Latest Posts by coolnightfire - Page 7

Night meeting sketch

I feel like too often people frame Nie Mingjue's issues as ignorance borne from safety. Like, they think that because of his privilege as a sect leader he doesn't know what it's like to be in danger and forced to make hard choices to survive. And I disagree. Strongly.

First of all, Nie Mingjue is very familiar with death not only from war but from. You know. Actively dying since the age of fourteen. Let us not forget Nie Mingjue is dead! Super dead! And maybe he didn't die the exact way he expected to but he did, absolutely, know he was going to die. To act like Nie Mingjue is unfamiliar with the scenario of "do something you find morally reprehensible or die" is to ignore that he has been living that exact scenario and chose death.

Nie Mingjue knows death is a risk for someone like Jin guangyao, in fact he explicitly acknowledges it even in his worst moments like the stairs in chapter 49. Had his issue been ignorance, then he would've responded to Jin Guangyao saying that he's in danger and has to sacrifice others for his own safety with "No you aren't you'll be fine." But he doesn't. He accepts the fact that jgy is in danger with no qualms and says: then you should die.

That's not him betraying his values, those are his values. He is, essentially, pro-suicide. Jgy is like hey I have a moral dilemma what should I do and nmj straight up goes "Kill yourself" and earlier that same chapter when he was faced with a moral dilemma he went "I'm gonna kill myself." He believes the solution to moral dilemmas is suicide! He is extremely consistent about this! When it's pointed out to him that it would have been dangerous for Wen Qing to oppose Wen Ruohan it doesn't phase him because he thinks putting yourself at risk to do the right thing is the only moral choice. The idea that he can only hold this belief because he is himself somehow not in danger, again, requires you to ignore that he is dying the whole time. And it doesn't deter him. He is the idea of self-sacrifice as a moral good taken to its absolute logical extreme. Someone who is ready to die and demands the same from everyone else.

It makes him a very fun case study for fandom, because a lot of fandom spaces also tend to revere self-sacrifice as the ultimate good, and yet we get very uncomfortable when someone starts demanding it of characters we love. Like woah, hold on, that's a bit too far isn't it? Only we the audience get to do that!

Ok, but listen.

Jiang Cheng, in nothing but his inner robes, gunning it barefoot down the walkaways of Lotus Pier, because his beloved nephew (age four) decided to escape his bed and climb into an unsecured boat that is now being pushed by wind into the lake, much to Jin Ling's wailing dismay.

JC didn't even think to use Sandu, just launched himself full-tilt from the end of the pier with sheer physical brass of knowing he can eat that twenty metres...

A few minutes later, he was rowing the boat back with one arm, the other full of a wailing nephew, adrenaline finally settling down.

Teen jc's biggest fears - 'pick me girl' A-Xian & WangXian shenanigans! 🐰🐰

Since I'm being jumped by JC antis for pointing out their double standards, let’s dissect the debts owed by Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian, shall we?

Wei Wuxian's Debt to the Jiang Clan:

Wei Wuxian’s debt to the Jiang Clan is immense by ancient Chinese standards. He was saved, taken in, raised, and trained by them, essentially given a new life and a future as a cultivator. In traditional chinese culture, this kind of debt would require a lifetime of loyalty and service to repay. However, Wei Wuxian chose to protect the Wen Remnants, a decision driven by his personal moral beliefs and sense of justice, effectively putting his principles over his obligations to the Jiang Clan. This choice made it impossible for him to repay his debt in the way ancient values would have dictated, as he directly went against Jiang Cheng's leadership and the interests of the Jiang Clan.

Jiang Cheng's Debt to the Wen Siblings:

Jiang Cheng’s debt to Wen Qing and Wen Ning is also significant—they saved his life and ensured his parents' bodies were returned with dignity. The expected repayment from him would traditionally involve some form of reciprocal protection or aid, such as offering them sanctuary, advocating for their safety, or using his influence to speak on their behalf. However, as the new leader of the Jiang Clan struggling to rebuild after the Sunshot Campaign, his first duty was to his own clan's survival. Repaying this personal debt to the Wen siblings would have required protecting the Wen Remnants, which would have risked his clan's stability and political standing. In the end, his obligations as a sect leader took priority.

The Double Standard:

So here’s the issue, antis love to criticize Jiang Cheng for not sacrificing everything to repay the Wen siblings, judging him by the standard of traditional cultural values. But when it comes to Wei Wuxian, they switch to a modern standard claiming "children aren’t expected to repay their caretakers," to dismiss his debt to the Jiang Clan. If we’re judging both characters by the same standard of "repaying debts," the fact is, both made choices based on their circumstances. Jiang Cheng prioritized his clan's survival, and Wei Wuxian chose his moral beliefs. To condemn one while excusing the other is just hypocritical.

The Yiling Patriarch

Whumpee who is recovering after the whumpTM, but it's not going great. They're so frustrated with themselves, with their caretakers, just with everything. Everyone is so soft and understanding and it bothers them and they want to scream, but they know they should be grateful.

Until Caretaker comes along. Caretaker isn't 'nice' like the others, they don't take bullshit. They're good for Whumpee, but they don't baby them. They treat them like an adult with anatomy, and it's so refreshing for Whumpee.

"You want to stay up, fine. But you will tell me when you can't anymore, because if I have to drag you off the floor we're both in trouble. Understand?"

"Stop whining. What do you need?" (And then they get or do whatever it is without issues or judgement.)

"Want to tell me why you're doing worse today?" -- "No..." -- "Okay."

"Where does it hurt?" -- "It doesn-" -- "Don't give me that, I can see it hurts. Now tell me where."

Caretaker trusts Whumpee to know what they need, and lets them know again and again they won't take this nonsense of hiding their pain. They're practical, and kind, and Whumpee needed that.

reblog if you’ve read fanfictions that are more professional, better written than some actual novels. I’m trying to see something

marginalized men: i don’t like jokes about hating all men. i recognize where they come from but they make me feel unsafe. the way im degraded for my manhood’s interactions with other identities doesnt mean that women have it easier, but i would also like to feel safe.

butch transmascs: yeah i had to fight for my masculinity to be accepted and am still struggling to find room in feminist spaces without having to be butch and trans and a man. i need that activism and i’d like my experiences to be considered by people in that space. i dont like being treated as a gender traitor or lesser now that ive transitioned.

dozens of bloggers on their way to get thousands of notes: i cant believe #notallmen is coming back. these people just hate women. intersectionality and solidarity is a distraction from real issues. women are facing these real problems while you guys primarily trans men and men of color are complaining about jokes.

No hate to cql or anything but every time I read a fic that has Lan Wangji be the Chief Cultivator I die inside. Because like. NO. That’s a TERRIBLE IDEA for everyone involved. First of all, Lan Zhan cannot communicate properly enough to be a politician, and his main priority is his husband. He is not suited for that role. Second of all, the novels’ implication that the next Chief Cultivator (if there even is one) would be Nie Huaisang is actually very important for Wei Wuxian’s character development?? Like, Wei Wuxian knows that Nie Huaisang is a lil conniving bitch who painstakingly arranged for the downfall of the most powerful man in the cultivation world, manipulating multiple people to their deaths (or at least emotional ruins) all for his own revenge. He knows that Nie Huaisang is capable of as much damage as Jin Guangyao, and that he’s poised to take over his seat of power. Wei Wuxian knows all of that and, very deliberately, decides not to give a fuck.

Wei Wuxian, who spent his entire life picking up the messes of other people, destroying himself in the process, only to have those same people spit in his face and make him a pariah, sees this potential Problem for the cultivation world and goes, “You know what? That’s none of my business.” and runs off to elope with his boyfriend. Like, Nie Huaisang probably won’t be as bad as Jin Guangyao. He’s been shown to have more human decency, at the very least. But he also spent the entire series expertly lying to everyone, so much so that we really don’t know what he plans to do now that he’s gotten his revenge. And you know what? That’s fine. He can fuck over all the four great sects if he’d like, because the cultivation world’s politics have been a corrupt shitshow for decades, and it’s their job to sort that shit out. It’s certainly not Wei Wuxian’s job. He’s done enough, and he deserves this one moment of selfishness. He deserves to get his own happy ending and settle down with the family he’s always wanted and not have to worry about saving all those ungrateful assholes. Wei Wuxian is at least on good terms with Nie Huaisang (it was awfully convenient that his old friend’s revenge scheme coincidentally involved resurrecting him and setting him up with his crush) and he trusts that he won’t fuck with him or his family.

And that’s good enough for him! Lan Wangji is similarly happy to spend the rest of his life with Wei Wuxian, and after 13 years of mourning he’s sure as fuck not gonna ruin his second chance to go play politics with the most obnoxious people in the world. The ideal ending for both of them is a happy marriage that mainly involves doing their own thing, night hunting together, fucking every day, and teaching the kids. Their calling, where other people are concerned, is absolutely as teachers, and nothing more.

I see this a lot in fics, especially ones that use demon cultivation versus ghost cultivation, but Wei Wuxian's cultivation isn't easy. I keep seeing people write it like it is some easy thing that people were doing in droves, but other than certain talismans, we aren't given any indication that anybody else learned how to use Guidao. It takes a certain level of mental fortitude, empathy, respect, humbleness and discipline to achieve to do even a tenth of what Wei Wuxian does.

Wei Wuxian: I was dead for 13 years before someone sacrificed themselves to give me a body and bring me back.

Shen Qingqiu: It's always a good idea to have a backup body. You never know when you are going need one, and you don't want to end up in the body of some random scumbag.

Hua Cheng: Amateurs.

I think one of Hua Cheng's favorite ways of teasing his husband is by praying to him

Since Xie Lian gets a hefty following in time, he gets busy trying to help his believers, and that means answering a lot of prayers

And what is Hua Cheng if not his god's most devoted believer?

However, his prayers are rather unique

From "i pray his royal highness the prince of xianle no longer dumpster dives in ghost city because his husband will offer him whatever he needs" to "i pray his royal highness the prince of xianle eats three meals a day and no longer pretends one stale meatbun is a meal when his husband is away", its usually cute, sweet or funny things that Xie Lian finds so adorable to listen to

Until...

"I pray his highness the crown prince of xianle one day awaits his husband after a long day's of work only wearing the red lace robe said husband gifted him some time ago and nothing else beneath..."

(Xie Lian scolds his San Lang about such an indecent thing to pray for bur San Lang just innocently goes "His highness wouldnt abandon his most devoted believer's wish, would he?")

I find it kind of stupid how 'half full' vs 'half empty' is framed as an optimist/pessimist thing. If it starts full and gets halfway drained, it's half empty. If it starts empty and gets halfway filled, it's half full. If you don't know the starting state it's both simultaneously.

One of the things that interests me about Wangxian's sex life is that in reality Lan Wangji must be soooooooo gentle with him.

Hear me out. There's this very popular and widely accepted idea that everything in literature is about sex but sex. I... don't really agree that everything in literature is about sex, but I do agree that sex is rarely about sex.

Yes, Wei Wuxian likes getting tossed around and bitten to hell etc etc and Lan Wangji likes giving it to him blah blah- They're horny kinksters and it's well within the realms of normal and they're obviously both fine and happy with it.

But Lan Wangji lifted a monolith WITH ONE ARM. Thousands of pounds of stone, lifted like a Chili's fajita platter. Wei Wuxian as Mo Xuanyu has a very weak golden core. He is infinitely weaker than his husband on a physical level.

Which means it stands to reason that Lan Wangji has to constantly be mindful of his safety and what his body can handle and be mindful of that even when engaging in rough CNC sex.

It's one of those things that for me highlights the care and reverence Lan Wangji has for Wei Wuxian as a person and as his spouse and lover. He spent years trying and failing to coax Wei Wuxian into a place where he already was, and in this second chance he instead meets Wei Wuxian right where he is.

I find it very sweet, actually.

I'm rereading MDZS and it just hit me that Wei Wuxian's first impression upon meeting Lan Yuan post-resurrection was that he was a "good sprout"

You guys... you guys... that's his little radish... that's his good little sprout....

you know how the untamed’s version of wangxian (song) is officially credited as wuji?? my dumb ass just realized that they. just flipped it. so it’s wu(xian)(wang)ji. they are the unsubtlest motherfuckers alive.

anyway i’m taking this to mean that the untamed’s wei wuxian is canonically a top, thank you and goodnight

When did WWX fall in love--before he died, or after he was resurrected?

I propose a third option: both are true.

I'm very firmly in the camp of WWX being head over heels pretty much right from the start, but that ignores a lot of the emotional growth between the two of them after his resurrection. On the other hand, calling that growth "falling in love" ignores his obvious feelings right from the start, and also just doesn't seem like what's going on. His thoughts and feelings about LWJ don't really change all that much.

But here's what does change: WWX starts thinking about himself.

He starts putting himself and his needs into the equation. He goes from seeing LWJ as a trustworthy and good paragon of virtue to seeing him as someone he personally trusts. From objectively the most handsome person in existence to someone he personally really wants to sleep with finds handsome.

So it's not that he fell in love after resurrection--he loved LWJ right from the start--but also he did fall in love after resurrection, because that's when he started thinking about LWJ as someone he could be with. Not that he didn't want to be with him before; instead, he didn't have a concept of personally wanting (being able to want, being allowed to want, being allowed to have) anyone at all.

Lan Wangji is the second in command and the heir of the Lan Group, he is known for his serious, rigid personality and for having little to no expression whenever talking to anyone, including his own older brother.

For years his enemies tried in vain to find a weakness to explore, they even tried to bribe the man he supposedly hated the most only to come back with empty hands.

Until one day this hated man, Wei Wuxian, and Lan Wangji eloped, surprising everyone, even their families and closest friends. They all thought those two hated each other, only to realize it was their weird way of flirting.

So when the opportunity arrived, Lan Wangji's enemies kidnapped Wei Wuxian, tying his hands together and pulling him inside an unregistered black van with heavily tinted windows. And when they strapped him to a chair in an abandoned warehouse somewhere at the edge of the city, they decided to use his phone to call his husband.

"Wei Ying." came the weird soft voice of Lan Wangji through the phone, making the kidnapper hesitate.

"We have your boytoy." he said at last.

"I see." Lan Wangji's voice was emotionless, a bit cold, the tone they were used to hear "Good luck." and then he hung up the call, leaving the kidnappers speechless.

What the hell Lan Wangji was thinking? Didn't he love his husband? Was he really leaving him to die?

The turned back to their victim only to be completely shocked when Wei Wuxian was massaging his released wrists, a small amused smile on his thin lips.

"Man it's been a while." he chuckled "Oh, well"

When sunrise came, Lan Wangji woke up with Wei Wuxian sleeping on his chest, a serene expression on his already clean face. Burying his noise on that glossy hair, he realized his husband had taken a shower before coming to bed.

Smiling, he kissed his Wei Ying's forehead and got up to start his day.

Lan Xichen: Sang-di, are you the one who started the rumors that Wangji and Wei Wuxian were married?

Nie Huaisang: Yes. Honestly, I'm ashamed I didn't start the rumors while Wei-gongzi was alive

Lan Xichen: Why would you do such a thing?

Nie Huaisang: Stress relief

Lan Xichen: What?

Nie Huaisang: You know how stressful being a sect leader is. And who's going to correct the rumors? The dead guy? Or the guy acting like a grieving widow over the dead guy?

When I first started MDZS I had a theory that the fierce corpse they were piecing together was WWX's original body and it had been kept and experimented on by some wannabe demonic cultivators hoping to figure out how he was so powerful.

And I'm thinking about it again.

Imagine WWX, fresh from whatever afterlife his soul was in, ready to just fulfill the requirements of the spell that brought him back then lay low and spend the rest of his new life in peace. That plan immediately gets thrown off course by a cursed hand and LWJ showing up. He is now, through circumstance and his own inability to Let Things Go, dragged into this mystery of finding out who this fierce corpse is and why it's here.

And at some point he realizes he recognizes those hands. He knows those marks. He remembers those calluses.

And he has to deal with the fact that the betrayal and rage fueling it is HIS betrayal and rage. All the emotions that he set aside to stay focused on keeping himself and the Wen remnants alive for as long as possible are now right in front of him and impossible to ignore any longer.

When does LWJ put it together? After WWX? At the same time? It would be hilarious and tragic if LWJ realized first and assumed WWX already knew so he didn't say anything.

No idea how this would fit into the whole thing with NMJ and JGY. I could see a story getting away with NHS still getting involved for WWX (I don't care what anyone else says, they were FRIENDS), but is NMJ dead? Did he die the same way? Is he alive and just hanging around the background this time? Is he now a SECOND Fierce corpse they have to deal with? I can't imagine him dying the way he did and NOT becoming a fierce corpse.

It's been too long since I've read canon to dig into the details but this idea has been hanging around in the back of my head ever since I first read it. Anyone else thought the fierce corpse was WWX? I can't be the only one.

Ok so another rant about Jiang Cheng cause I have so much beef with this man. Of course this is from a personal perspective and you're allowed to disagree. I don't care. Tbh a lot of my issues with Jiang Cheng are really issues I have with some of his stans

Like one of the excuses his stans have to defend him is that he couldn't have possibly known what Wei Ying was thinking and it's not fair to expect him to but like... no??? I very much disagree with that statement because Wei Ying isn't just some stranger. He is his brother. The person he grew up with. The man he's known for almost 2 decades. The person who's protected him and whom he has also protected almost all his life.

Yeah he might not have been able to discern the truth but he couldn't give his brother the benefit of the doubt? His grief and anger doesn't excuse him from blindly blaming him for the Jiang massacre. From blindly believing what other people were saying about him. Yeah Wei Ying had faults but that didn't matter because the Wens were always going to attack regardless. Like they did with the Cloud Rescess. Their accusation of Wei Yings insolence was just an excuse and it's a VERY common tactic employed by dictators to justify their actions.

And i genuinely do not understand why so many of his stans give him a pass to be an asshole just because he has anger issues or just because of his trauma. Whilst at the same time ignoring Wei Yings. I don't know why so many of his stans can't comprehend the difference between understandable and justifiable.

And the fact that he expected Wei Ying to just abandon the Wens and leave them to die was immoral to the extreme. The fact that some of his stans see Wei Ying 'breaking his promise' as being more egregious than Jiang Cheng basically allowing a genocide to happen right under his nose is unbelievable. Not to mention it's worth arguing that he might have actively participated in the genocide. The fact that he solely blamed Wei Ying for the death of Jin Zixuan and doesn't even try to argue that hey maybe Jin Zixun shouldn't have blindly accused Wei Ying of cursing him and tried to ambush and kill him.

It's like he had all of his mother's anger but none of her backbone. The fact that he never shares with Jin Ling the whole truth about how his father and mother died was so manipulative because it was basically him passing on his generational trauma to a child he was supposed to protect. All he does is parrot the opinion of others. Let's other peoples words get to him. Allows his jealousy to warp his perception of someone he's known longer than almost anyone. How is it Lan Zhan can understand Wei Ying and see the conflict within him better than Jiang Cheng does?

Also politics isn't a one way road. There are multiple routes that can get you to the same destination. Him showing some backbone and defending Wei Ying even if it was just giving him the benefit of the doubt could have impressed enough clans for them to support him but no. He shows no standard of his own. Terrified of going against the status quo. He's actually a good mirror to Lan Zhan with the difference being Lan Zhan realized his faults in the end and tried to fix them whilst Jiang Cheng just rooted himself more firmly in his rotting muck.

And again you are allowed to like him regardless. You don't have to desperately find ways to justify his actions.

人若思念便思念 / 终会相见

The One in which Wei Wuxian Died

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Got an idea for an au in the dead of the night which I might flesh out later. Idk. But for now, here’s what it amounts to.

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Wei Wuxian, post-canon, happily married to Lan Wangji, is not in fact getting along with his in-laws. And by in-laws, I mean Lan Qiren. Lan Qiren is convinced that Wei Wuxian is the devil incarnate that stole away and seduced his well behaved nephew, corrupting him. Nothing new from the man who held a grudge against a literal fifteen year old. He does not hide the fact that he believes things would be better off had Wei Wuxian not existed in the first place.

Wei Wuxian, who is in fact a talismanic genius, decides that if Lan Qiren wants a world where he doesn’t exist so badly, he’ll help the man out. He then spends the next few weeks developing a talisman (or array, if that works better) that will allow Lan Qiren to view an alternate timeline in which Wei Wuxian does not exist. He promptly presents it to Lan Qiren, explains the concept, and laughs as he tells Lan Qiren to use it whenever he wants to relax.

Most importantly, Lan Qiren is a spectator to this timeline. He is unable to influence it.

(While Wei Wuxian perhaps no longer blames himself for certain events, like the Wens attacking Lotus Pier, considering they likely would have done so no matter his perceived slight, he does not think through the effect his not being there would bring about during other such events. So while self blame is not as prevalent as it once would have been, he does not think the world would find detriment in his absence. He is wrong.)

Now, with the initial setup out of the way, let’s dive into this alternate timeline, starting with the first divergence; Wei Wuxian himself.

In this timeline, Wei Ying, nearing six years old, succumbs to a fever brought about by infected dog bites after his first encounter with them on the streets. (His little spirit is very happily enjoying spending time with his parents in the afterlife. he’s probably the only carefree individual in this timeline.)

Lotus Pier, despite Wei Wuxian having never stepped foot within it, is still wrought with tension. Jiang Cheng still develops an inferiority complex, and Jiang Yanli still takes it upon herself to parent her little brother in the absence of any real parenting from Madam Yu and Jiang Fengmian, who are too busy fighting with each other to pay much attention to their children aside from using them as ammunition for their ire. While the main family is dealing with this infighting, the Jiang Sect stagnates and weakens under the mismanagement of their appointed Head Disciple until Jiang Fengmian finally catches wind of this during one of Madam Yu’s night hunts when she’s not around to distract him. A new Head Disciple is chosen, but the damage will take time to repair.

Cloud Recesses is relatively calm, the year Wei Wuxian was meant to attend. With a few distinct differences. Jiang Cheng and Nie Huaisang are not friends without Wei Wuxian to act as a buffer between Jiang Cheng’s headstrong personality and Nie Huaisang’s far meeker disposition. Lan Wangji does not spend the year falling in love with a troublesome rule-breaker, and continues to seclude himself away behind an icy disposition. Su She drowns during the confrontation with the Waterborne Abyss. The students come, study, and leave. Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan’s engagement remains intact by the end of the year. Lan Wangji does not come out of his shell, and Lan Xichen continues to worry about his brother.

Wen Chao still performs poorly during the archery competition. The Lan sect is still burnt down. The indoctrination still occurs. Mianmian is branded on the face. The disciples manage to escape with few casualties, but the Xuanwu of Slaughter remains alive. Lan Wangji will never regain full mobility of his leg despite the strength of his golden core.

Lotus Pier still burns. Jiang Yanli, safe in Lanling at the time, becomes the sole survivor of the main family. Without Wei Wuxian there to temper his impulsivity, Jiang Cheng joins back in the fight after being sent away and dies alongside his parents. The Jiang sect dissolves with so little members left with no one suitable to lead them. Jiang Yanli officially marries into the Jin sect the year after.

The Sunshot Campaign is still formed, but lacking the support of both the Jiang and the Jin (whose contribution is so minimal it barely counts for anything), it was doomed from the beginning. The Wen storm Qinghe Nie whilst the Sunshot Campaign gathers its forces, and Wen Xu takes Nie Huaisang hostage to force Nie Mingjue to come fight them. The Sunshot Campaign is thusly defeated, and as it’s figurehead, Nie Mingjue is beheaded.

Following this, Jin Guangshan openly allies himself with Wen Rouhan, whilst both the Lan and Nie are absorbed into the Wen sect. Anyone who protests this is executed or used for more of Wen Rouhan’s experiments regarding resentful energy.

It is during this lull in activity that Jin Ling is born to Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli. Things are peaceful in Lanling for approximately two years until Wen Rouhan sets his sights on completely conquering the cultivation world and targets the Jin sect. Jin Guangshan dies after his core is crushed by Wen Zhuliu. Following a promise made to Jiang Yanli, Jin Zixuan flees with Jin Ling after Jiang Yanli is captured to buy them time to escape (the only reason it is not Jin Zixuan buying time for Jiang Yanli and Jin Ling is that he has a better chance at being able to protect their son, given Jiang Yanli’s weaker cultivation). She is brought to Nightless City after Wen Xu takes an interest in her.

After an entire year on the run from the Wen, Jin Zixuan is finally caught in Yiling. He puts up a significant fight to protect Jin Ling but is ultimately injured. This is where Xiao Xingchen and Song Zichen show in the narrative. They help Jin Zixuan fight off the Wen soldiers, but Jin Zixuan is dying. He entrusts Jin Ling into the care of the two rogue cultivators, making them promise to keep the boy safe. The two agree. So they leave Jin Zixuan in Yiling and travel to the safest place Xiao Xingchen knows; a place he knows accepts orphaned children. He takes Jin Ling to the Celestial Mountain, upon which resides none other than Baoshan Sanren.

(Jin Zixuan, for his part, does not die. Wen Qing, who although has since been called back to Nightless City to resume her work as Wen Rouhan’s personal physician, occasionally travels to Yiling to check upon the supervisory office still under her management. Wen Qing, who has developed a tentative friendship with Jiang Yanli, chances upon Jin Zixuan and beyond all odds, recognizes him as Jiang Yanli’s husband from before her capture. She promptly smuggles him into the supervisory office to treat him. His core is irreparably damaged by a poison made from resentful energy that Wen Rouhan has Wen Qing helping to develop. If left unchecked, it would continue to ravage through the meridians until the pain immobilizes the affected cultivator, leading to eventual death. To prevent this, Wen Qing surgically removes Jin Zixuan’s golden core.)

That’s where my subsequent timeline ends, but there are still ideas for this that I have. Because without Wei Wuxian, the solution for this timeline’s happy ending is far more complicated.

These new circumstances, however, lead to some pretty interesting dynamics that can be explored. My main idea obviously centres around Nie Huaisang, who with the loss of his brother is most certainly plotting the downfall of Wen Rouhan. But the most interesting dynamic I can think of would have to be between Meng Yao and Mo Xuanyu. Meng Yao, who did not stab Wen Rouhan and therefore was never acknowledged by Jin Guangshan. Meng Yao, who with Jin Guangshan dead, has no way to obtain that approval, and so therefore does not align his entire being with being the perfect son. And Mo Xuanyu, who without Wei Wuxian to invent demonic cultivation, might just end up as the founder in this timeline (because he’s pretty and tragic and I adore him).

Either way, the main rebellion would likely consist of Nie Huaisang, Meng Yao, Mo Xuanyu, (perhaps) Lan Wangji, Wen Qing, Wen Ning, Xiao Xingchen, Song Zichen, Jiang Yanli, and Jin Zixuan. (And if this lasts long enough, Jin Ling as well.) I say perhaps for Lan Wangji due to his injured leg, though he could still contribute utilizing musical cultivation.

Oh, and the Xuanwu of Slaughter is still an issue in this universe. Unless they can weaponize it against the Wen, which would be pretty cool.

(Wen Chao does in fact become the Wen’s very own version of Jin Guangshan, leaving illegitimate heirs all over the place.)

Of course, none of this is set in stone. If anyone wants to play around with this au, you’re totally free to do so however you’d like. I’m sharing this mostly in case anyone else finds it interesting, and because I’ll probably never actually write a fic for it. This mostly just started out as a brain teaser trying to figure out what would happen if Wei Wuxian wasn’t part of the plot, considering that although he did contribute quite a lot to the canon events, a lot of things were set in motion long before he was even born (like Jin Guangshan’s corruption and Wen Rouhan’s plans to conquer the cultivation world).

Yknow there's something so in character about how JC, JGY and WWX in the advice they give Jin Ling to deal with the bullying issue.

Jiang Cheng tells him to come to him and even if Jin Ling doesn't, the moment he gets a hint that someone is fucking around with his nephew, it's Zidian out for murder because only he can be mean to Jin Ling cause he's the only one he knows doesn't actually mean it.

Jin Guangyao suggests the same survival method he uses, don't act rashly or fight back immediately, you need to get better and stronger until you are standing higher than them and they aren't worth your time, so stay calm don't let it get to you.

And then Wei Wuxian strolls up, helps him beat em up and tells him to continue beating them up, until he's an adult and cannot be easily pardoned for breaking the rules.

And if that itself doesn't show you the whole foundation of how these three characters.

One of the things I love most about Lan Zhan is that he didn't make Wei Yings death about himself. About his anger or his loneliness or his regret. It was all about keeping Wei Ying alive in any way he could. In the way he worked to change his sect. In how he went out of his way to help people who needed it most. In making sure Sizhui grew up healthy and surrounded by people who cared for him. I think the only 'selfish' thing he did do was allow himself to be freely angry and annoyed with Jiang Cheng. To be the little menace he always holds himself back from truly being.

Lan Zhan had every right to bring down his fury onto the cultivation world for what they did to Wei Ying and the Wen Remnants but he didn't because that was never what Wei Ying truly wanted. I think there's more nuance to that kind of love then the kind that demands one side to burn the world for the other.

Wei Wuxian: So I've tried every talisman, array, curse, whatever, that I can think of, and I do think it's actually impossible for me to get pregnant.

Shen Qingqiu: Oh. That's something you want to do. Well in my world it's been theorized that impregnating a man would not be beyond the powers of a demon lord, but I haven't allowed Binghe to try and figure out if it's true. Ha! With all the ridiculous shit Airplane added to my world I wouldn't be surprised if we have a plant or spell or something that can let a man get pregnant.

Wei Wuxian: ...what.

Xie Lian: My world has a pill that a man can take to let him get pregnant.

Wei Wuxian: you're telling me that both of your worlds have male pregnancy aids?

Shen Qingqiu: hey, I only said that I wouldn't be surprised if it did...

Xie Lian: Actually I could probably change genders to get pregnant too. Or I could impregnate San Lang. I guess there are a few different options.

Wei Wuxian: ....

Wei Wuxian tapping the glass of his enclosure: I want to talk to the person in charge here. MXTX I need a word.

Medusa!Wwx AU : Wei Ying got blind when he was a kid due to an eye infection after some jerks tried to steal his eyes, making him lose the ability to turn people into stone.

On top of that his snakes arent even venomous, but they do guide him around.

The Jiang familly's best kept secret. Probably.

He can turn his snakes into hair using Qi but hates it because he cant feel nor hear them anymore, making him feel really blind and lonely. Wwx can use illusion talismans but its not the most viable option.

If cut, his snakes don't grow back but it heals into a tail.

The younger disciples love feeding snacks to their Da-Shixiong's snakes.

“Come on, gege,” Hua Cheng whispers. “You’ll feel so much more comfortable in clean clothes.”

“Tired,” Xie Lian mumbles into the pillow.

“Let me do all the work,” Hua Cheng says, rubbing his husband’s back. He scoots closer. “You don’t have to help at all. Just say yes, and then be as floppy as a noodle. Let me help you.”

Xie Lian turns his head into Hua Cheng’s thigh. No answer. Time to bring out the big guns.

“It makes your poor San Lang so sad to not be allowed to help,” Hua Cheng says with an exaggerated pout. “I’ll get bored. I’ll wither away, and then who will bother you for kisses? Don’t you have anything for me to do?”

Xie Lian laughs - a quiet little thing, but still a victory. Almost imperceptibly - but in a way Hua Cheng knows is for him, and oh how he preens at being trusted to watch so closely - Xie Lian nods.

“Thank you,” Hua Cheng whispers, leaning down to drop a kiss on his beloved’s head. He reaches for the new robes he brought, and soon, Xie Lian is just a little more comfortable.

That’s all he wants. Just to be allowed to bring comfort to his god.