#and that's how they find out that Lan Jingyi has reincarnated | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bi-turtle-enthusiast · 3 months

Note

Hello.... Can I ask your top 5 (or top 3) favorite characters from MDZS? And why you loved them? And your top 5 favorite moments from the series? Thanks if you want to answer....

yeah sure!

Characters:

5. Lan Sizhui/Lan Jingyi I love their dynamic SO much. They're best friends who have clearly known each other for such a long time, and they're both really interesting characters in their own right! Lan Sizhui is so interesting, what with his Lan upbringing and his Wen heritage, and the fact that he's connecting to both by the end of the book. Lan Jingyi is Lan Sizhui's ride-or-die, protecting his best friend at every opportunity while having the best lines in the entire book, and he makes every scene he's in 100x better.

4. Wen Qing Medical malplractice queen!! But in all seriousness, there's something so viscerally powerful about the fact that she's willing to go against nature itself for her baby brother. She'd both die and kill for Wen Ning, and later for Wei Wuxian. I feel like her type of character (murderous older sister) is kind of rare and I really, really like her. I feel like The Untamed really fleshed out her character and I really appreciated her after I watched it. She's equally capable of nurturing and destroying—a force of nature herself.

3. Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian Fun fact: I hated Lan Wangji when I first read MDZS, and to be honest I'm still so-so on novel Lan Wangji. However, he was easily one of my favorite characters in The Untamed, and watching it made me see him in a whole different light. He doesn't communicate through his words, but through his actions. I think Wang Yibo was perfect casting because he NAILED Lan Wangji's micro-expressions and body language and really brought the character to life. Reading Lan Wangji as autistic also made me understand him a lot more. As for Wei Wuxian, I initially read him as a silly guy and... was right. Despite everything, he stays silly. I do find him a little insufferable pre-death, but I think that was intentional. He probably would have been higher on the list, but while I think he's a really compelling character (and ADHD personified, just like me fr), I'm also very frustrated by him and I don't like how he treats people sometimes. Still, I adore the way he looks after Jin Ling, refuses to let anyone blame Jiang Cheng for anything that happened to him, and takes care of Lan Wangji (towards the end, anyway).

2. Jin Ling Ok he probably would have been at the very top of this list but unfortunately jiang cheng brainrot is real. But CAN WE TALK ABOUT HIM. Over the course of the story, he finds out that his disgraced uncle who insulted him for not having a mom was actually Wei Wuxian reincarnated, then had to contend with the fact that Wei Wuxian was both the reason his parents and grandparents died AND the guy who protected him at every opportunity. Not to mention, he learned that Jin Guangyao, his beloved uncle who gifted him his beloved dog, had orchestrated his parents' death and was ready to kill him too. And what does he do at the end of the novel? He cries. He doesn't seek revenge, he doesn't get angry, he just cries, and he lets go. He chooses not to pursue revenge, because he's seen how the quest for revenge has destroyed everyone around him in one way or another. He's a little shit (because he's an edgy 15 year old) but he's a really intelligent and kind person who loves Jiang Cheng more than anything.

1. Jiang Cheng Some of y'all are going to disagree with me but it must be said. Jiang Cheng is the best MDZS character. Jiang Yanli's love and care taught him how to be loving and caring too. He loved Wei Wuxian, he loved Jin Ling, and he loved his sect. Jiang Cheng never stopped loving Wei Wuxian, even after everything that happened. He hated Wei Wuxian too—that's undeniable—but he also loved him. He kept his belongings intact, he never stopped believing he would come back, he literally gave up his golden core to protect Wei Wuxian. And Jin Ling! He loves Jin Ling so much! Despite having AWFUL parents himself, he was determined not to be that way towards Jin Ling. He did his best to break the generational trauma of his family because he wanted Jin Ling to have it better than he did. When Jin Ling becomes sect leader, he makes sure that he knows that if he EVER needs ANYTHING, he'll provide it to the best of his ability. I could go on for hours about this man. Best MDZS character. He's so full of resentment and hatred and vengeance, but in the end, the thing that always wins out over everything else is his unshakeable love.

Honorable mention: I loved MianMian in the Untamed and wish she got more time to shine in the novel

Favorite moments: 5. Literally anytime Lan Jingyi is in a scene. Every time he opens his mouth it's my favorite scene. He keeps Wei Wuxian humble in a way that only a teenager can. 4. The WangXian scene where Wei Wuxian hides porn in Lan Wangji's book. It starts off so genuinely nice—you can tell Lan Wangji isn't really serious anymore when he tells Wei Wuxian to stfu, and you get the feeling that Wei Wuxian is probably the closest thing Lan Wangji has to a friend. Wei Wuxian draws Lan Wangji a little portrait, and it's genuinely a sweet gesture. Lan Wangji thinks so too—he hasn't ever gotten something like this, and the fact that Wei Wuxian took the time to learn his appearance and commit it to paper makes him feel some type of way. And then, it turns out that everything was just a ruse so Wei Wuxian could prank Lan Wangji. Lan Wangji is,, understandably enraged. It feels cruel that Wei Wuxian would be so insincere just to do that. I kind of hated Wei Wuxian in this scene, but it's one of my favorites because it kind of shows the nature of their initial relationship—half-sincere, but never truly sincere. 3. Xuanwu cave scene. It's so funny and so painful and so sweet. We really see everyone's characters coming out—Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji being selfless protective, Jiang Cheng being capable and responsible, Jin Zixuan being brave and righteous, MianMian being the GOAT, Wang Lingjiao and Wen Chao deserving death, etc. 2. The umbrella scene in the Untamed. It was just so powerful. Lan Wangji putting down his umbrella, which represents the rules and morality of his sect, and just letting the rain mess up his perfect appearance. He doesn't know what's right and wrong anymore, because he loves Wei Wuxian, but everyone is telling him that's wrong. Wei Wuxian himself doesn't know what's right and wrong. Lan Wangji has been thinking in terms of black and white all this time, and for the first time, he finds himself in a gray area. It was just so powerful!! 1. The conversation between Jin Ling and Jiang Cheng after the temple scene at the end. It was just so beautiful. Go read/watch it.

#mdzs #asks

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0himio · 4 months

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MDZS Fanfic Recs -- Completed

I am in such a MDZS rabbit hole and its driving me INSANE! I've never done this before, but here are a couple of completed MDZS fics that I saved. Not all of them are my top ones but I enjoyed them quite a bit. I don't think the characters went too OOC but having said that I can't tell too much. At least I know that they are goo goo gaa gaa OOC iykwim

Forget Myself in Memories

Ten years after the events of Guanyin temple, the juniors accidentally step into an array that sends them to the past, just before the beginning of the Sunshot Campaign

Author: geethr75 Words: 10,300 Chapters: 7

The ending is pretty sweet and it's a "juniors time travel and decide to fix things" trope. I'm a sucker for that type of thing and it's cool to see how the past interacts with the future -- especially since instead of the usual time travel to Cloud Recesses, they travel at the start of the Sunshot Campaign.

ghost (What's your name)

Wei Wuxian spends the 13 years after his death as a ghost, except that nobody outside of four little kids seems be able to see him.

Author: pearlAngel Words: 3,086 Chapters: 1

This goes into a bit of the perspective of all the juniors and their opinions on the Yiling Patriarch and how different his ghost is. NHS also shows up and his little section makes me tear up a ngl

When The Soul Returns Home

"Jiang Chenggggggg!" He whined, taking extra care not to jolt the man any harder than was comfortable, in fear of being whipped to death. "Heartless shidi, ignoring me. The least you could do is threaten to break my legs, you know." That last part came out more honest than he expected. Because yeah. He'd rather Jiang Cheng threaten him with Zidian for all he cared that he might die, hell he'd rather Jiang Cheng maul him right here right now than straight up looking through him as if he was glass. Jiang Cheng flinched upon contact, but he didn't turn. Wei Wuxian was only perceptive enough to notice the shiver through the thick fabric of his shoulder, gone in a second, replaced instead with firm, tense muscles. . During a night hunt, Wei Wuxian gets his body back and is now responsible for telling his shidi what happened without having a chance to escape. Of course that went wrong as well, but in a different way than he imagined. It seems like no matter what happened, Wei Wuxian will always be surprised by the sheer unconditionality of Jiang Cheng's love and faith.

Author: yue_yinbai Words: 11,164 Chapters: 1

This is an au where WWX gets his body back and he has a lot of mixed feelings about it. Many other people have feelings. There's a heart to heart and a make up/feelings session with WWX and JC that is really sad but sweet to read about.

A Grand Immortal Made Me Soup

One thing had become incredibly clear. Wei Ying was much sicker than he had thought he was, and as a result, was now hallucinating. There was no reality where a Grand Immortal had actually shown up in his apartment, yelled at him about his shit-hole residence, and fed him soup. Absolutely in no way was a Grand Immortal in his apartment, and shitting on him for not finding a place that banned pets.

Author: s6115 Words: 5,040 Chapters: 1

This one's just hella funny but there is a bit of angst. Its a mix of an immortal au and a reincarnation au where JC is an immortal and WWX reincarnates in the modern world. Lowkey felt bad but it's a really heartwarming story. There are a lot of things that WWX doesn't get but he's trying.

The One-Body Problem

The good news is that Lan Jingyi has found a mentor, friend, and constant companion through the difficulties in life. The bad news is that that’s because he’s been accidentally possessed by the Yiling Patriarch.

Author: metisket Words: 28,689 Chapters: 2

LJY acts without thinking and gets possessed by WWX. It's such an interesting concept, especially since they are both hiding things from each other the whole time. It's a bit of a joyride tbh since yk LJY and WWX make an interesting combo but it's one of my favs

Tell Them How the Crowds Went Wild, Tell Them How I Hope They Shine

A-Yuan knows he has to be very careful in his new home. He has to be mindful of the hem of his pristine white robes, cautious of the volume of his voice, dutiful in his manners. A-Yuan has to be very, very good. Really, really good. Because otherwise, Baba might have to leave, like Mama. A-Yuan did not want to lose Baba too. Or: A-Yuan did not forget everything of the Burial Mounds - he remembered a bright smile, a cheerful laugh, the warmth of strong arms, and a single name. It's up to Lan Wangji to make sure he does not forget it all.

Author: GinnyRose Words: 4,598 Chapters: 1

This is told in LSZ's point of view. It's a bit angsty but not too bad.

i don't know how to be something you miss (i'll watch your life in pictures like i used to watch you sleep)

Wei Wuxian died. That should've been the end of it. He gained consciousness again in the Jingshi, unable to leave, while Lan Wangji was in seclusion. He proceeded to watch A-Yuan grow up.

Author: mfingenius Words: 7,071 Chapters: 1

This one is kinda sad. Halfway through I lowkey almost cried because of how bad I felt. I don't want to spoil but this one gave me the feels. I love ghost WWX aus and I actively search for them but this one- *chefs kiss*

A Dramatic Reading

Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian make out in a room full of Sect Leaders, Jiang Cheng tearfully declares his love for his estranged brother, Sect Leaders Yao and Ouyang beg for the Yiling Patriarch’s forgiveness, and Lan Qiren openly welcomes a new nephew-in-law into his family. None of them want to be doing any of this. Thanks to the Juniors, they don’t exactly have a choice. (Or, wherein the Juniors accidentally write a cursed fanfiction, and everyone has to reenact their parts in it, or potentially cease to exist).

Author: pupeez4eva Words: 5,627 Chapters: 1

This is such a crack fic but is so damn funny. Everyone just wants to kill the juniors because their guilty pleasure of writing wangxian fanfics gets outed. LWJ and WWX don't get together post-canon and the juniors got sick of them and started writing cringy fanfiction. This fic cured some of the angst I've been reading.

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #the grandmaster of demonic cultivation #mxtx #fanfic #fanfiction #archive of our own #ao3 fanfic #wangxian #fic recomendation

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ibijau · 3 years

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I don't think I've seen this anywhere (and if you know of any fics that do have this concept, please link!), but what if the events of MDZS (all media) was actually based on history within a modern AU of MDZS?

So like, as an example, you have people speculating whether or not Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji were lovers or not in the same way people do with some real historical figures today, some theories that say Nie Huaisang orchestrated everything that go mostly ignored by everyone except those in the #NieHuaisangDidIt community because it's Nie Huaisang, who is largely remembered as a relatively harmless sect leader, etc... Some even still think the Yiling Patriarch was pure evil, though the novel, shows, and audio drama have since made this an unpopular opinion to have.

And then there's Wei Wuxian, be it through reincarnation with regained memories or immortality, listening to all of this in the background.

“I'm just saying that you wrote your thesis on him, so of course you're biased,” Jin Guangyao said. “There's no way Nie Huaisang organised all this. Everyone in that period agrees that he was so stupid he could barely do basic additions!”

“I have a phd and I can't count either,” Nie Huaisang countered. “Listen, I tell you, the proof is all there if you just look.”

Of course, they weren’t called Nie Huaisang and Jin Guangyao, not in this life, but Wei Wuxian wasn't good with names. In fact, after centuries of being alive, he was worse with names than he'd ever been. Thankfully, this crowd Lan Wangji and him had become friends with didn't mind at all the nicknames he'd picked for them.

“And I can prove that Jin Guangyao didn't even die, and made a name for himself in Japan,” Jin Guangyao retorted. “There's this Han man who suddenly appears out of nowhere in the Japanese court, claiming to know great magic, and...”

“Yes, I've seen the movie too,” Nie Huaisang yawned, taking another sip of his bubble tea.

Jin Guangyao went red and purple, while Wei Wuxian tried to hide a snicker. If there was one sure way to piss of Jin Guangyao, it was by mentioning that recent movie that had come out, very loosely inspired by a series of blog articles he'd written years ago when he was still a student. The inspiration was loose enough that he hadn't been involved in the process at all, because the scenarist had pretended they just happened to have come to the same conclusion.

It wasn't a bad movie, Wei Wuxian thought. It wasn't a goodone either, but he quite liked the actor who played Lan Wangji in it (Wei Wuxian himself wasn't part of the plot, sadly, on account of being officially dead by then), and the fight scenes were pretty fun. Besides, he felt like Jin Guangyao should have liked it even better than he did.

The actor playing him was the tallest member of the cast after all.

“I hope you choke on your tea,” Jin Guangyao muttered, to which Nie Huaisang answered with a bright grin.

It was about to devolve into a fight (an animated academic discussion, Jin Guangyao would have called it) when Lan Xichen entered the boba place, radiant as always. She ordered her own tea (plain black tea but with extra sugar and the sweetest fillings available, as usual) and sat with them, apparently oblivious to the adoration with which Jin Guangyao and Nie Huaisang gazed upon her.

Wei Wuxian had a bet going on with Jiang Cheng about which man would ask her out first in this life. He also had a bet going on with Jin Ling regarding whether anyone would dare ask her out at all. Wei Wuxian would have tried to help the matter, but Lan Wangji wouldn't allow it, worried for his sibling. A needless worry, Wei Wuxian thought. Lan Xichen was doing well for herself in this life, and so were the other two. Going into academia had been a great way for them to channel their lingering resentment. Their fight had almost never gotten physical in this life.

“I'm sorry for being late, jiejie wanted me to help her order something from overseas,” Lan Xichen apologised, smiling warmly. “I hope I didn't interrupt anything important? You seemed to be chatting, no?”

“We were talking about Guangyao's movie,” Nie Huaisang cheerfully answered.

Jin Guangyao looked about ready to murder him, but Lan Xichen just laughed in that sweet, careless way of hers and in a second both men had forgotten their previous argument.

“Oh, that reminds me, I brought something that might make you laugh,” she said, digging into her handbag. “It's in your field of study... in a manner of speaking.”

She put a book on the table. On the cover were two handsome young men, one dressed in black and carrying a flute, the other in white holding a bright sword. Above them, bold characters professed that this book was called “The Founder of Demonic Cultivation”.

Wei Wuxian's drink went the wrong way, and he nearly died coughing on a tapioca pearl. When everyone was sure that he wouldn't choke so stupidly, they all turned their attention back to the book.

“What's that?” Jin Guangyao asked.

“It's a danmei novel,” Lan Xichen explained, a spot of red on her cheeks. “Jiejie lent it to me the other day, and as soon as I started reading I realised the subject was... familiar. It's about Wei Wuxian. The real one I mean,” she added with a smile to Wei Wuxian who pretended to be fascinated by his bubble tea. “It's, ah... very creative. It takes liberties with some of the events, but, ah, it's very well written.”

“Wonderful, more fiction,” Jin Guangyao muttered.

Meanwhile, Nie Huaisang eagerly grabbed the book and started browsing it with hungry eyes. He had theories about that, too. Mostly, about the exact nature of Wei Wuxian's relationship with Jiang Cheng, which he had once explained to Wei Wuxian with far more details than the immortal would ever have cared to hear... and he hoped Jiang Cheng himself would never hear about it.

In fairness to Nie Huaisang though, his arguments had been very convincing, and Wei Wuxian would have had doubts, if he hadn't been married to Lan Wangji for over a thousand years.

“Oh, Lan Wangji,” Nie Huaisang grumbled, closing the book and sliding it back toward Lan Xichen. “I suppose I see the appeal, but there's really no evidence whatsoever in their case, you know?”

“We know,” Lan Xichen said with an indulgent smile.

“Now, Jiang Wanyin and him, on the other hand...”

“You people are obsessed with romance!” Jin Guangyao complained. “His relationship to Jiang Wanyin was platonic!”

Wei Wuxian distractedly nodded. That was indeed true.

“And so was his relationship to Lan Wangji,” Jin Guangyao added with a disgusted glare at the book.

Wei Wuxian grimaced. That was very much not true.

“From the letters I've read, I think in today's world, the Yiling Patriarch would probably be asexual,” Jin Guangyao argued. “Not that I particularly approve of using modern terminology to describe the sexuality of long dead people, but if you consider everything we know about him, then... are you ok?”

“Peachy,” Wei Wuxian coughed, trying not to burst out laughing. Jin Guangyao's pride was still a delicate thing in this life. “Hey, Xichen-jie, mind if I borrow that book until we meet again? I think Lan Zhan would love it.”

“Sure, I don't see why not.”

Wei Wuxian grinned, and pocketed the book.

Lan Wangji and him were going to have a good laugh that night, as they always did whenever someone wrote a new story about them.

#nie huaisang #lan xichen #jin guangyao #wei wuxian #mdzs #I know nothing about academia and I'm too lazy to do research #wangxian later agrees that somehow the danmei is the one version that's closest to the truth #and that's how they find out that Lan Jingyi has reincarnated #jau writes

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tangledinmdzs · 3 years

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Juniors reaction to being old men (not poly) and meeting a Pretty old woman (the reader) and they touch hands and become young again? Like everyone else found their soulmates young (like a tattoo or something) but they get to be young again with the reader

hi hi!

hmm, interesting is this like a soulmate au sort of situation? first reading of your prompt, this gave me like ‘Up’ (the movie) vibes so i’m going off of the whim of that aha.

(as i started to write this, i realized this began to feel a lot more like a reincarnation au sort of thing but eh... aha let me know what you all think!

i hope you enjoy it!)

here’s to your request~

☆♬○♩●♪✧♩　　♩✧♪●♩○♬☆

Lan Sizhui

bingo nights at the local community center are a lot more interesting now that Sizhui has found someone that’s caught his eyes

that someone being you

the little old lady who bakes batches of snickerdoodles and stays for the small bingo rounds for a chance at luck

basically everyone knows about his little crush

his kids give him the ‘looks’ and sly smiles, though he guesses they must approve some what if they’re still driving him to the center

and his friends tease him endlessly whenever they’re sat together at the tables

(sometimes, he’ll wake up in the middle of the night, pick up his wedding picture of so many years ago by his bedside and look at his wife’s face,

her smile there, makes him feel as if she would have approved of his heart’s yearning too)

Sizhui can’t really help when his ear naturally hear your tinkling laugh, eyes gravitating to your curled and pinned up hair

not when there’s something so intently familiar about you

there’s something about you, seeing you that brings so much nostalgia to him, even though you and your family had just moved to his town a year or so ago

he can’t put his finger on it

and Sizhui is content with just staring at you from afar (because at his age, was it really the ideal time to have feelings as the young ones do?)

because he doesn’t need anything more than that

but then, tonight, when the only unoccupied seat in the bingo room is the one across from yours, his friends all push him towards the opportunity

Sizhui can’t believe that he’d actually be able to get this close to you

you both exchange a smile and a nod to one another right before the games start, and there’s not really room for much conversation when you have to pay attention to what the numbers are

and game night suddenly feels a lot more intense now that he’s sitting so close to you

not just because of the proximity

but sitting in front of you, Sizhui sees that you are quite competitive

even though bingo was basically a pure luck game

he sees the way your eyes flicker to the chips sat between the both of you and your board almost strategically

Sizhui thinks it’s quite funny (cute)

and the rest of the night fades into fast numbers and rolling wheels, until suddenly it happens

at the call of ‘63�� you both reach for the chip pile at the same time, eyes on your boards to check your numbers

and your fingers graze one another

it’s the smallest touch

but it brings feelings to his chest that Sizhui hasn’t felt in a long time

the electric shock of a first kiss, ignites his veins as he looks up at you

Sizhui feels the thundering of his heart against his chest, the sound of it pounding in his eyes drowning out all other noise in the room so that his eyes could solely focus on you

and for the first time, you are looking at him eye to eye

you seeing him

him seeing you

what you were (are?) to one another

is more than each of you

would ever know

Lan Jingyi

when Jingyi catches your arm on his, it nearly takes the both of you down

you both, elders now, were not at the prime age for strenuous or sudden movements

but Jingyi’s lucky that his youth spent in athletics has given him a bit more residual strength and flexibility,

so he isn’t taken down by your weight though you both still take a pretty shaky stumble before standing still once again

“are you alright?” Jingyi asks you, his hand holding yours that’s clutched to his arm,

“very alright, thanks to you,”

your voices bring your eyes to one another, because the voice that you both speak and hear sound much younger than your old faces are

when Jingyi’s eyes meet yours, he’s surprised

surprised to see the same eyes, glimmering just like they were all those years ago, when he and you had departed

you don’t plan to meet each other like this

you didn’t plan to meet each other ever again if you were honest with yourself

but you’re just a breath away from Jingyi’s face when you look up at him

and his face

underneath the age spots,

wrinkles,

and new nicks and tweaks

still looks ever the same

still etched in your heart

“y/n...” Jingyi says your name, and you feel reassured that it had not just been (not only) you who recognized him

you can’t find any other words,

so you smile,

because in a life time where you didn’t think you were going to meet at all

at the very least,

you managed to catch each other before the end

Jin Ling

Jin Ling has taken to early morning walks in his neighborhood park

because the kids had been nagging him,

and the grandkids constantly reminded him of how important it was to his health (young as they were; they were literally like, 7)

his wife wasn’t there to do the job that his kids had taken up, and besides even if she was, he hadn’t ever been good at listening to her anyway

a great woman she was, but not the one that was his soulmate, the one single connection that everyone strived to find in this one life

there are not that many that are that lucky, Jin Ling knows

he’s accepted that the odds will always be stacked against his favor

but it still doesn’t make the romance in his heart ache any less

Jin Ling’s morning walk consists of following the same walk way path, the one closest to the street and sitting down at his favorite bench

most days the routine is the same as it always is; perhaps its the earliness of the time that he decides to walk, or the fact that this bench was quite secluded out of the other benches

but there usually wasn’t anyone sitting there

until these past few days

because ever since Monday, he’d been seeing someone sit at his bench

you

the first two days, he’d walk pass you and went straight home, because he wasn’t too keen on sharing a seat with anyone and afraid of small talk

but now it was already the third day

and today, Jin Ling was feeling particularly winded

so he swallows his pride and slows as he gets close to the bench where you are sat at, throwing pieces of bread out to the pigeons that were beginning to surround you

yet another reason why Jin Ling didn’t want to sit with you (he had allergies for peace sake’s)

when Jin Ling sits down, using his cane as his support, he sits at the edge of the bench farthest away from you as he can

he’s also turned the opposite direction, as not to get the flapping feathers of the pigeons in his face

“mister, you might as well be standing with how little you’re on the bench,” a voice behind him quips

Jin Ling’s brows furrow naturally, his kids say that he takes after his uncle (their great uncle) but habits are hard to break and Jin Ling doesn’t feel like this stranger has any right to tell how much or how little he is sitting on a public bench,

when you catch his face, he’s surprised by your small giggle

“you can move in a bit more; don’t worry i don’t bite” you tell him, waving your hand to motion him to slide in

Jin Ling stare at you, eyebrow quirking up

you smile at him, the wrinkles at the edge of your eyes and mouth folding up

“alright as long as you’re comfortable,” you amend, closing the conversation by turning back to stare at the pigeons surrounding you hands at your side

Jin Ling huffs to himself, wondering how a stranger could gauge his personality better than some of his kids at times

with that thought (and the edge of the bench digging into the bottom of his thigh) Jin Ling slides into the bench

he manages a few scoots in and stops abruptly when he feels his hand land on yours

he’d mistook the distance between you, thinking you were farther

you both turn to each other, an apology on your lips when your eyes shimmer with an image, a recollection

an open field of flowers, Jin Ling sees, behind the smiling face of yours that he just witness, except smoother and rosy cheeks

you’re staring in muted surprise, as your eyes take in the details of the glimpse of young Jin Ling, brow still furrowed though his face holds a cute pout that you think would still look cute on him even now

you both have met each other, predestined in some youth that was not of this world

but aged in this reality, you are each others now

Ouyang Zizhen

the nursing home is quiet this season, the off season

though ever since he’d been put here it feels more like an off season

there are not usually many visitors to this place, and even if they do come they don’t stay for long

sometimes Zizhen misses the socialization that his youth had,

he wouldn’t say that he was popular per say

but he had quite a number of friends, good friends that had kept him company, filled his memories with many things that can still get a chuckle to rise out of him

even now

sat in the rocking chair by the window, Zizhen thinks he should be grateful, at the very least his memory was more intact that those of his same aged peers

maybe, because his memory is so great, it makes him miss the thrill of befriending someone new all the more

“is the seat besides you taken?”

when Zizhen turns to the voice, it’s slow, (there’s a crick at the bottom of neck that he doesn’t want to agitate) but also, it’s been a long time since someone other than his nurse had talked to him

“no, it’s all yours,” Zizhen finds himself say, happy that his personable attitude still shines bright even in his age

when Zizhen looks at you, he can tell that you are one of the newer arrivals to this nursing home, you still have the liveliness of the outside world etched into your smile, something Zizhen had lost after his third month without hearing anything from the kids, or seeing the grandkids anymore

“my name is y/n, may i have yours?” you introduce once you finally settle yourself on a small chair next to his, walker placed to the side

Zizhen likes the gentleness of your voice and he smiles as he holds his hand out to you

“Zizhen, the strangers usually call me Ouyang but you can call me Zizhen” he tells you and you let out a breathy laugh, taking his hand in yours

your skin is soft in his grasp, just as his palm is warm against your fingers

you both lock eyes with each other,

Zizhen sees familiar in the image of the young girl with flowing hair, bright eyes and bright red lips smiling under a starlight night

you feel the tears bringing in your brown orbs, at the shaggy hair and flannel t-shirt of a tall lanky boy, with a laugh so loud it rings clear in your heart

your images of each other disappear back to the present, when the tear rolls down your cheek

it steals your breath away

perhaps,

you both had met one another before

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madtomedgar · 4 years

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post-canon options for lan xichen ranked by how much i, madtomedgar, like them and absolutely nothing else

Good Shit

1. Lan Xichen comes out of seclusion a much blunter person, much more willing to say what needs saying and demand others do the same, spends as much time as it takes putting his sworn brother’s souls to rest so that they can move on instead of destroying each other again, eventually moves on and has a nice, kind of boring thing with Wen Ning. Retires from sect leadership when Lan Jingyi is old enough to take over (so like... 26) and goes rogue cultivating.

1.5 Lan Xichen comes out of seclusion, eventually tries to move forward by moving, goes rogue cultivating, eventually heals and comes to a sort of acceptance of what happened, bonus points if, as in Sun and Soil he finds Jin Guangyao’s reincarnation and gets a sort of second chance with him as he could have been.

2. Lan Xichen comes out of seclusion and resurrects one or both of his sworn brothers, then fucks off into the sunset with them

3. Lan Xichen has absolutely no intention of moving on from anything ever again, but finds/hears that Jin Guangyao is Back and starts shoving breadsticks in his purse like “i’m sorry i have to leave seclusion right now immediately because of reasons”

3.5 The ghost of Jin Guangyao realizes that Er-ge has every intention of staying in seclusion forever and/or dying and is like “this? this i decided to die alone for? this you decide to do with the life i gave back to you?” and starts haunting him in the role of unwanted and reluctant therapist.

4. Lan Xichen goes a little nuts, comes out of seclusion specifically to kill Nie Huaisang

5. Lan Xichen goes a little nuts, comes out of seclusion to resurrect Jin Guangyao and then kill Nie Huaisang, not necessarily in that order

The “fine, I’ll take it” stuff

6. Lan Xichen never comes out of seclusion

7. Lan Xichen drags himself out of seclusion and resumes his duties (possibly including producing an heir) out of a sense of duty, but remains a joyless shadow of his former self

8. Lan Xichen drags himself out of seclusion, but recognizes he’s too fucked up to resume his former duties, and haunts Cloud Recesses like a ghost

9. Lan Xichen uses summon/sacrifice to bring back one sworn brother or the other

The stuff I don’t like

10. Lan Xichen commits suicide without any ghostly intervention to prevent it

11. Lan Xichen goes incredibly nuts and hurts Lan Wangji or Lan Sizhui.

12. Lan Xichen realizes that Jin Guangyao was a nasty abuser who deserved to die, is better after the break up, and learns what Real Love feels like with fucking. Jiang Cheng or Nie Huaisang or some shit.

#untamed stuff #didn't include any canon divergence where jgy survives here #i don't mean to make anyone feel like i'm #idk attacking their taste #this is just my personal 'what i enjoy or don't'#and while lxc in seclusion forever or suicidal can be great angst #i like him too much to really really enjoy those

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aquadrazi · 3 years

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Find Someone to Carry You

Chapter 4

*****Thirteen years after the death of the Yiling Patriarch*****

“I heard the Jin Sect Leader died” “Died inside one of his whores is what I heard” “I heard the new young sect leader has been training with the Ghost of Gusu” “I heard that those young cultivators are the best in generations” “Is it true that the Second Jade of Lan turned down Chief Cultivator?” “I’m not surprised. He’s only seen around his group of Juniors when they are on night hunts” “Jin Guangyao seems to being a good job running the Jin Sect in the boy’s absence” “It seems the Jin and Lan sects are becoming closer and closer” “Maybe, but it doesn’t seem that the Ghost of Gusu cares about sect politics”

........Mo Manor…….

Lan Wangji arrived quickly after he saw Sizhui’s signal flare light up the night sky. He liked to keep his distance these days to see how his Juniors handled hunts on their own, and then would come when summoned if there were problems. They had been asked to rid the Mo Estate of some resentful energy, so apparently things were more complicated than they were led to believe.

As the Juniors recounted the events that led up to them signaling for help, Lan Wangji surveyed the area. One particular area drew his eyes.

He walked towards a run-down shack and signaled for the Juniors to follow him. The demonic hand would be dealt with, but he had a feeling there was more to this story than first appeared.

The Juniors had swarmed past him before he had finished taking in the scene, with their weapons drawn.

“Wait” He stopped them. “Tell me, what do you see?”

“Senior Lan, there is a demonic cultivator laying in the center of an array. We must kill him”

“Oh? Why must we?” Lan Wangji realized that it was high time for this lesson.

“Because demonic cultivation is evil”

“Who told you that?”

“Master Lan”

“Why is it evil?”

There was shuffling and silence.

“Is it the cultivation itself that is evil, or is it the cultivator?”

“Master Lan says that demonic cultivation erodes the mind and turns the cultivator into a monster”

“The Yiling Patriarch used demonic cultivation and he killed thousands before he was finally defeated”

“He killed my parents” Jin Ling added quietly, loud enough to only be heard by the few standing around him.

“Do you see a monster?” Lan Wangji asked calmly, despite the reference. He did not miss that most of the Juniors tensed up at the mention of Wei Ying. They had learned at a very young age that talk of the Yiling Patriarch was not tolerated around him.

“I don’t know.”

“Maybe”

“What is the array even FOR?”

“I see a boy in need of medical attention.” Sizhui said stubbornly while putting his sword away. The other Juniors followed suit. Sizhui had assumed a leadership role amongst them, they all seemed to follow his lead regardless if it was a night hunt or what game they were going to play after lecture.

“Alright. Sizhui, you take charge of seeing that Young Master Mo here doesn’t bleed to death. The rest of you, see what clues can be found in the room as to what happened here.” Lan Wangji was proud of his son. He had hoped that being raised in Cloud Recesses wouldn’t cause him to see the world as black and white, as it had for him when he was growing up.

Lan Wangji could see little bits of Wei Ying in the boy, even though he didn’t remember his time in the Burial Mounds. A-Yuan was so young when everything had happened, and when Lan Wangji had found him, the boy was suffering from a terrible fever. He still has nightmares from time to time, but Sizhui would brush them off as crazy dreams, and not memories of his past.

“Senior Lan” Jin Ling whispered next to him. “I think the spell was designed by the Yiling Patriarch.” He had found a bunch of papers and was presenting them to Lan Wangji.

How could he possibly know that?

“I- I recognize the handwriting.” Jin Ling’s hand trembled a little as Lan Wangji took the papers from him. As the Juniors grew older, Lan Wangji had spoken out loud to them less and less. However, since they had spent so much time together as they grew up, the Juniors all had an uncanny ability to read Lan Wangji’s miniscule changes in facial expressions and body language. Lan Wangji didn’t have to say anything to prompt the boy to continue his explanation.

“When I went back for my grandfather’s funeral I went looking for…” He looked around to see if anyone was in earshot, then spoke again even quieter “…the screaming man. I went back to the room I had seen him in with grandfather and Uncle Jin when I didn’t see him in the receiving hall. He wasn’t there, but there were a bunch of items that had belonged to the Yiling Patriarch there. I’m guessing that my grandfather had them collected so he could research demonic cultivation. I… read some of the journals. His writing was…distinct.” The boy almost looked ashamed as he finished his explanation.

It only took a glance for Lan Wangji to confirm that the spell was designed by Wei Ying. “You are correct”.

“It seems that the spell was designed by Senior Wei, probably during his time in the Burial Mounds with the Wen remnants.” Lan Wangji announced to the room. “So we now know that we are dealing with something that we probably haven’t seen before.”

“The Yiling Patriarch?”

“So it IS demonic cultivation.”

“I wonder if it worked…whatever it was”

Don’t be emotional.

Let them find the clues themselves.

Let them put it together.

Let them come to their own conclusions.

They are good kids with open minds, they don’t see the world as black and white.

They’ve been taught to think and gather evidence before they judge.

“Senior Lan. I’ve compared the array to the one in Senior Wei’s drawing, it was correctly drawn. I see no reason for the spell to not have worked. Also, it appears this spell is a Sacrifice Summon, so Young Master Mo would have given up his soul and offered his body as a vessel to…something… be it a demon or another spirit, to…get revenge for him.” Lan Jingyi reported.

“Has anyone found a note?” Sizhui asked from where he was tending to the boy. “If it was a Sacrifice Summon, then there would be a note with instructions for what the spirit needed to carry out.” He channeled spiritual energy into the slashes on the boy’s wrist. The ones that would only go away once whatever it was that the boy wanted done was accomplished. His eyes widened when they closed up. “Wait! The spell didn’t work. The wounds closed.”

“So that IS young Master Mo then”

“Oh good”

“What? He’s still a demonic cultivator”

“I heard he was crazy”

“At least he isn’t an ACTUAL demon”

“He must have been in a lot of pain to want to give up his life, and all future lives for revenge”

“What do you mean?”

“The caster gives up their body to another, and their soul is destroyed in the process”

“So he was expecting to die”

“Why would anyone do that?”

Uncle would be very irritated at the Juniors chattering while looking for clues. However Lan Wangji didn’t discourage it. He liked to hear what they were thinking, and where their thought processes were going. He found it was easier to teach them if he KNEW what they were thinking, rather than guessing. The irony was not lost on him. If he had been more verbal with Wei Ying maybe things would have turned out differently. He would not make that mistake again.

No, he encouraged his Juniors to voice everything they thought and felt. He wanted them all to know that they could rely on each other no matter the situation. He never wanted to see another cultivator on their own, battling the world, misunderstood. His Juniors would have each other, even after he was long gone.

“I found a note!”

“What does it say?”

“Who was he trying to summon?”

“Who did he want revenge on?”

Their questions were broken by a sudden screaming coming from young Master Mo. “No, no please. Please stop. Please let me go, I’m scared. I don’t want to. Please, it hurts. I’ll be good, I swear. I’ll be good. Please!”

Sizhui pulled the boy into his lap and held him tightly so he couldn’t thrash about. “It’s okay, Just breathe. No one here will hurt you. Can you breathe for me?” He said soothingly to the boy while rocking him.

The boy continued to sob and beg pathetically into Sizhui’s shoulder as Sizhui whispered into the boy’s ear and rocked him gently.

“He was trying to summon the Yiling Patriarch. He wanted revenge on those who…had abused him.”

“But the spell didn’t work.”

“Does that mean that the Yiling Patriarch is alive?”

“That can’t be. The Jin clan saw him burst into a million pieces”

“Well, if he is definitely dead, then that must mean there wasn’t a soul to summon”

No soul.

Wei Ying’s soul was destroyed.

Wei Ying hasn’t just been avoiding Inquiry for the past 13 years.

He wasn’t just hiding, feeling hurt and betrayed.

His soul was destroyed, so there was nothing left to talk to.

Wei Ying would never reincarnate.

Wei Ying no longer existed.

Lan Wangji felt like someone had reached into his chest, ripped out his heart, and was squeezing it in front of his eyes.

“Se-Senior Lan? Are you okay?”

The Juniors were staring at him with looks of concern. “Mn” was all he could manage for them.

“Let’s regroup back at Cloud Recesses.” Sizhui suggested, realizing that his father was having some sort of emotional crisis. The Juniors murmured and nodded in agreement as they took samples of the talismans hanging from the walls, and all the papers that had been found, and exited the shack.

The boy in his arms whimpered as Sizhui lifted him up, even though he was careful not to press against any of the injuries he could see.

“It’s going to be okay now. No one is going to hurt you again.” Sizhui tried to soothe the boy as he carried him out of the shack. “We will help you”.

“Senior Lan, can you fly on your own?” Lan Wangji felt an arm on his shoulder, steadying him.

“I will be fine” Lan Wangji responded. It wasn’t a lie, he was sure that he would be fine to fly. The Junior stayed by his side as he left the shack, which he was glad for because his legs were fighting him to stay standing up. “I will just need a minute.”

The cool night air helped him to focus on the present. There was a young boy who needed their help, and a demonic hand to get to a secure place. There was also the information that the Jin sect had Wei Ying’s work from when he was in the Burial Mounds, and had been using it in experiments for years. Young Master Mo was one of Jin Guangshan’s bastards, and had been kicked out for being crazy. Perhaps he had been part of the experiments. That would explain the demonic cultivation.

Lan Wangji breathed deeply and steadily until his mind calmed down. They would travel back to Cloud Recesses, the boy would be tended to, and they would look through the clues and try to get a better picture of what was going on.

Once those things were taken care of, then he would allow himself to fall apart.

#mdzs fic #the untamed

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hils79 · 4 years

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Monday Fic Recs

Wei Wuxian/Lan Wangji (The Untamed/Mo Dao Zu Shi)

hope dangling by a string by kouriarashi

Lan Wangji had never had call to perform the spell of silent communication before he and Wei Wuxian joined together to fight Xuanwu. He figured it was temporary. Spoiler alert: it wasn't.

Or: the AU in which Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian psychically bond in the cave, Wei Wuxian overhears Lan Wangji thinking about the fact that he actually likes him, and after several minutes of confusion, is fully on board with this.

This is such an interesting idea executed beautifully. I was absolutely hooked while I was reading this

your refuge in the bitter cold by foreverkneeld

After the events in the Cave, Lan Wangji goes back with Jiang Cheng to Lotus Pier.

It’s amazing how one small change affects the rest of the story entirely. This was an absolutely fascinating and riveting read.

grow by cafecliche

“Okay,” Jingyi says, as Sizhui puzzles this out aloud. “Okay! So the demon has been turning its victims into children.”

“I think so,” Sizhui says.

“To make them easier prey,” Jingyi says.

“Yes,” Sizhui says.

“So—” Jingyi’s voice cracks here, “this kid is Senior Wei.”

Wei Wuxian, still tangled in his own massive robes, blinks politely at them.

(Or: Wei Wuxian is cursed on a night-hunt, and the junior quartet rapidly finds themselves in over their heads.)

I love a de-aged fic and this was so sweet and gave me a lot of feelings

dream of a funeral; hear of a marriage by defractum

The news spread around the cultivation world quickly: Hanguang-jun would take whomever was skilled enough to take the Gusu Jade Token from around his neck as his cultivation partner and spouse.

Ten years later, Wei Wuxian is brought back into Mo Xuanyu's body, and he is awfully confused as to why random cultivators keep trying to attack Lan Wangji.

This is a really fun idea, but there’s actually a lot of feelings packed into this fic as well

hunters seeking solid ground by attila

“Hanguang-jun,” Wei Wuxian repeats. His heart clenches. He wants—but he’d really meant to have this nightmare stuff down before they met again, so he wouldn’t find himself relying on Lan Wangji’s nearness. He’s not supposed to go back yet. But he’s so tired, and his will crumbles. “Yeah,” he says. “All right. Take me back to Gusu with you.”

This is just 24k of hurt/comfort and it’s beautifully written

your heart, two doors down by ficklish

It begins with a stray clementine, half-peeled and trailing rind, rounding the corner and rolling down the hallway. Lan Zhan has just stepped into the lobby of the apartment complex, grateful for the reprieve from the heat. He blinks, bemused, and watches as the clementine rolls to a stop just behind him.

Lan Zhan and Wei Ying start off as neighbours but soon find themselves fitting into the spaces in each other's lives like they were meant to be there all along.

This is just so sweet and adorable

Content Warning: Romance by ariaste

Wei Wuxian just wants a little warning before Lan Wangji says nice things. Lan Wangji just wants to love on his husband, thanks.

Kink can be soft, and this is so very soft.

something wild calls you home by fleetling

The innkeeper looked at them all, and then turned to Lan Wangji, clearly noting his robes, headpiece, and sword. “Chief Cultivator,” he said, stammering slightly. Lan Wangji didn’t sigh as he sheathed Bichen, but it was a near thing.

Jiang Wanyin scoffed as he watched. “Take us to his room,” he snapped at the innkeeper, and the man led the sect leaders and their first disciples to the room that had been Wei Wuxian’s.

The first thing Lan Wangji noticed was the red-black blood smeared on the floorboards, and then the black flute sitting in the centre of the room, innocuously still and plain.

(OR: Wei Wuxian is kidnapped. Somehow, this leads to Lan Wangji playing Chenqing, Jiang Wanyin revealing he thought they were already married, and a few love confessions.)

I really love the idea of LWJ getting to play Chenqing

Zhao Yunlan/Shen Wei (Guardian)

like the deserts by yantantether

Somewhere far below, Shen Wei is counting on him, and Zhao Yunlan is so fucking useless he can't even find a way to help him. He imagines a future without Shen Wei around to complain about the state of his fridge, bully him into eating vegetables, provide his effortlessly startling insights into SID's cases, and kiss him until he's nothing but a mass of nerve endings, and the thought makes the emptiness inside expand until it begins to swallow him.

Oh god the worry and yearning was so palpable in this I felt like I was going through it myself

家教 - or - Domestic Education by rageprufrock

Shen Wei is the Ghost King, born out of the unyielding chaos of entropy that had consumed the underworld before the creation of the wheel of reincarnation. He's the cosmic guardian of death and all her darlings, and the universe through the lens of his eye is rife with demons, hungry ghosts, and shadows creeping out of their places. So there is absolutely no way he is getting sick.

This is so sweet and domestic and touching. I love getting to see more of Zhao Yunlan’s family

You Had One Job (take off your mask and smile) by starandrea

Allied Dixing turned a blind eye to any and all indiscretions committed by the foreign General Kunlun. The Black Robed Envoy owed Kunlun his life, so the Dixing forces would never speak against him. The Envoy defended his people with every power he had, and they followed without question.

They followed both the Black Robed Envoys, not that everyone believed there were two of them.

Oh I love the idea of Shen Wei and Ye Zun working together, and Zhao Yunlan being the only one who can tell them apart.

Helpless by riventhorn

Usually Shen Wei is the one taking care of Zhao Yunlan when he's injured.

I will absolutely read any post-episode 33 fic and this is another lovely one

#fic recs #wangxian #weilan #the untamed #guardian

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mdzsgildedfate · 3 years

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Gilded Fate - Chapter 11

Reincarnation AU [Chapter 11/?] Characters: Xue Yang, Xiao Xingchen, Song Lan, Lan Sizhui, Lan Jingyi, Jin Ling, Original Characters. Pairings: Xue Yang/Xiao Xingchen, Song Lan/Xiao Xingchen, Lan Sizhui/Lan Jingyi, Xue Yang/OC

A deafening silence fell over the temple as the last of the students disappeared out of sight. The sun was beginning to sink in the sky and a small chill was settling in, serving as a reminder of the impending season change. Jin Ling stared on down the path long after everyone had gone, mulling over the situation still at hand. Clenching his jaw, he spun around and disappeared back inside the temple.

The hair on the back of his neck stood on end as he quickly made his way through the winding hallways. Even though one of the potential dangers had been somewhat resolved, Jin Ling didn’t feel any less on edge. During Xinyi’s awakening, something stuck out to him- a seemingly insignificant detail that had unsettled him. Perhaps it was nothing. Very likely, it was completely unrelated to the other disturbing occurrences in the temple, but he wasn’t about to leave any stone unturned.

Hunting down Xiao Xingchen hadn’t been difficult. Jin Ling quickly found him drifting about the halls, looking nearly indistinguishable from the other ghosts that lingered around the premises. Even with the noise he made in approaching, Xingchen didn’t acknowledge the other cultivator until he was standing directly in front of him.

“Xiao Xingchen.” Jin Ling addressed him, blocking his path. “What happened back there with Song Lan?”

Xingchen gave his usual noncommittal shrug and tried to move past Jin Ling.

“Cut the crap. I know you’re faking.” Jin Ling squared his shoulders, refusing to let the man leave. “I heard you say Xinyi’s name. I know you can talk.”

The priest paused, looking at Jin Ling with an annoyed expression. “Why do you think I have some hidden information? You saw the same thing I did. Song Lan lost control of his Yin energy for a moment.”

“Do you really expect me to believe that?”

Xingchen drew back with a bemused expression. “What are you implying?”

“Song Lan has had over eight thousand years to learn energy control. I don’t believe for one minute that a sword fight with Xinyi was enough to break that.”

“Believe it or not, it’s none of my business.” Xingchen pushed past Jin Ling. “If you’re so worried, why don’t you go ask him?”

Grabbing Xingchen’s shoulder, he pulled him back to face him. “I will when I find him. I don’t suppose you know where he is?”

“No. I don’t. I don’t make a habit of keeping track of his location every second of every day.” He replied, looming over Jin Ling. “I don’t know what you’re trying to accomplish with your stories of caves and demonic cultivators, but I’m tired of entertaining this game.”

Jin Ling’s jaw dropped in surprise, shocked by Xingchen’s disposition. He knew Song Lan was reluctant to believe what he’d said, but at least aired on the side of caution. Xingchen’s total lack of concern and blatant disregard of the potential danger was startling.

“Fine!” He snapped after a long pause. “It’s no wonder Song Lan is the way he is, walking through hell for someone who won’t even talk to him.”

Xingchen stopped dead in his tracks, fists clenched. Stepping even closer to Jin Ling, black veins creeping up his neck, Xingchen grabbed the front of the man’s robe. With their faces so close together, Jin Ling could see the faint remnants of tear stains on the priest’s face.

“How dare you make such wild presumptions about us?” He hissed, “Why should I be grateful to someone who condemned me to an endless life as a fierce corpse? Why should I be grateful to someone who keeps me locked away here?”

Suddenly dropping Jin Ling’s lapel, Xingchen stepped back, squeezing his eyes against the tears threatening to spill out again. Jin Ling watched speechlessly, cycling between shock and guilt.

“Song Lan didn’t walk through hell for me.” The veins receded and his fists unclenched, his demeanour relaxing into a state of defeat. “He brought me back so he could feel better about what happened. Everything he did was with complete disregard to my feelings. My refusal to speak is the only mercy I can show him.”

“Do you really hate him so much that Xue Yang’s company was preferable?” Jin Ling asked, muscles tensed.

Xingchen turned his gaze to the Jin Cultivator, falling quiet for a long time before speaking again. “When I died, I was blind. When I woke up, I suddenly wasn’t. That was just one of many secrets Song Lan has kept from me the past three thousand years. Xue Yang’s presence here was likely my last chance to find answers. It was hardly a matter of whose company was preferable.”

With that, the priest walked away, leaving Jin Ling behind to process the information. Seeing Xingchen’s raw emotions, he could understand why he’d chosen to feign being mute to Song Lan. Jin Ling himself had separated from the two Lans for a similar need to avoid difficult conversations, he could only imagine what it’d be like if he had to live isolated with them like Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen.

Shaking the thoughts from his head, Jin Ling returned his focus to the trouble at hand. Song Lan’s outburst still held suspicion for him, regardless of Xingchen’s opinion on it. Returning to his sweep of the temple, he searched every nook and cranny of the building in search of the other priest. Without the students occupying them, the spare rooms echoed eerily, feeling entirely too empty.

Coming to the last room, a fresh anxiety swelled within Jin Ling. If Song Lan wasn’t inside, it meant he had disappeared from the temple again. After his initial encounter with Xiao Xingchen, Jin Ling hadn’t run into a single other person. Something definitely didn’t feel right. Steadying his breathing, and trying to quell his growing unease, Jin Ling reached out and slid the door open. And let out a sigh of relief.

“There you are.”

With his back to Jin Ling, Song Lan stood ridgid in the middle of the otherwise empty room.

“Song Lan?”

The man jolted slightly, coming to life and rotating to face the other cultivator. Ice ran through Jin Ling’s veins immediately. Before he had a chance to react at all, his body suddenly froze, refusing to move no matter how hard he strained his muscles. His heart pounded in his chest as he heard movement behind him- the light footsteps of someone walking just out of view. His vision blurred and everything went black.

~X~

Most of the ride back to Beijing was passed dozing off and on. The adrenaline from his injured hand had worn off, leaving Xinyi feeling exhausted. His head rested on Chen’s shoulder, with one of the man’s arms wrapped around him, occasionally shifting in his seat whenever the ride’s turbulence rattled him awake. In between those moments, his dreams came forward in vague clips- memories from his life before.

As they pulled into the university parking lot, Chen gently shook him awake so they could begin gathering their things. Everyone filed off quietly, having still not quite recovered from the shock at the temple. Most of the students headed back to the dorms, leaving only a spare few stragglers to trudge through the parking lot in search of their own cars. Exchanging a few words amongst themselves, QianHua waved goodbye and left Chen to drive Xinyi home.

Before they made it far, Sizhui and Jingyi stopped them. Urging Chen to keep walking, Xinyi turned to face the two men.

“Xinyi. I won’t keep you long, I know you’re tired and in pain.” Sizhui said, choosing his words carefully. “But we’re obviously apprehensive about what happened-”

“Apprehensive?” Xinyi asked, looking at the two blankly. “You haven’t stopped staring at me since we left the temple. Are you afraid I’ll kill someone if you blink?”

“This isn’t my first time witnessing someone remember their past life.” Sizhui continued, shifting uncomfortably. “I’m not ruling out the possibility.”

“Considering what kind of person you used to be.” Jingyi added.

“Right. Because you knew me so well?” Xinyi narrowed his eyes at him. “Don’t you know me better now?”

“It’s true, we’ve known you longer as Xinyi than as Xue Yang.” Sizhui said, cutting off whatever thought Jingyi was forming. “But the awakening process can have… side effects. Especially for people who died with regrets, or grudges-”

“I don’t care about anything that happened back then.” Xinyi interjected quickly. “I was a poor orphan that resorted to violence to survive, who glorified someone for showing me bare minimum kindness. None of that applies to my life now.”

Sizhui scanned his eyes over him, not looking entirely convinced. “You didn’t seem terribly indifferent when Xingchen tried to talk to you.”

Xinyi frowned at the name, breaking his eye contact with Sizhui. “I guess I have higher standards for how people treat me now. I’m thankful to you and Jingyi for helping me, but you’re not much different. You’re not looking out for me, you don’t even care that I’m a different person.”

Holding up his injured hand, he looked between Sizhui and Jingyi a few times before continuing. “You still remember I’m your student right? Wasn’t it your job to keep me safe? Everyone’s so worried that I might hurt other people, but no one batted an eye at the danger I was in around Song Lan.”

“I-... I’m sorry… You’re right.” Sizhui tilted his head down, squeezing his eyes shut.

“Jiaoshou. I’m going home. I’ll see you in class.”

Sizhui and Jingyi watched as Xinyi left, at a loss for what to say even to each other. The whole week had been spent worrying about Xue Yang’s return, just as Xinyi said, never once considering the possibility of Song Lan deviating. The two walked back to Sizhui’s car, not breaking the silence until the doors shut them inside. All at once, Sizhui’s emotions broke and he bent over the steering wheel in tears.

“A-Yuan, this isn’t your fault-”

“How is it not?” Sizhui asked, lifting his face. “I keep failing, time and time again! Every time I try to help, I just make things worse!”

“That’s not true.” Jingyi put a hand on Sizhui’s shoulder.

“Yes it is! You know it is, you know I was lying about Wen Chao. He didn’t try to redeem himself! I induced his awakening and he killed himself!” His whole body shook with sobs. “Because of my negligence, Wen Qing slaughtered an entire village. We haven’t seen Zizhen in thousands of years because of what I let happen! And now-!”

Jingyi grabbed the back of Sizhui’s shirt and pulled him into a hug, wrapping his arms tight around the sobbing man. Stroking his hand over Sizhui’s hair, he let him cry into his shoulder until the sobs subsided into soft hiccups. He pulled back, wiped the tears from Sizhui’s face, and kissed him.

“Did you do those things alone?” Jingyi asked, looking into Sizhui’s eyes. “I was there with you. You did the best you could, but those were imperfect situations with imperfect outcomes. They likely would have happened whether we were there or not. It’s true, we didn’t handle Xinyi well, but we did the best we could under the circumstances.”

Sizhui let out a stuttered breath, stifling another wave of tears.

“A-Yuan. Xinyi’s upset, and rightfully so, but this is far from the worst scenario. No one died.”

“That’s a pretty shitty minimum standard.”

“Ok, well, just for that, you’re copying the Lan principles when we get home.” Jingyi said curtly, sitting back in his seat. “Using such vulgar language, I’m disappointed in you.”

Sizhui broke into laughter, putting his forehead to Jingyi’s shoulder for a moment before straightening up. Jingyi was right; they had all been prepared for the worst and, at the very least, no one died.

~X~

All the way back to Xinyi’s house, he could see the tension on Chen’s face while he drove. It wasn’t surprising to think he had some questions, or a million, about what happened, but Xinyi appreciated the silence for as long as he could. He was sure anything Chen wanted to ask didn’t have an easy answer. It gave Xinyi a small insight into Xiao Xingchen’s vow of silence with Song Lan, making it seem a little less crazy in retrospect.

The Wang residence was a good forty minute drive from the university, giving them both plenty of time to process their thoughts. Once they pulled off the highway, Chen turned the volume on the radio down, still silent for a while before actually speaking.

“Have you thought of what you’re going to say to your family when they see your hand?”

Xinyi looked down at it, resisting the urge to take off the bandages to survey the damage. “Not really. I’ve got some time though. My parents are never home this time of year and A-Zhou won’t notice.”

Chen let out a small laugh. “Right. Unless she grabs your hand.”

Xinyi winced at the thought. “I’ll just have to be careful.”

“What about your uncle?”

“I’ll just have to pray.”

The roads gave way to a pleasant suburban neighborhood, free of traffic as the hour grew later. The streetlights were just beginning to turn on, giving the area a dreamlike appearance.

“A-Xin…”

Xinyi turned his attention from the window to look at Chen.

“Should I even bother asking about what happened?” He asked, his grip on the steering wheel tightening.

“You saw just as much as I did, what-”

“You know what I mean. After QianHua and I were pushed out of the room. What actually happened.”

Xinyi looked down, clearing his throat anxiously. “Why do you think something weird happened…”

Chen’s jaw clenched. “I know you’re still recovering, but if we’re… whatever this is we’re doing… I need to know.”

“It’s really not important.” He replied, his gaze drifting to the sword at his feet. “I want to forget about it.”

The car pulled up in front of the Wang house, rolling to a stop on the side of the street. After a few silent beats, Chen reached his hand over to rest on Xinyi’s thigh. Looking up at the house, Xinyi felt a strange aversion to going inside.

“A-Xin… did something bad happen?”

Xinyi couldn’t help but laugh and hold his hand up. “No, of course not.”

Chen glowered at him, retracting his hand. “Please don’t do that.”

He put his hand down.

“What did you and Xingchen talk about?”

“Ah…” He looked at Chen, trying to find an answer to the question. “I mean. I basically just told him I didn’t want to see him again.”

“Basically?”

“Chen…” Xinyi sighed, putting a hand on JiangZai’s hilt. “I’m not trying to hide anything from you, but if I tell you the truth, you’ll think I’m crazy.”

“Is that any different from usual?” Chen asked, moving his hand back to Xinyi’s leg. “You’ve always been weird. Your whole family is weird. Don’t you think I knew that when I started liking you?”

Xinyi turned his gaze to the man, looking at him for a long time, weighing the options. “...Fine. But it’s a long story.”

A small smile cracked across Chen’s face and they set to work collecting their belongings to go inside. The house was dark inside, giving no indication as to who was home. Testing the waters, Xinyi flipped a few lights on as they silently made their way through the rooms. Before long, the sound of footsteps came from upstairs. Xinyi held his breath, watching the stairs in anticipation of who would appear.

Slowly coming into view was a young girl, around sixteen, with short, spiky hair, and white eyes. Halfway down the stairs, she paused, listening with a suspicious expression on her face. Xinyi approached the stairs, keeping his movements as soundless as possible. Despite his efforts, her face immediately turned to where he stood.

“DaGe? Why are you home?” She demanded immediately.

Letting out his breath, Xinyi fell into a lighthearted laugh. “How has your hearing gotten so good?”

“You’re just loud!” She retorted, descending the stairs to hug him.

Xinyi wrapped his arms around her, lifting her off the stairs and spinning around to set her back down. They stayed in a tight embrace for a few seconds before breaking apart, Xinyi moving carefully to avoid letting her touch the injured hand.

“Someone else is with you, right? Who’s here?” Zhou turned to Chen, reaching a hand out and feeling her way to his face. “Hey, you’re supposed to be on that field trip too!”

Chen pulled away, whipping his glasses off to clean her fingerprints from the lenses. “We got rained out, everyone came home early.”

“ZhouZhou, where’s Uncle? Is he home?”

“Yeah, downstairs.” Zhou replied, turning to face him again.

“We’re going up to my room, don’t tell him we’re here.”

Zhou nodded and the two climbed the stairs to Xinyi’s bedroom, closing the door behind them. Xinyi dumped his stuff onto the desk, letting the sword clatter onto the surface haphazardly, and threw himself onto the bed. Chen dropped his belongings onto the floor and climbed onto the bed beside Xinyi, patiently waiting for him to continue the conversation from the car. Slowly, Xinyi pulled his face from the blankets and looked at Chen.

“It’s been a long day, can’t we just go to bed-?”

“A-Xin.”

Xinyi frowned, pulling himself into a sitting position. “Let the record show, you bullied me into this.”

“Acknowledged. Now spill.”

Where to even begin? How much information did he actually have to give Chen? His actions as Xue Yang weren’t things to be proud of, but could he explain his relationship with Xingchen without it? He looked at Chen nervously, trying to collect his thoughts to put into words.

“Remember the lecture Song Lan gave about Cultivators?” Xinyi asked tentatively, studying Chen’s face.

“Yeah… It’s like the stories about your family’s antiques.”

“Exactly. Everyone thinks we made the stories up to gain attention for our collection. You did too, right?”

Chen opened his mouth with an incredulous expression, prepared to defend himself.

“Don’t look offended, I thought they were kinda bullshit too. The antiques are cool, but the stories sound fake.”

“Are you trying to get us off-topic?”

“No.” Xinyi paused, trying to think of what to say. “Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan aren’t just Taoist priests living in a temple for no reason. They’re Cultivators.”

“...Okay.”

“And they’re about eight thousand years old.”

“........Okay.”

Pausing again, Xinyi looked at Chen questioningly, waiting for the man to accuse him of joking around or lying or just plain sounding crazy.

“So are Sizhui and Jingyi Jiaoshou.”

Chen’s face scrunched slightly. “Are you being serious or are you just fucking with me?”

“I’m being serious. This is why I said you’d think I was crazy.”

“Alright… let’s say I do believe you…What does this have to do with what happened?”

“The reason you guys were told to leave was because…” He bit his lip, hesitating with his words. “They had to do something to make me remember my past life.”

The other man stared up at him blankly, the faintest hint of annoyance behind his eyes.

“Chen, really, I know this sounds stupid. Can we please just forget about it?”

“So…” Chen furrowed his brow, fussing with a stray string hanging from the blanket. “Sizhui and Jingyi Jiaoshou… and the two priests… are 8,000 year old ‘Cultivators’, who you knew in your past life? And they ‘did something’ to make you remember that… right after one of them attacked you…”

Xinyi’s heart was pounding in his chest, painfully skipping at Chen’s expression. Everything he’d just told the man sounded beyond ridiculous, there was no way in hell Chen could believe him. Any second, he’d storm out and never talk to Xinyi again.

“Pretty much…”

“What’d you do to piss off Song Lan that bad?”

“I uh… killed him. Xingchen too, technically…” He replied, surprised that Chen was even entertaining his bullshit anymore.

“I thought you said they were thousands of years old.”

“They’re reanimated corpses.”

Chen drew in a sharp breath, clenching his jaw again. Bringing his eyes up slowly, he looked past Xinyi to the sword resting on the desk behind him. Xinyi could practically see the gears turning in his head.

“Chen…” Tentatively reaching a hand out, Xinyi touched his fingers to Chen’s knee. “I swear I’m not lying. You can call me crazy, you don’t have to believe anything I just said, but I swear I’m not lying-”

“I believe you.”

Xinyi’s mouth snapped shut, his eyes widening into a shocked stare.

“There were so many weird things about this trip, I don’t think I would’ve believed any normal explanation.” Chen finally met Xinyi’s eyes, still looking a little reserved. “It’s a lot to take in though.”

Whether from relief or sheer shock, Xinyi burst into laughter, falling onto his side. After a moment, Chen joined in, filling the room with their combined voices. When they both finally came to their senses and caught their breath, Xinyi shifted closer to Chen, wrapping his limbs around him into a tight embrace. Something about the other man actually believing him made the whole situation less ridiculous, relieving some of the insanity Xinyi had been feeling.

~X~

After more than a year of running on only a few hours of sleep a night, Xinyi’s body naturally woke sometime in the early morning. The room was still dark, the only sounds coming from the soft breathing of the man beside him. Careful not to wake Chen, Xinyi slipped out of the bed and felt his way to the door, pausing as his hand grazed over the sword on his desk. Taking several seconds to process what he was touching, he wrapped his fingers around it and carried it out of the room with him.

Promptly deciding he didn’t want JiangZai hanging around his room as a constant reminder, Xinyi descended into the basement to store the thing in the family vault. He punched in the code quickly and pulled the heavy door open, switching on the lights and pausing to let his eyes adjust. A small shiver ran down his spine, looking around the room with new eyes. The items within were no longer mysterious artifacts, but ancient Cultivating tools, some of which he recognized personally.

Walking slowly through the room, processing each item as he passed, Xinyi made his way to an empty set of shelves towards the back. Unsheathing the sword, he let his eyes scan over the blade, dwelling on the dissonance it brought, before sheathing and discarding it onto one of the shelves. Turning to leave, Xinyi was surprised to see a familiar face waiting behind him. Standing at the door was the unmistakable figure of his dear friend, Smiling Ghost.

“What are you still doing here?” He asked nonchalantly, taking his time in crossing the vault to where she was waiting.

She gave no reaction, patiently watching him as though they were old friends. Coming closer, Xinyi was able to make out more and more details of her face. She no longer wore the knowing smile that had unnerved him much before, looking at him instead with a soft, pleasant expression. A new familiarity settled in his mind as he looked at her, searching his memories for a name to place to the face.

“I know you…” He said quietly, mostly to himself.

Her lips twitched up into a smile, waiting for him to solve the riddle.

“Oh! I know you!” His voice rang out in a quiet triumph, but his features quickly changed to confusion. “But why are you…”

The memories of his last encounter returned to his mind, recalling the words she’d silently mouthed to him that day in the woods. Dawning realization quickly transformed into fearful urgency as her prior actions finally made sense.

“Oh no. Oh fuck.” Xinyi’s eyes widened, garnering a broad smile from his dear friend.

Adrenaline pumped through his veins as he retraced his steps to retrieve JiangZai before flying past Smiling Ghost, quickly climbing the stairs back up to his room. He flipped the lights on with no care for the man still sleeping in his bed and tossed open the closet door. Pulling on the first pair of pants and long-sleeved shirt he found, Xinyi re-emerged from the closet.

“A-Xin? What are you doing?” Chen asked, watching him with bleary eyes.

“I have to go.” He replied, slipping into a jacket and pressing a kiss to Chen’s cheek. “I’ll explain when I get back, I don’t have time right now.”

Before Chen could even form a thought to argue, Xinyi disappeared from the room again. Waiting by the front door, Smiling Ghost followed Xinyi out of the house and around to the garage. The first snowflakes of the season were starting to fall, making him hesitate for only a moment as he considered the consequences of the weather. One quick glance at Smiling Ghost was enough to chase away his concerns. Without another thought, Xinyi pulled on a helmet and mounted his bike, speeding down the road back to Leng Shuang WeiFeng Temple.

#mdzs #mdzs fic #the untamed #the untamed fic #xue yang #xiao xingchen #xuexiao #song lan #junior disciples #jin ling #lan sizhui #lan jingyi

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enbyleighlines · 4 years

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Alright, let’s talk about the theme of homophobia in mo dao zu shi

Before I begin, some disclaimers!

Obviously everything I say here is my opinion and not the One True Way to interpret the text. If you disagree with what I say, or parts of what I say, then good! That’s how literary analysis works. Please write your own rebuttal post if you wish. You can even link me. I would be happy to read a different point of view on this issue

I’m not going to be talking about the author’s intent. I’m pro “death of the author” so it really doesn’t matter to me whether the homophobia depicted in mdzs is a reflection of the author’s own prejudice, or if it’s a social commentary on China’s views towards LGBTA issues, or even if it’s just being employed to push a “forbidden love” trope

I’m not going to be making judgment statements about the quality of the writing or whether or not the homophobia is depicted realistically. While that would make for an interesting topic, it’s not my main concern

I’m going to discuss spoilers, so if you haven’t read the novel, and you intend to read it, and you don’t want to be spoiled, please skip this post!

I’m going to be discussing things like societal homophobia and internalized homophobia. Also, I’ll be discussing Mo Xuanyu’s suicide, so please read this at your own discretion!

With all of that out of the way, let’s begin!

Homophobia is undeniably a running theme in the novel and audio drama versions of the story, and it even plays a minor part in the manhua. However, it is noticeably absent in the live action and donghua. In an ironic twist of fate, censoring the gay romance from the live action and manhua made it so that they also accidentally made the cultivation world a lot less homophobic. Because depicting homophobia would entail acknowledging that gay people exist.

Meanwhile, the homophobia in the novel and audio drama are not like front and center but they are certainly there. As merelhyn points out in this post that inspired mine, “…it’s so common that Wei Wuxian rolls with it and try to weaponize the homophobia to disgust people, hide himself and flee.”

While I don't think it's necessarily dangerous to be gay in the world of mdzs, it definitely is not normalized. The word “cut-sleeve” is most often used as an insult. At one point, Jin Ling calls being gay an “incurable disease”. At another point, the story says that “it was forbidden to engage in cut-sleeve behavior in public.”

Okay, so why am I even bringing this up? Basically, I want to do some character analysis of two of the three canonically gay/bi men in the story: Lan Wangji and Mo Xuanyu. Wei Wuxian could get his own post, and I might do that in the future, but this post just concerns Lan Wangji and Mo Xuanyu.

First: Lan Wangji

Personally, I think Lan Wangji struggles with internalized homophobia, the fact that he is attracted to men.

Lan Wangji is a gay man who cares so very deeply for the rules, he likes knowing right from wrong, good from bad, he likes making others proud and setting a good example, and yet he cannot help but break the rules. The Gusu Lan sect doesn’t have any specific rules against homosexuality that we know of, but I think "Do not indulge in debauchery" and "Do not be promiscuous" could certainly be interpreted to include homosexuality. After all, the Gusu Lan sect is descended from an aesetic monk, and their sect’s philosophy is very much about restraining oneself from earthly pleasures.

I like to imagine that at least part of Lan Wangji’s adherence to the rules is due in part to the fact that, inside, he fears that he's not actually a good person. And not all of it comes from his attraction to men. As we see in all the adaptations, Lan Wangji has quite the temper. He is also prone to jealousy and pettiness, like the way he acts around Wen Ning.

And there’s the childish side, too, the side that wants to play hide and seek or steal someone’s chickens when he’s drunk. Or how he continues to be overly sentimental, like how long he grieved for his mother.

And then Wei Wuxian comes around and Lan Wangji falls madly in love, just like his father did with his mother, except it's with a man, and try as he might, Lan Wangji cannot control his feelings. He can control everything else in his life, but he can't control his feelings. And I think that’s the lesson that Lan Wangji ultimately has to learn.

By the end of the novel, we learn that Lan Wangji actually confessed his love to Wei Wuxian before his death. We learn that Lan Xichen and Lan Qiren knew of Lan Wangji’s confession, and that later Lan Xichen even told Jin Guangyao. Yet Lan Jingyi once told Wei Wuxian, “HanGuang-Jun is not a cut-sleeve.” So Lan Wangji’s feelings are kept a secret, just how the details of his mother’s seclusion were kept a secret. They have to be kept secret, or they would ruin his reputation.

How painfully ironic, then, must it have been for Lan Wangji, when Wei Wuxian is reincarnated into the body of a man who is known and hated for being gay. And as previously stated, Wei Wuxian fully plays into the stereotype of the predatory, promiscuous gay man, in order to keep his identity a secret, and to keep other people from getting too close to him.

In the past, Lan Wangji had to struggle with his own internalized homophobia. And then, once he finally accepts himself, he has to deal with Wei Wuxian’s homophobia. It just makes his whole character arc all the more tragic.

Second: Mo Xuanyu

Admittedly, we don’t know a lot about Mo Xuanyu. We know that he was cowardly and timid, that he was gay, that he dabbled in demonic cultivation, and that after the abuse of his aunt, uncle, and cousin, “he often behaved in a crazy manner, almost as if his life was scared out of him.” He was also accused of sexually harassing Jin Guangyao, his half-brother, though the novel never really clarifies if this accusation is true.

Personally, I find it too much of coincidence to be true. After all, how likely is it that Jin Guangyao would have two half-siblings lusting after him?

If you compare Qin Su with the accusations against Mo Xuanyu, there are some interesting parallels.

It’s said that “Mo XuanYu had always regarded Jin GuangYao as a deity”.

It was also proposed by Wei Wuxian that Jin Guangyao and Mo Xuanyu were once close, since Jin Guangyao allowed Mo Xuanyu to study Wei Wuxian’s manuscripts.

Qin Su, on the other hand, is often described with words such as “innocent”, “naïve”, and “childish”, and apparently she fell so deeply in love with Jin Guangyao that she “never gave up, insisting that she wanted to be his wife.”

We also know that Jin Guangyao never again touched Qin Su once they were married. Now, it’s entirely possible that Qin Su accepted that without question, but it’s also possible that, being the persistent woman that we know her to be, that she tried to seduce him many times after their wedding.

And so, if at any point Jin Guangyao did want to come up with perfect rumor to smear Mo Xuanyu’s reputation and get him kicked out, then he could easily take inspiration from his own wife: A half-sibling, who loved him very much, and frequently expressed interest in getting intimate with him, to his continued disgust. If Jin Guangyao did make up the rumor to get Mo Xuanyu kicked out, we still don’t know exactly what caused his change of heart. But we do know that since Mo Xuanyu was already known to be gay, and since he was already known for following his elder brother around like a puppy, it’s quite easy to see how people would have believed the rumor.

At one point, Wei Wuxian questions whether it’s possible for a man as timid as Mo Xuanyu to have taken his own life. Now, I for one don’t like that interpretation. Suicide does not require bravery, just intense emotional pain.

However, I do think it’s safe to say that a man as timid as Mo Xuanyu probably wouldn’t have sexually harassed his older brother, the one he treated like a deity. He was probably just happy to have someone in his family, other than his mother, who didn’t abuse him. So while it’s not 100% canon that Jin Guangyao framed Mo Xuanyu, it’s what makes the most sense according to my reading of the text.

Aaaaand that’s it!

Kudos to you if you actually read this far. Lan Wangji and Mo Xuanyu are two characters I have A Lot of feelings about, so I wanted to condense it all into one super rambly post.

I hope you enjoyed reading it!

#mo dao zu shi #mdzs #mdzs meta #long post #character analysis #lan wangji #mo xuanyu

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eirenical · 4 years

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@judyknow replied to your post: OH MY GOD YOU SHIP LJY AND LSZ!!!! YAAAY!!!!!!!

tell us moooorreee about that self indulgent headcanon

Since you and @decayingliberty asked so nicely... how can I refuse? ;D

(First, you have to understand that this is part of a MUCH more sprawling headcanon, but I’m just going to share LSZ/LJY’s piece of it for now or it will be way too much. XD And... I’ve mentioned this is REALLY self-indulgent, yes? OK.)

OK, so the basic premise is that Lan Sizhui cultivates his way to immortality. He does this mainly because 1) he’s been raised in a world where that is the normal goal for cultivators and 2) he believes that as the last living scion of the Wen Sect, it’s his responsibility to carry his genes and their legacy forward. As for Lan Jingyi... I haven’t decided if he just wasn’t strong enough to achieve full immortality or if something tragic happens and he just died too young, but Lan Jingyi... does not. By the time Jingyi dies, they’ve been married for a while, though; they at least had that.

Fast forward a number of years: Lan Jingyi has been going through a cycle of reincarnations. Lan Sizhui finds him as often as he can (eventually he develops an early alert system of sorts to help him find him), usually trying to meet up with him some time in his 20s. It’s too hard, he’s decided, to meet him any younger than that. It feels wrong, as though he’s influencing the person Jingyi would grow up to be. But if they meet in Jingyi’s 20s, then he’s an adult; he can choose. And the vast majority of the time--memory of the past or not--he chooses Sizhui.

Sometimes Jingyi is a woman and they have children. Sometimes Jingyi is a man and they don’t. Sometimes they adopt. Sometimes Jingyi remembers and convinces Sizhui to employ a surrogate, because he knows how important it is to him that his family line not die out. Sometimes Jingyi doesn’t remember and those lives are the hardest, because Sizhui can never stay. People ask too many questions.

In the times between Jingyi’s death and him being old enough to approach, Sizhui spends his time in Cloud Recesses, teaching the children, spending time with his family, occasionally taking a turn as Sect Leader, when necessary. It’s a welcome retreat from the world, especially when the pain of losing Jingyi is so fresh. It does him good to see Lan Wangji, Lan Xichen, Lan Qiren, Wei Wuxian, and Wen Ning. It does him good to spend time with the children, to hear their little voices piping up with “Hanhuo-jun is back!!” when they see him coming up the mountain. It’s not everything, but it’s enough.

By the time we reach the present day(ish--we’re talking circa the late 90s or so), Sizhui has figured out a spell that will link his apparent age to Jingyi’s, allowing them to at least appear to age at the same rate. It doesn’t last much more than a few days beyond Jingyi’s death, but at least now Sizhui can spend his whole life with him, if that’s what Jingyi wants. In this life, Jingyi had remembered, had convinced Sizhui to have biological children, and they have a sprawling family (...yes, I know all their names and occupations. I’ve thought about this headcanon a LOT) and have been kind of half raising one of their granddaughters. (Vague thought is that particular life happens in the US/Canada. Sizhui is a Stratford actor. I don’t make the rules. He just is. ^_~)

And... Jingyi dies. He’s in his 70s, it’s not entirely unreasonable, but it’s unexpected. And Sizhui is caught unaware. He doesn’t have a plan ready or even a story or explanation. He could fake a car accident or simply disappear, but he’s not at his best and he’s not thinking clearly, and spell fades before he’s quite finished putting everything in place, so the story is shaky at best... and he’s forgotten that his teen-aged granddaughter has a key to the house.

As he’s packing the last of his things... she barges in. She’s distraught and she’s angry and she sees this strange young man in her grandparents’ home TAKING THEIR THINGS and she just goes off. And may... kind of... a bit... shoot some fire out of her hands. And Sizhui is just Not Ready For This Shit. Because now he CAN’T make a clean break. He can’t leave her behind knowing that she’s inherited the Wen gift and has no idea how to control it. After some discussion, where certain truths come to light, she decided she’s coming with him wherever he’s going. She’d rather that than stay here alone.

So, he takes her back to Gusu. He enrolls her in school and himself in college, because he can’t bring her to Cloud Recesses until he’s figured out WTF he’s going to tell his uncle and until he’s sure she’s not going to burn the place down by accident. (Wen Ning helps. Of course, he does. And Wei Wuxian, too. It’s a whole thing. ^_^) They tell the new people in their life that they’re cousins, and it’s strange for his granddaughter, but it’s fun, too, and she’s enjoying seeing this part of her grandfather. She’s enjoying her great-uncles, too, and being away from home. And learning magic. It’s the best time she’s ever had in her life, even if she misses her other grandfather.

A few years in, around the time when Sizhui is finally ready to introduce his granddaughter to the rest of Cloud Recesses... he gets a missive. It’s from Lan Xichen. Two of the cultivators in Cloud Recesses have had a son... and they’d like Hanhuo-jun’s blessing on their chosen name, and will he please come?

Sizhui is perplexed, but he agrees. He returns to Cloud Recesses and he meets the parents in question... they’re Jingyi’s parents. Sizhui would know their souls anywhere. And the baby? The one whose name he is supposed to give his blessing to?

It’s Jingyi.

And this is both his fondest wish, that Jingyi come home, and his deepest fear, because he can’t do this. He can’t stand and watch his husband grow up, knowing that he can’t interfere, that he can’t influence him, that he can’t he can’t he can’t... he can’t stay away.

But he does. He brings his granddaughter to Cloud Recesses so she can train in cultivation, because it’s what she wants, and he... wanders. He visits, of course he does, because he can’t stay AWAY, but he makes those visits short, tries to influence Jingyi as little as possible.

...but we all know Jingyi.

He grows up bright, and loud, and mischievous, and copying far more lines than any other disciple... and he gets firmly attached to Hanhuo-jun. There’s just... something about him. Jingyi can’t put a finger on it, but sometimes when he smiles just so, or turns his head up to look at the sky, or wields his sword as he practices... there’s something so familiar about him. And he develops a bit of a crush. When he’s fifteen, he asks Hanhuo-jun to be his first kiss. Sizhui panics. He leaves Cloud Recesses that night and doesn’t come back for six years.

At 21, however... Jingyi knows what went wrong. The other disciples just shake their heads. This is going to go badly. Jingyi is going to chase him off again and then they’ll all lose out. Some of them make signs of support. Some of them are taking bets. All of them are gathered on the stairs as Jingyi waits at the top for Hanhuo-jun to come home.

And when he does... when he sees Jingyi standing at the top of the stairs, arms crossed over his chest, and that cocky smile on his face that is so hauntingly familiar... Sizhui stops. And he looks up. And he says, “Jingyi... what are you waiting for?”

And Jingyi shifts his weight, cocking his hip out to the side, and rolls his eyes. “For my husband to get his ass up the stairs so I can finally kiss him properly. It’s been far too long since he’s been home.”

And Sizhui freezes. “You... remember?”

“Yep. Everything.”

Sizhui can’t get up the stairs fast enough, and Jingyi meets him halfway down. They come together with a crash of tangled limbs and it’s like Sizhui is trying to climb inside Jingyi’s skin because he can’t get close enough. When the ruckus has calmed down, Lan Qiren threatens everyone--Sizhui included--with handstands and line copying because THERE IS NO YELLING OR RUNNING IN CLOUD RECESSES, and Sizhui’s granddaughter fires back with, “I'M IN LAW SCHOOL AND WE’RE ON THE STAIRS, OLD MAN, NOT INSIDE THE GROUNDS, SO DON’T GET YOUR GOATEE IN A TWIST.” And Jingyi is beaming because THAT’S HIS GRANDDAUGHTER, and Sizhui is laughing so hard he starts crying.

And eventually it comes out that Jingyi returned to Cloud Recesses on purpose. He’s ready to try to cultivate to immortality again, because he’s seen the toll his constant losses take on Sizhui, and he’s had enough of being the cause of that, thank you very much. And Sizhui notes that dual cultivation could help him progress much faster... and Lan Wangji puts his foot down, because they will get married first and Wei Wuxian would kill all of them if he missed it.

And they live happily ever after. ^_^

Hanhuo-jun -- I’m cribbing off what little I know of Chinese (NOT MUCH AT ALL) and Hanguang-jun’s title to get this: If Hanguang-jun is “Light-bearing Lord” then Sizhui could be “Fire-bearing Lord,” yeah? ^_~ Because one of my FONDEST headcanons is that he inherited the Wen’s gift of fire.

#lan sizhui #lan jingyi #lan jingyi x lan sizhui #judyknow #decayingliberty #the untamed #the untamed headcanons #eirenical.headcanons #SUPER SELF INDULGENT YOU GUYS #XD #and VERY VERY LONG #i really hope the cut tag works #this suckers is 1500+ words #XDDDD #long post #reincarnation au #and i love this blend of immortality and reincarnation and modern life #so here we are again #;D

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bloody-bee-tea · 4 years

Text

Untamed Winter Fest Day 11

Warning for some suicidal thoughts I’m sorry

It’s a SongXiao companion fic to Next to you from my Zhuiyi Week.

Song Lan feels the spirit-trapping pouch around his neck like a physical weight, even though Xiao Xingchen’s soul is still too fractured to even have any weight.

He’s wandering the woods, trying to stay clear of the cities, though it gets harder and harder every year; cities are exploding everywhere, and people are no longer afraid of the woods.

Song Lan has been discovered a few times already, but since no one seems to remember the ghosts and demons that used to walk the earth, no one remembers to be afraid of people—corpses—like him.

Someone once even complimented him on his “sick make-up”. Song Lan is not sure he likes this advanced world.

He stopped counting the years long ago, the reminder that it has been centuries always hurts him too much to even contemplate for long, because Xiao Xingchen is still not ready to be reincarnated.

Not even after more than three thousand years.

Song Lan doesn’t begrudge him that, but it does still hurt. He knows Xiao Xingchen went through too much to just simply step back into life, but Song Lan misses him more than his own tongue, more than his own life, and every time he checks on Xiao Xingchen’s soul and finds it still fractured a part of him dies, over and over again.

Song Lan wishes he could speak to Xiao Xingchen, tell him how much he misses him, how much the world changed around them, but even that small pleasure is denied to him.

Instead he sighs and presses the pouch close, careful not to crush it in his hand, and he tries to pour his heart and soul into it, though he’s not sure it even reaches Xiao Xingchen.

Song Lan startles when a branch behind him splits and he wonders if Xue Yang has found them, again, like he always seems to, but it’s Lan Jingyi who steps out and approaches Song Lan.

“Song Lan,” Lan Jingyi greets him and Song Lan bows to him, the old customs still too ingrained in him.

Lan Jingyi huffs a laugh at him and then hands him pen and paper.

“How are you?” he asks and Song Lan sighs.

‘The same’, he writes down. Then: ‘How long has it been?’

“Since the last time I saw you? Twenty years maybe, assuming I got reincarnated immediately,” Lan Jingyi says, and Song Lan takes a closer look to him.

Lan Jingyi can’t be older than seventeen or eighteen right now, so he died pretty soon after he saw Song Lan last.

‘How is Sizhui?’ Song Lan wants to know, mostly because he enjoys how Lan Jingyi’s face lights up at that name, though Song Lan can’t deny the jealousy that spreads through him.

Lan Jingyi always finds his soulmate.

In the darker moments Song Lan wonders if maybe he’s simply not Xiao Xingchen’s soulmate, and if he is in fact hindering the healing of his soul.

“He’s fine. He’s with Senior Wei and Hanguang-Jun like always,” Lan Jingyi tells him and Song Lan nods.

He doesn’t resent them their happy lives, even though it stings that they seem to get a happy end over and over again, while he is still waiting for his first one.

“Listen, we haven’t found Xue Yang yet, so you should be careful out here,” Lan Jingyi says.

Song Lan can feel the rising anger in him and he takes a few careful breaths. Xue Yang always gets reincarnated, no matter the horrible things he does in his previous life, and he always comes after Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen.

Lan Jingyi and the others have made it kind of their mission to keep an eye out for him, to stop him whenever they encounter him, but Xue Yang is crafty and evades them more often than not.

And then he always finds Song Lan.

Song Lan never mentions it, but he’s tired of fighting. Tired of going through the world alone. If it wasn’t for Xiao Xingchen’s soul, he would have given up long ago.

‘Thank you’, Song Lan still writes down and then hesitates over the next words.

He didn’t dare to ask last time, or the times before, and he lost count years ago, but Song Lan knows Lan Jingyi always knows which life it is.

Song Lan bitterly thinks it’s easy, counting the lives, if they are happy and spent with the ones you love. It’s harder to do, when all you have is the fractured soul of the love of your life, and never-ending regrets.

‘How many lives has it been?’ he writes down eventually and Lan Jingyi hesitates for a moment before he answers.

“This is the forty-second now,” he quietly tells Song Lan.

If Song Lan still had any blood left, he’s sure his face would be drained of it. Forty-two lifetimes. The last time he asked it had been thirty-five. Roughly five hundred more years have passed, and still, Xiao Xingchen’s soul remains the same as always.

Song Lan wonders just how many more years he’ll be able to do this.

He still misses Xiao Xingchen like a limb; his gentle nature and soft laugh, how good and concerned he was, how teasing he could be with Song Lan. But these memories are distant now; too much time has passed for Song Lan to truly remember the curve of Xiao Xingchen’s smile, the way his own name sounded from Xiao Xingchen’s lips and how his presence had felt besides him.

“He will come back, Song Lan,” Lan Jingyi tells him, ever the optimist and closeted romantic, but Song Lan isn’t so sure of this anymore.

Surely enough time has passed now for Xiao Xingchen to find the will to live.

“Do you want me to say anything to him?” Lan Jingyi wants to know, and though Song Lan doesn’t always take him up on it, he always asks.

This time, Song Lan nods.

‘I miss you’, Song Lan writes down, starts like he always does. ‘I’m sorry for what I said to you, for pushing you away. I wish you would come back, if just so you could see how the world has changed. A-Qing is well, living her life without pain and tragedy, I make sure of that’, he goes on, because he does keep a close eye on her.

She was important to Xiao Xingchen, so she’s important to Song Lan as well. She never remembers her previous lives, and Song Lan suspects she won’t until she meets Xiao Xingchen again.

‘I wish you would tell me how to help you. Is it my presence that’s keeping you from healing? I hope you know I would gladly give my own life, if it means you can heal.’

I’m not sure how much longer I can do this, he doesn’t write down. Xiao Xingchen doesn’t need to hear that.

‘Please come back. It doesn’t have to be to me. Just, come back,’ Song Lan writes last and then hands the pad over to Lan Jingyi.

He doesn’t watch him read it, instead he fumbles with the pouch around his neck and carefully, so carefully, hands it over to Lan Jingyi before he turns around and gives him a little bit of space.

Song Lan doesn’t want to hear his words read out loud.

Lan Jingyi takes a long time, longer than Song Lan’s few words warrant, and he wonders what else he’s telling Xiao Xingchen about. He feels the urge to go over there, snatch the pouch back out of his hands, but he lets him talk to Xiao Xingchen. Maybe whatever he’s saying to him is helping.

Song Lan has to believe that something, eventually, will help. It’s the only thing he has left in his non-life.

Lan Jingyi approaches him, hands the pouch back, and Song Lan is relieved to see that he’s handling it with as much care as Song Lan himself is.

Sometimes Song Lan wonders how Lan Jingyi can muster up so much care for someone he doesn’t even know. He barely knows Song Lan, and still he always takes his time to find him, help him out in whatever way he can.

‘Thank you’, Song Lan writes down, but Lan Jingyi shakes his head.

“He will come back, I know it,” Lan Jingyi says with conviction, and Song Lan wonders where he takes that faith from.

Song Lan feels like he lost his forty-one lives ago.

Instead of answering Song Lan bows to him again, and Lan Jingyi huffs.

“Make sure to be there in my next life,” he says, threatens almost, like he has done for a few lives now.

Like he’s worried that one day, Song Lan won’t be wandering the earth anymore, when Song Lan isn’t even sure that there is something out there that could kill him permanently.

So all Song Lan does is nod, and Lan Jingyi leaves him with one last worried look.

It’s almost too quiet in his absence.

But still, Song Lan continues his aimless wandering, never plans further than to find a spot to settle down in for the night.

He takes off the pouch again when he’s sitting in front of the fire, where he can only imagine the warmth it emits, and he hopes the warmth at least reaches Xiao Xingchen.

‘I miss you so much it’s fracturing my own soul,’ Song Lan thinks, but of course there’s no answer, no change, no response.

He’s glad to know that his thoughts are just in his head, and don’t have the chance to spill out. It would only burden Xiao Xingchen.

Song Lan drapes his coat over himself, cradles the pouch and the soul of the person he loves most close, and falls into the nothingness that is his sleep.

When he wakes up, Xiao Xingchen’s soul is gone.

#bt writes #the untamed #mdzs #untamed winter fest #songxiao #angst #suicidal thoughts #i'm sorry #lan jingyi #hurt no comfort #you all did this to yourself #because everyone jumped on the one line about songxiao #this is what you get for that

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ibijau · 3 years

Text

Counterfeit AU pt5 / On AO3

Lan Xichen, left alone, discovers something about Nie Huaisang

Sitting on a kitchen chair, Lan Xichen listens as Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian try to explain to him who they are. He half wishes he could tell them that he remembers… not everything, not yet (not ever, a part of him hopes) but certainly enough that introductions aren’t quite needed. Words don’t quite make it to his mouth though, his mind still struggling to accept what’s going on. Lan Xichen, until now, always prided himself in being a rational man.

It’s hard to be rational when faced with your brother from another life, whose husband tells you that they have been looking for you for centuries, because apparently they’re immortals.

It’s odd that Lan Xichen accepts that part so easily. Immortals only exist in stories, he would have said just a few hours ago. Now though… well, there’s something not fully human to Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian, a touch of something more.

“It’s only the second time we find you,” Wei Wuxian says, glancing at his husband. Lan Wangji’s expression is nearly unchanged, but Lan Xichen can tell he is deeply distraught. “Well, the second time we find you where you’re still alive,” Wei Wuxian corrects, making his husband wince slightly. “We were always too late, somehow. Every time we reached you, you’d died already. Even the other time we found you alive barely counts. You were very, very old, and you weren’t quite all there anymore. You didn’t really recognise your actual family, so two strangers from another life… and anyway, you died the night we arrived.”

Lan Wangji flinches, which makes Lan Xichen want to scold Wei Wuxian because surely, after so long alive, he should have learned by now to be a little more considerate to the feelings of others, shouldn’t he? But before he can say anything, Wei Wuxian leans toward his husband and takes his hand, intertwining their fingers in a way that makes Lan Wangji relax.

In another life, Lan Xichen had sometimes taken those gestures of affection as an attack, when he had lost so much himself. He'd known, even then, that it was an irrational reaction. At least now he can watch those two and feel nothing except some relief that things worked out so well for them.

"Are there more like you?" he asks.

"Immortals? Not that many," Wei Wuxian admits. "I got to meet Baoshan Sanren, but of our generation only the two of us and Nie-xiong became immortals. Well, and Lan Jingyi became a god, but he's busy and we don't see him a lot. Oh, and Song Lan was around too for a long while of course, but about five centuries ago Xiao Xingchen and A-Qing's souls finally recovered from being fractured, so they all three re-entered the cycle of reincarnation. And then there's a few others from before, though not many from after. We're not sure why, but two or three generations after us, it just stopped happening."

Lan Xichen lets out a sigh. It's not that he particularly expected anything, but he feels disappointed anyway.

"Xiongzhang might still meet others," Lan Wangji says in what seems intended as a comforting tone. He has improved in expressing himself, or else Lan Xichen remembers this too. "From that first life we all shared. Maybe from following ones, if they impacted your soul enough."

"Oh," Lan Xichen says. His hands clench over his knees. He wonders if there's anyone he might want to meet again, when he died feeling he had failed everyone, that first time.

“It will all come back to you here and there,” Wei Wuxian explains. “You might also realise you already know other people from before. I’ve been told it’s a weird feeling, but you get used to it.”

Lan Xichen considers this, and tries to guess who this might concern. For some reason, his little brother comes to mind, but that might be only wishful thinking. Same with his father. Maybe he actually hasn't encountered anyone from his past. No one except, of course…

“I’ve met Meng Yao,” Lan Xichen says.

The other two men grimace.

“Hopefully you’ll also meet people you like,” Wei Wuxian replies with an embarrassed cough.

Lan Xichen, who likes Meng Yao very much indeed, stares at him blankly. What right does this stranger to pass judgement on his… not boyfriend, not exactly. Not yet. Lan Xichen was still working out the courage to have that conversation, to see if Meng Yao might be amenable to real dates, to kissing, to…

It won’t happen now.

It won’t happen because in another life, Lan Xichen murdered Meng Yao.

He didn’t particularly want to, he vaguely recalls. It had been a last resort, and to be frank Meng Yao had brought it upon himself. Still, the fact remains that Lan Xichen killed one of the men he… well, he might have loved him, back then. It’s hard to say for sure. But it is quite certain that Lan Xichen killed him, and even after several lifetimes, he’s not sure Meng Yao will have forgiven him.

He didn’t use to be a very forgiving man.

"Speaking of the devil, better go check what's going on in that basement before it turns bad," Wei Wuxian mutters, glancing in direction of the kitchen door. "Just because he's never killed Nie-xiong yet doesn't mean he can't do it ever. Hey, Lan-da-ge, do you need a ride back home?"

The nickname feels like a slap.

Lan Xichen remembers he could never quite decide whether he liked Wei Wuxian or not, in that first life.

He's still not sure he does.

"I have a taxi coming," he announces. "But thanks for the offer. I just wish to have some time to digest all of this."

Wei Wuxian shrugs, apparently unconcerned, and leaves the kitchen. While he's gone, Lan Wangji politely asks if they might exchange phone numbers. He won't force the acquaintance, he explains, but he'd be grateful if this favour were granted.

Lan Xichen, weak to little brothers of his in this life as in every others, readily agrees.

Lan Wangji, so dry and formal in speech, texts with emojis everywhere. Lan Xichen is endeared, and wonders if that is Wei Wuxian's influence at play.

Maybe he does like Wei Wuxian a little, if he can help his brother express himself more easily.

After a little while, Lan Xichen hears two pairs of feet on the stairs coming from the basement. Wei Wuxian calls only for Lan Wangji to join them in the entrance, but Lan Xichen springs to his feet, knocking down the chair in his haste. He takes one long step, two, three, and reaches the kitchen door. From there he sees Wei Wuxian and Nie Huaisang at the door, the former making a joke of some sort, the later trying to put on shoes as fast as he can. They both look up when they notice a presence hovering by the kitchen door.

Nie Huaisang goes pale at the sight of Lan Xichen. His face grows tight, his lips twisting into a grimace that might be disgust, or horror, or something else entirely. Whatever it is, it makes Nie Huaisang jump to his feet and run out of the door, nearly tripping on his half tied shoelaces. Wei Wuxian sighs and shakes his head, but says nothing, even as a car door opens and closes with a slam somewhere outside.

"Nie Huaisang hasn't changed," Lan Wangji says as he joins them

Wei Wuxian and him exchange a look. To Lan Xichen, it looks like a long conversation without words. After so long together, some things might no longer need to be said.

"Do you want us to stay until your taxi is here?" Wei Wuxian asks, nodding toward the basement stairs. Toward Meng Yao. "You know, in case…"

Lan Xichen considers saying yes, then feels ashamed of himself for thinking like this. Whatever happened in another life, and even if it ruins any chance of romance in the present, Lan Xichen cannot imagine this current Meng Yao harming him.

Perhaps Lan Xichen too hasn't changed, in spite of several lifetimes which should have taught him better.

He shakes his head. Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian look unhappy, but don't insist. They tell him, again, to call them, to get in touch, to allow them in his life if he can, and leave.

As soon as their car leaves, Meng Yao emerges from the basement and heads out as well. He looks like he cried, or like he might cry later. He doesn't spare Lan Xichen a single glance, but he seems in such a state that he might just not have noticed the other man.

That second car speeds into the distance.

Just like that, Lan Xichen is alone.

Of course that's hardly new. He spent a few decades alone in this cold house, reflecting on his mistakes. A prison of his own making, with no company but guilt and brushes. Music he'd abandoned after how much it had cost him, but calligraphy, but poetry, but painting…

He painted a lot, and burned it all every now and then. He was never skill enough to produce anything worth keeping, anyway, unlike…

Lan Xichen's eyes wander toward those downward stairs. He came here for a reason, he remembers, and while he might have ruined many things, perhaps this at least he can still have.

When he reaches the basement, Lan Xichen finds the door to Nie Huaisang’s workshop open. A fit of forgetfulness which he takes as an invitation.

Just as Meng Yao promised, this workshop is filled with paintings in Nie Huaisang’s hand. Some appear to be reproductions of pieces Lan Xichen has seen before… unless they are originals. The notes attached to a few appear doubtful, as if the artist himself cannot remember anymore when he first painted each piece. A few are copies of other artists' work, more carefully hidden and annotated. Those, as far as Lan Xichen can tell when it isn't his subject of predilection, are mostly lost artwork. Judging by the notes, they all belonged to masters whom Nie Huaisang once met in person.

Most interesting to Lan Xichen are Nie Huaisang’s own lost works, reproduced by his own hand and carefully labelled. The titles are familiar, as are the subjects in some cases thanks to old descriptions. But it is the first time Lan Xichen sees those, and with each one he feels he uncovers another secret of this artist he has so extensively studied.

The brushstrokes here are innovative, showing progress from this earlier work. But there the curves and lines of mountains, a little clumsy if considered alone, announce the brilliance of a future series. And then there are portraits of disciples, views of the Unclean Realm, all rumoured to have existed but lost to collectors centuries ago. Those are the only ones whose notes do not mention when the originals were lost or destroyed, so it might be that Nie Huaisang, missing his long gone home, bought back the shadows of his old life.

Painting by painting, Nie-Huaisang-the-artist unveils himself to Lan Xichen.

Nie-Huaisang-the-man remains a mystery, until Lan Xichen, having observed and photographed everything else, becomes curious about the desk's two drawers.

In the top one he finds doodles and notes, post-its about orders, lists of works already in collections. There are also candy wrappers, some ancient coins, a novel in a foreign language with a crumbling bookmark. Nie Huaisang hasn't changed, still messy. It makes Lan Xichen want to laugh and cry, thinking of his uncle who once thought he could correct Nie Huaisang’s bad habits. A fight lost from the start, he realises.

Finding nothing useful in this drawer, Lan Xichen is about to open the other one when, somewhere far above him, a car's horn announces that his taxi is here at last. It would be rude to make the driver wait, Lan Xichen thinks, and the first draw contained nothing important, so it is unlikely the second will be different.

It would be wise to leave this place, forget about it, return to his quiet and ordinary life. He'll write his book or he won't, and then move on to something less intimage.

It would be wise and Lan Xichen even takes a step toward the door before changing his mind. He cannot let this last shred of curiosity go unsatisfied. He still carries too many regrets from his previous lives, he cannot accumulate new ones already.

Lan Xichen opens the other drawer, and gasps.

Unlike the rest of the room where everything is organised and cared for, this drawer is filled with piled up sheets of paper that appear to have been unceremoniously thrown there. On top of the pile is the portrait of a melancholic looking man dressed all in white, wearing an embroidered ribbon on his forehead. On the corner of the page, a scribbled note reads ‘more smile’, as well as a recent date.

Without thinking Lan Xichen grabs the painting to get a better look. As he does so, the next sheet of paper on the pile is revealed: another portrait of the same man, nearly identical, though the note is different. Its date is a year earlier, and it reads ‘too stern’. Lan Xichen grabs that painting too, and the next, browsing through them with increasing franzy.

There are well over a hundred portraits of the same man in that drawer, going back centuries. The styles change depending on their age, reflecting the preference of that era. They all have a date, and most have a comment of sorts as well, usually criticising some element of the portrait that must be corrected to achieve true likeness.

A hundred portraits of Lan Xichen.

Because that is him, he knows, even if no name is mentioned. This is who he was in that first life.

Or at least, it is how Nie Huaisang remembered him. The oldest of those paintings is still dated to nearly five centuries after Lan Xichen’s first death, and there’s a roughness to it, a sentiment of urgency, that makes him think it really is the first of that series, that there were no others before that. Even accounting for style, that first painting looks different from the others, it is unpolished and vague, as if Nie Huaisang had almost forgotten what Lan Xichen looked like. The notes on that first painting are scathing, full of reproach about being too stupid to remember what ‘er-ge’ looked like.

How odd, Lan Xichen thinks.

They never really met again, Nie Huaisang and him. Not after the murder of Jin Guangyao. He remembers assuming that Nie Huaisang would have killed him too if he could have. He remembers how that assumption had hurt, and how it had taken him years of isolation to finally realise that what he had felt for Nie Huaisang, just like what he had felt for Jin Guangyao, had gone beyond the acceptable limits of friendship. A realisation come too late, supposing there could ever have been a right time for the three of them.

What a fool he'd been, loving those two men who must have despised him for his weaknesses.

What a fool he must still be, having learned nothing from the past.

#xisang #xiyao #xisangyao #lan xichen #nie huaisang #counterfeit au #it's a short one but eh we're not ready to enter the second part of the fic #this is a treat to myself for surviving this fucking week #jau writes #mdzs

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immacaria · 4 years

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Xichengclipse2020 - Day 6: Reincarnation/Sacrifice

“Great God!” He heard Isabella whisper as a million of images came to his mind. Him and Wei Wuxian arriving to Cloud Recess, meeting with the Twin Jades of Gusu, everything that happened, the discover that Lan Xichen was his soulmate and the denial. All of his history with Lan Xichen and even what he didn’t remember was being shown in the front of his eyes, quickly and almost insanely. “Oh, gods!” Jiang Cheng breathed deep, letting go of Lan Huan’s hand. “I… I…” “Wanyin?” Lan Huan whispered, slowly, eyes still unfocused. “Oh, my heart. I am so sorry!” He sobbed, reaching blindly to the smaller one. “Oh, Wanyin. I never wanted this to happen…” “I’m here.” Jiang Cheng held Xichen’s hands, hoping that his soulmate would remember him even a little. He kept looking at his eyes until they focused on his again, slowly becoming golden. “Lan Xichen?” “I thought we agreed in you calling me Huan, my heart.” Lan Xichen whispered, his hands going to Wanyin’s face. “My heart, my light, my Wanyin.” He murmured, pulling the immortal closer. “I love you, I love you. Thank you.” He kissed Jiang Cheng lightly on the lips, before he felt the smaller pulling in away. “Wait a minute, your fucker! You promised me that you never would sacrifice yourself like that, your idiot! You promised that you would never leave me, Xichen!” Jiang Cheng grabbed his neck, making him bow over himself. “You never do that again to me, are you hearing me? Never again!” He let go of him, breathing deep. “Dear Gods, please don’t…” “I won’t, I promise. And this is a promise I intend to keep.” Lan Huan whispered in his hair. Silence surrounded them, meaningless of all the noises around them. They stayed that way until Isabelle whispered at Laura. “Does it mean that you have two hot dads now? Holy shit!” “Izzy, please, shut up. Dad has been waiting for this for too long.” Laura whispered, hitting her. Jiang Cheng smiled against Xichen’s chest before turning to her, seeing a familiar figure behind her, waving a fan in front of his face. “Huaisang…” He mumbled, seeing the boy, close his fan and bow a little at the recognition. He was alive too, maybe the others were too. “Thank Laura for that.” Huaisang mouthed, silently. “You deserve it, Jiang-Xiong. No immortal should pass the amount of time you passed waiting for your soulmate again.” He smiled sadly. “Not even you, not even me. Be happy, Jiang-Xiong, we will meet again. I promise.” Nie Huaisang waved at him, before disappearing in the crowd. Well, maybe Jiang Cheng wasn’t the only secret the cultivators hide from the world, maybe there was a hope for him, but, for now he would just enjoy the fact that Zewu-Jun, Lan Xichen, Lan Huan, his light was back to him. “Thank you, A-Sang.” He mouthed to the air, before turning to his husband and his daughter, happy into meeting his future, happy that he finally was going to love again. “Dad?” Laura called, from inside the school, raising a hand to silence her friend. “What’s wrong?” Her friend asked, turning to Jiang Cheng, who still were stuck on the ground, staring at the man who couldn’t be Lan Xichen, he simply couldn’t. “Mr. Jiang? Are you okay?” Laura and her walked to him as he did everything he could to turn to them, but he was there, his husband was there in front of him. That was the only thing Jiang Cheng thanked the gods for, because whenever he wanted to remember Lan Huan’s laugh or the way he smiled happily at him, he would do it with perfection. But, now, the same voice of his memories and dreams were ringing in his ears, belonging to a breathing and moving man talking in a phone. “Lan Huan.” He cried, a choke stuck on the back of his throat. The man looked up from his phone, looking around. “Oh, gods.” Jiang Cheng’s feet walked away from him, his hands going to his chest. “Dad!” A girl called him, shaking his shoulder, afraid. “Dad!” Jiang Cheng looked at her beside him, feeling his heart rising, his breath shallow. “Dad, are you fine?” She asked, eyes scrutinizing his face with worry. Oh, that’s right, he wasn’t in China anymore, neither he was a Sect Leader anymore. Instead he was living in Europe, being a stuntman and raising a kid once again. As a sad smile came to adorn Lan Xichen's features, he knew his life was coming to an end and the only thing he regret was not being able to enjoy more of his time with Wanyin, it was such a small time that Xichen couldn't help but mourn for its loss. Wanyin would be so sad, but it was for a greater good, Wanyin's greater good. If it all went wrong, at the very least, his lover and their son and nephew would be safe, his family would be fine.

"Huan!" Xichen heard Wanyin scream, but he couldn't move, even though he wanted to comfort him, hug him just one more time. "Huan, don't do this to me. Don't you leave me too!" He cried out, the scream broking Xichen's heart in a million pieces. Lan Xichen knew that there was people holding Jiang Cheng back, on the contrary he already would be there with him. Thank you, gods., he thought, grate for the brave souls impending Sandou Shengshou' s impulsive decisions.

"I love you, Wanyin. For this live and all the ones to come." Lan Xichen, the Zewu-Jun, whispered to the wind, hoping it would calm his restless lover. "I love you. I love you. Thank you." He said, finally collapsing into the ground beneath him, not hearing Jiang Cheng's desperate cries, his sad mornings, his angered screams, his broken prays. Xichen didn't saw as Jiang Cheng worked harder and harder into cultivation, didn't saw his lover vanishing little by little, not wanting to be there without his soulmate.

Yes, he understood the sacrifice Lan Huan had made, but it was supposed to make him feel good about it? About letting the body of his husband behind because of the curse that horrible creature had put in him?! Was it meant to amenize the agonizing void on his chest?! Was it the reason why Lan Xichen choose to use his own body and spirit to seal all of that demons in that cavern without letting Jiang Cheng help?! Was Jiang Cheng expected to understand and accept what his husband had done? He didn't know and preferred that way, he didn't want anything to do with the GusuLan clan anymore. In truth, he didn't want anything to with cultivation itself, but he had responsibilities, which couldn't be denied.

As time passed, everybody around him, slowly become to change, growing old with every drop of water, but Jiang Cheng remained the same. Immutable, immovable, immortal. He was obliged to see his brother die once again, joining Lan Wangji in death some days later. He had to see his nephew suffer through the death of the other three juniors, first Ouyang Zizhen went away in a night hunt, protecting Lan Jingyi and Jin Ling. After that, A-Huan followed his partner and dads in death as he developed as fatal disease after a disastrous hunt. Ironically, Lan Jingyi and Jin Ling lasted longer than everyone else. At least, them Jiang Cheng got to see grow older and raise the kids their adopted early in their life.

Now, almost four thousand years later, Jiang Cheng was doing an action movie. In the beginning, Jiang Cheng thought this type of entertainment wouldn’t last, but maybe he had guessed wrong. Anyway, an agent discovered him after he helped a young woman who had her purse stolen by little kid. In the end, Jiang Cheng got a job, a new kid to take care of and a friend without even realizing it. He liked the job, though, it allowed him to forget who he was, even if it was just by a minute or so, it let him be mortal again.

But, the cold truth always come back at him, the cold fact that he was alone in the world, fated by the gods to outlive everyone he loved, fated to suffer their absence for the rest of the eternity. By day, he tried to forget about his past, about the loss of his family and beloved ones, yet, when the night came, the once Sendou Shengshou couldn’t escape from the memories and the silent screams, couldn’t avoid the nightmares that creeped in his mind. For more than once, he had wake up with the urge to find Lan Huan, to make sure he was okay and alive and, all the same, he wanted to run away and forget everything about cultivation, the Lans and everything related to that.

Even now, Jiang Cheng still ran from them, hiding from the remainascent cultivators. Anyway, they now prefered to make sure their clans survived through the new and crazy modern world and had long forget about the Immortal Sect Leader Jiang, the Immortal Sendou. It was better that way, he didn’t need to worry about them sticking their noses where they didn’t belong, he could live his life with no worries beside having to stay low. Yet, in spite of everything, the Jiang Clan refused to let Jiang Wanyin alone, always making sure that he knew everything about his clan, never hiding anything from him, accepting his opinions without fear.

“Dad!” A girl called him, shaking his shoulder, afraid. “Dad!” Jiang Cheng looked at her beside him, feeling his heart rising, his breath shallow. “Dad, are you fine?” She asked, eyes scrutinizing his face with worry. Oh, that’s right, he wasn’t in China anymore, neither he was a Sect Leader anymore. Instead he was living in Europe, being a stuntman and raising a kid once again.

“Sorry, I fell asleep.” He murmured, rubbing his face, sleepy. “The movie already ended?” He looked to the black screen in front of him.

“It ended about a two hours ago, but that’s okay. You needed the sleep.” She smiled to him, patting his shoulder. “I just got scared when you started to scream. You seemed like you were about to combust.” Jiang Cheng froze, even though he knew she wouldn’t say anything, his daughter worried about him. “You were calling Huan again, you know?” She said, her eyes not focusing in anything in particular. “I know you adopt me after he was gone, but I can help but imagine how he was.” She whispered, looking up to the ceiling.

Since Jiang Cheng had adopt her when she was five years old, after he found her stealing, she always did everything in her power to make him happy even when he said she didn’t need to. Even now, in the verge of going yo college, Laura still tried to make everything good to him.

“Do you think it would help talk about it?” She looked back at him, worried.

“It was a long time ago, Laura. It doesn’t matter anymore.” He sighed, getting up. “C’mon, you have school tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir.” Laura smiled to him, before giving him a hug. “Don’t forget that I’m here, okay? Always.”

“I know, sweetie. Now go to your room and you better being sleeping when I go check up on you or…”

“You will break my legs, I know.” She smiled, dismissing him with a gesture, sighing exasperatedly. “I love you too.” Jin Ling would have liked her as would have Wei Wuxian, since the girl liked to prank her dad endless. He liked to think that Lan Huan would like Laura too even if she act a lot like Jiang Cheng most of the time, even using his famous phrase “I’ll break your legs!”

He had just let Laura on school when he stopped dead on his tracks, on the scene ahead him. It couldn’t be, the gods wouldn’t do something like that to him, not again, not after four thousand years. They cursed him with an immortal life and an impeccable memory, never failing whenever he needed to remember something.

That was the only thing Jiang Cheng thanked the gods for, because whenever he wanted to remember Lan Huan’s laugh or the way he smiled happily at him, he would do it with perfection. But, now, the same voice of his memories and dreams were ringing in his ears, belonging to a breathing and moving man talking in a phone.

“Lan Huan.” He cried, a choke stuck on the back of his throat. The man looked up from his phone, looking around. “Oh, gods.” Jiang Cheng’s feet walked away from him, his hands going to his chest.

“Dad?” Laura called, from inside the school, raising a hand to silence her friend.

“What’s wrong?” Her friend asked, turning to Jiang Cheng, who still were stuck on the ground, staring at the man who couldn’t be Lan Xichen, he simply couldn’t. “Mr. Jiang? Are you okay?” Laura and her walked to him as he did everything he could to turn to them, but he was there, his husband was there in front of him.

“Sir, are you feeling anything?” Lan Huan, no, not his Lan Huan, someone with the same voice and face of his husband, but not him, asked getting close to him. “Sir?”

“What’s your name?” Jiang Cheng asked, feeling Laura beside him, breathless.

“I’m Lan Huan.” The man said slowly, examining his face.

“Oh, shit.” Laura said as her friend choked on the air. “He should be dead. He was dead.” She said, eyes widening.

“Holy fuck!” Jiang Cheng whispered, still staring at the man. “I mean, I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay. But do I know you?” The new Lan Huan asked, smiling at him, hands on his back. “I am almost certain that I know you from some places.”

“I don’t think so. I’m Jiang Cheng and, this is my daughter, Laura.” Jiang Cheng answered, still a bit awestruck with the resemblance between them, standing a hand to him. “And her friend, Isabelle.” He eyed the girl, who were looking at the other with amazed eyes.

“Jiang Cheng.” He said his name as if testing it on his tongue. “A beautiful name.” Lan Huan said, smiling again. The same habit as the first one., Jiang Cheng thought sadly. “Well, I don’t quite remember seeing you from other places, but it would be a pleasure to do so, Jiang Cheng.” Lan Huan flirted, finally accepting his hand.

“Oh, gods!” Jiang Cheng breathed deep, letting go of Lan Huan’s hand. “I… I…”

“Wanyin?” Lan Huan whispered, slowly, eyes still unfocused. “Oh, my heart. I am so sorry!” He sobbed, reaching blindly to the smaller one. “Oh, Wanyin. I never wanted this to happen…”

“I’m here.” Jiang Cheng held Xichen’s hands, hoping that his soulmate would remember him even a little. He kept looking at his eyes until they focused on his again, slowly becoming golden. “Lan Xichen?”

“I thought we agreed in you calling me Huan, my heart.” Lan Xichen whispered, his hands going to Wanyin’s face. “My heart, my light, my Wanyin.” He murmured, pulling the immortal closer. “I love you, I love you. Thank you.” He kissed Jiang Cheng lightly on the lips, before he felt the smaller pulling in away.

“Wait a minute, your fucker! You promised me that you never would sacrifice yourself like that, your idiot! You promised that you would never leave me, Xichen!” Jiang Cheng grabbed his neck, making him bow over himself. “You never do that again to me, are you hearing me? Never again!” He let go of him, breathing deep. “Dear Gods, please don’t…”

“I won’t, I promise. And this is a promise I intend to keep.” Lan Huan whispered in his hair. Silence surrounded them, meaningless of all the noises around them. They stayed that way until Isabelle whispered at Laura.

“Does it mean that you have two hot dads now? Holy shit!”

“Izzy, please, shut up. Dad has been waiting for this for too long.” Laura whispered, hitting her. Jiang Cheng smiled against Xichen’s chest before turning to her, seeing a familiar figure behind her, waving a fan in front of his face.

“Huaisang…” He mumbled, seeing the boy, close his fan and bow a little at the recognition. He was alive too, maybe the others were too.

“Thank Laura for that.” Huaisang mouthed, silently. “You deserve it, Jiang-Xiong. No immortal should pass the amount of time you passed waiting for your soulmate again.” He smiled sadly. “Not even you, not even me. Be happy, Jiang-Xiong, we will meet again. I promise.” Nie Huaisang waved at him, before disappearing in the crowd. Well, maybe Jiang Cheng wasn’t the only secret the cultivators hide from the world, maybe there was a hope for him, but, for now he would just enjoy the fact that Zewu-Jun, Lan Xichen, Lan Huan, his light was back to him.

“Thank you, A-Sang.” He mouthed to the air, before turning to his husband and his daughter, happy into meeting his future, happy that he finally was going to love again.

________________________________________________________________

So, here it is Day 6! I’m sure I never wrote this uch of angst in a fanfic. This prompt hit me with a brick, but I will live. I don’t know if I will be able to post the other two days in time, but I think I will post them anyway, slowly, but I will. Thank you for reading it until here! Hope you are safe and well in this trying times.

@xichengclipse

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restingdomface · 4 years

Text

Okay so I have a reincarnation AU planned where Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian we’re both reincarnated into the Jedi order but they both left when WWX wasn’t knighted (lol and this was BEFORE the Jedi found out that little shit can raise the dead y’all they gonna throw some bitchfit when they find out what he up to later) and then the prequels roll around and Jedi Master Kenobi and his padawans were sent to go look for WWX and LWJ because it’s rumored they’ve been training non-Jedi force users in unknown force arts that they refuse to share with the order (lol magic from MDZS times, it’s basically force usage, but in a different way) and the order thinks that they could be of some help with the clone wars.

Anyways, the order doesn’t actually expect to find them. They expect to find like their great great great grandkids, cause this shit started over 150 years ago when they left the order. WWX wasn’t bitter about not being knighted, tbh he really didn’t expect to be, and LWJ knew as soon as WWX was gone he was following.

Anyways. They find them on some nice little planet, having apparently started their own little community on a forest covered mountain with many students and... WWX and LWJ are still alive???? What???? But they look like 20yos still????? How the fuck????

Okay apparently the order is right, if these fuckers have the secret to immortality (tbh the order never believed that one, cause LWJ and WWX never hid the fact that this is like their 17th reincarnation, and the order was always all ‘well, if you’re on your 17th life, I don’t think you know the secret to immortality’ and it’s kinda lol) then that explains why the order wants them back to come help with the clone wars.

Anyways. WWX talks with the clones alone about what his Real Powers are, and tbh, he knows the order isn’t gonna like it (y’all they kicked him out for having too dark and aura, they gonna lose their shit when they see him revive the dead) but all the clones quietly agree that revival is kinda... a good idea. And the brothers who want to stick around till the end of the war can keep the ranks filled, or it’ll at least give some of them the chance to say goodbye before they go.

Let’s just say. Even the sith. Are fuckin creeped out. By these scary ass zombie clones. The droids have started reacting to them the same way they react whenever an angry Skywalker comes towards them (lots of cussing and running away) and tbh, the separatists are losing planets so fucking fast.

Also Sizhui and Jingyi and Jin Ling are all there, flirting with clones and being kids. Even tho they’re all in their mid-150s by now.

TBH that makes it seem way more badass than it is. Lol LWJ and WWX have like 15 kids and won’t stop showing clones their baby books, and the clones are some of the first non-family (adopted or reincarnated) members that they teach some old fashioned earth magic to. WWX raising the dead isn’t really seen as badass, so much as an abomination to all mankind, but like, that’s your opinion and it’s obviously wrong. WWX has perfected his arts to the point where all reincarnated zombies have their consciousness still. And. TBH. When a bunch of undead clones are asking you to plz give them rights so they’re not slaves anymore... you listen.

Also WWX uses the chips to make the zombies (so even if he’s not around they come back) but he deletes all the other functions in them. One time WWX whistled too loud and Palpatine had a heart attack and died and a week later the war was suspiciously over. Weird.

#the grandmaster of demonic cultivation #the untamed #mdzs #wei wuxian #wangxian #lxc and my live with them at the space cloud recesses #lwj and wwx were the only jedi lol but they bring the kiddos with them #star wars #clone wars #the clones #zombies #wwx saves the clone wars with zombies

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kyufiber-moved · 4 years

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do you have a facourite scene or part chief?

i finally remembered to answer this ask omfg. skfd anyways: DO I EVER. this’ll include spoilers for the untamed so imma put a read more !!

my FAV SCENES/MOMENTS include;;;

- “wei ying - come back” “lan zhan - let go” IT HURTS. IT HURTS. but those lines hit so fucking hard bro i couldnt NOT include them

- that moment in the very last episode where wwx walks up next to huaisang in the cloud recesses and says “do not befriend the devil :)” and then u find out huaisang basically orchestrated everything in the present day timeline

- “you even fooled hanguang jun” “...you’re right” “NOT right. i already knew he was wei ying” CATCH ME VIOLENTLY SOBBING

- when lan zhan is drunk (one of many times LOL) and wwx asks “do you like rabbits??” and he goes in the SOFTEST voice “i like...” like omg babie

- in the p early part of the timeline when wwx and the jiang clan are still learning shit at the cloud recesses and they release those lanterns ?? but specifically the moment i loved was when lan zhan sees the rabbit painted on the lantern by wwx and smiles for the first time in the show . i knew immediately i would die for him

- when everyone is getting indoctrinated by the wen clan and wwx’s little shit self start’s reciting the gusu lan clan’s disciplines and wen chao loses his mind LOL. fucking BEST.

- when lan zhan says “you’re not qualified to talk to me” to su she (i think it was su she??)

- when sizhui regains his memories and realizes wwx basically raised him and the hug that follows . fuck . i cried so hard

- when wwx has just reappeared after being in the burial mounds for 3 months and basically makes lingjiao to commit suicide with his flute :))) i lost my mind like . the BADDEST BITCH WEI WUXIAN .

- literally any scene with wen ning being wuxian’s loyal noodle . esp after he (wen ning) gets all powerful

- that moment when everyone is at the jin clan’s territory doing the night hunt and wwx says “i once considered you my lifelong soulmate” and lan zhan says “i still am” CHILLS. SOULMATES AF

- when zewu jun goes “master wei. don’t take it to heart” and reveals he knows wwx’s true identity (after he’s reincarnated) god that was so cool idk

- ok this is a moment that was so heartbreaking that it deserves to be mentioned:: after the massacre of lotus pier by lingjiao n company, when they show jiang fengmian and madam yu dead, holding hands on the floor on sword’s hall. on god i choked on my own tears

- same thing for this one,, it broke my heart and i cried but it was rly powerful and deserves to be mentioned:: when song lan goes to find xiao xingchen in coffin town and xue yang’s cut his tongue off and xingchen’s stabbed song lan unknowingly and song lan reaches out to xingchen with his sword so xc will recognize him and he JUST misses. and xc and xue yang walk away from his dead body. fuck. my chest PHYSICALLY hurt with how WRONG that was. this show did not spare the emotional trauma

- kinda sad (no actually, 100% is sad) but the bloodbath of nightless city where wwx ends up dying?? when he finally kinda just . snaps after nearly everyone he loves has been killed and all the clans have turned against him and everyone he trusted has basically abandoned him (except for lwj) and he’s just like . laughing humorlessly and crying . god . the pain. it was so well done

- that moment during that jin clan night hunt again but when wwx goes beast mode and simultaneously hits 4 bullseyes blindfolded . nut. holy shit

- that moment after wwx returns from his 3 month burial mounds adventure and he and lwj are kinda not talking and he FINALLY runs after him and lwj goes petty asf and whips out his sword and lowkey fights him for 5 seconds skjfksd god i loved that LMAO

- when jingyi fucking DECIMATES su she with roasts in the demon subdue palace. i love my son

- the morning after lwj got rly drunk w wwx and wwx is like “you just said... you like...” and lwj’s head WHIPS AROUND in a gay PANIC liek Oh FUCK OH FUCK DID I EXPOSEMYSELF??? and then wwx is like “... RABBITS.” and u can visibly see lwj’s whole body relax LOL

- wwx being a little shit right after he’s been reincarnated and also panicking when hanguang jun is mentioned SDFJKD

- when jiang cheng and lan zhan see wuxian step into view when they’re tracking down wen chao and the core melting hand guy and they realize it’s been him killing all these wen clan members with BRUTAL ways sjfkjd fuck i screamed so loud

- when yanli and jiang cheng meet with wuxian after he’s a fugitive to show him yanli’s wedding outfit. i cried a little it was just a beatiful moment

and i have more probably but i realize im rambling so im gonna stop here KJSDLFKJSDFJDSLKj

#asks #impulseislost #favs #the untamed #:((( i could talk abt lcq

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omgkatsudonplease · 5 years

Note

Are you open to more YP!LWJ requests? Found it in AO3 and you’re amazing! Can we read about LXC and JC meeting LWJ especially if he’s with the newly reincarnated!WWX. Also what happened to LWR? Is he LJY’s GREAT UNCLE??? Thanks so much for writing this verse 💕

thank you!! lqr actually got killed, which is why lxc is so intent on catching lwj – so he can face justice for (allegedly) killing lqr.

“Lanling! I haven’t been here in a while!” declares Wei Wuxian as their boat pulls up to the dock leading up to Koi Towers. Next to him, Lan Wangji sits stiffly in his purple Yunmeng Jiang robes, his long hair pulled into a severe half-bun.

“You haven’t been to most places in a while,” Jiang Cheng remarks, as the juniors jump out of the boat to help moor it to the dock. They all pile out after them, just in time to be greeted by Jiang Yanli standing on the banks underneath a gilded canopy. Her hair is crafted into the latest fashionable style in Lanling, and her robes are a delicate mix of Yunmeng purple and Lanling gold. She is every bit the immaculate Regent Sect Leader, an vision of untouchability.

Wei Wuxian rushes into her embrace easily. “Shijie!” he shouts, spinning her around in delighted circles. “It’s been forever! I missed you!”

“Did you really?” Jiang Yanli remarks, a little drily. “You were dead, remember.”

“I could miss you while dead, too,” Wei Wuxian retorts, pouting. Quickly remembering his manners, he lets her go and kneels before her. Next to him, Jiang Cheng rolls his eyes before bowing to his sister.

“Jie, good to see you again,” he says. Jiang Yanli nods, before gesturing for them to follow her back to the palace. The servants scramble to maintain the canopy above her head as she walks.

Jin Rulan joins her by her side, still looking pale from his ordeal in Yunmeng. “Did you find anything out about the body parts, A-Ling?” Jiang Yanli asks.

Jin Rulan startles, looking back at Wei Wuxian with wide eyes. Jiang Cheng shakes his head, making a throat-slicing gesture. Jin Rulan pales further.

“N-nothing,” he manages. “We’re, uh, working on it.”

“Poor soul,” says Jiang Yanli. “His family must be so worried.”

“His?” asks Wei Wuxian.

Jiang Yanli shrugs. “I hesitate to consider the possibility of it being otherwise,” she replies.

Wei Wuxian has to admit, she has a point. Women being found in pieces tend to lead to much more hysteria among the people.

They mount the steps leading up to Koi Towers, where Jin Guangyao, his shijie’s brother-in-law and right hand man, greets them with a broad smile. “Refreshments are ready in the foyer,” he says, bowing to them. “Welcome back to Lanling, Sect Leader Jiang, Senior Wei. It is an honour to see the reunited Twin Heroes of Yunmeng here again.”

“The honour is ours,” says Jiang Cheng, as servants hand them all cups of tea and carry out platters of snacks. The juniors pile their plates with nuts and seeds before running off to Jin Rulan’s room. Wei Wuxian watches them go, before he notices that the hall had gone a little silent.

Turning back, he sees that Jin Guangyao is staring incredulously at Lan Wangji, as if trying to parse out who he might be in that database of faces he keeps in his head. “This is Jiang Zhan,” Wei Wuxian says immediately, slinging an arm around Lan Wangji’s shoulders. “He’s my guest.”

“Your guest,” echoes Jin Guangyao. “I had no idea there was such a Yunmeng disciple as Jiang Zhan.”

“He’s pretty new,” replies Wei Wuxian, clapping Lan Wangji on the back. “But he has so much potential. We brought him here so he could experience some new cultures.”

Jin Guangyao hums thoughtfully, but makes more comment on it as he helps the servants refill the teacups.

The other guests begin to pour in later on as the day progresses. Wei Wuxian keeps an eye out for a familiar glimpse of white headbands and whiter robes, but the delegation from Gusu seem to be absent entirely.

“Do you think they’ll come?” he asks Jiang Cheng, who shrugs as well.

“Pretty sure Sect Leader Lan accepted the invitation, but who knows.” Jiang Cheng cranes his head, peering through the crowd. “Maybe Jingyi managed to get a message to him.”

“I kept an eye on him and I’m pretty sure he hasn’t sent any word to Gusu,” says Wei Wuxian. “And even if he had, wouldn’t that encourage Lan Xichen to show up?”

“We thought punctuality was a Lan trait, and yet here we are,” replies Jiang Cheng, folding his hands behind his back as he smiles and nods at some passing maidens. Wei Wuxian rolls his eyes, before turning back to where Lan Wangji is standing slightly off to the side, looking extremely awkward in his purple robes.

“Think I did a good job?” Wei Wuxian wonders, gesturing to Lan Wangji’s ensemble. Jiang Cheng snorts.

“Could’ve been worse,” he replies. “At least he looks somewhat like a disciple.”

“Ye of little faith,” sighs Wei Wuxian. “Does shijie know about our little ruse?”

“You didn’t tell her?” wonders Jiang Cheng.

“I thought --” begins Wei Wuxian, but then cuts off immediately at Jiang Cheng’s unamused eyebrow. “Right. Well. I better mention something, then.”

He starts walking away, searching through the crowd for his shijie. However, because he isn’t watching his step, he immediately bumps into someone.

“Oh heavens, please excuse --” the apology withers on his lips when he sees white robes, embroidered in Gusu Lan cloud blue. He looks up, and the steely gaze of Lan Xichen bears down on him in reply. “Sect Leader Lan,” he remarks.

“Wei Wuxian,” replies Lan Xichen, his smile a dagger all on its own. “We meet again.”

“I thought you’d never show,” admits Wei Wuxian, rubbing the nape of his neck. “The road wasn’t too weary for you, I hope? You look tired.”

“Thank you, but it was uneventful,” replies Lan Xichen sunnily. “My congratulations for returning from the dead, by the way. A remarkable feat.”

Wei Wuxian bows. “The idea was someone else’s,” he replies.

“And to have the body of someone not too dissimilar from your own,” continues Lan Xichen, thoughtfully. “Almost serendipitous, I would imagine.”

“Perhaps,” replies Wei Wuxian. “But again, the idea was someone else’s.”

“I can imagine.” Lan Xichen’s voice turns flat. “I am under the impression my brother is in attendance tonight.”

So Jingyi did mention something. Wei Wuxian has half a mind to make the boy copy some lines upside-down, Gusu-style.

“Have you had any success in finding him?” asks Wei Wuxian, even as a familiar hand comes to tug at his sleeve.

“Senior Wei,” mumbles Lan Wangji, playing to the script Wei Wuxian had jotted down for him, “I find I am in need of some assistance --”

“Wangji.” Lan Xichen’s eyes harden immediately. Wei Wuxian looks at him in mock alarm.

“Wangji? Who are you calling Wangji?” he demands, even as Lan Wangji startles at the sight of Lan Xichen’s scowl. “This is Jiang Zhan, my new disciple.”

“Wei Wuxian, I cannot believe you’d think I would forget how my brother looks,” snaps Lan Xichen. “Even after all these years, he still has not quite remembered how to portray anything besides bored disdain on his that pretty face of his.”

“He’s not the only person who forgets that,” Wei Wuxian insists. “Plenty of people forget to smile whilst in public. It doesn’t make all of them your brother.”

“Perhaps not, but your friend does bear a remarkable resemblance,” retorts Lan Xichen. Wei Wuxian is distinctly aware of Lan Wangji’s hands shaking against his arm. “You have allowed your feelings for my brother to cloud you from the wrongs he has committed. Eyes so blinded cannot mete justice.”

“Justice should not serve only the agenda of the powerful,” retorts Wei Wuxian.

“How can you be so sympathetic to the man who murdered you?” demands Lan Xichen, his brows furrowing. Wei Wuxian opens his mouth to reply, but is stalled by a firm grasp against his wrist.

“My apologies,” says Lan Wangji coolly, “but I must borrow Senior Wei for this urgent matter. Please excuse us, Sect Leader Lan.”

“Wangji,” hisses Lan Xichen. “When will your madness end? When will you return to Gusu?”

Lan Wangji looks him dead in the eye. “I do not understand to whom you are referring,” he says coldly, before spinning on his heels and dragging Wei Wuxian out of the room.

Once in the hallway, Wei Wuxian opens his mouth, but Lan Wangji immediately holds up a finger to silence him.

“I am returning to our room,” he says. “I find I cannot... continue this further.”

“I’m sorry,” Wei Wuxian mumbles, hanging his head. “I had thought --”

“Not all wounds can be healed so quickly,” replies Lan Wangji, before taking Wei Wuxian’s hand and kissing it. “You know where to find me.”

Wei Wuxian watches him vanish into the shadows with a lump heavy in his throat.

#魔道祖师 #mo dao zu shi #mdzs #yiling patriarch lwj au #lily's dabbles #red envelope ficlets #anonymous #ask

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