in a low voice. All of the others seemed similarly serious, as though they were facing a powerful enemy. They shook their heads as they spoke, glancing at Wei Wuxian with odd, indescribable looks on their faces. Wei Wuxian only heard a few vague terms, such as “accident”, “calm down”, “no need to worry”, “a man”, “the sect rules”, and so on. He felt even more confused. After glowering at him one last time, Lan Wangji turned around and walked alone toward the outside of the range.

Aside from disciples of his general, we can infer that LWJ was a valued and cherished member of the clan and the sect by his Sect Elders, particularly those who went to retrieve him from the cave after Buyetian. It is not surprising that this is how the audio drama has chosen to represent the scene when they wrote a flashback for it (which does not appear in the novel).

This does not mean LWJ is a loner who only has relationships with his direct family and his spouse for the rest of his life. LWJ seems to find himself more comfortable establishing relationships as a senior toward the junior disciples (from his sect or otherwise) and more generally as a teacher. He is formal, but he is kind and supportive in his own way. LWJ finds his footing quite easily as a brother-father figure to LSZ. LWJ adores and cares for his bunnies. He has clearly kept a semblance of companionship with MianMian and, when he is not drunk 😉, he gets along well enough with Wen Ning.

The question I would send back to the fandom is however the following: why is a portion of fandom so uncomfortable with the idea of LWJ being more of a “loner” or of WWX being his first friend, considering how he is positioned in the narrative as this unparalleled prodigy dedicated to his duty who did not stand easily and comfortably alongside his peers? Why do so many people claim that “LWJ needs a Friend”? I think part of the answer may be that many people still function with a “cookie-cutter” approach to media analysis: some people seem to have learned that a romance where the love interest has seemingly no life outside of his romantic partner is problematique or at least bad, particularly if that love interest is especially devoted to the main character. And while this critique comes from a good place, it needs to be applied with a consideration for the nuances and the context of each piece of fiction. MDZS is a romance, so it is contrived to a degree like all romance books, but LWJ is not a character that exists solely to love and be devoted toward WWX. LWJ has meaningful relationships (although it is true they tend not to be friendships with people of his generation), he has his own arc and his own life outside of WWX--heck, he’s lived 13 years while mourning him and built a life that has touched both those close to him and complete strangers.

Also, while WWX was shown to get along very well with kids his age, and to have other meaningful relationships, if we think about it, he’s only ever opened his heart and allowed himself to be vulnerable with two people: his Shijie and LWJ. Is it then so different from LWJ’s situation, when we strip it down to its emotional core?

#anon ask #mdzs meta #lan wangji #lwj #i am not the best at writing lwj meta so i am open to criticisms/additions #Anonymous #mdzs #mo dao zu shi

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