I’ve been spending some time thinking about my boy Ouyang Zizhen - specifically his background and relationship with his dad. There’s not a lot of information about him or his clan in the canon, but I have some ideas.

#ouyangzizhen meta time.

First, what do we know about him?
- He’s the only son of the Sect Leader.
- He runs around with the rest of the juniors.
- He’s very attached to Wei Wuxian and outspoken in his defense of him.
- He’s sentimental, kind, silly, good with words, and a little rebellious.

Also he can serve Looks and has big Can Do a Kickflip energy.

I’ve seen OYZZ and OZZ for his abbreviation but I'm going with OZZ. Since we don’t know his father’s name, he gets to be SLO, Sect Leader Ouyang.

Including this picture here just because I like it a lot.

Okay back to the meta.

OZZ’s about the same age as the other juniors, so he was born just before or during the conflict with the Wens.

(I think Cao Junxiang who plays him is the youngest of the actors, but I don't get the impression OZZ is younger than the other juniors.)

His father is closely allied with Sect Leader Yao, whose sect was one of those destroyed early on by the Wens. I wonder if the same happened to the Ouyang sect?

If the Ouyangs were also decimated by the Wens, that could help explain the connection between Sect Leaders Ouyang and Yao and their shared tendency to ally themselves with the Jins and vilify WWZ - as @sir_rates pointed out about SL Yao. https://twitter.com/sir_rates/status/1252445449174175747

And could the fate of the Ouyangs be related to the fact that OZZ is identified as the sect leader’s only son? It seems entirely possible that his mother died during the Wen conflict, when he would have been a baby or toddler, and his father never remarried.

Not only that, but as far as I can tell it’s never specified if OZZ is SLO's only son or only SURVIVING son. His father seems older; OZZ could have been a late-in-life baby to a long-married couple or the child of a younger second wife. SLO may have once had other sons.

(Of course, being the only son doesn't mean there are no daughters, and I'm fond of the idea of OZZ with approximately three much older sisters.)

In the Sunshot/Nightless City scenes, SLO may have been mourning his sect, his wife, and even his children, as well as trying to ensure the safety of a very young son. Explains some of his intensity and even his scramble for the Stygian Tiger Amulet.

In light of all that, the ways OZZ and his father interact also make a lot of sense. SLO is clearly protective towards his son - a standard parental instinct of course, but potentially with the weight of loss behind it.

SLO is also a bit permissive, given how rebellious OZZ can be. Even at Louts Pier, when OZZ talks back to his ally SLYao and then him in front of a lot of powerful cultivators and sect leaders, SLO only chides OZZ a little before letting it drop.

That permissiveness might also be related to their shared history of loss. Maybe SLO gives in because he can't stand being really strict with OZZ. Maybe he's used to hearing his son's opinions because OZZ had to grow up fast and contribute to the diminished sect.

Then there’s how OZZ acts towards his dad. He’s got a heavy dose of teenage attitude, but there’s also a definite vein of concern and protectiveness in his behavior.

You can see OZZ holding his father up for most of the cave scene at Burial Mounds. He desperately wants to keep SLO safe there, and part of his backtalk at Lotus Pier is telling him to go rest.

And his father accepts that, storming off to sit down in the boat instead of pushing it. That's more than just normal teenager-dad conflict. The protectiveness and permissiveness and understanding of each other's personalities all just screams ‘we’re all the family we have.'

OZZ is also just generally sensitive and concerned for others, which I love about him.
He's got that goofy teenage dirtbag thing going on, but then he also takes care of his father and his friends, and addresses WWX with concern after the temple (and gets comforted by WWX).

On another note, as the only son, OZZ is the heir apparent, just like Lan Sizhui and Jin Ling. As a future sect leader, his position would be slightly different from other juniors, which may explain why he's part of the quartet.

But also, given the Yao and Ouyang clan’s attachment to the Jins after Sunshot, OZZ may have grown up knowing Jin Ling. And though Jin Ling sometimes holds himself apart, in the tavern after Yi City, there’s this:

The Lan juniors are sitting together, there’s a table full of Ouyang juniors, but JL and OZZ are sitting alone, and OZZ treats him familiarity and fondness - like he knows him well.

Childhood friends? Yes, I think so.

So, that’s what I’ve got. Ouyang Zizhen: kind silly teen, child of conflict and trauma just like the rest of them, close with his father, friend to Jin Ling.

He is a very good boy, give him flowers and love him and include him in the junior squad always plz.