someone tell me where to put the RAGE. mo dao zu shi / jiang cheng & jin ling parallels.

anne carson // cop car - mitski // tokyo - rm // costar // runs in the family - amanda palmer // ugh - bts

Dragon God AU Q&A

Here’s a compilation of all the questions I’ve gotten thus far! I’m willing to make a Part Two if more pop up! Thank you everyone for your interest!! :D

(image from Amazon.)

@amaskinamirror​ asked: I would like to know what led to Lan Xichen making his sacrifice and falling into the water in the first place.  He said it was his duty, but that being married to JC was not really his choice.  What was he trying to do?  Also what are the implications of both of the Lan Brothers now being gone? Is there an heir to their sect? Oh and, did LWJ know that LXC was alive before JC brought him for a visit?

In this world, Dragon Gods are worshiped, especially as “weather” deities, mostly because the places they inhabit allude strongly to one element or another (i.e. Water Dragon, Earth Dragon, Fire Dragon, Air Dragon). When news reaches the people that a new Dragon has come to earth, they arrange a human sacrifice to “appease” them. Humans have no idea the person selected is actually the Dragon’s mate and married upon entering the Dragons realm. They are truly sacrificing this person in every sense of the word. And this has been going on for centuries, when the first dragon came to earth seeking a mate and a young maiden was “sacrificed”. Over time, the legend skewed, as legends do, and knowledge of just why the Dragon came has been lost.

Lan Xichen is interesting because he was not selected at first to appease the Water Dragon God; Lan Wangji was. Lan Xichen chose to go in his place because he wanted his brother to live (something that will happen again with a certain Nie), and because he was a willing sacrifice, as well in a position of power to force the issue if he had to, it was allowed.

The ritual Lan Xichen was a part of involved walking backwards into the lake until the Dragon used its magic to drown him, accepting the sacrifice. So that is what Lan Xichen expected to happen. Instead he woke up under the lake to Jiang Cheng telling him they are fated mates. Hence, it wasn’t much of a choice in that sense, but the sacrifice was.

This world is not quite the MDZS world, wherein the only magic is with the Dragons. That being said, clans are still important structures to human daily life. The Lan Clan are pretty extensive, so even with the heir and his brother both “dead”, there are those who can take their place. Currently, Lan Qiren is leading the Clan (and has his eye on Jingyi as next leader, but that’ll not… go well XD).

And no! As mentioned above, Lan Xichen was supposed to die in the eyes of the humans watching, because, again, they don’t know what the Dragons really do. So the last Lan Wangji saw of his brother was him walking into that lake and then disappearing, never to resurface. The fact that his brother is still alive still feels like a miracle to him.

Oh and does Lan Xichen know that LWJ sacrificed himself to a dragon too. Or does, JC go to find LWJ to bring him down for a visit only to hear he had committed suicide and has to go relay that information to his husband?

Lan Xichen didn’t know Lan Wangji’s intent beforehand or when it happened, but Jiang Cheng does learn of it and tells him immediately. However, it was not to say he killed himself, but that he offered himself to Wei Wuxian, since Jiang Cheng knows that is his brother’s place of residence. So there is hope that they will see each other again, it’ll just take some time.

Is Jiang Yanli a dragon?  Is she with a human Jin Zixuan, then? If LWJ and WWX adopt A-Yuan, will he become a dragon?

She is! And this is an interesting question that I will get back to in a second. As for A-Yuan, he is already going to become a dragon, given his family was “adopted” by Wei Wuxian in a ritual so they could stay there and be safe. They were already doomed to never leave, because the Burial Mounds doesn’t really let people go, but Wei Wuxian offered them the gift of his blood to drink and become Dragon Kin that way, so they will one day be dragons through the way the magic works, as will Lan Wangji and Lan Xichen (and all the other Dragon Mates).

Note: this blood-binding ritual is how Wei Wuxian became a dragon also. He was found as a small child by Jiang Fengmian and given the blood to turn him.

The Jins are actually dragons! In this story, there are two types: those that refuse to leave the Heavens, and those that go to Earth. The Heavenly Dragons do not place as much stock in finding their true mates through the odd earth rituals, so only focus on breeding “purebred” dragons with other dragons. This is dangerous in a way, because of the threat of inbreeding, but they don’t exactly care. The Earth Dragons willingly leave the Heavens to inherit certain places on earth to gain a mate. Once that mate claims their dragon form, they return to Heaven, opening that dwelling to another and starting the cycle all over again.

The Jin Dragon line started with Jin Guangshan, who was actually an Earth Dragon’s mate. However, once he reached Heaven as a dragon, he really took on that Heavenly Dragon mentality and acts as though he is a “pure-blood” born dragon. Jin Zixuan is born of this first mating, so he is born a dragon and raised in that Heavenly mentality that he is only meant to breed pure-blood dragons.

He is arranged in marriage to Yanli, who breaks it; even though she is in love with him, she fears the way the Heavenly Dragons affect his personality, and she wants a mate that is true to her and her heart. So she goes to Earth to wait, only for Zixuan to follow her and actually mimic a real sacrifice ritual to become her husband anyway. They are madly in love now and have no time for that Heavenly nonsense, especially with a gremlin like Jin Ling to raise.

@hostile-invasion​ asked: I would like to see more xicheng and maybe a more definite description of the dragon forms?

More Xicheng is coming, that is a promise! As for what they look like, they are standard Chinese Dragons (see picture above). The only constant with them is their manes are almost always black, to match their human form’s hair. Their scales are very colorful and varied and can even reflect their health! The more vibrant the sheen and color, the healthier they are. Dull colors can mean pain, heartache, sickness, or grief.

Wei Wuxian is a black dragon, but after going into the Burial Mounds to keep that bad magic from spilling out and was cursed, he now has rivets of red cracks all over his scales that glow red, much like magma in rock.

Jiang Cheng is a royal purple with a bluish sheen; Yanli is a soft lilac while Zixuan is a yellowish gold. Jin Ling is more of a “true” gold.

@renattasama​ asked: BTW, how often "not-dragons'-mates-themselves" relatives are allowed to visit? Because it's been weeks since LWJ's marriage and, as far as I can tell, he didn't visit LXC. Moreover, nothing indicate he expected to visit anytime soon.

They can visit as much as they want, but without a proper blood tie to a Dragon, they will never gain that immortality and cannot fully stay in that realm without it adversely affecting them, since mortals are not meant for immortal spaces (bad on the mind). And it’s not that Lan Wangji can’t visit because he’s not blood tied, it’s because of the Burial Mounds, which makes it very hard to leave. Honestly, even Dragons have trouble coming and going because of how strong the magical pull is. Lan Wangji is still growing into immortality as a mate (as is Lan Xichen for that matter), so he’s not strong enough to break out yet! But he will be, one day, and the brothers will reunite. :)

I remember everything.

I know you know that I have had my eye on you for a while. The moment I saw you at summit with your friends I some how grew the balls to go ask for your number, if I can remember I think one of my friends had told that you would shut me down immediately if I asked for your number or you would give me a fake number but you decided to actually give me your real number, you still didn't text me back though. But that didn't stop me though I knew for some reason you would mean something to me later on I just had to wait for you to give me a chance to figure out why. You proceeded to give me a cold shoulder until I came up to you at seven and I tried again. I was completely sober and i'm pretty sure you were atleast tipsy. We danced for a little while until I told you I'd buy you a drink and you grabbed my hand and dragged me to the bar. We stood there for a while and you got impatient and said it's okay this is taking for ever and you don't need to get me a beer, but I didn't know how long I'd get to spend with you so I insisted we wait and I got you a coors light i'm pretty sure haha. Then we danced some more and you went on to do your own thing so I left. Now we are basically to present day life. For some reason I decided to Snapchat you while I was away in hood river and we started talking a little bit, it was enough for me to keep trying. I decided to come back to bend and went out to jcs where I saw you and we talked a little bit and some how you decided to go to mavericks with me and since that place was completely dead I asked you multiple times if you wanted to come hang out and drink a beer at my house. And you said yes. That night was absolutely amazing we did some things that were incredible 😉. When you fell asleep I sat there and watched you peacefully lay there. I probably sat there for an hour just watching you sleep. For some reason I just wanted to sit there remain in the present and just cuddle you for a while and fall asleep next you. Going to the Jack Johnson concert was the first time I have ever taken a girl on a date to a concert on the river. I had a hard time not staring at you cause of how beautiful you looked. Knowing you were behind me paddling up the river to catch up brought a big smile to my face. The moment you made the 5 dollar bet to go for a swim was when I figured out you didn't really realize that I love the water and will never turn down going for a swim no matter what time it is haha btw you still owe me that 5 dollars. One of the last nights I spent with you before I left to fly away I met you at mavericks and you told me we couldn't be all over each other I thought I would be able to do it but I still had to grab you randomly to remind you I was there and so I could look into those amazing eyes and see you smile. When we went to seven after mavericks I tried my best to never take my eye off you, not so I could make sure you weren't getting hit on or let anyone try and hit on you, which didn't matter cause we weren't together but because watching you dance was enough to make me smile and be happy with where I was and in the moment. I got to drive you home that night and lay in bed with you and cuddle you until you fell asleep. You were absolutely hammered but we still had a little conversation about your ex and that's when I realized you might tell me you wanted to be just friends as well as the fact you were moving to Salem. But I knew what you fealt for me was real and when we were together it fealt amazing. So I continued to cuddle you and you said you missed this. I asked what do you mean and you mumbled "feeling safe in someone's arms" and that put the biggest smile on my face knowing I gave you some sort of relief and the feeling of not worrying about your surroundings. I was also ver content with where I was at the fact in that moment I gave you a feeling that I know has been very hard for you to find. I have never fallen for a girl this fast in my life and can't express how it feels. I know you are not in the right place to be In a relationship but i'm not going to go anywhere and I will always be there for you. And if it ever occurred down the road were we got the chance to try and see how it would go I'd love it. You leaving doesn't scare me one bit. You are roughly 2.5 hours away and that's a drive I would make when ever I was able to come see you. I want to take you places and give you the feeling of being wanted by someone that cares as much as I do. Its probably the best feeling you will ever have and I hope to make you stick around. When you go on deployment I will always be here waiting as friend or more. You need to know I have been through some pretty big struggles in my life but that doesn't mean it can't get better and after reading you blog I realized that you weren't perfect and that's okay. It actually makes you more attractive. I also have read your blog probably ten times cause I have nothing else to do in this airport. I want to help you put the pieces that have broken back together as well as give you space to fix them yourself but I will always be there for you no matter what. I know this is the longest letter you've probably read. I just want you to know that I remember every time I have gotten the privilege to spend with you. I also want to thank you for still texting me after telling you everything I have about being broken. Please don't take this as my trying to pressure you into anything but I know if I don't tell you i'm going to regret it for the rest of my life. You are an amazing girl and you are seriously one in a billion. And i'm happy I found you and never gave up on trying to be friend or more with you. This will probably also freak you out but i'm not a crazy person i promise and i'm also not controlling at all and I will respect how ever you feel about this. Please know that I will keep you safe where ever you go with me and I will never let anything bad happen to you when ever i'm with you.