WangXian

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Pairing
Pairing: Lan Wangji (Lan Zhan)/Wei Wuxian (Wei Ying)
Alternative name(s): Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian, Lan Zhan/Wei Ying, wx
Gender category: Slash
Fandom: Mo Dao Zu Shi, The Untamed
Canonical?: Canon (or else heavily implied)
Prevalence: Juggernaut Ship
Archives: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn Works on AO3
Other:
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WangXian (忘羡) is the slash pairing of Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian from the Mo Dao Zu Shi fandom and fandoms for its subsequent adaptations, including The Untamed. "WangXian" is a portmanteau of both characters' courtesy names. The relationship is canon in the original cnovel, manhua, donghua, and heavily implied via subtext in The Untamed, the TV adaptation.

The ship is the most popular and prevalent pairing in Mao Do Zu Shi and The Untamed fandoms.

Canon Background

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji are both cultivators from the Gusu Lan and Yumen Jiang cultivation sects respectively. Lan Wangji was raised in a sect with strict rules and discipline, while Wei Wuxian is a wayward, fun-loving character; their personalities clash as soon as they meet at the Cloud Recesses, the home of the Gusu Lan sect, where cultivators from various sects have gathered to study. Despite this, they grow closer together; in the TV show adaptation they are also brought together by their shared quest to uncover the mystery of the Yin Iron. In the novel, Lan Wangji is indicated to have developed feelings for Wei Wuxian by the time he leaves Cloud Recesses.

Later on, they find themselves trapped in a cave together after battling and defeating a monster, and Lan Wangji plays Wei Wuxian a song that he composed for the two of them, which is called "Wangxian" (忘羡，sometimes translated as "forgetting envies"). In the TV adaptation, the name of the song is not spelled out, though Lan Wangji mouths it to Wei Wuxian while he is delirious from a fever.

Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian come into conflict frequently during the events of the Sunshot Campaign as Wei Wuxian ventures further and further down the path of demonic cultivation, which Lan Wangji wishes to prevent. However, Lan Wangji continues to stand by him and protect him - at one point saving his life and battling 33 elders from his own sect to keep him safe. In the original novel, it is at this point that Lan Wangji confesses his feelings to Wei Wuxian. After the events of the First Siege of the Burial Mounds result in Wei Wuxian's death, Lan Wangji grieves him deeply.

Wei Wuxian is resurrected a number of years later in the body of Mo Xuanyu, and Lan Wangji recognises him. He continues to protect his love and show his feelings for him, although Wei Wuxian has forgotten Lan Wangji's confession in the course of being resurrected. In the novel, he gradually realises his own feelings and the two elope to become cultivation partners; in the TV adaptation, however, Wei Wuxian goes travelling alone while Lan Wangji takes up the role of Chief Cultivator, and the last scene briefly shows the moment of their reunion.

There are significant differences between Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji's canon relationship in the original cnovel versus the television adaptation, differences that are discussed in fan meta, though a lot of fanfiction combines elements from both versions. In the live-action show, they call each other zhiji (translated in English as soulmates, which English fandom made heavy use of) before Wei Wuxian's death, whereas in the novel they are not friends until after Wei Wuxian is resurrected and Wei Wuxian assumes that Lang Wangji has always hated him. Most significantly, the television adaptation is censored, so their relationship is never acknowledged as romantic. In the novel, and especially in the extras, the characters have sex, so the details of their sexual kinks are fodder for fanfiction as well.

Popular Tropes in Fanfiction

Fix-Its/Canon Divergence/Post-Canon

Fix-it fics abound for various moments in the novel and TV series canon. For example, in canon, Wei Wuxian loses his golden core (a kind of spiritual power centre) by giving it to his brother Jiang Wanyin (Jiang Cheng) who lost his own, and is cast into the Burial Mounds where he learns demonic cultivation in order to survive. Fans have Lan Wangji rescuing Wei Wuxian before he can be cast into the Burial Mounds, or from the Burial Mounds; another popular trope is having Wei Wuxian share or access Lan Wangji's golden core so that he can cultivate again.

Examples:

  • nothing gold can stay by rikke: Before Wen Chao can throw him into Yiling Burial Mounds, Lan WangJi finds Wei WuXian. The fic also features Wen Qing performing an operation on Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian so that they can share a golden core. (Novel canon)
  • hope dangling by a string by KouroArashi: Lan Wangji had never had call to perform the spell of silent communication before he and Wei Wuxian joined together to fight Xuanwu. He figured it was temporary. Spoiler alert: it wasn't. A TV canon AU in which Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian are telepathically bonded after the events in the cave; it also features Lan Wangji rescuing/fetching Wei Wuxian from the Burial Mounds and Wei Wuxian being able to access Lan Wangji's golden core.

In TV canon, fix-its are also common for Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian's parting at the end of the series, or else fans find a way to re-unite them after the events of the series.

Examples:

  • Home is Where Wei Ying Is by Hades_the_Blingking: As Wei WuXian walks away from him, Lan Zhan cannot help but think that he is making the biggest mistake of his life. Lan Zhan decides to live with no regrets, and acts on his doubts - and it works out pretty well! or in which in Ep50 (The Untamed ending) Lan Zhan goes back to Wei WuXian, and they share a first kiss and a first time together. Lan Qiren is not pleased, but will have to deal. Lan Xichen gives some good advice.
  • You, Asleep and Dreaming by etymologyplayground. Post TV-series canon in which Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji reunite a year after the events of the series, and Wei Wuxian moves into the jingshi with Lan Wangji.
  • The (Several) Convenient Kidnappings of the Chief Cultivator by the Yiling Patriarch by misscam. In which the Yiling Patriach repeatedly kidnaps His Excellency the Chief Cultivator, and Jiang Cheng is the only one bothered by this. TV/novel canon fusion.

Arranged Marriage AU

In canon-verse fanfic, a popular trope involves Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian being betrothed to each other in an arranged marriage, usually for diplomatic purposes or to promote unity among the sects.

Examples:

  • seldom all they seem by Fahye: He bows to Wei Wuxian, sword in hand, sleeves falling properly. Wei Wuxian bows in return, and the sect leaders begin the opening courtesies, and for all of ten minutes Lan Wangji is under the impression that he is betrothed to a boy who is perfectly normal and acceptable apart from an unfortunate tendency to fidget with his clothes. That impression does not last.
  • concessions to love by besanii. Conceding to love is not admitting defeat. (In which there is an arranged marriage with at least one unwilling party. At first.)

Accidental Marriage/Didn't Know They Were Dating

As both Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian (particularly Wei Wuxian) are established as being fairly oblivious to their own feelings for each other and bad at communicating them, a common trope involves them dating - or even getting married - while one or both are completely unaware of the situation. In The Untamed fandom, many fans headcanon that Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian accidentally (or not-so-accidentally) married one another in the Cold Cave, by wrapping Lan Wangji's headband around their wrists and kneeling before (the ghost of) a Lan clan elder.

Examples:

  • a long time coming by syriala. TV series-verse fic in which Wei Wuxian has a sudden revelation about the implications of what he and Lan Zhan did in the Cold Cave.
  • Linger in the Sun by etymologyplayground. Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji find themselves cursed, unable to see or hear each other. They figure things out anyway. Post-canon (TV-verse) fic in which Wei Wuxian discovers that Lan Wangji thought of himself as "like a widower" after his death, and therefore assumes that they must have got married at some point.
  • every time we kiss i swear i could fly by sarah-yyy. If you ask Wei Wuxian about it, he will tell you that he first starts dating Lan Wangji the day of the fundraiser, after Lan Wangji had very grandly and very romantically kissed every single thought out of Wei Wuxian’s head, rendering his knees weak and his heart beating an inhumanly pace. If you ask Lan Wangji the same question, Lan Wangji will say, a little too softly and a little too sadly, “Wei Ying and I are not dating.” Modern AU, Didn't Know They Were Dating

Popular Tropes in Fanart

Illustration of a scene from the novel by xdyoh on lofter (2018). This scene is a popular subject in bookverse fanart.

Bunnies

Although the explanation for their presence differs between adaptations, Lan Wangji canonically has a number of pet rabbits that are often incorporated in Wangxian fanart in various ways. The rabbits as a representation of their relationship is subtext in various adaptations, including The Untamed. In the manhua, for example, there is one white rabbit and one black rabbit, and these sometimes stand in for the human characters in fanart (Lan Wangji is the white rabbit, and Wei Wuxian is the black rabbit). Portraits (sometimes angsty) where one character is holding the rabbit that represents the other abound. In other art, Wangxian are drawn as rabbits. There is also a trend in art where Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian have bunny ears.

Lan Wangji's pet rabbits also appear in fanfiction, but symbolic rabbits are more common in fanart. (There is also at least one vid with symbolic rabbits: Let's Pretend We're Bunny Rabbits by soupytwist.)

Examples:

Dragonji and Foxxian

Another animal-related trend in fanart is depicting Lan Wangji as a dragon and Wei Wuxian as a nine-tailed fox from Chinese mythology. They are sometimes referred to as Dragonji and Foxxian. Tumblr user bigbadredpanda explained its origin:

Dragonji and Foxxian already existed for some time in the Chinese fandom as dragons and fox spirits are common figures in Chinese folklore, I remember coming across fics with this AU last year. It was however the release of this official standee drawn by causticsoda last September that popularised them in the international side of the fandom and brought an onslaught of new fanworks =)[1]

Fox Spirit Wei Wuxian, Fox Wei Wuxian, and Dragon Lan Wangji have also appeared in fanfiction.

Examples:

Wedding

In canon the only wedding, which occurs offscreen, is between Jiang Yanli and Jin Zixuan, but plenty of fanart depicts Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji wearing red wedding outfits. (Plenty of fanfic also includes their wedding.)

Examples:

Family

In canon Lan Wangji visited Wei Wuxian and toddler Wen Yuan in Yiling just the once, but in fanart they are often drawn together with Yuan as their young son.

Examples:

Other Fanwork Examples

Fanfiction

  • The Simplest Way Forward by harriet_vane. Modern AU, fake marriage. It’s a really unfortunate thing, developing a crush on your husband. Wei Ying had assumed this would be easy. Lan Zhan had been so icy and unpleasant to him, it had never occurred to him that he might end up spending the next however many years with this dumb, burning feeling in his chest whenever he looks at him.
  • Then There's No One There by etymologyplayground. Slight canon divergence/gap-filler taking place during the TV series. Wei Wuxian is unconscious for three days after the fall of QishanWen. His friends worry themselves sick.

Fanart

Doujinshi

Fanvids

Meta

  • Tweet, Archived version by @sanlanglovemail: the REAL misunderstanding at the heart of mdzs is that wwx assumes lwj is super repressed, when in fact lwj is very much self-aware and in touch w his own sexuality, & lwj assumes wwx is self-aware and in touch w his own sexuality, when in fact wwx is super repressed. send tweet (May 7, 2020)

Links & Resources

Events

References

  1. ^ Hi, do you know how Dragonji and Foxxian came to be in MDZS fandom?, Archived version, ask answered by bigbadredpanda, 1 November 2020. (Accessed 3 February 2021.)
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