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just. post-novel wei wuxian storming out of the cloud recesses with madam lan (who is alive and has just been discovered by wwx in gentian house about a week ago): "I AM GOING HOME WITH MOTHER-IN-LAW"
baby lan: "u live here senior wei"
WWX, reborn twink of righteous fury, good son-in-law: "NOT TODAY WE DON'T"
WWX, reborn twink of righteous fury, good son-in-law: "NOT TODAY WE DON'T"
they go down the mountain. madam lan's sword was lost long ago; wei wuxian is a demonic cultivator. thus: madam lan rides on her son-in-law's donkey. wei wuxian holds the reins and stomps his way down the entire mountain, where his MOTHER IN LAW has been kept against her will
his shijie did not RAISE HIM to DISRESPECT HIS MOTHER IN LAW. this is what he very loudly tells the two disciples who are sent (a little late, perhaps noticeably late) to ask them to return and talk.
the disciples do this from a very safe distance.
wwx and madam lan pass the time trying to come up with a way for her to refer to wwx.
wei wuxian: listen i call myself a wife sometimes, my husband's honored mother can call me her son's wife
madam lan: a-zhan really went wild huh
wwx, loudly: noT WILD ENOUGH TO SAVE HIMSELF
wei wuxian: listen i call myself a wife sometimes, my husband's honored mother can call me her son's wife
madam lan: a-zhan really went wild huh
wwx, loudly: noT WILD ENOUGH TO SAVE HIMSELF
A-Zhan is in trouble. Per the thread that i did not bother to connect to this one, he has some excuse (he was cursed with silence about his mother). Wei Wuxian is not currently accepting excuses. He is too busy moving out with his mother in law.
(this would be the other thread) (apparently im refusing to really get into the true grimdark of this au in either thread, but so is wwx right not, it is MORE IMPORTANT to get his mother in law somewhere safe and comfortable and not particularly traumatic) https://twitter.com/astronichter/status/1318591672993808386?s=20
wwx did ask if madam lan wanted to leave. he did not comment when she did not want to leave right away. he left it open. she had time to think about it. then she did say she wanted to go, this morning. so wei wuxian packed his little rucksack, did some shouting, & they are off.
(he is ANGRY, but he is allowed to be angry with his husband over this. it is within parameters. it feels okay. it's not anger tied in sickly knots. just cleansing, a mountain-stream rush. it's not a breaking point, just a point made. the correct thing to do within his marriage)
(wwx thinks being angry in that straightforward way sets a good example for madam lan. he does not want her to be like shijie, tangled up in different people's desires and hurts. it turns out to be weirdly helpful for him, too)
He is angry w lwj and he does not know WHAT to think about Lan Xichen, who in retrospect dropped several very big hints that lead to wwx finding madam lan in the first place, but -- wwx and lan xichen walk around each other and it still feels like they're both stepping on bruises
but in lan xichen and lan zhan he sees himself & jiang cheng clinging to shijie like a raft in deep water. it does not make him feel great. if he couldn't give shijie a chance to breathe, then - he will make sure his mother in law has it. on the back of a smelly donkey if need be
Madam Lan does not want to see her sons yet: okay!! Wei Wuxian will work with that. They get to a nice inn (WWX vetoes several, not mother in law worthy) and WWX asks if she wants to see HIM, WWX, or shall he leave the silver and the donkey. She does not mind. Lovely.
wei wuxian, age 34 (looks 22): it is timE TO SET UP A NICE. HOUSEHOLD. FOR MY MOTHER-IN-LAW.
madam lan: did a-zhan really marry a boy more than ten years younger than himself? a-zhan... isn't that a bit much
wwx, remembering that he also has trauma: wELL U SEE
madam lan: did a-zhan really marry a boy more than ten years younger than himself? a-zhan... isn't that a bit much
wwx, remembering that he also has trauma: wELL U SEE
wwx, remembering that his Reintroduction to Life trauma is directly related to I Got Brought Back to Life In Order to Help Orchestrate The Murder of Your Other Potential Son-in-Law, Which Was Not Like, My Intention? But Also Definitely Happened: hm
wwx, explaining this: SO, the good news is, you do not have to forgive anybody! Literally no one! Feel free to not forgive me also, that is very chill with me, nearly comfortable tbh.
madam lan: i am going to take a nap now
wwx: yes ma'am
(she does not kick him out)
madam lan: i am going to take a nap now
wwx: yes ma'am
(she does not kick him out)
no more processing today, they are done for today. wei wuxian has a mild freak out when he realizes he needs to get ready for bed in a place that is not the cloud recesses, even tho he night hunts all the fuckin time. madam lan discovers agoraphobia. it's been a big day.
wei wuxian gets things set the fuck up for his mother-in-law. does she want to rent a house? does she prefer the inn? she prefers the inn. it's not too loud but busy enough that at most hours they can both go downstairs and listen to ppl chatter, or u can hear ppl in the halls
not that wwx questions it. his mother-in-law can have what she wants. he does not lie about who she is, either. she is madam lan and she was not happy in the cloud recesses, so he (her son-in-law) is helping take care of her as she lives here in town.
she is reclusive but not unkind. wei wuxian never calls her madam lan, but always "my husband's mother". everyone in gusu knows who she is within a week, and it is understood that she is NOT to be bothered. it helps that wei wuxian tips very well with lan wangji's money.
after three days wei wuxian sends a letter to the cloud recesses. it is not addressed to xichen or wangji; it is addressed to lan sizhui. lan sizhui has in fact met madam lan before, but lwj, cursed never to speak of his mother, brought him to her with no explanation.
wwx: my husband's mother, i would like to write to my family and tell them that i am safe
mme lan: alright
wwx: ...hey so i know u KNOW about sizhui but like do you KNOW, KNOW.
mme lan: alright
wwx: ...hey so i know u KNOW about sizhui but like do you KNOW, KNOW.
if anyone deserved to be with them storming down out of the cloud recesses, it was lan sizhui, wwx thinks, penning out a quick apology for sizhui, who is hopefully not experiencing the madam yu vs jiang fengmian deluxe lifestyle
(he realizes a couple days later that maybe sizhui, having received the letter, then had to... play messenger and tell lan zhan and xichen about where wei wuxian and madam lan are, and lies on the floor for a little while) (then he gets up because madam lan wants pulled noodles)
listen this thread is already 92384092 miles long but so we are CLEAR, this is also the story of how lan sizhui eventually quietly goes to live with his sorta grandmother for a few years, out of the cloud recesses, still hanging with his friends, still seeing his family--
--but with a little breathing room.
but it's also about wei wuxian lying on the floor about Mistakes Made but eventually getting up bc "wwx's mental health trying to tank vs madam lan needing hand pulled noodles" is a battle that the noodles are capable of winning
wei wuxian does try to give madam lan lil apple
madam lan: honey i do not need your emotional support donkey
madam lan: honey i do not need your emotional support donkey
