Thinking About The Way Wei Wuxian Sees The Cracks In Lan Wangji's Fascade, That Calm And Cold Exterior,

thinking about the way Wei Wuxian sees the cracks in Lan Wangji's fascade, that calm and cold exterior, with joy and goes "you're human, you're human, you're human" to the point that it breaks Lan Wangji down completely. that's a feeling you can never forget.

thinking about the way Lan Wangji sees the steel in Wei Wuxian's flippancy, that irreverent and silly mask, with sincerity and goes "you're worthy, you're worthy, you're worthy" to the point that it breaks Wei Wuxian open completely. that's a feeling that can keep you alive.

they are so much more than complimentary or foils for each other. they act as each other's key to a part of themselves that is usually locked away, shining light on each other's shadows without even realizing the lifetime of experience they're contradicting.

I want to know how mxtx constructs her relationship dynamics. They aren't just tropes, archetypes, foils. They feel so full, especially in the ways fandom explores all the nuggets of detail sprinkled throughout canon (and the ways the adaptations add or explore more). And not just the (canon) romantic ones, but also family members and political counterparts. It feels like all the combinations are fleshed out, including implied out-of-scene developments that have creators of transformative works salivating. The relationship between Lan Xichen, Jin Guangyao, Nie Mingjue. My Qing and Feng Xin. Beefleaf. Shang Qinghua and the other peak lords. Pre-canon parent lives, the juniors, towns passed through, the people of the land. Dynamics aren't just push-pull, teacher-student, savior-saved, unstoppable-unmovable, caregiver-cared for, dom-sub, light-dark, runner-statue, etc etc etc. And then to provide reasons for why characters crave that dynamic, why they resist it, how some cave to what they want and need due to circumstance or relationship development, how some are never able to for similar reasons. The part of me that likes to tug and prod at that flow, feeling the angst, struggle, desire and love, has an ocean of content to play with. It's no wonder Wangxian is one of the most prolific ship tags, and I hope to see more for Hualian once (if 😩) more is adapted as animation or drama. (Unfortunately I'm sure SV will continue to be the neglected eldest child -- more/continued adaptations would help there too.) Creators are just so damn creative in the ways they play in this sandbox and I'm just happy to be here to enjoy it. 🥰

do you ever see a fic author you subscribed to posting for another fandom and you're like come back to us but also happy for them and their new inspiration? bittersweet

I picked up rereading MDZS (first time with the official English release) after resisting the urge for hella months. (I both want to and desperately don't want to move on from these series LOL.) I never picked up on the Nie brothers having different mothers?? And I don't think the impact of that is clear on the plot? But I wonder what the story is there and if it explains why (beyond the whole fake incompetence thing) NMJ is how he is with NHS. I wonder if NHS internalizes something about what happened to his mother in a similar way to how LWJ does with his. I want to KNOW.

Also, I think this means that the Lan brothers are the only fully blood related sibling unit? We spend so much time focusing on the chaos of offspring brought about by JGS that I feel the rest of the sibling dynamics are understated. Potentially the Wen siblings as well, though I don't recall if any detail is provided about their parents. I wouldn't be surprised if they were half siblings as well. The Jiang trio has its own dynamics, blood relation between JC & JYL but none with WWX, yet intense care and affection all the same (among other spicier details).

These tiny details of chaos and instability do so much to set up this world that has been at war for over a hundred years (this story being the conclusion of it... or one part of it, or a hopeful continuation of temporary peace). A generation of parents lost or disconnected (or just shitty). A generation of youth parentified and sent to war too young. Terrified elders fearing the ways the world could get worse or established power could be threatened.

MDZS from Lan Wangji's perspective is a disillusionment. A interrogation of the status quo created out of survival, firm and unquestioning, but simultaneously lifeless. Wei Wuxian comes in representing pure resilient joy in the face of tragedy, a wine stain on pristine white fabric an artifact of the revelry the night before in the face of darkness. Wei Wuxian the bonfire during the long night, promising life and warmth and chaotic joy and a future that is worth living and fighting for. Lan Xichen's disillusionment strikes also through relationship, but much differently.

(Of course I start this post just pondering family relationships and end up waxing romantic yet again about Wangxian because I HAVE THE BRAINROT SO DEEPLY.)

A generation of orphans raising a new crop of hope, rambunctious and resilient and curious. It's not the blood relation that matters, but who cares for your future, who fans your flames with love and wisdom. Who strokes your hair and makes you soup or fits you to sect colors regardless of how you were found sick in a tree trunk.

Who protects you from whatever Nie Mingjue was protecting Nie Huaisang from, the sturdy older sibling shielding their baby brother while also grumbling about their need to toughen up. A protection and expression of care that drove NHS to devise a plan so extensive it involved bringing someone back from the dead for justice.

The tiny details, ugh. They drive me insane.

filling the archive up with spoonkid's art first because they are The mdzs artist to me like literally every single thing they've drawn for it is 11/10 no notes. This is unironically my favorite mdzs official art ever