MDZS AU where Jiang Cheng realizes that Lan Sizhui is the Wen orphan that Wei Wuxian took care off during the Burial Mounds arc, decides that's close enough to qualify him as Nephew, declares that no Nephew of His (much less a surrogate son of Wei Wuxian's) is going to be raised in the Cloud Recedes, and immediately launches into a custody battle with Lan Wangji.
But since neither Jiang Cheng or Lan Wangji can acknowledge that Sizuhi has any connection to Wei Wuxian, both begin steadfastly and stubbornly insisting that he is a Cultivator of peerless potential and skill and he belongs in their sect thank you very much, and would clearly be very unhappy in the other's. This confuses the hell out of the already mystified Cultivation world, who had barely adjusted yet to gossiping about Sizhui being Wangji's illegitimate child by mysterious love affair.
(Eventually the common consensus in the rumor mills is that both JC and LW where in love with Sizhui's mother and both believe themselves to be Sizhui's real father.)
(LW couldn't care less what gossips say, but JC has to bite his tongue till it bleeds to avoid telling anyone the truth in a fit of anger.)
(It was Nie Huaisang who put that rumor out in the first place, partly to troll JC, partly because, in a way, it's a little true.)
I think a MDZS Psych AU would be hilarious. WWX's this super observant genius who remembers everything he sees and can easily guess people's true motives, but it only ever gets him into trouble.
First, YZY hates him for getting better grades than JC, then he's kicked out of LP for calling WC on his lies at a charity gala, effectively blackening the Jiang name. After leaving, he gets caught up in a plot to assassinate him, which leads to him testifying against the Wens in court - which leads to a new, intense interest in seeking justice for those who can't.
...Unfortunately, even this gets him in trouble. WWX's called in one too many tips to the local police station and now he's a suspect! Oh woe! Whatever is he to do?! They're going to lock him up and throw away the key!
LWJ, an up and coming officer with a decade long crush on WWX: Do not worry. I will speak with Uncle to clear your na-
WWX promptly decides to announce that he's psychic.
"Impossible!"
LQR...doesn't believe it. No one really believes it, but LXC takes the opportunity to hire WWX as a consultant for cases...
"...Otherwise not easily solved," he explains delicately, very subtly not winking at his brother who's also very subtly not eavesdropping on their conversation. "You would of course be working with Wangji."
WWX considers it for a moment: a well paying job that interests him, and he gets to bother LWJ all day? How could he possibly say no?
And so he doesn't. In fact, he agrees.
WWX and LWJ become partners. LWJ the dashing young police officer, WWX the spooky, scary crackpot-
"Do not insult yourself, Wei Ying," LWJ chastises.
WWX can't help but swoon. "So protective of my reputation LZ!"
"Mn."
LWJ has good reason to be protective - and of more than just WWX's reputation. Since becoming 'psychic', WWX's attracted a number of very vocal detractors who find his methods disrespectful - along with several enemies in high places who can't afford to have their secrets uncovered.
Thankfully, LZ is always there to keep him safe. And when LZ's busy, WN is willing to step in and help.
(WWX is somehow blind to both LWJ's boundless adoration, and the fact that he's essentially employed WN as a part-time bodyguard behind his back.)
Still, no system is perfect. While investigating the murder of a local debutante, WWX is captured by one of his enemies' lackeys - Jin Zixun.
"...Who?" he asks, drawing a blank.
Jin Zixun pokes his finger in WWX's face. "You-! Don't you remember everything? How can you pretend not to know me?!"
WWX blinks. He's sure he's never seen this person before in his life. But when he says as much, Jin Zixun looks fit to beat him.
Thankfully, before things can get too heated, LZ breaks into the warehouse they're keeping WWX in and rescues him. Is this another swooning moment? Of course! Any moment is a good swooning moment with LZ around.
"Mn," LWJ agrees, picking WWX up in a bridal carry (after arresting the bad guys, of course).
WWX laughs, hiding his cherry-red face in LWJ's neck.
"LZ!" he whines, batting his partner's chest. "Don't just agree with me! Think about my heart."
LWJ tilts WWX's chin back, so he can look him in the eyes as he says, "I think of nothing else."
WWX almost swoons for real. What an unexpected confession! Maybe he isn't as observant as he's given credit for?
"Ridiculous," LWJ denies, "You are very observant. Just not psychic."
WWX laughs so much he almost falls out of LWJ's arms. Thankfully, LWJ is stronger than he looks.
"I am so psychic!" he argues once he's caught his breath. "I'm getting a vision right now!"
"Oh?" LWJ's raised brow shows exactly how little he believes Wei Ying.
"It's true!" WWX says. "I see...! It's us! We're standing side by side and...we're getting married! We're gonna be together forever, er gege."
Heart in his throat, he looks up to find LWJ staring back at him with dark, hungry eyes.
"Mark your words," he says in a growl, and WWX gulps.
That day, LWJ becomes a little less sceptical of his new fiance's preternatural powers, and WWX becomes a firm believer in LWJ's physical prowess. š
----
Jin Zixun, some hours later, still handcuffed to a chair in the abandoned warehouse: Hello? I think you forgot me? ...Hello??
I think part of the reason Iām so obsessed with MXTXās works is the way that each story seems to hold you gently as say āYour kindness mattered. It didnāt alleviate the suffering, it did not undo the pain. But your kindness mattered.ā
Kindness could not erase Luo Bingheās abuse, but it changed the story into a kinder one.
Kindness did not stop Wei Wuxianās death, but it did save a-Yuan.
Kindness did not undo Xie Lianās suffering, but it renewed his sincerity to help others.
Kindness did not change the entire world, but it helped create a softer future.
Its such a nice message, that maybe kindness will not protect you, maybe you donāt see the outcome of it, but you should still try to be kind, and I love that honestly.
-Xie Lian looks so good in this- š¦š¼
Wei Wuxian using the Wen's attempted public humiliation and subsequent punishment of memorising the Wen rules and reciting them as a way to flirt with Lan Wangji by reciting the Lan rules instead is fucking wild
'mine'
irresistible eyes
Mu Qing, grinning: Before you were what?Ā
Feng Xin: Before I was-Ā
Mu Qing: What?Ā
Feng Xin: Before I was inter-
Mu Qing: Before you were interrupted?Ā
Feng Xin: Cut me off one more time and I swear I'll-Ā
Mu Qing: What?Ā
Feng Xin: *makes frustrated sound*Ā
Xie Lian, nervously: Stop that. Before he hurts you.
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.
Imagining a hualian mermaid au where hua cheng is a mermaid
When he was younger some poachers caught him and they marveled at his bright red tail. he tried his best to cover it with seaweed and stay out of sight
But he gets caught
Xie Lian happens to be sailing nearby and he spots the poachers and demands they release honghong er
Honghong er is frightened by it all and swims away. He spends the rest of his youth hiding in an underwater cave. Never does he forget the kind human who saved him
Xie Lianās village is destroyed by the poachers who turn out to be pirates because of this act. Then he is kidnapped by the pirates and made a slave aboard their boat
He tries to stay upbeat and kind toward the other victims and prisoners he encounters but itās *hard*
Meanwhile, Hua Cheng makes a name for himself as the terror of the seas. You know he is near when the waves turn crimson
He spots this ship and attacks it for entering his domaināa haven where merfolk are safe from humankind. He watches the pirates begin to drown, a smile on his face
Then he spots oneāan unconscious man in tattered white robesāa face he could never forget. He races Xie Lian to the surface and resuscitates him. Pleading with his savior to stay with him. To stay alive.
Xie Lian wakes up. He instantly recognizes Hua Cheng. He smiles.
āItās you,ā he whispers, placing a hand on the mermanās cheek. He never stopped thinking of the mermaid. He never regretted saving him.
Hua Cheng just stares and stares and stares. Disbelieving. He treats his belovedās wounds. He canāt speak above the surface. His vocal cords donāt work right.
Xie Lian remains on a small island while he heals. Hua Cheng hunts fish for him and watches the human cook it. Xie Lian talks at length about where he is from and the life heās lived. Hua Cheng listens with rapt attention
One day, when Xie Lian has recovered, and meat has returned to his bones, Hua Cheng offers him, on a thin silver chain, a ring made of his own scales.
When Xie Lian puts it on, he transforms into a merman. An elegant one with a pretty white and gold scaled tail.
They go to Hua Chengās domain and Xie Lian quickly picks up the language of the merfolk
Hua Cheng explains that Xie Lian can take off the necklace at any time and return to his human life up on land. To return home.
āMaybe Iāll visit someday,ā Xie Lian smiles. āBut as far as Im concerned I *am* home.ā
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.