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silenteyes · 3 years

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If Wei Wuxian Grew Up In Different Sects (or with our lovely Rogue Cultivators)

ft. fanfictions I’ve read for each of them - excluding Yunmeng Jiang Sect

Warnings: Spoilers for MDZS, Canon-typical Yu Ziyuan and her treatment to WWX, a few uncensored cursing

Yunmeng Jiang Sect

Clearly, we know that he and the Jiangs have a- complicated relationship. With Jiang FengMian it’s on a thin line, and though it’s clear he cares for WWX - JFM still sees WWX as just a disciple, not a son because the last words he says to WWX are “A-Ying, A-Cheng... you must look after him.”

With Madam Yu it’s clear that their relationship is unhealthy, she basically abuses him. With Jiang Cheng it’s also unhealthy - as much as I loathe to say it, they will NEVER get the reconciliation we want because WWX has done too much for JC to forgive and JC and his anger issues are not safe for WWX. The only ACTUAL healthy relationship he’s got in the Jiang Sect is with Jiang Yanli. She forgives a lot and it’s clear she loves WWX.

Gusu Lan Sect

Ah - yes, this one. In all honesty, if he WERE to be found by the Lans he would’ve probably be well-behaved since he was just a child and easy to, how do I say it - teach.

He might still have his playfulness but it would be toned down quite a lot. I also like to think that he would get along with Madam Lan and most probably prevent her death. This may be an unpopular opinion, but he and Lan Xichen would get along well, and LXC would be the one to make him comfortable first. WWX would still grow close with Lan Wangji of course, but if anything happens he would not go to LWJ first.

If they grew up together, I’m sorry - but I can’t imagine that he would date LWJ then. But, you can think the other way around! I don’t boss you and tell you who to ship and who not to ship!

Fanfiction: ‘Some call it kidnapping. The Lan Clan call it adoption.’ by IceBreeze

Summary: “Lan Zhan, Lan Zhan, look!” Wei Ying did a twirl. “I’m the same as you now! Am I pretty? Say Lan Zhan, am I pretty?”

Huan muffled a laugh behind his sleeve as A-Zhan said “Mn,” eyes never once leaving Wei Ying. There was something a little like awe in his stare, like Wei Ying was the only one in the world to him at that moment, and if Huan hadn’t already known that his little brother cared deeply for Wei Ying then that look would have been all the confirmation he needed.

(If A-Zhan knew what marriage and romance was beyond the vague explanations he’d heard then he’d probably already be courting Wei Ying, with all the dogged determination he shows everything he puts his mind to. It’s adorable, and Huan supports it wholeheartedly, no matter what direction it heads in the end).

Or: an AU Wei Wuxian is taken in by the Lan clan instead of the Jiangs.

Qishan Wen Sect

Hm, this one is quite complicated. To be honest, WWX would probably fit in well in the sect, and Wen Ruohan most possibly cares about power, and WWX is powerful so he’d care for him AND Wen Xu. Wen Chao is just there in the background being bullied, I like to think.

WWX would make Wen Qing their head doctor and give her more power, while he would also help Wen Ning with archery. All and all he would be alright in the Wen Sect, but there would still be a couple casualties here and there, because of Wen Chao’s jealousy.

Fanfiction: ‘ He was brighter than the Sun’ by AncientOceanmelody

Summary: Wei Wuxian was the head disciple of Yunmengjiang Sect, he was the pride of Yunmeng. Jiang Fengmian see him like a son, everyone (except Madam Yu) love him.

He would do everything for those who were dear to him.

So why do is feel horrible when Uncle Jiang didn't hesitate when he offer himself to the Wens instead of Jiang Cheng?

Why is he crying?

After all, he was just the son of a friend, the son of a servant, is was obvious his Uncle would prefer his Sect over him.

Qinghe Nie Sect

Again, I’m gonna be honest, but this sect would be the BEST one for WWX to grow up in. Nie Mingjue would get along great with WWX (we’re ignoring canon GROWN WWX) and Nie Huaisang has another brother :D

NHS and WWX would use their time to cause mischief and plot stuff while NMJ is like “These are my brothers. They’re annoying. Don’t you fucking dare lay a finger on them.”

Just - THEY WOULD BE THE HEALTHIEST RELATIONSHIP EVER IN ALL THE SECTS! NMJ taking care of WWX and NHS, NHS constantly worrying over WWX and NMJ because they fight (you know- war I mean) and WWX just being the self-sacrificing moron he is and protecting NMJ and NHS

Fanfiction: ‘shades of grey’ by cl410

Summary: This was why he didn’t like to leave the Unclean Realm, Nie Mingjue thought with dismay. Guileless dark eyes blinked up at him, tiny hands clutching at his robes.

Or: Nie Mingjue comes across Wei Wuxian before Jiang Fengmian, and decides Nie Huaisang could use a friend.

Lanling Jin Sect

OH BOY! I just love Jin Zixuan getting along with WWX and being an older brother to him. I would think that if JZX (Not Zixun, I despise him) grew up with WWX they would definitely get along and have a healthier relationship than the Yunmeng Bros. Jin Guangshan would definitely not see the point in having WWX in there, and Madam Jin is much more empathetic and she would be the on to take care of WWX.

You may be wondering - Jin Zixuan is Jin Zixuan. Wouldn’t his pride get in the way of things? He’s not called a peacock for no reason, and yes! I can see why you think that! But look at MianMian! She’s JZX best friend BECAUSE she probably grew up with him, and it’s clear in terms of temperament she’s better than JZX and she might even rival him in swordsmanship. If given the choice to grow up with him, WWX would have an amazing brotherly relationship with JZX, and would most likely accept the fact that WWX is amazing and would be PROUD of him.

Also JZX’s relationship with Jiang Yanli may improve JUST BECAUSE WWX is there

(I might just be biased, idk)

Fanfiction: ‘Twin Treasures’ by crossdressingdeath

Summary: When Madame Jin happens to come across Cangse Sanren's orphaned son on a trip to Yiling, she can't bring herself to leave him there. Wei Wuxian finds a somewhat different family. Jin Zixuan finds a little brother. The course of history changes accordingly.

(Some things are written in fate, but even fate itself changes.)

Rogue Cultivators - Song Zichen and Xiao Xingchen

Let me point out first that Xingchen is ETHEREAL! HE’S THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PERSON ON THE PLANET! (Song Jiyang is amazing istg I’ve never watched The Untamed but I’ve SEEN clips of them like 哥你怎样那么美).

ANYWAYS, BACK TO THE POINT! Xiao Xingchen and Song Zichen would be amazing parents, don’t deny it. SZC would be rocky at taking care of WWX at first but he would get the hang of it and be the most over-protective person on the planet and would KILL ANYONE who hurts his family. Xiao Xingchen on the other hand would be the doting and loving parent. He spoils WWX but not as much as SZC (though he would never admit it). SZC and XXC would be the best if you want WWX to have parental figures.

Fanfiction: ‘Frost moon's sun’ by RenaFair

Summary: Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan had dreamed of founding a sect together, that is until Xingchen heard what happened to his shijie. The two then decides to put their little dream on hold as they care for a pair of tiny hands between them, protecting the little boy with a sunshine smile as best as they can.

Alternately; Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan adopted Wei Ying after his parents' death.

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plan-d-to-i · 2 years

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... since it's wwx's birthday and at the same time it brings me joy it also hurts... do you think this was the date Lan Wangji used to buy emperor's smile? every year on wwx's birthday he bought one and hid it under the floor. it's not like he was waiting for him to come back, it's not like he actually had high hopes. he respected wwx's decision of not showing himself, neither to the sects or to anyone at all. yet,,, maybe it was just a little homage, just something to remember him and to care the old times. just as he kept going to save people even after everything, both for his morals and to honor wwx's memory, he bought a jar of wwx's favorite liquor

idk man I know the jars can be for that time wangji got drunk and marked himself with the wen symbol but I always had this thought

I had not thought of it before but I'm thinking of it now (;´༎ຶٹ༎ຶ`)

They're definitely not the product of that one drunken night because he only got one jar that time:

On the way back to the GusuLan Sect, Lan WangJi bought a jar of ‘Emperor’s Smile’ from Caiyi Town. The wine was fragrant. And mellow. It was clearly not of the pungent kind, yet his throat burned the moment it went down, on fire from his eyes all the way to his heart. He didn’t like the taste, but he felt he understood why that person liked it. That night was the first time Lan WangJi ever drank, as well as the first time he was inebriated.” (Chapter 111)

I also don't think Lan Wangji would have carried seven or eight jars at once on another occasion. So it's most likely that they were the product of more than one trip. Whether it was on WWX's birthday (do we know if LWJ knew it?) or the day Wei Wuxian died, or just random times he would come back after leaving the Cloud Recesses to go where the Chaos is only LWJ knows </3

Though it had been nigh imperceptible when folded into the sandalwood, once the wooden floorboard had been lifted, the scent of liquor filled the air, wafting from the seven or eight round, pitch-black jars inside the little square cellar below. (chapter 11)

I love that you mention that Lan Wangji didn't know Wei Wuxian would come back, because I think people somehow forget that often. In fact LWJ had every reason to think he would never see WWX again in this life, no idea that he just had to bear through 13 years, but he didn't lose himself in his grief. Instead he still helped people where could. He raised an amazing son. He's such an incredible person. I hate metas that make it seem like LWJ needed Wei Wuxian to come into his life to become a righteous person.

Lan Wangji always was a righteous person who went where the chaos was and quietly helped people and wasn't harsh on spirits that were not causing trouble- (Lotus Pod extra) - same way WWX didn't want to kill the water ghoul. LWJ who took the same punishment as WWX because he too had "broken" the rules. Who was not going to step aside and let the Wens string Mianmian up as bait even though he'd had his home burned down and he was badly injured and his crush had been flirting w her. He doesn't try to take credit for killing the Xuanwu. Likewise LWJ fell in love with the Wei Wuxian who defended Mianmian and Wen Ning. This is not a story of opposites attracting, they're the same, it's just expressed differently. He's just wonderful and WWX was brilliant enough to see it from the start.

#fixed #mdzs #answers #Lan Wangji #Wei Wuxian #lol slight side note bc I'm tired of a spate of recent WWX LWJ stuff

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julchenawesome · 2 years

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A day ago, i publish about the idea of "We don't talk about Bruno" but WWX ver. So, I only had LWJ (and LXC) parts, and the idea of Jin Ling or LSZ asking about him. But, the roles in the song, i need help to decide.

It could be the canon or a AU. This one it could be if Jin Ling, after reading some letters from his mom, to ask if WWX was bad person. He even do researches about the Wens, and if they were cultivators. In the AU with LSZ, it's because he starts to remember his "Xian gege".

Spoiler of Encanto if you want to watched, don't read down this...

For the beginning, Pepa and Felix part is about their wedding and how Bruno's prediction ruined it(?). So, my first idea was about Jiang Cheng telling his nephew about how, in the celebration of Jin Ling's full moon, WWX killed his father with the Ghost General.

It would be like this:

'JC: We don't talk about Wei Wuxian, no no

We don't talk about Wei Wuxian

But, in your full moon

(JL: In my full moon?)

We were reunited

And there wasn't a cloud in the sky

(JL: no cloud alloweds in the sky)

EVerything changed in the Qionqui Path

(JL: Is that so?!)

Am i telling the story or break your legs?(

JL: Sorry jiujui go on)

Jin Zixuan went after him

(JL: why did he do that?)

Wei Wuxian lost his control

(JL: i don't like this part...)

The Ghost General killed your dad

(JL: and since then I'm fatherless, but..)

For that...

We don't talk about Wei Wuxian, no no

We don't About Wei Wuxian!'

The other Idea was that the begginning was Lan Qiren pov's.

We don't talk about Wei Wuxian, no no

We don't talk about that Wuxian...

But, in the Lectures

(LJY: in the lectures)

Cloud Recesses was a temple full of peace and control

(LJY: a temple of peace and control)

But the Jiangs bring that first Disciple

(LJY: Oh NO)

Don't interrupt your Elders!

(LJY: I'm sorry Grandmaster~)

He brings evil ideas

(LJY: Really evil)

to manipulates resentful energy

(LJY: So heretic!)

He corrupts my best disciple!

(LJY: Hanguanjun still is the best of all us)

But, We don't talk about Wei Wuxian, no no,

We don't talk about that Wei Wuxian!'

Next part, Dolores rap, I think that would be Nie Huisang, (not)talking directly, with a storyteller maybe, but using methods to talk to Jin Ling/LSZ.

It would be:

'Hey! He was defying some authority in the moment,

in the war something changed he start to mumbling

I associate him with the sound of a dizi play, sss, sss,sss

He never brings his sword in the meetings,

Sect Leaders seems his being a problem to control him

He makes Wen Ruohan tremble in his place,

But I don't know nothing'

But, i don't know

Next one, I thing it would be Jin's disciples, trying to scare him.

'A seven foot frame, ghouls in his back

When if you see red in his eyes you better went to hide

Yes, he kill the Jins with his Wen dogs!'

Chorus:

We don't talk about Wei Wuxian (no, no~)

We don't talk about Wei Wuxian!'

Like in Bruno's song, this part are ridiculous vision's that are not really visions, but town people being credible. Here, are some cultivators thoughts.

'He cursed Jin Zixun, and then he died!

(Oh, no)

He killed my cousin in Nightless City with a puppet of his

(Oh, no)

My brother lost a leg in the Qionqui Path!

(Oh, no)

He was the Evil who brings the End of times"

Then, as Isabela brings a good vision, I want to bring someone who remembers him in a good way and still lives:

MianMian: He protect me in the XuanWu cave

From Wen Chao and his horrible bride

He had reasons to defend the Wens

He was good and a honorable man'

Now, the wangxian, and a familiar situation:

(Lan disciples: there is a problem in Mo Manor)

LWJ: They told me that the man of my dreams

It was bretayed and Killed by his own brother

I want to hear him now

(LXC: Wangji, please let him go

find your peace)

I want to hear him now

Answer me Wei Ying!'

Jin Ling's part/Lan Sizhui parts:

Umm, Wei Wuxian

Yeah, about Wei Wuxian

I really need to know about Wei Wuxian

Gimme the truth and the whole truth, Yiling Laozu!/Xian gege!

(Oh, mother, Mo XuanYu just cursed me!)

(It's night hunt!)

And there is the mashup, mix, with everything pointed up. Meanwhile they are singing, Mo XuanYu sacrifice himself for WWX. And, If it's Jin Ling's way, he would try to find answers with JGY, instead he finds NMJ head and Suibian, stealing this one. With LSZ's way, it would be finding Wangxian' partitures, the red ribbon, or just remembering everything in a moment. Even, finding his father depressive, and feeling guilty.

(We don't talk about We Wuxian, no)

why did I talk about Wei Wuxian?

(Not a word about Wei Wuxian)

I never shoulda brought up Wei Wuxian'!

Well...what do you think? Should i try with another songs? What version do you prefer?

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tanoraqui · 4 years

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Grave dirt baby... 🥺✨

me, procrastinating my actual fic? no... GRAVE DIRT BABY A-YUAN

HEY TUMBLR FUCKED UP ALL MY BULLET POINTS ON THIS THE SECOND I HIT POST BUT IT’S 4AM SO I’M LEAVING IT UP ANYWAY. STUPID GODDAMN WEBSITE.

Wei Wuxian has been in the Burial Mounds for like 2.5 months out of what he doesn’t yet know will be about 3. He’s not even sure he’s going to survive yet. But he has managed to manifest an evil sword - the evil sword - out of the aether/ambient resentful energy/an attunement set with an unwise touch in the belly of an evil turtle

and he does know that he’s not going to survive if he doesn’t get the power of the Burial Mounds under some sort of control

so he cuts his arm and with blood running down the blade, draws something adjacent to the first demon-summoning flag but as an array in the dirt. He stands in the middle and - keep in mind that he more or less hasn’t slept in 2.5 months - plunges the sword into the center, still coated in his blood, and draws in all the resentful energy of the Burial Mounds

was it supposed to go into the sword? Into himself? Into just the single 4ft diameter array area, a column of bound death? who knows, not Wei Wuxian! it’s pure gut instinct

u know what else works on gut instinct, thought? Fairy tales.

And in a fairy tale, why, clay of the earth plus iron enough for a blade plus still-warm blood to show the way...

There’s an implosion and Wei Wuxian is standing - somehow still standing - in a small crater where the array used to be, and his evil sword is plunged into the belly of a baby

He yanks it out in horrified reflex, and realizes a moment later that the baby seems unfazed by this. If there was even a wound, it closes before his eyes, and the glimpse he had showed something more bloody clay than flesh beneath the skin

the iron sword crumbles as he pulls it away, as though rusted a thousand years. the baby turns its head from the iron shavings that falls on it, but then reaches up for Wei Wuxian with a cheerfully demanding cry

he picks it up, of course. (he’d think he was hallucinating if he wasn’t absolutely and utterly aware that he’s not)

it is, as far as he can tell, with physical and spiritual resentful inspection, an absolutely normal baby

oh, except when he looks really closely. Then he can sense the neutron star–dense knot of resentful energy where a golden core might (but will definitely not have room to) form. Also, it can command the dead, and when he holds it, so can he. He’s not sure if it’s a proximity-based power share or if he’s passing his desires through the baby, but even Wei Wuxian, at about 3 months with no food save the rage of the dead and no rest save the promise of final release, has to stop investigating at some point. He has things to do!

specifically, he has Wens to kill

so instead of the iconic shot of the dark flautist in the moonlight, we get the dark, uh...man singing a very spooky lullaby to his baby in the moonlight. It is still deeply creepy. It’s a making-it-up-as-he-goes tune based on a Yunmengi lullaby that he certainly learned from neither of his foster parents, and the lyrics are along the lines of, “let them remember what they did, sweet little potato, let them remember why they’re dying”

yeah he’s been calling this child “Little Potato” for 2 weeks

why

is that not how you name a child

sometimes when he’s more annoyed at it, he calls it “Little Radish”, or even less appetizing root vegetables

by the time he walks in, the baby is asleep in his arms and he’s not singing anymore, just letting the dead do his will. This is what Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangji see. The subsequent conversation, Wen Chao and Wen Zhuliu at their feet, goes like this:

LWJ: Wei Ying. You have a baby.

WWX: Oh, uh...

PLAY DUMB!

WWX: What baby?

NOT THAT DUMB!

WWX: Oh, this baby! Haha yeah. I...found it.

JC: What the fuck

WWX: Yeah, weird, right? Right near the, uh...

LWJ: They said you were in the Burial Mounds

WWX: Yyyyup. Yes that is. I found this baby by the side of the road after I walked out of the Burial Mounds.

JC, briefly too morbidly fascinated to think about either the demonic cultivation they just watched or the fact that he wants to hug his brother like he’s never wanted to hug another being in his life: What did you name it?

WWX: ....

JC, desire to hug intensifying together with exasperation: oh my god

Sometime in the next couple days - after sleeping a bit, maybe - it occurs to Wei Wuxian that his raw instincts were right and things will go very badly for little A-Yuan (his siblings insisted he name it) if anyone finds out that he’s a not-yet-walking, not-yet-talking little neuron star of resentful energy. So he takes the iron shavings that are all that remain of the Stygian Turtle Sword and forges them into a Tiger-shaped Seal. He also carves a bamboo flute, like he’d been thinking about before the whole...baby thing. He loudly proclaims both to be dark and terrible weapons

(it really is helpful. The sword was...kind of A-Yuan’s other parent, after all, in addition to their third partner, the Burial Mounds. Chenqing gives him finer control of whatever stray resentful energy he chooses to pick up, and the Stygian Seal lets him channel A-Yuan’s power at need, even when not touching him. Which is good - a battlefield is no place for a baby)

even if that baby thinks ghosts and ghouls exist to pick him up and rock him or toss him around (babies like to be tossed)

Wei Wuxian puts so many goddamn spirit-repelling charms on that child, and lets it be marked down to the paranoia of a survivor

using whatever resentful energy he picks up is generally more effective, actually. Less strong, but it quickly becomes clear that the way this works does, in fact, involve Wei Wuxian communicating his desires through A-Yuan, or at least A-Yuan has to put up with the loan of power. There’s nothing quite like abruptly losing control of a field of corpses because the baby got abruptly uncooperative with anything that wasn’t barfing

the baby does eat, for the record. As far as Wei Wuxian can tell, he doesn’t actually need to, but once WWX fed him once, when they first left the Mounds, he wanted it all the time

he still takes A-Yuan with him when he can. That is the paranoia of a survivor. A-Yuan is...

“A battlefield is no place for a baby, A-Xian,” Jiang Yanli says gently, as he sets out from Carp Tower after another stolen visit, another failed attempt to convince Jin Guangshan off his ass. “And you are...so busy. LanlingJin takes in orphans, you know...”

“A-Yuan...he’s my blood,” Wei Wuxian says quietly. He’s never been good at lying to his shijie

Whatwherewhenhowwho, he’d see on her face if he was looking at it. But he isn’t. It’s not shame, though, she can see (it really never is, with Wei Wuxian). Fear of disappointing her, slight resignation...but mostly acceptance. Determination. Something almost like contentment.

(When Jiang Cheng and Lan Wangj first took him back to whatever resembled a base camp - somewhere in Qinghe, probably, or maybe Lanling - he had to let a trained healer look at A-Yuan, physical and spiritual examination, and he held his breath and calculated how many people he’d have to kill to get out of here, how fast he’d have to move to not hurt his brother or any particular friends; thought, oh, he’s mine, in a way he hadn’t before - as a child, a son, not just a very strange weapon -

“He’s quite healthy,” said the doctor, mildly surprised, bouncing A-Yuan on one knee. A-Yuan gurgled happily. “About three months old?”

the longer Wei Wuxian took to answer, the more disapproving her stare got. But that did make sense)

Then all else can be dealt with later. “You should still leave him here,” Jiang Yanli says firmly. “You need to look after yourself and A-Cheng out there. I can look after A-Yuan.”

It takes a bit under two years to win back the lost and burnt territories, scour the Wens out of every crevice, corner Wen Ruohan in his precious Nightless City and bring it tumbling down. Nobody will know the timing but A-Yuan sleeps through the final battle, smiling at dreams that would make a grown man weep in horror. Somewhere, his father is playing a lullaby

About a week later, Jiang Cheng stalks into Wei Wuxian’s bedroom, which he shares with A-Yuan. One of the first rooms rebuilt in the new Lotus Pier. A-Yuan is there, too, playing with blocks while Wei Wuxian idly drafts talismans

“A-jie said the kid is yours,” he says, crossed arms. “Like, yours-yours. When the fuck did you do that?”

(Wei Wuxian has thought about this, by now; gone over the pros and cons of every possibility, the politics and potentials and maybe even the giddy possibility of telling something like the truth)

(the guiding principle is: he has no interest in drawing on the “Stygian Tiger Seal” ever again. The Sunshot Campaign is over. His loved ones are safe, and he sees no reason why they shouldn’t all live long, happy, normal lives)

(also/though, he will burn Jin Sect, Carp Tower, and all of Lanling to the ground before the new Chief Cultivator should touch his son)

“In Caiyi,” he lies. “Right before I got kicked out. I, uh, snuck out a lot more often than you noticed.”

His brother squints at him suspiciously. But Wei Wuxian can also watch him do the math in his head and reluctantly admit that it works.

“So are you claiming him or what?” he challenges. “’Wei Yuan’? You have a courtesy name - wait, no, you are not naming that kid again. You’re going to make his courtesy name be Carrothead or something.”

“Should I let you pick it, oh wise and noble shidi - no, shushu?!” Wei Wuxian teases, as A-Yuan gets tired of his blocks and starts climbing up him like a jungle gym

Jiang Cheng sighs like the north wind - gusting long and hard, with just the faintest chill to suggest that the skies will be weeping, soon

But...

Despite some evidence to the contrary, Wei Wuxian is generally fully aware of when he’s about to cross a line that cannot be backtracked over. So he meets Wen Qing in the city, and before going to Lanling, he nips into Lotus Pier and picks up A-Yuan

He might leave A-Yuan with Wen Qing in the city when he goes to Glamour Hall, but Qiongqi Pass happens with a toddler watching silently from Wei Wuxian’s hip. Does Wei Wuxian tell him to look away, bury his face in baba’s shirt, or does he not bother, knowing the sort of song that makes up A-Yuan’s sweet dreams?

The Wens become the second through 51st or so people who learn what A-Yuan is. Wei Wuxian briefly considers trying to hide it, but, honestly, there are dead things everywhere on the Burial Mounds, and despite his genuine efforts, he cannot convince A-Yuan that a fierce corpse is anything but the ideal patty-cake companion. (They’ll play with him for hours! It’s a two-nearly-three-year-old’s dream!)

(he doesn’t want to convince him, not really. The last thing he wants to do ever is give A-Yuan anything to be scared of)

nor could he possibly wish that A-Yuan not be...obviously hale and hearty, running rosy-cheeked and strong around these hills of death that slowly seep the energy from any humans, animals, or even sturdy root crops

“So, uh, this is actually my demon baby,” said Wei Wuxian as they all settled in

“this day has been so weird already, this might as well goddamn happen”, said the Wens collectively

“You created a living child out of dead earth, so I’m going to take that as a yes that you can bring my brother back,” said Wen Qing specifically

“...fuck. I mean, yes. I mean - fuck,” said Wei Wuxian. “I- of course I will.”

(it doesn’t work like that, though)

The 52nd person to find out what A-Yuan is is Lan Wangji. Wei Wuxian very much does not tell him. They have a pleasant toy-shopping trip and lunch in town, and then the alarm talisman goes off and Wei Wuxian grabs A-Yuan and Lan Wangji tugs them both onto Bichen and when they arrive, Wen Ning is roaring. Lan Wangji knows what’s important; he takes A-Yuan so Wei Wuxian’s hands are free and he doesn’t have to worry about his son

except Wen Ning, black-eyed with rage, throws Wei Wuxian into a tree hard enough to crack a rib, and even as Lan Wangji raises Bichen, A-Yuan shouts,

“Uncle Ning, stop!”

and Wen Ning stops

(as a rule, Wei Wuxian can’t take over with himself and Chenqing anything A-Yuan is controlling, unless A-Yuan lets him, and vice versa. To eliminate variables, Wei Wuxian had made sure that any reins on Wen Ning were his (Wei Wuxian’s) alone. But in that moment, before Wen Ning came fully back to himself, his reins were swinging free - and they were back within the bounds of the Burial Mounds, where A-Yuan was always strong)

and Lan Wangji puts several pieces together at once and prays to every single god in heaven and every ancestor he’s disappointing right now that this was a miracle of love and a very cute child piercing through a fierce corpse’s mindless rampage. That he simply...hallucinated the burst of resentful energy he just felt from the child in his arms

but he’s absolutely, utterly aware that he didn’t

Wei Wuxian explains, stilted and awkward at the bottom of the hill. Challenging and terrified. Holding on to A-Yuan.

Lan Wangji promises to keep the secret.

Wei Wuxian takes Hanguang-jun’s word

Remember, oh, remember, that Wei Wuxian walks A-Yuan back up the hill until A-Yuan gets tired and Wei Wuxian picks him up, on their one-and-a-half–man plank bridge through the dark. Remember remember remember that before he can finish speaking that line, there is light - the clearing is lit with lanterns and secret-keepers 2 through 51, and I suppose 53 now that Wen Ning is awake, are waiting with dinner and warmth and welcome. Reader, remember this.

But then...

Aunt Qing and Uncle Ning had gone, and then, with a terrible expression on his face, so had A-Yuan’s baba. Now his baba’s anger and sadness is so strong that the weight of it makes A-Yuan cry from hundreds of miles away, and he curls into Granny’s arms and sends his baba everything he can. Will everything be okay, then? Will everyone come home; will they be able to smile again?

(oh, A-Yuan...)

(No.)

A-Yuan - Wei Yuan, Little Potato (when he’s good for baba or bad for Aunt Qing) or Little Radish (inverse); one day to be Lan Yuan, Lan Sizhui - was born in the good old fairy tale way of earth and iron and blood. It’s a hard thing for any child to lose even a single parent - in one day, in one minute, A-Yuan loses two of three, as the father of his blood burns away in hand the last shreds of Stygian iron, and promptly loses control of his own resentful energy

(the Tiger Seal does nothing like explode, in this world. It was never more than a prop - but a vital one. the benefit of proving it destroyed would be worth the loss of a parent, if only a second didn’t follow on its heels)

A-Yuan has been a dead thing (or close enough) come to life all his life, and both dead and living have been his friends and family. But he’s never felt the transition the other way: from life to death

It’s no wonder, really, that he can’t remember it afterward. No wonder that even on the land that was the last part of him, he was feverish and barely conscious when Lan Wangji stumbled, bleeding, off of Bichen, and took in his arms. No wonder that he remembered very little at all, including the dead.

But he would be okay. Under physical and spiritual inspection, he’s a perfectly normal boy. He may not be able to form a golden core (there's something in the way), but there are...workarounds. He’ll grow up in one of the most heavily spiritually warded enclaves in the world, safe and loved as he relearns (mostly in secret) what he can do

(For the sake of this story, and A-Yuan’s survival as something close to canon, let’s say there are some truly dark things in the forbidden section of the Lan Library, that could only be used for nefarious purposes - though, I suppose we already knew that. Let’s say there are talismans that will disguise the very nature of qi, so resentful energy may appear spiritual. Let’s say, Lan Xichen becomes the 53rd to know the truth, because his brother needs help - and it’s Wei Wuxian’s child, okay? It’s just Wei Wuxian’s child, quiet and unsure rather than laughing as he always was. If you were in the inner circle of leaders of the Sunshot Campaign, you have absolutely met this child, probably held him and bounced him on one knee)

(What keeps Lan Xichen up at night isn’t the concealing amulet he helped his brother make, which Lan Yuan wears at all times around his neck. It’s the silence he keeps every time he meets Jiang Wanyin’s eyes over a diplomatic table. If anyone had the right to know Wei Yuan survived... But Sandu Sengshou killed Wei Wuxian, everyone knows that, and now he hunts demonic cultivators - what might his pride drive him to do to his nephew, if he ever learned the truth? (Selfishly, Lan Xichen know that if Lan Wangji lost A-Yuan, even just to living at Lotus Pier, Lan Xichen might lose his brother. That fear ebbs with time passing, but the the longer he hasn’t spoken, the worse it would be to do so...))

They don’t restrict Lan Yuan to the Cloud Recesses, no more than any other novice. For memory of their mother, neither of them could bear that. Jiang Cheng does eventually see him at a conference, and stops dead. Years have passed, but that is an entire goddamn nephew, right there. But - how? No, it can’t be. That’s...everyone knows Lan Wangji hated Wei Wuxian. It’s just...and someone would have told him. The Lans value propriety above all, after all.

Anything that can be done with spiritual cultivation can be done with demonic cultivation, save heal. Lan Sizhui makes up for it with an encyclopedic knowledge of undead and monsters, and a prodigal talent for Inquiry

On their first night hunt, the young juniors face ghosts. Unfortunately, this is when Lan Jingyi learns that he’s terrified of ghosts. He’s hiding behind Lan Sizhui and panic is contagious, and the senior accompanying them is in a different room of the abandoned house, and Lan Sizhui forgets that he’s holding a sword and just shouts, “Stop! Go away!”

the ghost, of course, obeys

Lan Jingyi peeks out form behind him. “Did- did you do that?”

“I don’t know,” Lan Sizhui admits (except that he’s absolutely sure he did)

There’s another flicker of movement, just the wind blowing ashes but Jingyi whips around with wild eyes. “Can you do it again?”

[friendship. my point is, he’s a demon baby but he has family and friends who love and accept him.]

And one day, some absolute fucking morons are going to bring him back home, where he can never be anything but strong, and threaten his friends and family? And the threat is an army of his old playmates, commanded by an attempt at recreating some combination of Chenqing and the Tiger Seal? He couldn’t manage it in Yi City, but now A-Yuan, Wei Yuan, Lan Sizhui stands on earth that has never stopped being part of him, or maybe he’s never stopped being part of it. If he closed his eyes he could feel every foot on it, living and restless dead. And they’re threatening his baba - who he remembers, as the earth remembers its old partner, even though the blood is changed - and his father Hanguang-jun, and his extended family and friends?

No.

#lyratalus #mdzs #the untamed #ficlet #lan sizhui #wei wuxian #uh who else is here #must i tag them all? don't wanna #my fic #hmm need the speaker for the dead variant to get more childhood stuff; they're similar there

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jadedbirch · 3 years

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Hi so i have a question if you dont mind and im curious to hear your thoughts on it. So what do you think of lwj becoming emperor in the end? I read the novel watched cql but i might mix up stuff with my personal headcanons too lmao. So maybe i have a wrong understanding or forgot stuff but to me it always seemed like not sth lwj would actually want for himself. I thought he wanted to help bring justice to normal (aka not rich clan) people 1/3 probably sry for this long ask

(which i think as emperor he would be a little distanced to the normal people with the duties to the other clans and all? I mean he would be a kind of politician). I could go on like no education to become the emperor/leading people on such a big scale (with having an older brother i dont even think he was ever meant to become clan leader was he? 2/3

But idk im going from some similar historical situations and how the leader of a state or a group of people usually acted and what mattered then) and also xiaosong parallels? My headcanon is he would have enjoyed traveling with wwx and helping people like xiaosong did while they were both still alive. Anyway thanks for your time and i hope i can get your thoughts on it. Have a good day :) 3/3

Hi there, nonnie! Not sure what makes me the expert to tackle this, but I’m happy to try!

First, I think we need to establish which canon we’re talking about here. In MDZS canon, LWJ and WWX get married, fuck like rabbits, and go on night hunts together while treating Cloud Recesses as their home base. It sounds like Lan Qiren is running the sect, at least until Lan Xichen comes out of seclusion, which in the book (extras) happens a few months after Guanyin Temple, if I’m not mistaken.

In CQL canon, LWJ becomes Chief Cultivator/Xiandu, which is not the same thing as Emperor and it’s a pretty important distinction. In order to become Emperor you have to, historically speaking, either be placed directly (via blood or adoption) into the line of succession (like Chinese dynastic cycles or Emperor Hadrian), or via conquest (Napoleon, Alexander the Great). I’m not an expert, but my understanding of the position of Chief Cultivator is that it’s an appointment. In fact, they are (at least ostensibly) elected via a democratic process, with all the sects getting to vote for the appointment. (Whether the elections are rigged are a different and totally existential discussion.) Before Wei Ying calls Lan Zhan “Xiandu” in CQL, the other people with this title were Jin Guangyao and Wen Ruohan. It’s actually not clear to me whether Jin Guangshan ever held the title of Xiandu in CQL, but he certainly positioned himself that way. According to MDZS, this position was created by Jin Guangshan only after Jin Ling was born, so Wen Ruohan being referred to as “Xiandu” in CQL would be out of sync with MDZS canon.

Regardless, I think your question is what do I think about LWJ taking this position in the end. So since this only happens in CQL, I have to base my answer on CQL!LWJ and what I think about him as a person. At the end of the show LWJ says “We took a vow here” and we get the bunny lantern flashback (always so sweet to see the first time LWJ fell for WWX). His vow was to curb the violent and assist the weak, and live without regrets. As you say, LWJ is very much not a political animal. He can assist the weak and curb the violent without needing to take a position of so much political clout. In fact, we know he’s been “where the chaos is” for the last 16 years anyways, but of course the implication is that he was only doing that because he was looking for Wei Ying. Plus, he comes from a very wealthy sect, so he doesn’t need the money, and he has never shown any inclination for power. There are other people who can do this: Nie Huaisang, Jiang Cheng, Sect Leader Yao (LMAO J/K, I hope he chokes). So why bother???

To me personally, it’s pretty apparent that he takes that position because he has to protect Lan Xichen from the fallout at Guanyin Temple. Lan Xichen is now in exactly the same position that Lan Wangji was after Wei Wuxian died - he is suspected of collaborating with a demonic cultivator, he’s been implicated in Nie Mingue’s death, and tbh I wouldn’t be surprised if certain factions (Sect Leader Yao, looking at you again!) start hollering for his blood. It’s very FORTUNATE that Nie Huaisang manipulated him into killing Jin Guangyao, in fact, things could have looked a lot worse for him had he not. Someone is going to have to clean up the mess Jin Guangyao left behind and part of cleaning up that mess is making sure that Lan Xichen is exculpated, or at least not further implicated in his crimes. And Lan Wangji isn’t going to trust Jiang Cheng or Nie Huaisang or any of those other fools, whom frankly he kinda loathes, to have his brother’s best interest at heart at this point. In that regard, it makes sense that he would let Wei Ying go on his walk-about, while he stays home to clean up the enormous JGY fallout and take care of his brother. I can only presume as soon as the mess is clean, Wei Ying is back, and they’re happily and grossly married and back to humping like rabbits, he will find a way to unburden himself of his responsibilities as Chief Cultivator. Surely, this should all be Nie Huaisang’s problem anyways? ;)

That may not position LWJ’s actions in the same “noble” light as him purely altruistically just wanting to help out the little guy and uphold justice, but I don’t see Lan Wangji as a purely 100% nobly motivated character, because that would make him boring as hell. He is very good and very pure in many ways, but he’s also petty and he’s embittered and he’s been repressing decades of fucked up trauma (let’s not even mention his fucked up childhood). What he needs is some cuddle time with his husband and a lot of therapy, not this Chief Cultivator gig. So yeah, that’s my take on it anyways. Thank you for thinking that I might have something useful to offer on the topic! Love you!

#lan zhan #lan wangji #lan xichen #twin jades of lan #the untamed meta #my so called meta #Anonymous #the untamed

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chnqin · 3 years

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My Epic MDZS/The Untamed Daemon AU

I’m sure other people have already done Daemon AUs, but this idea wouldn’t leave me alone. I have been working on this for like three weeks now.

I just wrote down my first instinctive thought for most characters, and then researched* further into subspecies etc. What I found for a lot of the animals made me agree with my first opinion even more, although all of these are obviously just my own opinions. I also decided to stick to non-mythological animals. (some characters have been given a lot more consideration than others, I’m sorry)

Wei Wuxian: beech marten Beech martens are quick and clever. The are nocturnal, omnivores, and skilled swimmers. They move through paths made by larger animals such as hares in the snow. {further notes under read more}

Lan Wangji: white hare More solitary animals. They have an association with the moon, which I tend to associate LWJ with. {f/n}

Jiang Cheng: osprey Aquatic birds; good hunters. {f/n}

Lan Xichen: white stag {f/n}

Jiang Yanli: asian black bear {explained in detail under the read more}

Jin Zixuan: lion Ngl it’s probably because the Persian pokemon reminds me of him

Jin Guangyao: domestic cat {f/n}

Nie Huiasang: pangolin {f/n}

Nie Mingju: wolf {f/n}

Wen Qing: Chinese sparrowhawk {f/n}

Wen Ning: black Formosan mountain dog (tuguo) {f/n}

Lan Sizhui: Xiasi Quan dog or red panda or badger {f/n}

Jin Ling: lion {f/n}

Lan Jingi: monkey They’re respected animals but also have a mischievous side

Ouyen Zihzen: capybara No, they’re not native to China, but this is what I imagined him as and I couldn’t get it out of my head or find a perfect substitute

Xiao Xinchen: swan He just gives me major swan vibes, possibly something to do with Swan Lake (as do some Lans but they’re not graceful in the same way or tragic in the same way)

Song Lan: oriental hobby falcon or black horse He struck me as some sort of raptor, but I also liked a horse for him

Luo Qingyang/Mianmian: lynx

Lan Qiren: sheep Symbolise filial piety. Also follow other people without question (*cough* the Lan Sect elders)

Jiang Fengiman: otter Spends a lot of time around the water, just what popped into my head

Yu Ziyuan: snake Because Zidian

The Jiang Sect favour animals who live near or on the water, some even possessing daemons which are fully aquatic, and thus are unable to leave Lotus Pier

The Lan Sect usually have herbivore animals for daemons and favour swift, elegant animals.

The Jins tend towards lions and panthers, but also flashy, rich birds like pheasants and peacocks (which makes WWX’s nickname for JZX even more funny).

The Nies often have pack or herd animals. Wolves and mountain lions are very common, but also a lot of horned animals like oxen, mountain goats and sheep (bighorn sheep and ibex are common), and also wild boar.

The Wens were typically birds of prey (the Dire Owl becomes Wen Chao’s daemon) or mountain cats.

The Yus often have daemons which take reptile form. Wildcats also common. I quite like the idea that the Yus are a sect which has cultivated the ability to separate themselves from their daemons.

~Further notes on why I picked these animals, Daemon settling, angsty AUs of my AU, and research disclaimer under the cut~

Story & Research Notes:

(I’m going with the idea that trauma can make a daemon settle into a particular form)

WWX A marten was the first thing to come to mind for WWX, I have no idea why, but the more I thought about it the more I liked it. They’re really inquisitive, playful, and cute, but are also predators and will fuck you up if necessary. A crow was another obvious choice because they’re curious and inventive, but with a bit of a dark connotation. However, in my version at least (I’m not great on His Dark Materials canon), Daemons usually settle in the early teens, and at that point WWX really didn’t have as much darkness in him as he develops later.

I think WWX was one of those people whose daemon changed with every thought and feeling of his, whose daemon changed so rapidly and so repeatedly that people would complain of motion sickness watching it. His daemon’s most common forms were a martin, a magpie, an otter (which drove Madam Yu nuts), and (after JYL’s settled) very occasionally a bear.

When WWX comes back most people don’t realise anything is wrong because Mo Xuanyu always hid his daemon (I think it was probably something like a field mouse although how funny would it be if Little Apple was actually his daemon and WWX unknowingly inherited her along with the body), so they just think his has settled into something too big to hide now. However, his beech martin is the other reason Lan Wangji knows who Wei Wuxian is (WWX’s daemon hides from Jiang Cheng at Dafan Mountain, so JC only suspects it’s WWX). (Angsty AU further down)

LWJ I know that arctic hares aren’t native to China, but I want you to pretend that something like that does exist because I need lwj to have a white hare daemon. They are also bigger than other hares and cuter (they look slightly less cursed than some hares do). I’m imagining a lot of the daemons being slightly bigger than their real-life animal counterparts would be, so imagine the ears coming up to a normal person’s hip-height when the daemon is sitting. Rabbits can also apparently symbolise hope, and that suits someone who is known to go where the chaos is, bringing hope and light in the darkness.

As a child, LWJ’s daemon was expressive in a way he never could be. It liked to take snow leopard form a lot, which was seen as excessively violent to the Lan sect, who preferred non-carnivorous animals, and often snarled at people. His daemon always took snow leopard form when visiting his mother so it could curl up with her tiger daemon.

LWJ’s daemon settled exceptionally early, shortly after his mother’s death, into an acceptable hare form. Lan Xichen always wondered if LWJ himself made his daemon settle, if she was not supposed to have been a snow leopard all along, and so always looks upon LWJ’s daemon with a bit of sadness because he feels like it was LWJ stifling - almost killing off - a part of his personality (spoiler: it was) in order to fit into the Lan sect.

(More on that in an angsty AU below)

JC Ngl, I wanted to make Jiang Cheng a goose because they’re always angry but I didn’t. Jiang Cheng shifted mostly between a hunting dog and a mouse as a child, both of which infuriated Yu Ziyuan (honestly what she wanted her children’s daemons to be even I don’t know). Jiang Cheng’s daemon settled very late (another thing his mother wasn’t happy with). In fact, it didn’t settle till the attack on Lotus Pier and the death of his parents, when it took the shape of an osprey (because he wanted to be able to fly away and pretend none of it ever happened).

Even more angsty: One Chinese poem has the Osprey as a symbol of marital harmony and fidelity. Upon seeing his parents death, finally united in a way they hadn’t been in life, JC’s constant wish for his parents to love each other (and, by extension, him) physically manifests itself in his daemon.

JYL I know what you’re thinking. Why the hell did you give Jiang Yanli a bear of all people. Well I’ll tell you. For two reasons: one, because I can do what I want, and two, because I would say one of JYL’s most central characteristics is her wish to look after people. She’s not physically strong in the way most other cultivators are, however, and she’s always having to keep the peace at home - and so I can see her daemon becoming a physical manifestation of that need to protect (bears are known to be protective, particularly mothers), and a physical example of her inner strength which is so often overlooked.

Yanli shifted between a dove, a crane, and a maritime striped squirrel for most of her childhood. She favoured the squirrel and dove (incredibly mild animals) over the crane, which disappointed Madam Yu. It’s one of the reasons Jin Zixuan never saw her as a potential match, her daemon too small and docile to match his almost constant lion daemon.

When Jiang Yanli was around fourteen Madam Yu took things with Wei Wuxian and Jiang Cheng too far one day, and Yanli saw it. Her daemon suddenly shifted into a bear, a form it had never taken up to that point, and jumped on Yu Ziyuan’s snake daemon. WWX and JC always remembered Yanli standing in the doorway, her expression placid while her huge bear daemon growled with absolute fury and menace. Everyone expected Yanli’s daemon to go back to its usual squirrel or dove form, but it never did. It remained a bear, and remained the biggest daemon of pretty much anyone in any of the sects.

I had already picked a crane as one of JYL’s potential daemons because of its connection to water and positive symbolism in China. Upon further (hopefully accurate) research, I saw that cranes depicted with lotuses in Chinese art symbolise purity and longevity, and I liked making her daemon a bear even more, because her daemon took that form to protect WWX and JC - years after her death, they both wondered if, had her daemon had taken crane form, maybe she wouldn’t have died. From what I found, “crane” is also a homophone for 合 hé “peace, harmony”, which is a quality Jiang Yanli had much of, and tried to inspire in others.

LXC I think its LXC’s hairpiece which always makes me think of deer antlers (even though it’s a dragon?), so that’s probably why I immediately thought of a stag for him. But stags are also very noble and refined looking animals which don’t tend towards violence, but also have horns for a reason. Obviously, like with LWJ, it’s a white stag because aesthetique. Upon further research, I discovered a (hopefully correct) source which says 鹿 lù (deer) is a homonym with 璐 lù (precious jade), and the character for deer is used within the character 丽 lì ‘beautiful; elegant’ - both fit LXC very well.

JGY Cats are sneaky little fuckers (I say this with love). The ultimate predator in small unassuming form. Many of the main Jin family have big cat daemons so this is kind of another smack in the face for JGY - so close to being a real part of the Jin family, but still kept apart from them - and something people like to bring up along with his mother. However, many Jins are also birds (including JGS), and cats prey on birds.

NHS I thought a fox was a bit on the nose. Also I like the way pangolin’s just drop and curl up in defence - it’s a viable form of protection, but to the outside appears cowardly. However, their scales are sharp and can cut predators who come after them. Also I didn’t want him to fit into any of his sect’s typical animals. Also also imagine how cute it would look being carried around everywhere by NHS because it’s too lazy to walk, absolutely adorable.

NMJ A wolf was what immediately came to mind for Nie Mingjue. Wolves are apparently sometimes associated with greed, self-interest, and lechery, but I think the pack elements and the carnivore/hunting nature of the wolf really suits NMJ and the Nie clan in general, so I decided to overlook that aspect (although I did briefly consider making JGS a wolf, but I like them as animals too much in real life to do that to them and also he doesn’t have a soul, so he doesn’t get a daemon).

WQ I always saw Wen Qing as some sort of hawk, I just think it suits her very well. The Chinese sparrowhawk is quite small and very beautiful. It has white, red and grey colours. They are good hunters and swift flyers.

WN I knew I wanted Wen Ning to be some sort of dog because he’s very loyal, and also (angsty) when the Jins call the Wens dogs I wanted that to hurt even more. He’s very unusual for a Wen, none of the main sect have dog daemons - it is very much a thing that is specific to their branch of the Wen family. The mountain dog I picked for him is an endangered breed, which I also felt fitted WN well. From what I found, dogs symbolise watchful wisdom, honesty, and loyalty, which all fit Wen Ning.

This was all perfect till I remembered WWX’s all-consuming fear of dogs. I decided to get round this by cheating and saying that for some reason daemons are different and he’s not scared of them (because they represent a part of someone’s soul, rather than being a real animal? I guess?? Please do not look too hard at this delicately constructed card tower)

Angsty version: when Wen Ning becomes a fierce corpse he loses his daemon, another reason people are unsettled by him and another thing WWX feels guilty about.

LSZ I think Lan Sizhui was the hardest to pick. I couldn’t decide which way to go: should he follow a “Lan approved” daemon pattern; should he have a bird like Wen Qing and a lot of other Wens? Then I saw the Xiasi Quan and it’s white and fluffy and cute but it was also a hunting and a guard dog, which seemed right for him. And I liked that it gave LSZ and WN this one very tangible connection. It is also endangered. However, I also liked a red panda and a badger for Lan Sizhui too. I really couldn’t decide between the three. I like them all, why is he the hardest to choose for? (I’m still not 100% happy with this, let me know if you have any alternative suggestions)

Again, please suspend your disbelief at the fact that WWX’s child has a dog daemon and he’s fine with this (it would have looked so cute as a little puppy running around the Burial Mounds though).

When he was younger his daemon liked to take on the forms of those closest to him. So you’d often see a bby marten running after WWX’s daemon, a tiny bird perched with Wen Qing’s sparrow-hawk, a puppy following Wen Ning’s dog around, and a tiny bby rabbit in Cloud Recesses. As he got older it shifted between the dog, a red panda, and a badger. (maybe I’ll just say his hasn’t settled yet and that’s why I can’t decide)

JL Jin Ling definitely also had a daemon which shifted because of a) his loved ones and b) his mood, and he hated it. As if his own explosive temper didn’t give him away enough, his daemon always showed his exact feelings. When he wanted nothing more than his mother to be there it would be a bear. When he was feeling defensive about his parents it would turn into a lion (this happens when he and WWX first meet and any time people talk about his parents’ deaths). When he was younger his daemon spent a lot of time as a cat and a bird, although different types to what his uncles had.

Jin Ling’s daemon still hasn’t settled when WWX is resurrected, and he is absolutely mortified the one time it decides to turn into a beech marten like WWX’s. Eventually it will settle into a lion, and WWX will pretend to be grumpy that it didn’t choose a bear instead.

Angsty AUs:

Daemons are linked to golden cores Jiang Cheng loses his daemon along with his core. When Wei Wuxian’s core is removed it’s more like when daemons and humans are separated in the books. His daemon stays with him, but can move about freely - this is part of what causes WWX to rapidly destabilise, not just resentful energy. Jiang Cheng always feels weirdly aware of WWX’s daemon after that but doesn’t know why. WWX’s daemon is technically connected to JC too, and also finds this weird. JC also can’t work out why his daemon never came back with his golden core, and that loss is part of why he’s so angry and isolated.

The effect of trauma on Daemons Another angsty au is based on the idea that, if trauma can make your daemon settle early, then trauma can also make it change.

When Wei Wuxian is thrown into the Burial Mounds, he wishes so hard to be able to fly that his beech marten turns into a crow (because I do love a crow for him too). I kind of like the idea that after the Burial Mounds WWX’s daemon almost un-settles itself, and can change between a marten and a crow. This really freaks people out and is another reason people say he’s dangerous.

Similarly, after Wei Ying’s death and the Lan sect’s punishment, Lan Wangji wakes up to find his daemon has shifted from its hare to snow leopard form. In his soul, LWJ feels like if he had been less passive and actually stood with WWX then his soulmate would still be alive. His daemon changes from a more passive hare to the more aggressive snow leopard.

He’s criticised by the elders for it, but they shut up when his daemon flattens theirs, while LWJ’s face remains an impassive mask but his eyes promise murder. WWX is really sad when he comes back to see LWJ’s hare gone and blames himself for causing LWJ so much trauma his daemon changed. (personally if I were writing a Daemon AU this is what I would have happen, because I love LWJ with a snow leopard daemon - they symbolise bravery and martial ferocity, while rabbits are virtue and gentleness, and I feel like these two both accurately represent the two sides of LWJ. I really feel like LWJ has a huge shift in himself after WWX’s death which would be represented in his daemon. It also is, in a way, a return of a core part of himself which was lost after his mother’s death)

Sword/Instrument substitute Mixing Daemons with sword sprits - the animal becomes a physical representation of the spiritual tool. Some people could therefore have more than one daemon (for example, LWJ could have Bichen - his rabbit sword daemon - and Wangji - his snow leopard guqin daemon)

Angsty version: WWX actually does die in the burial mounds and Suibian, his beech martin, dies/changes into Chenqing, a raven/crow.

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .·。.·゜✭·.·✫·゜·。..・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

If you are reading this you have made it to the end of this post, well done.

I wanted to make it shorter but I had too many ideas and wanted to explain my reasoning for my choices and decided just to put it all in one post rather than lots of little ones.

*Disclaimer: I know only the smallest amount of Chinese, and have taken all my information about imagery, word meanings, and homophones etc from web-sources, and so it is very possible I have made mistakes. Though I have, to the best of my abilities, attempted to check on the cultural/artistic meaning, if any, that certain animals have in Chinese culture, the internet lies and I can’t get any decent books on it atm as the libraries are closed, so I’m really sorry if there are errors and I hope people will forgive any mistakes or blunders I might have made.

#mdzs #the untamed #cql #daemon au #mdzs daemon au #mine #guys i have spent a stupid amount of time on this #myau

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veliseraptor · 4 years

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Post- Xuanwu Cave whump and rescue. Plot optional. I think there's a lot of potential in that missing scene. One minute WWX is passing out to LWJ telling him he wrote and named a song for him and the next LWJ is gone (and still injured), WWX rescued (and still holding that sword(!) why? someone pls take that away), JC is kind of pretending not to care, LXC is missing/presumed dead. LWJ and JC must have interacted during the rescue! Thx for all you write!

punctuated on all sides

[READ ON AO3]

Good thing you said plot optional because it isn’t here! instead have 4,000 words of Jiang Cheng fretting, also featuring a very awkward Jin Zixuan and a Lan Wangji disinclined to explain himself, thank you. Thanks to @ameliarating as usual for the betaing job. She’s very tolerant and we’re all (I’m all) grateful.

Wei Wuxian did not emerge from the tunnel behind him.

Jiang Cheng insisted on waiting, for hours, pacing back and forth and staring into the pool of water they’d surfaced from, but nothing came through.

“They’re not coming,” one of the Yao disciples said bluntly. “They’re probably dead,” and Jiang Cheng rounded on him.

“Shut up,” he snapped. “I’m going to go back-”

“No,” Jin Zixuan said. He looked a lot less peacock-like with his hair and fine Jin robes drenched. It was sort of funny, or it would have been, but Jiang Cheng couldn’t help but think that Wei Wuxian would find it hilarious and satisfying and Wei Wuxian wasn’t here.

(Or Lan Wangji, but Jiang Cheng cared a lot less about that.)

“What do you mean, no,” Jiang Cheng said.

Jin Zixuan shook his head. “You’ll just get yourself killed. We need to get away from here.”

“That’s right,” said one of the Jin disciples. “What if Wen Chao comes back?”

“He won’t,” Jiang Cheng said. “He’s a coward.” He stripped off his outer robe and glared directly at Jin Zixuan. “Go ahead and run away if you want. I’m not leaving without him.”

He dove in before anyone else could try to argue, and swam down.

The tunnel was blocked. Some kind of rockfall triggered during the fight? Or maybe that creature was smarter than it’d looked and had done it on purpose. It didn’t really matter. The fact was: Wei Wuxian wasn’t coming out this way.

Jiang Cheng had known. He’d known, Wei Wuxian had said I’ll be right behind you but then he’d also said bring back help for us and of course, of course he pulled this kind of stunt, had to stay back and be the hero-

His distracting that thing was the only reason the rest of you got out.

(You should’ve stayed back with him.)

Jiang Cheng swam back and climbed out of the pool.

“The tunnel’s collapsed,” he said shortly. “There’s no getting back in that way.”

Jin Zixuan’s expression flickered and Jiang Cheng wanted to punch him. If he said anything like sorry he thought he probably would. Fortunately, he didn’t. Instead after a moment he just said, “Jinlintai is closer than anywhere else. Let’s go there and bring back help to rescue Lan-er-gongzi and Wei Wuxian. My father will have to step in after this outrage.”

Someone - Jiang Cheng didn’t see who - squawked loudly. “What? Come back? Don’t be ridiculous. That’ll be days and by then they’ll be dead for sure.”

Jiang Cheng glared even as his stomach lurched up into his throat. No, he thought violently. No. That’s not going to happen.

“Yes,” he made himself grind out. “That would - thank you, Jin-gongzi.”

Jin Zixuan looked away. “You’re welcome, Jiang-gongzi,” he said stiffly. “Let’s go, then. Sooner better than later.” He seemed to be ignoring the objection as though it hadn’t been made, which was probably the best way to deal with it, really.

“What about the rest of us?” someone else asked.

“You’re welcome to stay here and wait around,” Mianmian said, her voice just skirting the edge of snappish. “Or try to make it back to your families on your own. That’s up to you.”

Jiang Cheng glanced back at the pool one last time before they left. The surface was still, utterly undisturbed. Somewhere down there Wei Wuxian was trapped with a monster.

He’d be fine, Jiang Cheng told himself. His shixiong was strong and frustratingly capable. Lan Wangji’s cultivation was high. Wei Wuxian wouldn’t try anything stupid like trying to take on that thing with just the two of them, without their swords.

Wei Wuxian would absolutely try something stupid exactly like that.

Jiang Cheng shoved all of that aside and made himself turn and start walking. Wei Wuxian would be fine. And when he dug him out of there he was going to punch him for trying to be a big hero and getting himself stuck in the first place.

Yes, he told himself firmly. That was exactly how it was going to be.

Without their swords, they had to walk to Jinlintai. And it was a long way to Jinlintai.

Jiang Cheng was beginning to have some sympathy for ordinary people who had to do this all the time.

He would have liked to move faster - too acutely aware of time passing, of how long it had been since they’d left the cave behind, how long it would take to cover the rest of the distance that was left. But there was only so fast they could go.

He expected Jin Zixuan to be a pain in the ass the whole way. He braced himself for bitching and moaning or at least arrogant and disdainful silence, but while he didn’t talk much, he was significantly less intolerable than Jiang Cheng had expected and he didn’t complain.

His respect for Jin-gongzi crept up one or two notches. Barely.

The third night, only another half-day’s journey from Jinlintai (finally, and please let Jin-zongzhu be willing to help, then they could get back to the cave and open it up and he’d drag Wei Wuxian back to Lotus Pier and beat him within an inch of his life for being such an idiot), and Jin Zixuan walked over to the fire he and the Jiang Sect disciples were huddled around. Then he proceeded to just stand there in silence.

“What,” Jiang Cheng said, when he got tired of waiting.

Jin Zixuan glanced at the Jiang disciples and cleared his throat. “I,” he said, and then stopped. He frowned, and then said, even more stiffly than usual, “I’d like a word with you, Jiang-gongzi.”

Jiang Cheng pressed his lips together and stared at him for several seconds, then jerked his head in a nod and stood up. “All right,” he said. “What about?”

Jin Zixuan turned and walked a little away from the fire, clearly expecting Jiang Cheng to follow. He scowled at his back but after a moment did.

“What is it,” he said when Jin Zixuan stopped, out of earshot of the others.

“We’ll reach Jinlintai tomorrow,” Jin Zixuan said after a long silence.

“Yes,” Jiang Cheng said. “I know.”

Jin Zixuan wasn’t quite looking straight at him, hands tucked behind his back. “My father may be...reluctant to get involved,” he said. Jiang Cheng squinted at him, feeling as though a bucket of water had been dumped on his head.

“What?”

“He doesn’t want a quarrel with Qishan Wen.”

“Doesn’t want - Qishan Wen was using us all as hostages!” Jiang Cheng burst out, his voice rising. “Wen Chao would’ve had us be monster bait and shut us all up in a cave without our weapons! The Wens attacked Cloud Recesses and burned it down, and attacked the Unclean Realm as well-”

“I know,” Jin Zixuan said, looking briefly alarmed but still not directly at Jiang Cheng. “I am just - saying.”

Jiang Cheng tried not to grind his teeth. “You’re saying he might not want to send help back to Dusk Creek Mountain for Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji.”

“It’s...possible.” Was that shame on Jin Zixuan’s face? It looked weird on him. Jiang Cheng’s chest rose and fell rapidly and he thought you’re telling me this could all have been a waste of time, that you Jins are just going to sit back and do nothing, gutless, chicken-hearted-

Jiang Cheng’s hands balled into fists. “Right,” he said through his teeth. “Well. If he doesn’t want to send anyone-”

He choked on saying I’ll go back and do it myself. What was he going to do alone?

Dread sunk into his stomach like a rock.

“I’ll try to convince him that we can’t let this disgrace stand,” Jin Zixuan said. And then, “I will convince him.”

You’d better, Jiang Cheng thought. Or I’ll, but there wasn’t much he could do, was there? Wasn’t like he could fight Jin-zongzhu. He couldn’t do anything. Just - helpless. Useless.

He could hear that in a-niang’s voice.

“The Wen Sect is just going to keep pushing forward until someone stops them,” Jiang Cheng said. “After what happened to Lan Sect, and Qinghe Nie…”

“You don’t have to tell me,” Jin Zixuan said, and his voice was suddenly much harder. “Mianmian says-” He stopped. And looked embarrassed again. He cleared his throat. “I know what the situation is.”

Jiang Cheng wondered what Mianmian said, but he doubted asking was going to get him anywhere.

Jin Zixuan said nothing for several very long moments, and then said, “Wei Wuxian.”

Jiang Cheng tensed. “What about him,” he said tightly, because there were a lot of ways that conversations starting with Wei Wuxian could go, and given previous interactions between Wei Wuxian and Jin Zixuan, it seemed unlikely it would be good.

Jin Zixuan’s pause was even longer this time. He seemed to be struggling with something. “The way you treat him,” he said. “It’s very…”

Jiang Cheng glared at him, hackles continuing to rise.

“...familiar,” Jin Zixuan said.

“How should I treat him,” Jiang Cheng said aggressively. Jin Zixuan looked like he was beginning to regret starting this conversation. He shook his head.

“Never mind.”

“I don’t think,” Jiang Cheng said icily, “that Wei Wuxian’s place in Jiang Sect is a matter for Jin Sect to concern themselves with.”

Jin Zixuan flushed. Then turned on his heel and marched back over to the Jin disciples. Jiang Cheng glared at his back, then huffed and went back to the other Jiang disciples, taking a stick and poking at the fire.

It’s not that hard to understand, he wanted to snap at Jin Zixuan. He’s basically my brother.

And I left him behind.

Jiang Cheng shoved that away. It wasn’t his fault. And he was going back. He was not going back to Jiang Yanli without her a-Xian in tow.

And Jin Zixuan could shove his opinions where the sun didn’t shine.

Jin Zixuan had been right. Jin Guangyao did not want to get involved.

Not that anyone said as much. They were all welcomed, of course, provided food and water and guest rooms and sympathy, but no one said anything about the Wens, let alone going back to Dusk Creek Mountain.

“What are we going to do,” Jia Zian asked. “Should we just go back to Lotus Pier?”

Jiang Cheng clenched his jaw and shook his head. It’d take too long. By the time they got there and back - even if the monster hadn’t killed Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, starvation or thirst would. Time was short and running out.

He went looking for Jin Zixuan, and found him lurking outside Fragrant Palace looking disgruntled.

“Jin-gongzi,” he said loudly. He turned toward Jiang Cheng, the disgruntled look wiped off his face between one moment and the next. Jiang Cheng sort of wondered how he managed to give off that air of looking down his nose even when he wasn’t.

“Jiang-gongzi,” Jin Zixuan said stiffly.

“What has Jin-zongzhu said he’s going to do about all of this?”

Jin Zixuan’s expression pinched like he’d smelled something bad. “He is considering the matter.”

Jiang Cheng was briefly overwhelmed with the temptation to grab Jin Zixuan by the shoulders and shake him. “Considering?” he said. “How long is he going to be considering for?”

He knew he was being rude, but his head was full of the words my brother is dying. My brother might already be dead. He wasn’t going to say it.

“He didn’t say,” Jin Zixuan said. “It is - a grave matter. We’d be rebelling against the Chief Cultivator. He has to consider the welfare of the sect.” He didn’t sound happy about it, at least. Jiang Cheng’s right hand clenched into a fist and he wished, badly, that he had Sandu with him. It wouldn’t fix anything, or wouldn’t fix much, but he thought he might feel at least a little better.

“I know,” he managed, grudgingly. “I was just - wondering.”

Jin Zixuan gave him a sideways look and then said, “I asked if he would be willing to send a small group to Wang Feng to investigate.”

Jiang Cheng tried not to look too surprised. “And?”

Jin Zixuan looked away with a flick of his sleeves and said nothing, which Jiang Cheng supposed was answer enough. Maybe he was supposed to give him credit for asking. He did, sort of. But that still didn’t get them any closer to returning to that cave and getting Wei Wuxian out of it.

“I’m going to ask him again,” Jin Zixuan said abruptly. He turned his gaze more directly to Jiang Cheng, and Jiang Cheng had the feeling that he was attempting to communicate something, but he had no idea what.

“All right,” he said after a few beats of silence. “You...do that.”

And left him to it, his mind in turmoil, the horrible feeling of helplessness knocking against him like an unwelcome guest on a door, again, again, again.

Jiang Cheng had no idea what changed Jin-zongzhu’s mind. He knew it was a good thing for many reasons, that the Wen Sect was going too far and needed to be stopped, that they’d attacked Nie Sect and Lan Sect and definitely wouldn’t stop there, but his first thought was, shamefully, thank the heavens, now we can go back for my brother.

To his mild surprise, Jin Zixuan joined him. Jiang Cheng was willing to acknowledge that he was not, perhaps, entirely without redeeming qualities. He’d shown some integrity in the cave, and now-

Well, he was actually being helpful. The Jin Sect disciples wouldn’t have listened to him, but they listened to Jin Zixuan - of course. When they reached the cave, they immediately started clearing the boulders that Wen Chao and his lackeys had used to close it up.

Jiang Cheng sidled up to him and said, grudgingly, “thank you.” Jin Zixuan turned in his direction and Jiang Cheng briefly identified his expression as ‘startled.’

Then it cleared and he just nodded, folding his hands behind his back. Jiang Cheng examined him, wondering again what a-jie possibly saw in him. Maybe he was more decent than hitherto believed, but husband material he was not.

“You’ll be going back to Lotus Pier after this,” Jin Zixuan said after a few moments. Jiang Cheng nodded, his eyes on the thinning barrier of boulders between him and that damned cave. The second he saw an opening big enough…

He probably shouldn’t just run in alone. He still didn’t have Sandu. And he’d need a rope to get down safely.

Didn’t mean he didn’t want to.

Jin Zixuan cleared his throat. “Before...your shixiong was brave,” he said. Jiang Cheng’s hackles went up and what he thought was he still is, but he realized somewhat quickly that wasn’t what Jin Zixuan meant. It just sounded too much like - the kind of thing someone might say offering condolences.

His next thought was he’s a reckless idiot, is what he is, but he had too much loyalty to say that to this peacock, even still. “Wei Wuxian is the head disciple of Jiang Sect,” he said. The glance in his direction seemed almost wary.

“I’d thought,” he began, and then stopped.

Thought he was an irresponsible jackass with no sense of decorum? You wouldn’t be wrong, Jiang Cheng thought, but he kept his mouth shut and just fixed a long stare on Jin Zixuan, who coughed delicately and turned his eyes forward again.

“I hope that he and Lan-er-gongzi are all right,” he said.

They’d better be.

A shout went up; the cave was open. Jiang Cheng took a step forward, his stomach swooping. He was counting back days, calculating time, remembering Wei Wuxian shouting at him to bring back help-

Once he went in there, there’d be no turning back. Until he saw - there was some very stupid part of him that kept thinking if he didn’t know Wei Wuxian was dead, if he didn’t see him, then he’d still be alive. Which of course was not how that worked. And he wasn’t dead, anyway. Couldn’t be.

“Jiang Wanyin,” Jin Zixuan said, or started to say.

“Let’s go,” Jiang Cheng said flatly, gritting his teeth and starting forward back into the cave.

Jiang Cheng saw the dead monster first. It stank, the smell of rotting meat and blood thick enough that he felt like he would choke on it. Dead, he thought. It’s dead. They killed it?

Next to him, Jin Zixuan was staring, arm covering his nose and mouth. “That,” he said. And then, “how…”

Jiang Cheng shook himself. “Wei Wuxian!” he shouted, walking forward, looking around the cavern, scanning the surface of the water. “Wei Wuxian!” After a moment he added, “Lan Wangji!”

Other voices joined him, calling their names. Jiang Cheng’s heart was pounding in his ears. The monster was dead, he told himself. For it to be dead, someone had to have killed it. Someone had to have been alive to kill it.

(That doesn’t mean they’re alive now.)

“Wei Wuxian!” he shouted, louder.

“Here,” he heard. Quiet. Not Wei Wuxian’s voice.

Finally he saw it: a crevice in the rocks, a small opening, just big enough for people to get through but not that thing in the water. He stumbled toward it, shoved his way through, a chorus in his head going please please please.

He saw Lan Wangji first, practically glowing in his whites, leaning up against the rock wall. There were bloodstains on his robes, and he looked pale and exhausted, but his eyes were open and he was plainly alive. With him-

With him, lying limply half in Lan Wangji’s lap, was Wei Wuxian. His skin was ashy and drained of color, and Jiang Cheng’s eyes widened.

He ran, crashed to his knees next to them, and said, his voice too high, “is he-?”

“He is sick,” Lan Wangji said. His expression was pinched like he was annoyed. With Wei Wuxian, for collapsing on him? Ass. Now that he was closer, Jiang Cheng could see him breathing, shallowly. He was clutching the ugliest sword Jiang Cheng had ever seen to his chest.

“What’s that,” he said, and then shook himself and said, “never mind. Let me take him.” He moved to haul Wei Wuxian off Lan Wangji, to get him out of this filthy cave and then back to Lotus Pier, to a-jie who would be so relieved to see them both.

“No need,” Lan Wangji said, and gathered Wei Wuxian into his arms like he was weightless, standing and turning away from Jiang Cheng to walk out - limp out - in silence. Jiang Cheng gaped after him.

He managed to recover himself pretty quickly and walk out after him, face burning.

Jiang Cheng glanced at the dead monster once more on the way out. It really was an awful-looking thing. Truly horrifying, and he’d seen how fearsome it was. How had Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian managed to kill it, just the two of them, alone?

By any measurement it was an impressive feat, but they’d done it. Wei Wuxian once again showing his merit.

The moment he thought it Jiang Cheng wanted to slap himself. Jealous? Really? When he’s been starving in here for days, half-dead and feverish and wounded. And you’re going to make it about yourself. Very good.

He grimaced and kept walking, climbing out of the cave and immediately searching for Lan Wangji - and how had he gotten out that fast, the shape he was in? (Cultivation’s just that high, he thought irritably. Lan-er-gongzi, what a pillar of might and skill.

He was doing it again.

For a wild moment when he didn’t see him he thought he’d walked off with Wei Wuxian, but then he did see a figure in white kneeling by a tree, bent over a limp body in black.

Jiang Cheng strode over in a hurry. Lan Wangji’s head turned as he approached, his face now blank and expressionless. Do you have some kind of problem with me or just with people in general, he wanted to snap, but only briefly, his attention zeroing back in on Wei Wuxian, dead to the world.

“What’s wrong with him?”

Lan Wangji blinked slowly. “Infection,” he said, finally. “And…” he paused, seemingly considering something, and went on, “it was a difficult battle.”

Jiang Cheng thought that was probably an understatement. His eyes dropped to the sword he was holding, and his hackles went up. It was a nasty looking thing, stained with red that looked like old blood. “What’s that,” he said, pointing.

Lan Wangji turned his eyes back to Wei Wuxian’s face. “A sword,” he said. Jiang Cheng resisted the powerful urge to snarl.

“I got that,” he snapped, and crouched down to pry it away. He’d give it back later, but it was making his skin crawl and he had the intense urge to get it as far away from Wei Wuxian as possible.

His fingers barely touched the blade and it - bit him.

That was the only way he had to describe it. It stung, like the bite of a snake, and for a moment he could’ve sworn he heard voices screaming, for a moment he wanted to get himself as far from the thing as possible-

The feeling passed and it was just a sword again. A very strange sword that had attacked when he tried to remove it. He could feel Lan Wangji watching him.

“You already tried, didn’t you,” he said.

“Mm,” Lan Wangji said.

“You could’ve said something,” Jiang Cheng said, but he looked away and focused back on Wei Wuxian, reaching out to lay the back of his hand against his forehead, then taking his hand to channel some spiritual energy into him. Lan Wangji watched like a hawk, like he thought Jiang Cheng was going to do it wrong, somehow.

Then, very abruptly, he stood up and turned away. Jiang Cheng started to rise as well, realized he was still holding Wei Wuxian’s hand, and stopped. “What’re you doing?”

“Leaving,” Lan Wangji said. Jiang Cheng took a deep breath through his nose.

“You’re - what? Now?” On the tip of his tongue was before he wakes up? but he decided he didn’t want to touch that.

“Yes,” Lan Wangji said.

“But,” Jiang Cheng started. He didn’t actually have any reasonable objections, though. There was no reason Lan Wangji needed to stay. As soon as Wei Wuxian woke up, they were just going to go back to Lotus Pier. And it wasn’t like Lan Wangji could do anything to help him now that Jiang Cheng couldn’t do.

It still seemed like - Wei Wuxian had gone out of his way more than once to help Lan Wangji, and here Lan Wangji was just - leaving while he was still like this.

And yet he’d carried him out here. He’d been holding Wei Wuxian, practically in his lap.

“Jiang-gongzi,” Lan Wangji said, and turned again, arm folded behind his back, striding smoothly away. Jiang Cheng watched him go, scowling and perplexed, but not for long before he looked back down at Wei Wuxian.

Still dead unconscious. Emphasis on the dead.

But he’d be fine. He was still breathing, and seemed to have stabilized, more or less. Soon he’d wake up and they’d head home together. The important thing was that Jiang Cheng had made it here in time.

And Wei Wuxian was going to be fine. Maybe he’d even learn his lesson about being a goddamn hero. Probably not, though.

His eyes fell again on the sword Wei Wuxian was clutching to his chest, and his skin crawled. That thing, he thought. He really didn’t like it.

Didn’t matter. Wei Wuxian would wake up soon, and they’d go home to a-jie, the Wens would be dealt with, and life could go back to normal before the end of the year.

Yes, he told himself again. That. That was how it was going to be.

#anonymous #a wild fic appeared #jiang cheng #the untamed #the sad queer cultivators show

78 notes · View notes

wangxianfics · 4 years

Note

ahhhh hello... I just read your latest rec and, now I don’t typically read mpreg (basically never), but now I am intrigued. Could you rec maybe some that are good and not cringy or weird... just like ones that someone first getting into the troupe could enjoy. Thank you and I love your blog and all you do for us wangxian fans😆

no worries, nonny, we’ve got you covered 😉!

Non A/B/O mpreg:

❤️ They Have a Son by mrsronweasley (80K, Explicit)

Part 1.: Wei Wuxian downs the cup of tea. "All right. Now, I'm fine." He isn't, though. The tea is a mild kind, the sort that Lan Zhan prefers before bed, but even so it makes his taste buds revolt. It's only through sheer force of will that he doesn't vomit a second time.

Fucking hell, who cursed him, and how soon can he kill them?

Wei Wuxian finds himself in a whole new situation.

...

Part 2: Nearly three years on, Heyun's presence in their lives, his very existence, brings to mind how the chaos of the world can rearrange itself into the smallest of miracles.

Lan Wangji thought he knew what love was with Wei Ying. With Xichen, with his mother. He had no idea there was a different love altogether in the world.

This story belongs to Lan Wangji.

(They have two sons and a daughter. Believe us when we say this whole series is absolutely gold!)

❤️ The Duet of Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian by SilverStark (18+K, Teen)

(Post-Canon, Mpreg, Not A/B/O, Magical Unplanned Pregnancy, Wen Qing Lives, Lan Bros, Yunmeng Bros Reconcilliation)

“Lan Zhan, have you considered?…Bunnies like to burrow in the ground often, and they have lots of babies. Maybe we’re doing it wrong.”

Lan Wangji considered that, lips pursed and eyes slightly narrowed. “No, that cannot be. You told me you gave birth to A-Yuan. Was I not right to trust you?”

(Wen Qing lives in this fic and it has one of the best Yunmeng Shuangjie reconcilliation I’ve read in this fandom. All in all, this is a such a beautiful read!)

@silverstark

Blooming in white by Lucky_Moony (36K, WIP - 15/16, Teen)

(Canon Divergence, Everyone Lives, Post Chapter 71, Matchmaker!NHS, Getting Together, Hidden Pregnancy, Not A/B/O)

What if Wei Wuxian really had given birth to A-Yuan?

@luckymoony

Holding the world in my hands by Lucky_Moony (64K, Teen)

(Post Canon, Mpreg, Not A/B/O, Domestic Bliss, Family Feels, PDA, SangCheng, BFFs WWX & NHS)

The Yiling Patriarch has often claimed that if he could bear a little Master Lan for his husband, he would do so. When the impossible finally happens, Wei Wuxian and his husband are over the moon as they get ready for the arrival of their little one.

When Nie Huaisang and Jiang Cheng's secret love affair is exposed in the most dramatic way, Jiang Cheng starts to question his feelings for his longtime friend. Could he be in love with the Headshaker? If so, will Nie Huaisang ever agree to take him back after he messed up so royally?

Meanwhile, Lan Sizhui and Lan Jingyi are planning to unite their lives, but wedding planning turns out to be way more complicated than they thought it would be at first...

@luckymoony

ShuangXiu by panda_desu (52K, Mature)

(Post-Canon, Crossover, Mpreg, Pregnant Sex, Domestic Fluff)

Lan XiChen knows he must sound so stupid right now. He clears his throat. "I am sure this is something to expect from a married couple, but Wangji, I have to ask, how?"

Lan WangJi looks impassively at Lan XiChen.

(This one uses some elements from Nirvana in Fire but you wouldn’t even notice it in the plot.)

Unexpected by mondengel (1K, Teen)

(Post-Canon, Mpreg, Humor)

Wei WuXian would like to say the first thought that came to him after the shock was joy.

The Worst Man for the Job by mondengel (1+K, Teen)

(Post-Canon, Humor, Mpreg, Protective!Jin Ling, POV Jin Ling)

Lan Qiren pens the announcement for the rest of the cultivation world.

@mondengel

incense burner by wearing_tearing (2K, Explicit)

(Post-Canon, Incense Burner, Pregnant Sex, Nipple Play, Self-Lubrication, Coming Untouched, Breeding Kink)

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.

@wearing-tearing

can hear it callin me the way it used to do by anonymous (2K, Explicit)

(Post-Canon, Smut With Feelings, Pregnancy Kink, Fantasy)

Wei Ying sees something at the market he can't have.

❤️ nature’s blessing by andreanna (15K, Explicit, Series)

(Post-Canon, Mpreg, POV Outsider, POV LWJ, POV Outsider, Breedking Kink, Hurt & Comfort, 5+1)

When Wei Wuxian reflects, he thinks he can pinpoint the moment that having a child of his own body became a want, an echoing ache, deep in his stomach.

Lan Sizhui is perfection and his son in totality. But a more instinctual and biological part of him still yearns. What wouldn’t he give to have and hold a blend of himself and Lan Wangji: a child with golden eyes and a flashing smile.

❤️ walk my days on a wire by cicer (28K, Explicit)

(Modern AU, Business Rivals, Fuckbuddies, Smut With Feelings, Mutual Pining, Praise Kink, Light BDSM, Pregnancy Kink, Intersex!LWJ, Lingerie, Smut Fest)

To the rest of the tech industry, Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are former classmates and bitter rivals. But the truth is quite different. During their monthly meet-ups at discreet hotels, they enjoy a very different kind of relationship.

One evening, a fantasy spins out of control, forcing them to confront the truth: it's not just sex anymore. They both want something deeper, something serious.

(In which they role-play "let's make a baby".)

@nothing-but-color

━━━━━━━━━━━━━▼━━━━━━━━━━━━━

A/B/O (mpreg)

my soul brought to life you by threerings (31K, Explicit)

(Canon Divergence, A/B/O, Alpha!LWJ, New Omega/WWX, Marathon Sex)

When Mo Xuanyu brought Wei Wuxian back to life in his own body, he not only gave him a revenge quest, he also gave him all the problems that come with being an omega. An alpha in his past life, Wei Wuxian does NOT know what he's doing, so he ignores the issue. Until he can't.

“There is an alternative,” said Lan Xichen, cutting into his ruminations.

“What?” he asked, surprised and suddenly hopeful. Was there some way to prevent this heat after all? Some herb or cultivation technique?

“You could have a partner,” he said, dashing Wei Wuxian’s sudden hopes. “An alpha.”

Wei Wuxian huffed a laugh. “Sure, but where will you find one of those who’s willing to sleep with the Yiling Patriarch?” Lan Xichen remained silent and impassive for a moment, as if evaluating him. He inhaled and then let out a large breath.

“Wangji has volunteered.”

-- Available in podfic form here.

@three--rings

the autumn leaf (falls not far from the tree) by sushicorps (Inclinant) (38K, WIP 11/?, Explicit)

(Canon Divergence, Everyone Lives, A/B/O, Alpha!WWX, Omega!LWJ, Kid Fic, Mutual Pining, Humor, Switching)

As he takes the hand of the young Lan disciple, something quietly slots into place deep in the corner of his heart. Their bond, Wei Wuxian realises with a slowly growing clarity.

The bond between a parent and their child.

But he doesn't have a child. He does not even have a mate.

#Anonymous #mpreg #pregnant!wwx #pregnant!lwj #intersex!lwj #masterpost #breedingkink #pregnancykink #ask

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veilofher · 5 years

Text

MDZS Meta: Why did Lan WangJi live on?

Guys. Guys.

Lan WangJi. Loves. Wei WuXian.

Period.

If you’ve read Mo Dao Zu Shi / Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, then you know this is a hard fact.

Like attack his own family just to try and protect him for a bit longer and bear 33 scars on his back for it kind of love.

Like break the very rules he so strictly upholds, and stash his favorite alcohol- Emperor’s Smile in his house kind of love.

Like adopt a baby he loved kind of love (which if any of you know, taking responsibility of babies aren’t exactly the easiest thing to do, we’re talking a minimum of 16 years here guys).

So that got me thinking, if LWJ loved WWX so very very much, so much so that one of the very first descriptions of him, as said so eloquently by WWX, was “nothing could help the bitter facial expression that made him look as though his wife had passed away“, then why did he not just take his own life? Or at the very least become as nonfunctional a person as his father who was mourning his wife.

Because can you blame the man? The love of his life, who was probably the best person he knew, okay no probably about it, had been viciously villianized for his strength and then brutally murdered for his choices- choices that LWJ himself agreed with.

I mean just look at the family history of the Lans, those bloody suckers just feel too damn much.

And God knows the Lan sect wouldn’t have stopped him. Be grudged him? Yes. Hated on WWX more than they already were? Definitely. Used him as an example of how not to love? That’s a given. But stop him? I don’t think so. I mean just look at what they did with his father- Qingheng Jun. They left the man alone, to do whatever the fuck he wanted, in the name of love. And they let LWJ, who was so heavily injured that he needed three years to recover, just leave and go to the Burial Mounds merely three months after said injury. They did not even try to stop him or follow after him to make sure he was alright. They just let him do as he wanted, now that his punishment was complete.

Side note: The Lans really do allow a lot in the name of love, don’t they?

So yes, LWJ could’ve very easily ended his life, and not suffered through the next thirteen years of grief, which in his case was kind of tripled, because not only did the love of his life die, the world just blindly hated on said love, and everyone also kind of thought his soul was destroyed. Actually fuck triple grief, make it x100 fold.

But did he do that?

No.

What did he do?

He followed the principle he shared with WWX, one that WWX died to uphold- always be there for others regardless of the fame it brings / always be where the chaos is. And this is something they both have done all their lives, think LWJ protecting Mian Mian despite having a broken leg, and WWX protecting the Wen sect remnants despite the infamy if brought him.

This man, who cherished every part of WWX that he had left behind, so desperately, how could he just take his own life when WWX himself hadn’t?

I mean think of the absolutely pain and horror of the last couple of years of WWX’s life- he was one of the best cultivators of his generation who lost his core days after he lost his sect and his father-figure, then was stabbed by his own sword and thrown into hell on earth, aka The Burial Mounds, then was thrusted into a war when he was barely out of his teens, where he was reduced to a weapon by his own brother (and you cannot say anything to make me think otherwise. Jiang Cheng had the front seat view to his brother’s misery, and he did nothing. LWJ, who barely interacted with the man knew that his spiritual powers were somehow impaired, but JC, who lived with him, had zero clue? Bro do you even see your brother?), and then just when the dust was settling, and he could finally begin to psychologically heal, he took the Wen sect remnants under his wing, for which he was villainized by the entire world and it’s mother, and pretty much everything went downhill from there.

And despite all that, not once does WWX think of committing suicide. After Qionqi Path and Jin ZiXuan, he would’ve surrendered himself, I think, had he been able to secure the Wen remnants’ safety. And then after the Nightless City Massacre, and Jiang YanLi’s death, he still doesn’t kill himself, as most people in his situation probably would do, because imagine the fucking guilt of having murdered the very sister you loved more than anything. Instead he finds a way to destroy the Stygian Tiger Seal, and dies from a backlash.

LWJ was one of the few people who saw and perhaps the only one who understood WWX even in the midst of his madness. So how could he, knowing all that, just kill himself? What was his pain of losing one loved one compared to the pain of WWX’s, who had lost pretty much everyone?

So instead what does Lan WangJi do?

He lets go of the wordly affairs, and just leaves. He can’t leave his sect, because his brother and uncle and A-Yuan are still there, but he doesn’t even stay really. He’s just on the road, going from place to place, and protecting people. And teaching kids, so that they don’t end up as close minded as his and his previous generation were.

He’s doing the only thing he could do-

Live on and protect Wei WuXian’s values.

#mdzs meta #mo dao zu shi #lan wangji #wei wuxian #wangxian #grandmaster of demonic cultivation

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upside-blue · 4 years

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Your MDZS posts are iconic! I think I just rebloged you’re whole blog ajahahsgshshshs you mentioned a dark!lwj au where he rips out JCs golden core bc it’s wwxs and that’s peak content is there a post??????

thank you so much for your kind words! There is no post for dark!lwj rips out JC’s golden core AU just yet but I will elaborate if you want!

Ok so: Somehow LWJ could find out about WWX giving up his golden core to JC. I mean, there was lots of evidence including JC suddenly getting way stronger after rumors about Wen Zhuliu destroying his core and WWX disappearing. The way WWX never used his sword again. Why WWX wouldn’t return to Gusu to be redeemed.

So I imagine he just wakes up a few years into his grief, 2 am galaxy brain moment, and has that Realization. It all makes sense! And it pushes LWJ down this huge spiral of grief and guilt. He kept pushing WWX and asking him to return to the path of the sword which would have been impossible for him, of course WWX had refused! He never even noticed how much WWX had lost, how much he was hurting. How much he had given up.

And for Jiang Wanyin! The man who killed him! WWX had given up everything, his whole life, had condemned himself to the darkness for his sworn brother and this ingrate of a man killed him for it. After he had refused to stand by him like he didn’t owe WWX a debt he could never repay.

And then in the midst of his wallowing, a single thought emerges: Jiang Wanyin doesn’t deserve this golden core. If anyone should get to hold onto the last living piece of WWX, it should be him.

(Well, he knows that this isn’t what WWX would want. He tries to stop himself, really he does, because this is wrong, LWJ can’t just kill someone WWX used to cherish for his selfish desires. It won’t bring WWX back. It would cause so much trouble for the Lan Sect, would basically ruin the Jiang sect, might plunge them back into war. And he has to take care of a-Yuan, he can’t just abscond with blood on his hands and a stolen core in a quiakun pouch and leave chaos behind. But in the end... He just wants to feel close to WWX again. He just wants to feel warm again.)

Maybe he plans this. He makes preparations, a pouch or other artefact that can hold a core (For this AU it would be much cooler if he could swap the cores or at least replace his own with wwx’s but he’d need a doctor with some mad skill or some kind of forbidden core-swapping ritual for that. Though that would also be a cool option), a way to get to Yunmeng undiscovered, stuff like that. Or maybe he doesn’t and just runs, as soon as he can. And then he shows up in the middle of the night in JC’s bedroom, wielding a dagger and a manic glint in his eyes, whispering about how he just needs to feel close to WWX again, how he just wants him back, even just this little bit.

And once JC puzzles out the meaning behind his insane rambling he goes so into shock with the Realizations that he forgets to struggle for a bit while LWJ carves the core out of his chest.

RIP JC lmao.

OR AU where he figures it out in the middle of some meeting due to an off-hand remark of JGY’s (who just woke up that day wanting to cause problems on purpose) and throws himself at JC sword first right then and there. Carves JC’s chest up to grab the core but because he isn’t a skilled doctor operating on a willing patient the thing just disperses like a second after he grabs it and clutches it close, and he has destroyed the last of WWX and dishonored his sacrifice and... eh, maybe the other people at the meeting will stop him beforehand and he gets restrained to helplessly scream demands for the core and accusations in JC’s face until JC gets it and breaks down and then both of them start crying, like, wouldn’t that be fun. The meeting is probably at carp tower so they can test it out with suibian right there and cause a huge inter-sect incident.

OR slightly less angsty AU where LWJ realizes he can’t get the core out of JC without risking dispersion. Another way the core could disperse is if JC dies, which would be unacceptable. So he just kidnaps JC, keeps him tied up and helpless and just basks in being in the presence of a living part of WWX while JC rapidly oscillitates between Scared, Annoyed, Extremely Angry At The Insane Man and Having Core-Related Realizations. That could actually be pretty sweet, too, with both of them having to confront their grief over WWX, and with awkward angry kidnappee JC having to stiltingly console a weeping mid-breakdown Lan Wangji in some cave. Imagine it. This might actually be my favourite iteration of that idea.

Either way when WWX wakes back up he is gonna be mad big time at his Lan Zhan.

Anyway thanks again for that sweet message anon, I hope you enjoyed my ramblings!

#cql #the untamed #mdzs #ask #dark lwj #dark au #Jiang Cheng #Lan Wangji #Golden Core #This was fun and i can't believe i got such a nice anon my heart #imagine lwj wielding a bloody dagger in his white outfit like something out of a horror movie #i have a weakness for unhinged rambling #jc and lwj having to spend any amount of time together will end in blood or tears every time and will always be entertaining af

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stiltonbasket · 4 years

Note

Helloo! I loved the chengqing posts you reblogged, and would love to hear any thoughts you have on them. Are there any AUs that you have in your mind where they’re happy? Or any angsty headcanons abt who they were (and weren’t, and couldn’t be) to each other in canon?

Oh, I have tons of thoughts about AUs where they could have been happy :( like if JC had promised to help find Wen Ning when he could spare resources for things that weren’t a) fighting for his and his sect’s survival or b) finding his idiot brother, everything could have been fine, or if JC offered the Wens sanctuary at Lotus Pier (look, Yiling is really close to Yunmeng and the Wens could have easily been integrated as civilians. Hiding Wen Ning and Wen Qing would have taken some effort, but would anyone have recognized Granny or Uncle Four? Not a chance). If Jiang Cheng had backed Wei Wuxian when he showed up at the banquet looking for Wen Ning, and said that Wen Ning and Wen Qing sheltered us from Wen Chao when the Wen sect was still very much at an advantage, I owe them a debt, the Lan and Nie sects would have supported him too--everyone could have been okay, and Jiang Cheng and Wen Qing could have been everything to each other.

But with Jiang Cheng’s canon actions, it felt like he wanted to stay on Lanling Jin’s good side specifically; we see Lan Xichen telling the Jins that the Wen prisoners should be fairly tried, and that anyone who wasn’t involved with the war should be released. Nie Mingjue agrees with him, if a bit reluctantly, which means that whole rivers-of-blood torture/execution scene occurs without either of them knowing. Even the Jins chasing unarmed women and children into the forest happens without anyone knowing, except for WWX and LWJ who witnessed it and just...never told anyone about it? More on that later...

And as for how JC could have feelings for Wen Qing and still, uh, have the utter gall to feel bad about having the comb returned when he just took his sword out to kill Wen Ning five seconds ago? Jiang Cheng. Jiang Cheng why. I don’t understand, Jiang Cheng. It gets even worse when you remember that he met the Dafan Wens earlier in the series. He knows they’re harmless, and he still calls them useless and shouts at baby A-Yuan not to touch him, right in front of WQ--and he still stares sadly at the comb after she gives it back? Jc bro I love you i swear but just. Why

In my AU, though, JC wanted to do something to help the Wens; the problem is that he decided it could wait until the Jiang sect was fully recovered from the Sunshot Campaign. He told himself that WWX and Wen Qing would be fine in the Burial Mounds for a year or two, because he would help eventually, just when it was safer--possibly when he could count on some Jin support through Jin Zixuan, aka the beautiful airhead who had no clue what was going on at any given point of time but would have done anything for Jiang Yanli. Jiang Cheng even planned to bring up the subject with JZX at the full month ceremony, since WWX was expected to be there too, and he knew JGS would have a hard time challenging the testimony of his legitimate heir--but then the ambush happened, and JGS offered a pardon for WWX in exchange for Wen Qing and Wen Ning.

It hasn’t been covered in TMAAF yet, but when Jiang Cheng heard about the exchange pardon, he went straight to JGS and begged on his literal knees for Wen Qing’s life. He had no grounds to ask for mercy on Wen Ning’s behalf, but he explained that Wen Qing took him in and nursed him back to health at great risk to herself, and pleaded with Jin Guangshan until he agreed to spare her.

But what JC wasn’t expecting (and what WWX wasn’t expecting, either) was that the rest of the Dafan Wens would turn themselves in, too. JC couldn’t risk going to the Burial Mounds to see what was going on, but he hoped WWX might anticipate an attack and come to Lotus Pier for safety with A-Yuan, so he returned to Yunmeng to strengthen his protective wards against a possible assault from Lanling--and by the time he made it back to the Nightless City, Wen Qing was dead, despite Jin Guangshan’s promise to spare her life. Jiang Cheng only found out when her ashes were poured out in front of him, since he had already been to the hanging ground and didn’t find her there.

In the present time, Jiang Cheng is still mourning Wen Qing, and the choices he made that contributed to her murder. Sixteen relatively conflict-free years gave him a lot of perspective; in TMAAF, he’s grappling with the fact that he took sixteen years away from his brother’s life, and that Lan Wangji’s disdain for him is 100% founded. He has to deal with the fact that Wen Qing suffered because she protected him, and then died for it because he didn’t lift a finger to help until it was already too late; and he knows about Sizhui, too, so the knowledge that he did nothing to protect Wen Yuan while Lan Wangji fought two clans to protect him and took 33 lashes on his back for punishment cuts deep. Jiang Cheng’s statement in chapter 7 of Twelve Moons--that he doesn’t deserve love--is rooted in his belated realization that he cared for both WWX and WQ but didn’t follow through in a way that mattered, and that his failure killed them.

(Stay tuned for more angst, aka the reveal of how WQ actually died and why.)

#asks #chengqing

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hamliet · 5 years

Text

Trapped in MDZS (Part 1): WangXian as Balance

Or, a meta series in which I want to know the answer to this question: why does almost every arc ends with everyone trapped in some kind of place, be it a cave, a house of the living dead, or even worse, the Cloud Recesses and their 4,000 rules?

am i using every excuse i have to talk about mdzs’s symbolism yes yes i am

Tl;dr it’s a motif masterfully utilized within story to emphasize MDZS’s themes of freedom and righteousness, and how society (the real monster of the story) doesn’t actually allow for freedom nor righteousness. Every character is trapped by societal expectations as I wrote in a previous meta

And hence part 1: WangXian vs. the Dead Society

Basically: as I wrote in this previous meta, society in MDZS?

Every character is trapped by societal expectations--be it Jiang Cheng having to lead his sect as a traumatized teenager, Lan WangJi trying to be the perfect disciple of the GusuLan Sect, Wei WuXian cursed by everyone for having no recourses left to him according to society’s rules for cultivators.

But MDZS’s answer isn’t exactly “the hell with society let’s set it all on fire.” It’s about finding freedom through doing the right thing--which often doesn’t coincide with rules, and specifically not with societal rules. It also acknowledges society as people who all matter. Through doing the right thing, it offers a path out of society’s trap, and we see this path to freedom incarnated in the story through Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi’s relationship.

Gusu Lan Sect’s motto is literally “be righteous,” and Yunmeng Jiang’s is “attempt the impossible,” two potentially opposing characteristics that both LWJ and WWX embody to faults. Lan WangJi is so righteous he’s afraid of being honest with himself, and consequently the person he loves thinks he hates him. Wei WuXian tries to do the impossible without any regard to his own wellbeing. And the motif of trapping is used on an extremely minor level to demonstrate the idea of balance between these two important ideals: Lan WangJi ties Wei WuXian up with his hair ribbon, symbolically restricting the latter’s admirable, yet at times careless, freedom in behavior, while for Lan WangJi removing such a symbol of propriety and righteousness and giving it to someone he loves is an act of extreme vulnerability, an act that breaks with society’s expectations and basically announces he’s gay--to the juniors, which is also important because the juniors are the future of society.

But before they can offer any hope to anyone in a way that actually lasts (instead of like what happened during Wei WuXian’s first life, which Did Not Work), they have to learn to work together themselves, and move towards each other’s approach by balancing personal responsibility and desires.

After Dafan Mountain, Lan WangJi has to take Wei WuXian to the Cloud Recesses to protect him, and yet Wei WuXian cries hysterically, refusing to go in because he's afraid of being trapped in a place of rules and punishment.

He was making loud noises exactly because he didn’t want to enter the Cloud Recesses!

If he was dragged inside, it would be extremely difficult for him to come outside again. Back then, when he came to study, all of the disciples were given a jade token for passage. Only with the token, would a person be able to enter and leave freely, or else they couldn’t pass through the protective barrier of the Cloud Recesses. After ten years had passed, the security could only have gotten stricter, instead of looser.

Except Wei WuXian’s quest for the token (the key to freedom) only leads him to awkward encounters with Lan WangJi, resulting in Lan WangJi taking away his ability to move and leaving him with no choice but to fall asleep on top of Lan WangJi. His quest for freedom needs to be balanced by Lan WangJi, who shows him that his wellbeing matters too (as if he’d not taken him back to the Cloud Recesses, he would’ve been taken to be tortured in Lotus Pier).

Yet they soon leave the Cloud Recesses after the arm (of a man obsessed with rules more so than the GusuLan Sect even) is released in the GusuLan Sect and overpowers everyone, even Lan QiRen, while they’re all locked in the mingshi. Wei WuXian is the one who breaks into the mingshi to help Lan WangJi settle the arm with demonic cultivation, showing again that Lan WangJi, who locks himself up with rules and tries to do things on his own, needs someone to break in and help him, and sometimes the only method is one that people blatantly frown upon. And of course, Lan QiRen, the very fuddy-duddy society-incarnate leader, yells at them to stop working together to subdue the arm:

Lan QiRen, who had lost consciousness, actually sat upright again. He pointed at Wei WuXian with a trembling hand, his face covered in blood and rage, and shouted in a hoarse voice, “Stop playing! Get out! Get out now! Stop…”

But they don’t stop, manage to temporarily restrain the evil arm, and will continue to move in each other’s direction throughout the story.

However, those are more or less incidents in which one person is choosing to trap the other or break into the other’s self-imprisonment. There are three incidents in which society itself traps both Lan WangJi and Wei WuXian with no options, and each of these incidents has both Lan WangJi and Wei WuXian winding up in a cave together. Each cave incident is associated with a turning point in WangXian’s relationship: the Tortoise of Slaughter incident, the cave after the Nightless City massacre, and the cave at the Burial Mounds.

The Tortoise of Slaughter cave was deliberately sought by Wen Chao. The Wen Sect is symbolic of society: tempestuous yet in power and abusing this power, and also shows the temporality of society as they’re almost completely wiped out and universally despised later. They take the disciples’ swords and lead them into a cave to seek a monster, unaware that the monster inside is so fierce and instead of bringing honor to the Wen Sect (like its slaying does temporarily) it will spark the Wen Sect’s downfall even more than it resulted in the Jiang Sect’s downfall.

When Wen Chao and Ling WangJiao try to kill an innocent girl (MianMian), Lan WangJi and Jin ZiXuan refuse to let her be harmed, and Wei WuXian saves them by threatening to kill Wen Chao. (side note: these are both the people Jiang Cheng’s siblings would later wind up marrying, hence it’s tragically ironic Jiang Cheng blames Wei WuXian’s saving them for the downfall of his sect, when it also results in happiness for the people he loves most). But as soon as the monster appears, the Wens gtfo, and leave everyone trapped in a cave to die. But the disciples, foreshadowing the upcoming Sunshot Campaign, work out a plan to escape from the cave even when it seems like there is no hope. Yet in the end Lan WangJi and Wei WuXian are still trapped there after everyone else escapes. They kill the tortoise by working together, but they need others to come and save them from the cave--i.e. symbolically WangXian’s relationship can help defeat society’s monsters, but they can’t survive on their own with just the two of them--they need others too, and the others need them.

The tortoise cave of course also is the birth of where Lan WangJi opens up to Wei WuXian about his father, showing vulnerability in crying in front of him, where Wei WuXian receives a brand from society that Lan WangJi will later brand himself with, and where the song that enables Lan WangJi to recognize Wei WuXian when he’s reborn is first played.

And then we have the Koi Tower incident and the cave after the Nightless City massacre, which directly parallel each other in a structure of WWX & LWJ vs. society in a fight, flying off to a cave together, and having to reemerge into society to save children.

In Koi Tower, Jin GuangYao, the Chief Cultivator, is able to completely twist the events to blame Wei WuXian and expose his identity. Yet Lan WangJi refuses to leave him, showing that he goes against what society wants when it’s wrong: he is trying to pursue righteousness, and the way to do it in this instant is to help Wei WuXian escape.

But what he hadn’t expected was that when everyone feared him and flattered him, Lan WangJi scolded him right in his face; when everyone spurned him and loathed him, Lan WangJi stood by his side.

They return to the Cloud Recesses, where Lan XiChen helps them and shows Wei WuXian patience and mercy, in contrast to what happened the last time Lan WangJi stood against society for Wei WuXian’s sake.

The massacre at the Nightless City was brought about by Wei WuXian losing his mind based on grief and how everyone was blaming him for an incident he hadn’t incited, and afterwards, well, as Lan XiChen says:

“...He was in no better shape than you, barely supporting himself by leaning on Bichen. In spite of this, as he saw you stumble away, he immediately followed... I could only watch as WangJi, whose spiritual powers were clearly about to be drained, staggered towards you. He brought you onto Bichen as soon as he grabbed you, and you two left.

“Four hours later, my spiritual powers, having finally been restored, I hurried back to the GusuLan Sect in search for assistance. I was worried that if those from another sect found you first, WangJi would be considered your accomplice. The best scenario was his name being forever tainted, and the worst his life being taken away right then. Thus, along with Uncle, we chose thirty-three seniors who had always thought highly of WangJi and searched for two days on our swords in secrecy. Only then did we find signs of you two within the Yiling region. WangJi hid you in a cave. When we arrived, you sat blankly on a rock within the cave. Holding your hand, WangJi was giving you spiritual energy. He kept on whispering to you... He heavily injured all thirty-three of the seniors we asked to come…”

So they took refuge in a cave because no matter where Lan WangJi or Wei WuXian turned at that time, they were pretty much doomed and trapped in society’s snares. Lan WangJi decided in that moment that the righteous thing to do was to fight to protect Wei WuXian, and he did, but then he subjected himself to physical punishment and as a result, Wei WuXian died. But this time, after Koi Tower, Lan XiChen vows to take no drastic measures and protects Wei WuXian and Lan WangJi until the truth can truly be found out.

It’s also worth noting that what pulls Lan WangJi out of the seclusion anyways after Wei WuXian’s death results in him saving Wen Yuan, an innocent child spurned by society and condemned to die all alone. After Koi Tower, it follows the same pattern--Lan WangJi and Wei WuXian head to a cave in the Burial Mounds (the same cave where Wei WuXian awoke Wen Ning’s consciousness and where the dead of the Wen Sect are buried). because yet again the children (including Wen Yuan) are at stake, tied up and to be used as bait.

The dead (symbolic of society’s past) are coming for them as well, yet it’s Lan WangJi and Wei WuXian who, unlike the rest of society who fought their way there to save the kids, keep their spiritual powers (because they weren’t attempting to kill their sins embodied in the dead people). In contrast to being trapped and torn apart by the dead like what happened last time at the Burial Mounds, Wei WuXian this time, with Lan WangJi’s help, is able to use his non-society-approved cultivation to save the kids and the adults after he’s confronted with his own sins, but doesn’t try to make excuses for them--but in contrast to his often martyr-esque tendencies, this time he doesn’t take responsibility for the things he didn’t do just because there’s no hope.

He had known from the start that no matter what he said, nobody would listen to him. What he denied could be forced; what he admitted could be twisted...

Every face boiled with heated blood, every word spoken guiltlessly, every person heroic, passionate, filled with indignation and pride. Everyone believed with no doubt that what they were doing was a feat of chivalry, a deed of honor. It would go down history and receive millions of praise. It was a crusade of the ‘righteous’ against the ‘wrong’!

Society twists what is considered right and wrong, believing it’s killing and an eye for an eye, refusing to take any personal responsibility and refusing to allow people to go against the norm. As Wei WuXian points out, he’s already died, and it’s still not enough for them. And he refuses to take responsibility for the things he has not done:

He was only stating a simple fact calmly, but the cultivator felt as if he was scorned, fuming, “What do you think we’re talking about here? How could there be bargaining to debts of blood?”

Wei WuXian, “It’s not that I want to bargain about such a thing, but that I don’t want my charges to be doubled just because of some words from another. I won’t shoulder what I didn’t do.”

Lan WangJi is able to actually help him this time so that he doesn’t lose his mind to despair over everyone blaming him for things he didn’t do, and he saves all of their lives and finds a measure of atonement from the dead Wen people--the ones society killed, who return to save the people who clamored for their deaths--because of Wei WuXian. The people who Wei WuXian saved at the eventual cost of his fall from grace that led to his death save the people who killed them all. The dead past saves with the present society for the sake of the children (as SiZhui is a relative of many of them).

And so society begins to forgive Wei WuXian. And yet they haven’t really changed, as they’ll find a new villain to hate shortly. But WangXian kind of no longer cares about pleasing society thereafter--they elope and marry, but return to visit SiZhui and check in on the kids by the end of the novel. They can’t leave society, but they can exist on a better plane showing the path for the juniors of where society should be heading.

I want to write two more metas on this (I think the first is def the weakest, so sorry about this meta’s incomplete feeling and my vague-ness at parts; it’s a broad topic and I wasn’t sure how to best divide it so went by characters instead of by arc)--one on the juniors in particular, and one on Jin GuangYao and Nie HuaiSang.

#mdzs meta #mdzs #mao dao zu shi #mo dao zu shi #wangxian #lan wangji #wei wuxian #lan xichen

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