MDZS AU Where Wei Wuxian Gets A System, But The Only Thing It Notifies Him Of Is When Lan Wangji Has

complicated feelings on jiang fengmian aside, i think the reason i don’t buy into the whole “jfm favoured wei wuxian much more than his son” and tend to agree with wwx’s words to jc that of course jfm would be more stern with jc because jc’s his son is because—my asian parenting experience has been somewhat the same (and i actually think this might be a bit of a universal experience regardless), not in the exact way mxtx portrays this relationship but in that my parents and parents of every single person i have ever known (mostly; there are always a few exceptions) show this pattern of being sweet and cordial and generally non-disciplinary towards kids who aren’t their own and being way stricter and more stern with their own children because they are the ones they are parenting. there’s almost this mutually known boundary that you don’t go and yell at another’s kid to correct bad behaviour, rather the impetus of imparting important values and lessons is reserved as your right for your own kids. that’s how i’ve always read jiang fengmian’s dynamic with wei wuxian vs jiang cheng. he was stern with jc because that’s his son and heir, someone he cares for very deeply. on the other hand, he does care for wei wuxian as well but he has never crossed that mental boundary from uncle to father figure in his head and his interactions with wei wuxian have never read as paternal or favourably partial over jc to me.

Lan Xichen: Uncle, you seem almost...wistful lately.

Lan Qiren: It's nothing very important. I've received some insight that has reminded me of the happier moments of my youth.

Lan Xichen: Oh? May I ask what caused this?

Lan Qiren: As you're not doubt aware, Wei Wuxian harbors so level of affection for Wangji.

Lan Xichen: Yes. Although I must admit I thought that would aggravate you.

Lan Qiren: It did. It still does to an extent. But a few days ago, I witnessed that horrible boy walk into a wall because he was looking at Wangji and not where he was walking. It reminded me of how Wei Changze acted when he first fell in love with Cangse Sanren.

Lan Xichen: Really?

Lan Qiren: Yes. In short, the guest students this year show promise, the weather has been mild, and a Wei is pathetically in love. So I'm feeling a little nostalgic

role reversal + body swap + time travel bingqiu au:

binghe reverses time to the moment he and shen (yuan) qingqiu met. figures out the whole not-shen-jiu business, but that's less important and mind boggling than the fact that he's somehow ended up in shizun's body.

(under any other circumstances, he would be overjoyed. now, though— well. it's just not optimal shizun wooing conditions. still will take advantage, just. give him a moment.)

he goes to find himself (he has a hunch) and finds shen yuan literally moments after transmigration, helps him up, and takes him to the bamboo house.

luo (yuan) binghe looks up at shen (binghe) qingqiu and faints. that's as far as luo binghe gets in his master plan of fixing their relationship, because by then the system has wisened up to what binghe's trying to do, and it's come seeking death (trying to get binghe to be cruel to shizun via ooc lock).

this is as far as i've gotten with this idea, but. do you. do you see the vision

i think one of the most wonderful traits of wei wuxian is how socially competent he is, which is why it always annoys me if he is mischaracterized as someone who is unaware about how those around him feel, just because of the way his relationship with lan wangji pans out in the books. the dynamic between them was extremely multifaceted and what seemed obvious to us was very rightfully NOT obvious to wei wuxian and he hardly had time to sort those feelings out, given the kind of harrowing ordeals he was going through. but that aside–the way wei wuxian’s “social competence” manifests isn’t just social courage–in that, the risk of embarassment or self-consciousness doesn’t stop his self expression–or just his general forwardness and social butterfly tendencies but also–and imo, most importantly–his perceptiveness and astute reading of people around him which comes from a deep understanding of the human social element, at the individual and the societal level.

he has full awareness of how his station is looked down upon in the cultivation world and so while others in his situation may bend or break–wei wuxian cleverly toes the line between the two until taking a stance becomes necessary. he deeply understands the ugly dynamics running within the jiang family and clan and acts accordingly–be it his prompt efforts to placate jiang cheng or his conscious silence when madame yu is in a mood or even his acceptance of the whipping in lieu of restoring stability for the clan. despite his personal biases against jin zixuan, he can recognise his bravery. even his scandalous move to begin undressing in the cave shows that he knows exactly what would make lan wangji tick.

hell, i’d say even his initial thought about how the resentment of the dead can be redirected towards a target shows his striking comprehension of how emotions work in general. what’s more, he’s able to recognise the machinations nie huaisang had employed and he was also aware of the bigger picture associated with how fickle and easily swayed mob mentality was when everyone took part in bashing jin guangyao when certain truths came to light. when he was first brought back to life, he quickly and correctly deduced what kind of life mo xuanyu must have led and how he could act in order to easily humiliate the mo family. he empathised with jin ling and yet realised how he was brought up left something to be desired and so, tried to inculcate some of his own highly regarded values to him.

the deft manner in which he handled the juniors speaks for itself–a good teacher will always have good communication skills and wei wuxian went above and beyond just “good”. his people skills on nighthunts are extremely helpful–his ability to make tongues loose simply by charming people is highlighted more than once. just off the top of my head–him politely appealing to jin guangshan about the wen remnants and apologising for “intruding”, him readily handing in his sword at the indoctrination camps, him suggesting to jiang cheng that he should leave the clan once he was at the burial mounds–all of this (and much much more) demonstrates wei wuxian’s competence at guaging complex social dynamics, which is why, when he goes against the current and stands firm, it is a deliberate, well thought out decision, one made after considering the risks and repercussions, and that makes wei wuxian’s stance at the end that much more powerful. he is not stumbling his way through life, is not unheeding of his social status, is not a “mad genius with poor social skills”. hell, i would say wei wuxian’s ability to see straight through people is more impressive than even his insane intellect and to reduce that aspect of him feels like a disservice to his character. because when it comes down to it, the fact of the matter is that the murky social world through wei wuxian’s lens is actually astonishingly clear.

A-Li best girl

Things that made me fall in love with Jin Guangyao:

When he gave Lan Xichen 24 hours notice before he went looking for Wangxian at the Cloud Recesses. Bestie behaviour.

When he didn't sleep with his sister after he married her. Classy behaviour (I watched GoT/HoD)

When he killed his dad using prostitutes that bullied his mum. Iconic behaviour on two levels. One because if anyone deserved to die via forced orgy it was Jin Guangshan, two I just love me some twisted vengeance. Also he didn't kill the prostitute that was nice to his mum so clearly my boy has values. Granted he did keep her locked up in a house. But y'know self preservation and all that.

When he took over the cultivation world for a bit despite being exceptionally good at being booted down stairs and also being the son of a whore. Shameless social climbing is my favourite trope of all time!

When he built a literal temple on top of his mum's coffin so that she got to be worshipped.

When he knew all the Wangxian gossip and couldn't comprehend why they had two rooms.

When he never did anything bad to Lam Xichen in his whole life ever but still got stabbed.

When he decided to die like a bad bitch.

When he pushed Lan Xichen.

No one waited, but I'm back

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.

always got more 'jiang cheng believes he's entitled to wei ying and his loyalty' and 'wei ying feels like he owes the jiangs' vibes than the two having a brotherly bond