ok maybe this is batshit but like,,,, i cant stop thinking about how cool itd be if wwx could like,,,,,, dissolve into the smokey black resentful energy and then re-solidify????? like i literally couldnt sleep last night bc i was thinking about this. also i want to make wwx talk through his trauma bc he needs it and also it would literally fix everything. also sorry this post is so long, this is pt. 1
so, like, outside of the obvious implications about what that means for whether or not he survived being thrown in the burial mounds the first time, it could also change the plot a ton?????
assume he knows he can do this, but refrains from using it (at least noticeably) during the sunshot campaign for whatever reason (doesnt want to worry people, doesnt ever need to, was about to when wrh was choking him but jgy killed him in time, etc.). we get all the way to the one month celebration for jin ling’s birth, and instead of walking w wen ning, wei wuxian decides to go by himself by just flying as smoke. this way he can get there faster&as the crow flies, but wn can still be at the burial mounds for protection. he goes straight to koi palace, not having to follow roads or anything, just landing outside and walking in like hes supposed to be there (which, i mean, he Is, but that doesnt stop jgy from internally screaming a bit more than normal).
so, theres like a pre-party time???? like theyre all together, but jin zixuan isnt here so they havent Properly started the event yet. jiang yanli is ecstatic to see wwx, jiang cheng is also thrilled but they have to keep up The Charade so they just kind of like,,,,,, glare at each other while making weird faces. theres a weird vibe happening. lan wangji is relieved and as desperately pining as always, but everyone else thinks hes just j chillin next to lan xichen. wwx is going on and on about how he adores jin ling as he and jyl catch up
jgs and jgy, as well as most folsk present tbh, are def eavesdropping. now theres a few ways this could play out
lwj slides in w “and how is a-yuan?” wwx is like, shocked that lwj cares enough to ask or remember the kid’s name, but he laughs it off and goes “oh, hes doing good. [enter anecdote about him planting the kid, granny&wen qing making him do laundry]” understandably at this point, someone asks who “a-yuan” is, and lwj deadpans “wwx’s son, he birthed him himself.” obviosuly wwx barely manages to say “exactly! lan zhan remembered!” before he dies laughing. everyone else is Wildly confused&concerned
jiang yanli asks how wwx is doing in the burial mounds, and wwx is like, “its much better than it was! the wens and i are trying to grow crops, we’ve succeeded w radishes - i wanted potatoes but wen qing wont let me, you can ask lan zhan, he heard her - and lotuses! uncle four makes some killer alcohol, and most of us arent in a state to be drinking much but thats yet to stop anyone but granny” & etc.
either way, ppl start asking question. most of them are along the lines of “whos old enough for you to call them granny?” or “tHERES A CHILD IN THE BURIAL MOUNDS???????” or “how did you purify so much of the place”. wwx just tells them, in what is miraculously both a laughing and “duh” tone, that “of course theyre all elders and a little kid? the only folks i could save were the ones who hadnt been worked to death and wen ning, who was a Special case? i told yall that?” theres a good bit of disbelief, but lan zhan steps in and agrees and i mean,,,,, whos gonna accuse hanguang-jun of lying????
but before anyone can get any real questions in, jyl jumps in w an Incredibly distressed “how are you feeding&protecting that many ppl if so few can work?” wwx cant lie to her, but he can weasel out of this one bc she looks Disapproving&Concerned and he knows she wont let him get away w it this time, so he answers w a more in-character version of “well, short answer is we’re not. long answer is,,,,, ive been in the burial mounds before, this isnt half as bad as last time, we’ve got things growing now, and we’re just doing what we can”
this cycles the conversation back too, “well how did you get stuff to grow, howd you purify that much land?????” bc the sect leaders dont want to Think About Guilt or something, idk. wwx welcomes the distraction, laughs it off, and goes “who says its purified????”
