#wwx: (tells a bad joke)

[fruitdaze]

what REALLY makes me feel wild is the fact that wwx took so long to realize his own attraction to lwj because, in part, he just assumed that everyone felt that way about lan wangji. it was soooo obvious to him that lan zhan was the best, smartest, most handsome person in the world that it felt like an objective truth and not a personal opinion

#wwx: heheheh lan zhan is so funny!!!!! #everyone else: (looking into the camera like they’re on the office) lan er gongzi…. funny…? #wangxian #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #but this is also reversed in the sense that many other people find/found wwx arrogant and brash and annoying #and lwj was immediately like. yes he is a a terror. and i want him #wwx: (tells a bad joke) #lwj: (reverently) wei ying is the funniest person alive #rtxt

[grewlikefancyflowers]

Okay, people blame all the miscommunication on LWJ but have they ever considered how the situation may look from his pov? WWXs enormous crush is obvious to the readers but not to LWJ. His behaviour might seem confusing from the outside pov.

I think WWX's behaviour caused LWJ a lot of confusion and frustration.

I mean, WWX flirts with him pretty much in all their interactions across both his lives*. LWJ is very aware of this because he tells him, 'If you do not have those intentions, do not flirt with others. You are doing as you please yet others will be in turmoil.' (ch.54). He's not 'in turmoil' because he's jealous that WWX had been flirting with Mianmian (or at least, that's a minor part in it). WWX flirts with girls all the time, LWJ is aware of this, he's aware of the fact that WWX doesn't feel anything towards her (or any of the others), this is precisely the thing that frustrates him, because WWX behaves this way with him too (or at least appears to, LWJ has no way of knowing that WWX actually has real feelings for him. WWX doesn't even know this).

*Notable examples of flirty behaviour in his first life since there are somehow people who miss his planet-sized crush — Constantly trying to get LWJ's attention and calling him er-gege (not inherently flirty but is when taken in the context of everything else), drawing a portrait of LWJ & winking at him, seeking him out and saying 'did you miss me~' and giving him gifts, finding LWJ in the cold spring and draping himself over the rocks and murmuring 'lan zhan' in his ear then stripping, then purposefully trying to move closer to/touch LWJ while they're both nakey, throwing flowers for him at Phoenix Mountain & in Yunmeng (while knowing he is imitating how girls behave with their crushes), pretending to faint to 'trick' LWJ into catching and holding him when he visited Yiling.

When WWX is flirting with the jiejies in Caiyi town, JC comments that he is 'flirting around again,' (which carries a double meaning because WWX had just been flirting with LWJ too), so it is evident to LWJ that WWX casually flirts with whoever. WWX seems barely aware of what he's doing, which only frustrates LWJ further,

'Lan WangJi looked at him quietly, “Do you behave in such a frivolous way towards everyone?”

Wei WuXian thought for a second, “I think so?”

Lan WangJi looked at the ground. He only replied a moment later, “How impudent!”

The word was spat through gritted teeth and tinged with an inexplicable bitterness'.

As well as that, WWX several times suggests, or outright says, that he is straight.

When he gives LWJ straight porn — '“What kind of person are you?!” “What kind of person could I be? I’m a guy!” Wei Wuxian said. Lan Wangji’s tone was cutting. “You have no shame!” “I have to be ashamed? Don’t tell me you’ve never looked at these things. I don’t believe it.” Evidently, in WWX's view, looking at straight porn is just the standard expected thing for him to do, as a guy. He evens expects LWJ to have done so too. Obviously this is comphet talking, but to LWJ is simply comes across as if the boy he's crushing on is straight, and cannot even fathom being anything else. LWJ never appears to struggle with any expectation that he should be interested in women, nor does his family find his queerness unusual, so it's probable that WWX's struggles with his sexuality are hard for LWJ realise and understand at this point, esp because he's so young and preoccupied with his own feelings.

In the cold spring scene, WWX's flirting reaches unhinged levels, he also starts complimenting LWJ, and says, '“Lan Zhan, did you figure out what I was trying to do earlier?” “No,” Lan Wangji replied. “Really, you didn’t know? I was kissing up to you so you’d be my friend.” Lan Wangji side-eyed him. “What are you trying to accomplish?”' LWJ asks WWX what exactly his intentions are, clearly he thinks just trying to be friends is not a good explanation for the things WWX does. But WWX insists he really just wants LWJ to be his friend, he says if he's his friend he'll share his porn books (btw the word used is 春宫图 which refers exclusively to het erotica), then WWX goes on to insist that girls won't like how LWJ is behaving, then tries to convince him to come to Yunmeng with the promise that there are pretty girls there. So WWX really does just repeatedly flirt with LWJ, in this situation he does not only reiterate that he is attracted to women, but also just operates under the assumption that LWJ is too. LWJ again can only reasonably take from this interaction that WWX firmly identifies as straight and isn't generally open to anything else.

(Yes bisexuality exists but I do not think characters within the text (or perhaps the text itself) have much awareness of that. Eg, it is decided based on MXY's cutsleeve behaviour that he cannot possibly be WWX, because it was widely 'known' that WWX was attracted to women. Aside from that, imo MXTX repeatedly wrote all these examples of WWX's supposed attraction to women with the purpose of it coming across to LWJ as if WWX could not possibly return his feelings because LWJ's unconditional love of him with no expectation of anything in return is a key part of his character. From a storytelling perspective there isn't really any other reason for these scenes to exist.)

And then there is that infamous scene in Xuanwu Cave when WWX strips and pulls LWJ's clothes off too, pretending that he has certain intentions, though his real purpose was obvs to help LWJ. (Also I think 'Wei WuXian took off all of his clothes and tore them to shreds, “What do I want to do? Right now, we two are the only ones here. I’m already making it so obvious— what do you think I want to do?”' (ch.54) echoes the cold spring scene — 'Wei Wuxian kicked off his boots, removed his clothes, and threw them everywhere. “I took off all my clothes and you’re still asking me what I’m doing here."' (ch.18), implying that WWX was on some level aware of how his actions came across back then, though couldn't consciously address it). The exchange ends with LWJ asking WWX not to do things like this, 'Although he knew that it was out of good will, Lan WangJi still seemed a bit annoyed, “… Can you not make this kind of joke again?!”' He's still annoyed in large part because this is not the first time WWX has pulled this exact trick, 'good will' is not all there is to it. WWX misunderstands and decides to placate him by assuring him that he is straight, '"Don’t worry—I don’t like men, I won’t take advantage of the opportunity and do anything to you.”' Unsurprisingly, this only seems to annoy LWJ further. Probably because WWX has constantly been making these types of 'jokes' and the fact that WWX seemingly has no real feelings behind them is precisely why LWJ reacts badly to it.

LWJ isn't someone who lacks empathy and understanding, when it comes to WWX he is always watching him. So, it probably does occur to him that WWX's insistence that he is straight can perhaps not be taken at face value (especially when they spend a lot of time together in WWX's second life). Actually, after the Phoenix Mountain flower throwing, LWJ is quite insistent that WWX admit to being to one who did it, 'Holding the flower, Lan WangJi seemed to be quite cold. His tone seemed cold as well, “Was it you?”' Then in Yunmeng, LWJ asks WWX why he did it 'Lan WangJi, “Why?” Wei WuXian, “Why not? I just wanted to see how you’d react to such a thing.” Lan WangJi, “Ridiculous.”' (LWJ responds here with his signature '无聊', which carries a connotation of doing something pointless, because you're so bored you have nothing else to do, which I think is reflective of how he takes WWX's flirting overall.)

So, LWJ probably considers the possibility that there is actually something more to WWX's flirting, and wants to get him to admit he does it and asks him why he does it. But I think LWJ is also hesitant to dwell on this possibility too much as he is very fearful of violating WWX's boundaries, I think he's very concerned about wishful thinking or making assumptions or inadvertently projecting his feelings onto WWX. All this is also reflected in how LWJ warns WWX several times in his second life to be aware of his actions/words ('Mark your words', 'are you sure you want to do this', 'do not fool around', 'you reap what you sow'), he sincerely wants WWX to think about what he does, he doesn't want to allow or reciprocate WWX's advances if there's a possibility he's just messing around and doesn't mean it. Basically, he really wants to avoid a situation where they do anything together for any reason other than that's what WWX truly wants.

#[thinks about chapter 95 and screams] #mdzs #mdzs meta #good lord how did this end up so long #this subject overall touches on an issue where just because wx do not openly talk about some things people think that #they are bad communicators #actually they each have reasonable & valid reasons for keeping things to themselves #lwj expresses himself through actions not words. so he really is not the best at explaining himself or saying clearly what he means/wants #but him not being open about this is not an example of bad communication #and i mean he's pretty clear in xuanwu cave when he tells wwx not to flirt frivolously or make his 'jokes' #lan wangji

[whumpbby]

Hehe, I am thinking that JC got tangled in some shenanigans that keep following Wei Wuxian, and in effect got sent to some other dimension where everything is the same but isn't.

And now WWX has to go and retrieve him - and for that ends up going through quite a few realities in a "Where isy my shidi?" adventure that places him face to face with a variety of Jiang Chengs and his own feelings of shame, guilt, love and anger towards his shidi.

He sees a Jiang Cheng who have lost their core and a one that didn't, ones that reclaimed his sect and one that was enslaved by Wen Zhuliu as some sick standin for his mom. One that saved Yanli and sacrificed his sect and one that never forgave Wei Wuxian (ohz so that's how his actual hate feels) and one that got over WWX's death and forgot (and that's how indifference feels, Wei Wuxian hates it!). There is a reality where JC didn't get a replacement core and Wei Wuxian was the Jiang Sect Leader who kept him under lock and key (and that Jiang Cheng was miserable, but didn't want to run away, as long as his Wei Wuxian loved him still...).

There is one where Jiang Cheng is married to Lan Xichen and they have kids??? (Wei Wuxian hates it! Hates it! Hates it!!! ....just can't explain why... His shidi would never...right? And what does it mean Jiang Cheng gave birth to the kids?? Oh gods, he never wants to have Lan Xichen sit him down for a sex talk ever again>_<!!! The alpha/omega sex sure is something!) That world unsettled him the most. How is it that Jiang Cheng is happily married here? How is it that Lan Xichen chose him to marry??? Doesn't he mind the awful personality and constant anger? His shidi is very pretty and great, and strong, but he is just like his mom and... Lan Xichen almost slaps him in the head in that universe. Which is scary, because Lan Xichen never gets angry to Wei Wuxian's memory. And on account of a joke? Wei Wuxian doesn't get it.

"If you stopped looking at him and trying to see his mother instead of the boy you grew up with." The big alpha tells him. "Then you'd understand."

And uh, yeah, that one kinda....stung a bit. Maybe that reality wasn't that bad - for Jiang chengttonhave someone who cared for him and understood him. For his shidi to have family again, one that loved him as he should be loved even if it didn't include Wei Wuxian. Even if his shidi had to birth babies and take that monstrous Lan pillar...(he hated it, hated it, heated it!!!)

It's still better, however, than the one reality Wei Wuxian stepped into that just... Didn't have Jiang Cheng of its own. One where he died at the hands of Wen Chao, where the Sunshot Campaign never even got off the ground, because their Wei Wuxian burned the Wen to the ground and salted the ashes. There's no Lan Sizhui there, no Wen Ning. Wen Quing died under his hands like all the others. There's no Yunmeng Jiang. Just Wei Wuxian full of rage and the world that lives in fear of him. What a miserable existence.

He left that world as fast as he could, sick to his stomach.

On the quest to reclaim his precious shidi.

#mdzs #headcanon #jiang cheng #wei wuxian

[sasukimimochi]

me and my friends @yuzanrath and @mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess were casually brainrotting today and we came up with a pretty funny prompt (who knows if I may eventually write it but I do really enjoy it and I don't write enough funny things) For some context, this prompt started as a joke where JC single-handedly invents non-sexual dual cultivation cuz he's so chronically single, but this is a separated idea more focused on wwx haha (no warning cuz no real pregnancies are had, just shenanigans)

TLDR will be at the bottom.

Let's say this is like, 2 years post-canon or more. So the 'juniors' probably aren't all juniors at this point but i'm still gonna call them that.

-wwx gets cursed with some sort of bloating while on a night hunt with the juniors but it doesn't start showing until the next day. wwx teases/jokes with the juniors about various forms of innocent touches/staring and points out he and lwj were holding hands the day previous before he left on his trip and kissed him goodbye and so everyone starts to believe he really IS pregnant from such a little thing. (the juniors are ofc horrified at the prospect of such easily acquired pregnancy AND FOR A MALE, and lsz is secretly excited about the prospect of getting a sib)

-Wen Ning (as part of the night hunting party who is still around rn) is kinda doubtful, but he also ends up believing bc the juniors getting excited (mainly lsz) is infectious. And, wwx really does have abdominal swelling; so, as is the theme here, he ends up believing too despite his doubts.

-lxc is informed via a junior and wwx shows that he is in fact not stuffing his shirt and lxc is stumped, can't defute, so decides it's best to go along with it for now just in case, as to not stress out the potentially pregnant brother-in-law.

-lxc and the juniors are babying him a little bit but wwx finds it funny and enjoyable so keeps it up for now since the curse is something he can easily fix and doesn't really hurt.

-LWJ comes home and at first thinks "wei ying what have u done now" but then sees the swelling is actually attached to his body and falls for it too, cue the doting husband who becomes his shadow. No more spicy food while he's 'expecting', no sex cuz he's too rough, no liquor bc bad for the baby.

-wwx handles this for a couple days, the super healthy food, lack of everything he likes, and a subtle pain in his gut from the swelling getting worse too quickly (skin isn't meant to stretch that fast) before he can't do it anymore and confesses that it was him teasing the kids and kept the joke going too long. (He cures the curse in front of him perhaps and lwj is just devastated but in his lwj way. That or LWJ cures it with something simple like cleansing idk)

-They tell lxc & lqr and lxc looks disappointed bc he likes children but mainly bc lwj is sad too (and of course lqr is celebrating oh thank god it was fake)

-they tell lsz & Wen Ning and that's the final straw, the sad subtle puppy-eye looking disappointment makes wwx drag the three on a journey out of the cloud recesses; They find a little bebe orphan to take in, perhaps they have a goofy journey of offering parenthood to orphaned kids who don't trust/don't want it before they find a local single mother died giving birth or something and they end up having a real connection with the baby, including lsz who gets insta attached, and so its decided one way or another that this is their baby.

-They go back to cloud recesses and the juniors are all like "WHERE DID YOU GO WHILE YOU WERE PREGNANT AND THEN LXC SAID YOU WEREN'T AN- OH" baby reveal. and thus wwx grins and the baby joke continues, says that he just had the baby etc etc and lxc was mistaken they just wanted a private birth or smth blah blah blah

-lsz immediately goes along with it because he is extra happy he has a little brother/sister now and he's feeling mischievous too, and says they need to take the baby to the nursery etc etc and wwx needs to rest (he is a bit tired tho after running around and getting rid of that curse n stuff)

-JC comes storming bc of the rumors bc even in gusu they can't shut their traps and sees baby, deflates but still has grumpy face like wtf happened (probably Jin Ling's fault that he finds out)

-wwx would probably joke a bit then tell him the truth immediately instead of trying to make him believe it too to avoid confrontation but asks for him to keep it secret for the joke, and Jc is like "..." cuz its an opportunity for the two to joke around together again even if he's grumpy™️ about it and so he doesn't dote on wwx but he does play along with the joke in his own way for a bit until maybe jc says something crazy and/or outrageous that couldn't be true to jin ling and he goes to wwx in a panic and so the jig is up but he tells all the juniors with 100% honesty that they did just adopt a baby and that part wasn't a joke but he didn't give birth himself and he was OK and then its just cute baby and junior interactions

bonus that came up later:

-lwj gets drunk and ends up going out again with wwx tailing close behind. they come home with another child, and thus when lwj is sober again he's suddenly a father of two young children. Cue cute timid wide-eyed bunny mode lwj while wwx comforts him (but laughing and teasing him like haha you made me pregnant again what a scandal! one look and I instantly gave birth! lwj you're so insatiable) and lsz not-so-secretly celebrates their suddenly growing family.

-JC is extremely pouty in his JC way about all these nephews he only gets to know about after they're already adopted.

-lxc is feeling quite a bit better getting to baby the babies and help his brother with raising children again, and thankfully with wwx also by lwj's side.

It was too wild a ride not to share 😌💖✨

TLDR; wwx tricks the juniors, the jades, lqr and even jc temporarily into believing he's pregnant as a way to beat the boredom while lwj is out of cloud recesses (and continues until he can't stand the doting/guilt because he succeeds in his joking too well.) wwx and lwj end up actually adopting bc wwx can't stand the disappointed faces.

#this was really fun and funny and i cleaned up the thing lmao #so maybe maybe i'll eventually do something for it but don't count on it i already have lots of projects #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #wei wuxian #wei ying #wwx #the grandmaster of demonic cultivation #lwj #lan wangji #mdzs brain rot #mdzs juniors #junior quartet #lan jingyi #jin rulan #jin ling #ouyang zizhen #lan yuan #lan sizhui #lxc #lan xichen #jc #jiang cheng #wen ning

[neverdoingmuch]

i wonder what an au where jc dies after the fall of lotus pier would be like. wwx goes back to save jc and he’s just that bit too late, wen chao had made wen zhuliu crush his gc and then immediately killed him. it takes everything wn has to drag wwx away and he eventually has to knock him out. when wwx wakes up he’s in yiling and wq is sitting by his bedside. without even glancing up from the herbs she’s currently chopping she tells him that she’ll kill him if he so much as makes a threatening move in her direction. 

now, one of my favourite head canons is that wwx is a massive fan of wq’s work. there was no oh whoops i conveniently stumbled across your gc transfer theory. no, yzy figured out that whipping wwx didnt actually stop his behaviour so once she decided to try and make him sort books in their library instead. jokes on her, wwx read all of wq’s published work and a bunch of other cultivators’ too and he started actively going to hang out in the library after. 

anyway! wwx wakes up sees wq and very much does not fanboy over her bc uhhh jc just died and so did everyone else. instead he forces himself to take the time ot work through his feelings. jyl is safe in meishan and she’ll probably be safe there for a long while -- everyone knew yzy and jfm’s relationship was bad so there’s no reason why the wens would think to look for jyl at her mother’s maiden sect. but,,,, she will be the new sect leader. with jc gone there’s no one else and jyl was never meant to be sect leader -- she was like her father in personality, but lacked his hidden strength and spine. how could she when she was too weak to back up her words with force? with her weak core and poor health, she was always the target of assassins and kidnappers and now that jyl has to step up to be sect leader it’s going to be worse. 

and wwx has already broken his promise to jfm and yzy -- he hasn’t been able to protect jc, wasn’t able to stop him from abandoning wwx in that market, wasn’t able to stop him from going back to lotus pier, wasn’t able to stop the wens from killing him -- but he can save jyl. 

he has to make a choice, right here and right now. he can step up and be the strength behind jyl’s words and stand behind her like his father did to jfm or he can give her all of his strength so she can stand by herself. he can slip off the bed and kowtow and beg wq to transfer his golden core to his shijie or he can make sure no one ever gets close enough to her that she’ll fear the weakness of her own golden core. in either situation, he has nothing but jyl’s life and safety to care about and he will never think of anything else again.

#mdzs #modao zushi #wei wuxian #jiang yanli #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #the untamed #cql #wen qing

[mqfx]

unfortunately my most prominent jyl thoughts start with the soup. & im no expert on ancient chinese kitchens, but given that lotus root & pork soup is something that simmers for hours, i think that as much as the soup is an act of service & a tried and true "we dont have to talk about it" comfort tactic, its also... a great excuse to duck away from everything going on. the kitchen being the safe space, so to speak! and overall jyl seems more avoidant than confrontational? i havent read mdzs for the details in years can you tell but i think theres a good chance under the right circumstances she could have become jfm 2: shijie edition, in which she can read emotional cues fairly well and she doesn't want anyone to be unhappy, but how proactive she might be about resolving a situation is entirely based on how secure she feels. im not forgetting her valiant defence of wwx "i take insults against him seriously" moment! but theres a difference between an eroding stagnant unhappiness & a situation that is more clear cut. im just not confident about how she would raise jin ling in the whole (waves hand) jin situation if she had not been collateral damage. is this making sense 😭

this is all true but let me make clear that my problem with how the fandom conceptualizes jiang yanli is NOT the soup. I'm not mad about the soup and in fact since it's one of basically three things that we even know about her at all, it stands to reason that when we think about her we're Gonna Have To Mention the Soup.

and one can (if one cares enough about her, which I'm sure you do anon) draw reasonable conclusions about her character based on this thing that she does. after all, everything is (supposed to be) important in a given text. I don't disagree with anything you said. she is a careful, conflict-avoidant person due to her tumultuous childhood with abusive/neglectful parents; despite this, she possesses strong morals and protective instincts. I don't think she would've been bad at raising jin ling because unlike her parents, she and her husband actually loved each other and communicate instead of willfully misunderstanding each other then bottling it all up (if she had married someone she didn't love, then yeah she might've been jfm 2. either way we'll never know because guess fucking what mxtx did)

my ISSUE, which fandom can barely acknowledge let alone address, is that "soup" has become a convenient shorthand to refer to her, but it's not a quality. it's a thing that is associated with her, not her personality. this isn't fair! "avoidant" is a trait, "comforting" is a trait, "kind" is a trait, "average" is a trait, soup's not a fucking trait! and some of that is just the general fandom trend of flattening characters in fanon, but the fact that she's a woman and therefore not paid as much attention compared to the ~Complexities~ of the men doesn't help

and I get that sometimes it's not that serious, sometimes it's for Joaks, but why is it that even when joking people can come up with all sorts of qualities for the men but when it's her it's just that she cooks soup? and in more serious discussions, why is her sole purpose apparently to be emotional support or tragic motivation for her brothers? (because mxtx herself wrote her that way!)

why did mxtx not delve into her reactions or point of view (mdzs is the only one of her novels with switching pov, so she could have)? or even just written more scenes with her? (CQL notably gave the women more scenes. the book is abysmal on this regard.....and in others)

tl;dr mxtx did a shit job of developing her character and that of the other women, and fandom makes this problem worse by not giving a shit. the feedback loop continues. your ask and my answer combined are already more words and effort than mxtx spent on writing her

#hewwo #asks #anonymous #mdzs #jiang yanli #jyl #which is why someday im gonna write a book with mostly women so people have no choice but to think about them #but with a couple shippable twinks in the background so i can still grift money from fujos

[youhideastar]

Fit for Purpose Deleted Scenes IV: Rut

Today's deleted scenes from Fit for Purpose deal with the question of LWJ's rut/a beta's ability to satisfy a rut or heat in general in this universe - a question to which I gave waaaaaay too much thought haha. Other deleted scenes posts are linked in the masterpost. NSFW text. I hope you enjoy!

Okay, so. WWX says several times during Fit for Purpose that, as a beta, he can’t satisfy an alpha’s rut or an omega’s heat. It’s not clear in the story whether that is literal, i.e., there’s a biological incompatibility, or just societal, i.e., “can’t” because it would be scandalous or otherwise transgress social norms. Originally, I figured it would be the latter, which gave rise to this scene:

“It’s kind of too bad you can’t take my rut,” the bold girl says, afterward. She’s breathing hard, still. Sweat gleams in the valley between her breasts. “You’re so good at that, da-shixiong.”

Wei Wuxian props himself up on his elbow. He’s eighteen now, and he’s done a lot of things, but he hasn’t done that, and now that he thinks of it, he’s not sure why. “I could, if you want,” he offers.

He knows right away that it’s a mistake.

She looks like she’s smelled something bad. “That’s for—don’t joke about that. Rut is for your mate. It’s not—” She shivers.

Wei Wuxian smiles, ingratiating. “Ah, forgive this one, shijie – how would I know about mates, ah?”

She laughs. “Good point. Well. Ruts and heats are for your mate, da-shixiong. Serious, you know? Not just for fun. Not like this.”

That would then be followed by this scene:

LWJ’s rut happens during Sunshot. WWX hovers around outside Lan Zhan’s tent. Thinks about how he can’t help Lan Zhan.

Afterward, Lan Zhan asks him why he was hovering.

“How—”

“Scent,” Lan Zhan says succinctly.

“I don’t… I don’t have a scent.” That’s the whole point.

“You do. Now.” A negative.

“And what do I smell like? Now?”

Lan Zhan hesitates.

“Tell me.” Rasp.

“Like death.”

Beat.

“Ah.”

That would have been way too bleak for the finished fic, so I cut it quite a while ago. But I kept ruminating on the topic, and I changed my mind: I wanted the source of the problem to be a supposed biological difficulty (just like the lack of fertility backs up the “no kids” and the lack of a scent gland backs up the “no claim”), because the societal take above was just too bullshitty. It didn’t seem like something that would prevent WWX from believing he could be LWJ’s mate. There needed to be at least a grain of truth to it.

“But Dea,” I hear you say, “did this question need to be answered in the story in the first place?” Well, I ultimately decided the answer was no, and the final posted fic leaves the question open:

“I can’t—” satisfy your rut, Wei Wuxian almost says, parroting what he’s been told his whole life. But those same voices told him he couldn’t have a mate. Or a son.

So instead, he takes a deep breath and says, “Yeah. I’d like that.”

But for, like, a month, I was convinced that if I left this worldbuilding thread unresolved, readers would not find the story satisfying. They’d be left wondering whether WWX and LWJ’s relationship is about to fall apart the first time LWJ goes into rut. Explaining it like this, it sounds so irrational. But I really worried about this! I was sure I needed to get into the nitty-gritty. So I wrote stuff like this:

“Lan Zhan.”

“Mn.”

“It’s all right if you want to spend your ruts with someone else.”

“No.”

“Lan Zhan—”

Kiss in the dark.

“If Wei Ying does not wish to share my ruts, I will continue to suppress them. At my level of cultivation, the techniques to do so are not harmful.”

Beat.

“If Wei Ying would wish to share my ruts. It would—that would bring me joy.”

Beat. WWX swallows. “It’s not that I don’t want to. I can’t. I can’t—” he’s blushing. “I can’t take your knot.”

Lan Zhan’s hand slips between his legs; his fingertips circle WWX’s hole. He sounds almost amused when he says, “Wei Ying imagines his body can stretch no farther than this?”

“Lan Zhan.” WWX’s cheeks flaming.

“You can take more,” Lan Zhan says, with perfect unconcern. “With careful and patient preparation. But only if you wish to.”

This kind of worldbuilding nerdery is so fun for me. (And I flatter myself that this scene is hot.) But this is SO in the weeds, and it was making the final sex scene SO long, when really, that scene needs to be as short as possible so as not to compete with the actual climax of the fic. In fact, I ultimately did not include any sex in the final sex scene at all, for that very reason!

So then I tried an abbreviated version that would answer the basic question during the sex itself:

“I—I’m sorry I can’t do this for you in your rut.” WWX all apologetic.

“Why not?”

“I can’t—you know. Take your knot. Physically.”

Lan Zhan raises an eyebrow. He twists his fingers inside Wei Wuxian; tugs at Wei Wuxian’s rim with his thumb, making him gasp. “Wei Ying’s body stretches no further than this?”

“Lan Zhan!” Blushing furiously. He has to admit, “I… don’t know. Maybe it does.” Everybody says—but then again, everyone says all kinds of stupid things. Maybe he can satisfy an alpha’s rut. Lan Zhan’s rut. Maybe he could have all along.

But (a) like I said, I was starting to realize that I didn’t need to write the sex itself and (b) this bit doesn’t actually resolve the question (although it suggests an answer) and if I’m not going to answer the question anyway, then I might as well just set the question aside super briefly, which is what I eventually did in the two lines of the finished fic quoted above.

I hope this was interesting! Tomorrow, we’ll go through all my failed attempts at getting Jiang Cheng to talk about his feelings. 🤣

#the untamed #deleted scene #my writing #wangxian #fit for purpose #wangxian a/b/o bingo

[mdzs-owns-my-ass-i-guess]

Results:

When lwj got himself punished alongside wwx: you believe people should take responsibility for the things they choose to say and/or do - but also for the things they knowingly ignore or downplay. Being fair is important to you and you think the rules are there for a reason. You have a strong backbone and sound morals, which might make you appear cold to others. You are very kind to animals and sensitive to social issues. You may have dome some kind of volunteering/social work at some point.

The cold spring scene: your love language may be to annoy the people you love until they smile and forget about their problems for a moment. You like telling jokes and eliciting reactions from people for comedic purposes. You may also be very knowledgeable of memes/internet culture. You get emotional witnessing random acts of kindness or people coming together for something. You may not take rejection well and seek to avoid it as much as possible. Despite this, you are an open book and enjoy meeting new people.

Lwj putting the silencing spell on wwx in the library all the time: you are probably not a very patient person, and you dislike people who don't take things seriously when they need to. You find people who listen to loud music in public places or in nature particularly rude and annoying. When you begin a project, you are hellbent on finishing it well. You hate being distracted from your tasks and don't like it when people deviate from the original plan. You may be a bit inflexible at times, but you have the best intentions.

When wwx drew lwj with a flower in his hair: you get easily sidetracked when you have to do things that don't interest or stimulate you. You have a very active mind. Your notebooks' edges/corners may be filled with doodles, little poems, ideas etc. You romanticize life a lot. You enjoy connecting with people through art, either the one you create, or the one they create. You probably enjoy using emojis and keyboard smashes a lot. You may have a tendency to see the world through rose-tinted glasses even when you shouldn't.

When wwx showed lwj porn and lwj blew it up: you believe in the separation between work life and personal life, between the social self and the inner self. You don't open up easily. You believe in the power of privacy and being lowkey, which is why you don't share a lot of your life with others, good or bad. You enjoy daydreaming and have a wandering mind. There may be parts of you that you are ashamed of, but you prefer not to think about them.

The loquats scene: you may pretend you don't get jealous easily, but you do. You don't believe in the concept of a "flirty personality" and think people should be respectful of one another when in a relationship. Your love language may be gift giving. You may also enjoy stereotypical displays of affection, like roses and chocolates, no matter if they're coming from a friend or a lover or even yourself. You believe it is important to show the people around you that they are loved and cherished. You are the person who peels oranges/tangerines and shares them with everyone.

When wwx told lwj the name of his sword: you believe there are things that shouldn't be joked about or taken lightly. You are a very polite and respectful person. You believe being rude to people for no reason is a red flag and you side eye those that are rude to waiters/shop assistants etc the most. You believe we should all try to make each others' lives easier by beind kinder and more civil. You are very responsible and hardworking. People may find your high standards unreasonable sometimes.

The rooftop scene: you know how to make a memorable first impression. You are honest, sometimes brutally so, and you may have difficulty holding your tongue. You often challenge the status quo, wondering why things are the way they are and looking for connections and clues on how the world works. You believe in the power of "fuck around and find out". You are fun and sociable, and have quick wit that has often gotten you out of trouble.

wwx getting lwj bunnies and the bunnies getting busy: you have a dirty sense of humor but your jokes are too funny not to laugh about them. You believe that, if people don't think you and your friends are in some kind of couple/polycule, you're not trying hard enough. You're down-to-earth without being cynical, and have a healthy dose of optimism about life even if it sometimes makes no sense to you. You may have a tendency to be dismissive of people who don't share your opinions and not be willing to hear them out. You get in trouble easily but always find a way out. You believe that an empty search history is a red flag.

#mdzs #wangxian #mo dao zu shi #mdzs polls #original thots #another one of these bc i had a lot of fun the first time #did i read yall to filth or not?

[stoopid-turtle]

BTS in Order Addendum 1

I know what you're thinking. There's more??

Well, I found a playlist that had some sparse translations of the bts in order through the end of June. I figured I'd fill in some of the unknowns. Most aren't too exciting, but there are a few notable things to point out.

I added all this in the original BTS posts, but I'm doing this post for those who don't want to crawl through the timeline they've already read through to pick out what's new.

This is April + May. I'll do June next. This playlist was not near as comprehensive as the bilibili one. But this had the advantage of translated dialogue, which really, obviously, helps contextualize some of this.

On 4.17, the first day of filming with gg, DD yelled about needing to take a shit from off camera. GG reacts to the camera. Yep. Our gremlin did that on his 2nd day of filming.

On 4.18, when gg is rehearsing, dd asks, "Why are you [wwx, I'm guessing] being so fierce to me?". The translator notes that he uses a cutesy way of saying "me".

On 4.19, on the cloud recess lectures set, GG and dd talk about how to portray LWJ across the timeskip

On 4.29, the translator notes a famous scene of DD staring at gg and his (DD's) PA noticing. DD is at a distance from the camera, so it's kinda hard to see where he's looking, so it doesn't seem obvious to me.

On 5.1, GG tells the bad joke, the pun based on LWJ's name, to DD

People seemed interested in GG's codeswitching so I tried to keep an ear out for it. I'm not gonna commit to any certainty here, but GG may slip into it on 5.3. His comment is so short, though, so it's hard to tell. He is talking to DD though.

On 5.3, we have the clip of dd talking about how cute Xue Yang with gg responding by rainbow farting about LWJ

5.3 also has the scene of gg complaining about how useless he is in the yi city action bit and DD says it's cute.

On 5.4, during the clip where DD is complimenting gg's singing, it sounds as if gg slips into the voice again

There's a clip on 5.4 I've seen some refer to as DD getting jealous at yb teasingly flirting with gg. There's no sound so it's impossible to know the context beyond them setting up a scene. DD does look angry for a few seconds and he does appear to direct that look at yb. But YB's back is to the camera so we can't see what he's doing. Also, earlier, yb and dd had been making faces at each other, so this may be more of the same.

On 5.5, dd mentions that gg's body double looks like him from the back. When gg says to choose him, dd says he's already chosen gg.

I was wrong! GG calls dd gouzaizai on 5.5 when DD refuses to return his bamboo flute. So there's 2 times documented of GG calling dd that.

At one point on 5.5, gg says to camera that he envies dd for being able to stay up late. Then he acts like he got caught saying something he shouldn't have. Not sure why.

On 5.7, when dd playfully betrays gg with the clans, gg asks if they can replace dd. The director says DD has charmed everybody already, while gg just starts repeating that dd is so handsome.

I was also wrong about there being no hostility towards WQ or her actress on set! On 5.9, during the shooting of GG in the Wen dungeon, he has an exchange with the director about a line having been removed that was part of the WWX/WQ storyline. GG asks and the director confirms that they've canceled that, and GG looks jazzed about it.

Later, on 5.11, when YB and GG are goofing around with the bow and arrow, they pretend point at the top of the waterfall and gg says, "And then WQ is over there. And then she's going to fall down from over there." Later saying, "And that's how WQ ends her shooting".

I'm guessing that the famous "delete it" scene may have been on 5.4. That scene talks about gg filming a WWX/WQ scene with the bunnies the next day, and there are 2 different bunny scenes filmed on 5.5 that we know of.

JL is hella flirty with DD! I didn't realize but the scene where it looks like dd's doing a "watching you" gesture (on 5.9) is actually JL mouthing "I love you" to dd. DD then jokingly stares and says "silencing spell" over and over.

On the same day, during the big clan gathering in the burial mounds post-timeskip, gg is studying his script, and dd puts his sword to JL's throat. JL then praises him in a weirdly flirty way. DD says "You said your inner thoughts out loud" and JL says "So be it."

Also in random dd moments, on 5/22, DD tells JC that his purple robes are the most coquettish (骚) of all robes.

DD calls gg something that gets translated to "coquettish" or "flirty" a lot. Not sure if it's the same word he uses here.

All that said, after this, I'm honestly kinda attached to my theory that SOME significant development happened in GG and DD's relationship around 5/3 and 5/4. They are noticeably closer physically after that point.

#yizhan #bjyx #the timeline of ggdd love yue #prezzie for turtles #Gg said 'gay wwx or fuckit' #He had no patience for wq/wwx

[lil0-0blume]

I want to learn how to make edits because I have a list of Lana del Rey songs for every couple that I ship on the mxtx universe (and also for characters alone) but I don’t even know how to start… 🫠🫠

(I already edited before but only some silly things 😭😭)

List of the couples here if anyone is interested:

- HuaLian: Young and Beautiful (Classic, romantic, them)

-Wangxian: Summetime sadness (pls don’t kill me)

-Bingqiu: ArtDeco (like… the vibe?? Just-)

-Moshang: Playing Dangerous (For me, Sqh flirting is something like this -when he’s not afraid ofc)

-Beefleaf: Freak (trust meeee)

-YinZhen: Sad Girl (I’m not afraid to speak the word!!)

-XueXiao: Dark Paradise (Literally died for then, my Roman Empire)

-YueJiu: Cinnamon Girl (the definition of deserved better)

-FengQing: Diet Mountain Dew (THEM. JUST THEM.)

-Bingjiu: Ultraviolence (Got the hots for them but they also deserved better, to god -mxtx- they weren’t her favorite at all lol)

-JunMei: Fishtail (“this is an work of art” seriously, the “You’ll braid my hair” is literally how I envision them in the future, healing, together)

-Niecest: Lust for life (Like you heard that??? The “but my boyfriend’s back… and he’s cooler than ever…” - You cannot convince me otherwise it isn’t them!!!!)

List for the characters:

Binghe: Jealous girl (he was the easiest one for me and I don’t have to explain myself… BE AGGRESSIVE BE- )

Hua Cheng: Cherry (It just reminds me of him!! He really does fall to pieces many times on the story, literally, psychologically and emotionally, in good and bad ways…)

Lan Wangji: Serial killer/Happiness is a butterfly (Suprised for the first one?? Well, for me it’s about the intensity in his love, the type of doing anything and everything for the one he loves… I swear he’s just so dramatic and its just captures his teen phase of ‘first love and I don’t know what to do about it so I’ll just fantasy’ About the second… His time with his love in the first live was short and not completely well lived with so much problems and yet, and yet… he found happiness, also the “if he’s a serial killer than what’s the worst” just fits with the fact that he did in fact tried to save Wwx even against all the things others talked about him, regardless of the truth, he does what he needs to for who he needs… “Looking into his eyes I think he’s already hurt” IM SO SORRY I CANT LIE)

Shen Jiu: Born to die (like I’m not even trying to hurt anyone here but I know it hurts…)

Shen Qingqiu: Doin Time (Why?? Like, “the living is ease” vibe and the sudden “I’ve come to tell you that she’s evil” just reminds me to much of the fact that he’s the “villain”!! And I just imagined the “Louie” in the song as Sqh so much anyway)

Xie Lian: Brooklyn Baby (I don’t think I have to explain this one also right… the fans go “Yeah my boyfriend’s pretty cool… but he’s not as cool as me…” and also, “Baby I’m a gangsta too and takes two the tango” gets me thinking of two different sceneries, a dance with Hua Cheng as his flower and a dance with words representing his martial god nature)

Wei Wuxian: Salvatore (Salvatore is just him, really, the vibe of, like, even if you’re being murdered, you’re smiling and you’re smiling cause you know that, some way, you’ve just fucking won, of being on a serious situation and taking it lightly because is just his way to do things but at same time not as a mockery or a joke to all the suffering, the pain, but rather, an acceptance with a smile… oh gosh what a ride)

Mobei Jun: Black Beauty (like referring to a cold, untouchable beauty like himself, because honestly, life is beautiful but it took a while for him to see the colors but he managed to find his light, or, his “sparrow blue”…)

Shan Qinghua: Meet me at the pale moonlight (I swear, even if doesn’t make sense, for me, his “pale moonlight” is Mobei Jun… but seriously?? The “I’m the sweetest girl in town so why are you so mean?” part FR FR WTH that’s his life you’re singing about Lana)

Xue Yang: Blue Jeans (“Love’s mean… and love hurts” to “I’ll love till the end of times… I’ll wait a million years” is honestly just what he did and also that slightly possessive part “promise you’ll remember that you’re mine” inspired by his insecurities and regrets, only because he was afraid to lose him… couldn’t get any sadder)

Xiao Xingchen: Margaret (In another word yes, yes it could get sadder… He’s just so good… “It kind makes me laugh”, Ah I just keep reminding that scene where he’s with XY, laughing because he’s the easy laugh type of person… And also the “the soul that you bring to the table” I just like to interpret that in a way that he made a family out a villain and homeless distrusting girl and that the “soul” spoken off on the song it’s theirs, how they find “soul” in there, in themselves, in each other…)

Anyway

…Any tips on video edition…? 👀👀

#tgcf #svss #mdzs #hualian #wangxian #bingqiu #moshang #beefleaf #YinZhen #XueXiao #YueJiu #FengQing #BingJiu #junmei #niecest #lana del rey

[random-mdzs-thoughts-dumpster]

I've often thought about why JGY was so bad at defending himself when LXC was asking him those questions in the temple. But what if it was intentional? After JGY took JL hostage WWX thought this:

So, I decided to look at that conversation with this in mind.

LXC wasn't interested in hearing JGY's justifications at first, but JGY kept talking to him and trying to explain himself.

It's also interesting that the only crimes they were talking about before JGY brought the others up himself were burning the brothel and the second siege. Of course, they knew about the others and WWX had even mentioned Bicao and Sisi before, but no one had outright accused JGY of killing QS, JRS, and JZX. Then he said this:

He already knew that denying killing JGS and NMJ would be useless, but, given the fact that QS killed herself in front of everyone, no one even knew for sure that he had told JZX about the ambush and Sect Leader Yao's words being the only "evidence" that JGY killed JRS, I think he said this to rile people up.

But perhaps the most telling detail is this:

Why would he care about the order of it unless he already had a plan in mind? At this point, JGY still thought he could get away, so he saved talking about JGS's death for last. I assume he did it for these reasons:

LXC thought it was the most outrageous one.

He had the most to say about it (like comparing how differently JGS treated him and JZX, retelling the scene which was the last straw for him), and he needed some time to distract people.

He had to cut himself open and take out the guqin string from his abdomen. He knew the pain would most likely show on his face. If he was talking about a painful memory such as JGS insulting his mother and saying he wasn't worth talking about, people would assume the tears were the result of it.

The entire conversation is a mess because JGY contradicts himself multiple times:

At first, he says he had no choice but to kill JZX, then denies sending him to the Qiongqi Path to get him killed, and finally, he says this:

JGY also says he had no choice but to kill JGS but when the time came to talk about it, he acted quite unapologetically.

I think he admitted killing JZX, so LXC would ask him about it, then said it wasn't his intention, then made it seem like he didn't feel guilty about it, all because he wanted JL to get closer. And he joked about JGS's death to make LXC angry.

And finally, this line and the fact that he's lying here too, sums it all up very well.

Everyone knows JGY's clever and good at lying, so the fact that he paints himself in a bad light several times when he's supposed to be seeking pity should be suspicious on its own.

I also find it interesting that he never mentioned saving Sisi. WWX hid it from LXC for a reason, and I think saying it wouldn't have changed anything is missing the point. He also didn't answer LXC's question about JRS.

We can't be sure if everything he said was true or just a way to distract people. He had to say some truths and make himself seem sympathetic too, so that nobody would suspect a thing. So, I think it's impossible to fully separate the truths from lies at this point.

#People using that conversation as evidence has always bothered me #WWX himself says what JGY's motive was #why is it always these kinds of things that people believe without a question when he's apparently lying about everything else? #I get that he had no reason to lie after LXC stabbed him and that's another thing #but he still had one last trick up his sleeve atp #jin guangyao

[ninjakk]

Why the 'like' someone conversation WWX had with JYL was so poignant

The scene where WWX asks his shijie JYL what it feels like to 'like' someone, to me, is a hard pill for me to swall. When I read it, it made my heart ache for a second.

Chapter 71

Wei WuXian, “Why would someone like another person? I mean that kind of like.” Jiang YanLi paused for a moment, musing, “Why are you asking me about this? Do you like someone? What kind of a maiden is she?” Wei WuXian, “No. I won’t like anyone. At least not too much. Wouldn‟t it be the same as putting a rein on my neck?"

There are two sections to this very simple piece of dialogue that really hit home to me. The fact JYL assumes the sex of someone WWX would like was just a heart sinking moment for me. It's not her fault, she's been brought up in a time period when heteronormative ideology was somewhat widespread and she grew up in a house with at least one homophobe - so she is predisposed to assume he only likes girls.

It's a sore spot for me - I'm not going to lie. I have been JYL myself, and I'm not proud of it. I can only blame my ignorance on my age and how rife heteronormative ideology was at the time. But, I still did this to my own brother and it haunts me to this day. I wish I hadn't assumed anything - but I did. I'm lucky my little brother didn't blame me for being so ignorant. At the time, my brother didn't understand his own feelings either. He just knew he felt different and had never liked a girl.

Now people could argue I'm projecting my personal thoughts into this scene - and maybe I am. But I think a lot of people have been in the situation above, when people assume their sexuality as the default hetro and they have a similar reaction. Obviously JYL's passing comment didn't seem to necessarily upset WWX. But to me, his answer is quite telling.

Chapter 71

Wei WuXian, “Why would someone like another person? I mean that kind of like.” Jiang YanLi paused for a moment, musing, “Why are you asking me about this? Do you like someone? What kind of a maiden is she?” Wei WuXian, “No. I won’t like anyone. At least not too much. Wouldn‟t it be the same as putting a rein on my neck?”

He states he will not like anyone and it's quite a sad thing to say really. To me, this is because he's never actually felt overly attracted to a girl - he just assumes he won't like any girl that much, because to him he never has. He then covers himself by being silly and making a joke out of the whole thing, insinuating he'd be tied down and that would be a bad thing. We know this isn't how he really feels, because he had saved his first kiss for his 'one'. So the statement and his actions are very contradictory. Because of the heteronormativity he has been subjected to growing up, he is predisposed to assume it must be a girl he has to 'like' and because he doesn't 'like' any girls that much (or perhaps at all?) he has determined that this is something that will never happen for him. This is WWX pretty much confessing he's never had those feelings for a girl. Unfortunately he doesn't understand or realise his feelings for LWJ are of a romantic nature, because he assumes he can only have those feelings for a girl. I actually really feel for him at this point. Thankfully WWX doesn't put much thought into the fact he's never 'liked' a girl enough and as he's a romantic at heart, we can only assume he hopes to still meet his 'one' some day. (Oh sweetheart, you've already met him!)

I've seen a lot of people getting a bit annoyed about others claiming the above question is in relation to LWJ. Now I know it's not really, it's about JYL and JZX. WWX cares very much for his shijie and he is worried about her. He wants to make sure she is happy. But I think it is also slightly at the back of his mind, in relation to LWJ as well. But only subconsciously. He's just returned from seeing him after all. He'd got ghost girls to throw flowers at him in order to obtain his attention. He even just mentioned to JC that he saw LWJ as well! So you can't say LWJ wasn't fresh on his mind.

WWXs mind even drifts back to LWJ after the above conversation. After he reminisces about when he first arrived at Lotus Pier, he starts to think about LWJ and the happy times he had at the CR.

Chapter 71

Squatting in the yard, Wei WuXian put the empty bowl onto the ground. He gazed at the stars sprinkled across the sky, and then smiled. When he ran into Lan WangJi in the streets, he recalled many things from when he was studying at the Cloud Recesses. On a whim, he stopped Lan WangJi, wanting to direct their conversation toward those days as well. But, Lan WangJi reminded him that everything was different from how they were back then.

So, both before and after this conversation about 'liking' someone, WWX's thoughts gravitate towards LWJ. He even smiles about it! It's subconscious, but you can't help but think it's because his heart is trying to tell him something deep within and he is yearning for a simpler, happier time before everything was so complicated and tragic.

#mdzs wwx #mdzs lwj #mdzs wei wuxian #mdzs lan wangji #mdzs novel #wangxian #mdzs #mo dao zu shi #mdzs meta

[stiricidewrites]

All the Things We’ll Leave Behind: ch 30, pt 12

Previously

~

“Oh…” jzxuan trailed off, because he apparently very much did not want to talk about—

“YOU!” the other alpha growled, bolting off the bed as the rabbit reappeared from under it. It blinked at him, as though it were judging him yet again, before trying to hop off.

“Oh, fuck, is there going to be rabbit shit under my bed?” wwx moaned when lwj turned the camera so he could watch jzxuan trying—and failing—to catch the bunny.

Not that he seemed to be trying particularly hard. lwj didn’t even feel like he needed to tell his friend rabbits did not enjoy being chased, for how halfhearted his friend’s attempts were. He wondered if he had already told the younger man that, the night before. jzxuan didn’t seem the type to be well versed in bunny care.

“I will clean everything. Thoroughly,” lwj said. He was going to have to deal with the rabbits first, however, and—

lwj’s eyes shot towards the bedroom door, towards where a knock on the front door was sounding.

jzxuan froze, looking up from where the rabbit had once again hidden under the bed. “Expecting someone?” he asked, pushing himself up and disappearing out the door.

“Not gonna go with him, A-Zhan?” wwx asked, smiling an evil smile up at him.

lwj opened his mouth to say something—to demand answers from his mate—only for a soft beep to interrupt him—the security system disarming, he assumed.

“You know,” wwx said as lwj pushed himself up, following the sound of jzxuan and someone else talking in hushed whispers, “the little baby alpha is pretty responsible. He wouldn’t even take me to you until I taught him how to turn it off! Course, by then you were asleep, and I didn’t get to sternly reprimand you for all the worry you put me through!”

“Sorry,” lwj muttered, feeling very much like a naughty child as he peered back at the makeshift rabbit cage. He really had caused problems for everyone last night, and even if it wasn’t exactly his fault, he still felt like he owed everyone an apology.

“Ah, baby,” wwx cooed and when lwj looked back to the screen, he realized his was tearing up. “It’s not that bad. I’m just glad you’re okay. I was really worried.”

lwj sniffled, rubbing a sleeve against his eyes and realizing neither he nor jzxuan had put on pants when they’d gotten up. Which meant—

The door closed and jzxuan reappeared, very much pantless, although he didn’t seem to have noticed—or he simply didn’t care. “Delivery~” he cheered quietly. “Hey, why are you crying?”

Immediately, jzxuan was next to him, rubbing more tears away from his eyes. “What did you say?” he was asking wwx, who was saying that he had said nothing at all, just a joke about reprimanding him, which was true. It had been a joke, but he should be sorry. He should be reprimanded.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled again. Usually, he was so good at not crying. He had always been icy and cold, emotionless. Not anymore, apparently. He’d cried so many times this summer. From sadness and love and both all mixed together.

“Ah~” his friend sighed, wiping more tears away from his cheeks. “It’s fine. Aside from the part where I was actually, you know, concerned you were going to die in the woods—”

“That is highly unlikely,” wwx noted, face screwed up in thought before he related stories about a few too many times he had spent a night in the woods—once during the winter, no less!

“How are you still alive?” jzxuan asked incredulously. lwj was inclined to agree with that sentiment.

“I’m tougher than I look,” wwx laughed, pounding a fist dramatically to his chest, before bursting into more happy giggles.

#fanfic #mdzs fanfiction #wangxian #stiricidesbottomji #omegaverse

[grewlikefancyflowers]

hello! I've always wondered about the fact that JC distracted the soldiers first? How does change interpretation of canon, and would it have mattered if wwx was told that jc distracted them first?

Hello anon!

The reveal that JC distracted the wens shouldn't really change how the reader views JC's character imo, because all it tells us is that he's capable of good things as well as very awful things. The reader should already know this because we see him being decent at other points in MDZS too (briefly in Xuanwu Cave, when the Wens come to Lotus Pier, and even in Guanyin Temple).

This isn't a 'psych!! jc is a good person!!!' moment, the importance it has to JC's character is that he chooses to keep it to himself rather than using it to try to earn forgiveness from WWX.

'After a moment of silence, Jiang Cheng shook his head, “There’s nothing to say.” [...] just like how the past Wei WuXian couldn’t tell him the truth of giving him his golden core, the current Jiang Cheng wasn’t able to say anything either.' (110)

This is WWX's reason for not telling JC about the GC (aside from the initial reason that it'd hurt JC's pride)

'Later, because Jin ZiXuan and Jiang YanLi had died because of him, Wei WuXian had become too ashamed to ever bring it up again. If he were to tell Jiang Cheng the truth after that, it would only sound like an excuse, a way for him to alleviate himself of the responsibilities by bringing up an act of kindness in the worst time, as if saying, ‘Look, you can’t hate me, I’ve also made sacrifices for the Jiang Sect.’ (102)

Obligation and debt form the very foundation of WWX & JC's relationship, at every every opportunity JC held these things against WWX. The 'promise', that WWX was raised in the Jiang Sect, the deaths of his family & JZX—even after the GC reveal JC holds these things against WWX.

'At this point, it was impossible to figure out who should apologize to whom.' (103)

It all becomes such an entangled mess that their relationship is made unsalvageable by it.

In contrast to wangxian, who's relationship can only be called unconditional—between them there are no expectations, obligations, debts, gratitude or envies. There's no need for thank you & I'm sorry. It is in both LWJ's and WWX's character to give freely to others without expectation for anything in return, to never begrudge what was given or resent what wasn't received. The 'message' of MDZS is that debts and gratitude have no place in a mutually-loving relationship, of any sort.

For JC's character development, in keeping this small thing to himself, when he could have held it against WWX as he does everything else, JC finally made some small progress towards self-improvement. It's the only positive character development he has in the whole novel.

As for whether or not WWX knowing about this would change anything either in the existing story, or post-canon? No.

In his first life, what could this mean to WWX? That JC cares about him? WWX already thinks that. He didn't base his decision-making on whether or not his relationship with JC was good or bad regardless. And if he considered this a 'debt' that tied him to JC?

'Wei WuXian’s expression darkened at once. His voice was harsh as well, “What a joke! Why is it that the debt you owe has to be repaid at the expense of others!”' (62)

He wouldn't let the Wens suffer at the expense of his own debts or obligations anyway, JC would still give him the ultimatum between staying in the Jiang Sect & abandoning the Wens, or leaving. WWX would still defect, the story would remain the same.

As for if JC revealed this post-canon, he himself recognises that this could only come across as an attempt to guilt-trip WWX into forgiving him. It certainly would not endear WWX to him, probably quite the opposite.

In the end, after everything JC has done, WWX doesn't want him in his life anymore, one good deed won't change that.

#mdzs #jc wank #mdzs meta

[llycaons]

ep29 (1/2): ah, light/dark metaphors. you've heard of them

this is a sweet scene. lwj mucst have knowsn he was an animal lover but I don't think he had the chance to discover he was also a child lover

it's really interesting to me when wwx engages with traditional concepts like this and filial respect...obviously he still lives within that society and culture even if he's a rebel, and even when the enforcement of those ideals has hurt him personally

god this is so cute. I saw some bts with them and it was just precious

wwx's attitude towards lwj is kind of hard to pin down here bc he can tell lwj is lying but when he suggests lwj is there for him, he says it like a joke. he's probably still doing his classic 'I hope this is true but I don't quite believe it and I'm going to hide behind humor in case it's not real and therefore I won't be hurt/embarassed'

correcting himself instead of saying shijie...ough

this isn't rly clear in the show, but jyl is considered plain in the book. not that casting xuan lu helped much. she looked like a perfectly desirable match to me for the jins

this hurts so bad

THIS HURTS TOO

this is still so funny. wwx you and your wordplay

it'd not actually a pool of blood but it's a pool that smells like blood and glows red so the comparison is hilarious

this is such a concise summary of their dynamic. lwj doesn't let things go

this directed at the wens...SO MEAN TO THEM

despite this all basically being playing, lwj sounds SO sincere and concerned here. and you know despite being a prankster and a joker I think wwx appreciates someone who always takes him and his concerns seriously

HE'S RIGHT. there's nothing else he can do!

hmm, that sounds familiar. could it be...no...

he also thanks lwj for coming, which is nice bc I don't think he thanks people very often

oh boy here we are with the soulful gazing

LOVE THIS LINE!!!! and what it means!! he really does go all the way into the dark, he commits right up until the end. he followed that road to his death

BECAUSE THEY LIT THE LAMPS

CUTE

wq saying they lit the lamps for HIM because he's been all alone in the dark and he could get hurt that way...🥺

so being in the dark also symbolizes being alone, trying to do things by yourself. you can get hurt that way. other people can light the way for you to help you, because they care about you

RUNNING TOO FAST. WE COULDN'T CATCH UP

if darkness is both being alone and death, then lwj, symbolically, is light and life and companionship. and his return to wwx at the end of the story, and the knowledge that they'll be together from then on…fuck. he made it. he doesn't have to struggle alone in the desperate dark anymore

it's significant that of the people wwx mourns this episode in his drunken state, they're both the most precious people to him, the brightest lights in his life who support him and who he trusts. jyl and lwj

no jc...wwx mourns LP as a unit but never jc specifically, not once in this entire show :/

UNCLE FOUR MVP!!!!!!!!

omg I never noticed this 😭

#part 2 may not come for a while as im going to work now and may be overnight lol #but I like where I went with this #symbolism may be straightforward but I still like it #cql re-rewatch

[neverdoingmuch]

wwx has the energy of someone who orders a $15 drink with a three page list of customisations and extras and then spends half an hour photographing it for his instagram, but he also has the energy of someone who comes in and orders a single shot of espresso and skulls it at the counter and then immediately leaves and i think that’s really sexy of him.

#mdzs #modao zushi #wei wuxian #cql #the untamed #an au where lwj is the poor barista who has to make his drinks #and wwx is the guy who vacillates between those two orders seemingly randomly #all of his coworkers are desperately trying to see if there's a pattern to wwx's drink orders #jokes on them wwx decides based on the vibes of the day #(oh!! lwj being the only person who can understand the vibes of the day and wwx will come in sometimes to see his drink already ready) #but like you gotta have at least three months of lwj hating wwx's fucking guts for all his stupid drinks #lxc is like im sure he's not that bad and lwj is like no. he is. he is the one and only reason we ran out of mint syrup #it doesnt help that wwx keeps smiling at him and telling him jokes and lwj is Feeling Things #he nearly drops wwx's drink once bc wwx laughed and it was game over for lwj #he is now pining #wwx is pining too but he's not really aware of it #he's like yeah lwj is v attractive but my heart beats faster at the sight of him bc i associate him with coffee #HHHHHHHH LWJ DECIDING TO ROMANCE WWX WITH COFFEE PUNS #wwx learning coffee terms to flirt back but he learns the wrong ones #he's out there like damn lan zhan you screw in that portafilter so well i wonder what else you can screw well #and lwj is dying inside but also wwx knows what a portafilter is?? #wwx coming in absolutely exhausted and going on a rant about how adding chocolate to the top of cappuccinos is the work of the devil #bc he always ends up inhaling and then choking on the chocolate and thats very rude of them #lwj glaring at the chocolate shaker thing for the rest of the day #swedrtyu just coffee shop au #where wwx is the customer from hell but the angel of lwj's heart